food
By Rebecca Shapiro
•
Published May 15, 2020
Additional reporting by
Taryn Pire
Everyone knows that the first step to a kitchen straight out of a Nancy Meyers movie is a gleaming, jewel-toned KitchenAid mixer. But in addition to being gorgeous and cheery, the classic stand mixer truly is an indispensable workhorse. It’s the master of multitasking (tip: get started washing dishes while it’s at work) and a must-have for cake, cookie and muffin batters. But that’s not all it can do. Here are 30 KitchenAid mixer recipes to have on hand 24/7.
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PHOTO: LIZ ANDREW/STYLING: ERIN MCDOWELL
1. Three-ingredient Vegan Coconut Ice Cream
No ice cream maker? No problem. Instead of buying one, all you have to do is get a special bowl for your KitchenAid. Swap out the regular bowl for a pre-frozen ice cream bowl, and have perfect home-churned ice cream anytime.
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2. Peaches And Meringue
Whipping egg whites into fully-stiff peaks requires forearm strength we simply don’t possess. With the KitchenAid, it’s done in a matter of minutes—all while you make the cup of tea you’ll want to sip while eating them. And atop broiled peaches? *Chef's kiss.*
Photo: Nico Schinco/Styling: Erin McDowell
3. Chocolate Banana Bread Babka
We admit that there’s something therapeutic about kneading bread dough by hand—it’s like an edible stress ball. But it does take time, and that’s where the dough hook on your KitchenAid comes in. It pretty much does all your kneading for you, making it easy to have homemade bread anytime. Babka, here we come.
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4. Homemade Pasta
Fresh pasta beats the dried stuff by a mile, but we were always a little intimidated by the thought of rolling it out by hand. Enter the KitchenAid pasta attachment. It affixes to the front of the mixer and uses the power of the motor to churn out uniform sheets.
5. Garlic Ranch Mashed Potatoes
The secret to super-creamy, lump-free spuds? Use two different KitchenAid attachments. First, attach the paddle mixer to break up chunks of boiled potato, then switch to the whisk and add in all the good stuff (hot milk and a ton of butter, of course).
Photo: Liz Andrew/Styling: Erin McDowell
6. Cold Lemon Zoodles
These have summer picnic written all over them. The spiralizer attachment fits onto the front of the mixer, making it easy to turn any veggie into a pasta substitute. We like starting with zucchini, but feel free to go wild.
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7. Perfect Meatballs With Cherry Tomato Sauce
Mozz, basil, tomato sauce. It's a beautiful thing. Most meatball recipes call for mixing the raw meat, eggs and spices by hand. Instead, dump them into the KitchenAid—they’ll be mixed more thoroughly and save you an extra (and kind of gross) step.
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Photo: Liz Andrew/Styling: Erin McDowell
8. Two-cheese Guacamole
Bring on the goat cheese and shredded jack. Your beloved guac is easy enough to mix by hand, but the KitchenAid is a lifesaver for big batches. With the paddle attachment, you can still keep it chunky—just keep an eye on it so you don’t over mix.
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Photo: Liz Andrew/Styling: Erin McDowell
9. Chocolate Glazed Espresso Cheesecake
Sometimes our favorite pick-me-up is a latte. Sometimes it's chocolate. Today, it's both. We love the stand mixer for anything involving cream cheese. Use the paddle mixer for a super creamy, lump-free texture.
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Photo: Liz Andrew/Styling: Erin McDowell
10. Slow-cooker Pulled Pork
Whether you’re shredding pork shoulder to make into BBQ sandwiches or a bunch of roasted chicken breasts for a week’s worth of meal prep, the stand mixer is the best way to do it efficiently. And once everyone at the barbecue takes a bite, odds are you'll be making it for the next one, too.
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Photo: Nico Schinco/Styling: Erin McDowell
11. Heart Thumbprint Cookies
Aren't they adorable? Mix the dough with the paddle attachment before pressing your finger into each round to make tiny hearts. Fill them with jam once they're baked and voila.
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Photo: Mark Weinberg/Styling: Erin McDowell
12. Lemon Meringue Cookies
Meet lemon-meringue pie's and sugar cookies' baby. This recipe puts your mixer on double-duty, too. Use it to mix the cookie dough, then whip the meringue to top-tier stiffness before spreading it on.
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Photo: Liz Andrew/Styling: Erin McDowell
13. Doughnut Muffins
Your morning coffee has a new BFF. The paddle attachment creams the batter until smooth. Once they've risen and baked, roll them in powdered and cinnamon sugars. The kids will thank you. Once they're done chewing, at least.
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Photo: Liz Andrew/Styling: Erin McDowell
14. Garlic “nots”
Forget about trying to tie pretty knots in the dough. We took the easy—and delicious—route of stuffing these garlicky dough-balls with mozzarella cheese. The mixer will help you combine the flour and yeast seamlessly.
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Photo: Liz Andrew/Styling: Erin McDowell
15. Roasted Poblano And Corn Guacamole
Skip all that fork-mashing and let your KitchenAid crash the party. It'll keep your avocado nice and chunky while also blending it with roasted veggies, cilantro, garlic and lime juice.
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Photo: Liz Andrew/Styling: Erin McDowell
16. Creamy Gochujang Zoodles
Meet gochujang, a fermented red-chili paste that makes everything taste better. Make your zucchini spirals in the mixer before they're tossed in tahini-gochujang sauce spiked with heavy cream, kimchi and scallions.
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Erin McDowell
17. Buffalo Chicken Meatballs
See ya, sticky fingers. Not only will you dodge messy wing sauce (thanks, toothpicks), but you can also avoid preparing the ground chicken mixture with your hands by leaning on your trusty mixer instead.
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Photo: Liz Andrew/Styling: Erin McDowell
18. Double Chocolate Chip Muffin Tops
Let's face it: The best part of a muffin is the browned, fluffy top. This recipe cuts to the chase and brings on all the chocolatey goodness with extra crisp and without bottoms or crumb-filled muffin cups. You're welcome.
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Photo: Liz Andrew/Styling: Erin McDowell
19. Slow-cooker Oreo Cheesecake
The Crock-Pot is your secret weapon for getting foolproof, restaurant-quality cheesecake every damn time. Combine your cream cheese, sour cream, sugar and eggs in the mixer to make it pro-level smooth.
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Photo: Liz Andrew/Styling: Erin McDowell
20. Rotisserie Chicken Ramen
This impressive ramen bowl comes together in just over half an hour. How? The store-bought rotisserie chicken, shredded to perfection in your stand mixer. It'll be our little secret.
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Sarah Copeland/Chronicle Books
21. Sarah Copeland’s Chocolate Chip Cookies
Think of these as the chocolate-chip cookies of your youth all grown up. It's not overly sweet, thanks to almond flour and the perfect balance of sugar and chopped bittersweet chocolate. This recipe is totally attainable without an electric mixer, but using one definitely won't hurt.
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Photo: Liz Andrew/Styling: Erin McDowell
22. Ketogenic Baked Eggs And Zoodles With Avocado
Carbs are always invited to brunch, but they don't always *need* to show up. Enter these savory nests of seasoned zucchini noodles topped with sunny-side-up eggs.
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Photo: Matt Dutile/Styling: Erin McDowell
23. Apple Focaccia With Blue Cheese And Herbs
Not only is this sheet-pan wonder gorgeous, but it's loaded with thin-sliced apples, honey, rosemary and tangy blue cheese. This labor of love needs to rise overnight, but it'll be well worth the wait.
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Cloudy Kitchen
24. Earl Grey Buns
Stand back, this is a job for the dough hook. You won't believe the dreamy aroma of the Earl Grey sugar floating around your kitchen while the buns rise in the oven. And just wait until you try the Earl Grey glaze.
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Photo: Liz Andrew/Styling: Erin McDowell
25. Brie-stuffed Pretzel Bites
These are a no-brainer for game day, birthday parties and beyond. You only need ten ingredients to make them, and it's hard not to like melty Brie tucked inside a salty, golden-brown pretzel. Sounds like an easy win to us.
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Photo: Liz Andrew/Styling: Erin McDowell
26. Swedish Meatballs
Save yourself the trip to IKEA. You can tackle these bad boys yourself. They're a breeze to bake in the oven, which gives them a nice outer crust that holds up against the beef broth-butter gravy. Alexa, add lingonberry sauce to my shopping cart.
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Photo: Liz Andrew/Styling: Erin McDowell
27. Slow-cooker Pulled Chicken
Oh, slow cooker. Is there anything you can't do? While it's a breeze to make this sandwich-stuffer, it gets even easier if you shred the chicken in your mixer. Pass the coleslaw.
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Photo: Liz Andrew/Styling: Erin McDowell
28. 20-minute Shrimp Scampi Zoodles
White-wine shrimp. Pretty zucchini noodles. All the lemon juice. Yeah, we'll meet you on the patio with a bottle of Pinot Grigio in 20.
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Photo: Liz Andrew/Styling: Erin McDowell
29. Slow-cooker Chicken Tikka Masala Meatballs
Don't tell your favorite Indian restaurant, but you're about to take care of your takeout cravings all by yourself. Serve with a smear of creamy Greek yogurt on a bed of basmati rice.
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Photo: Liz Andrew/Styling: Erin McDowell
30. Cake Batter Cookies
If you have the recipe's seven pantry staples and 35 minutes, these cuties are within reach. Don't even think about skimping on sprinkles. We like to eat cookies plain, but sandwiching some ice cream between two of them sounds ingenious too.
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Rebecca Shapiro
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Taryn Pire
Food Editor
Taryn Pire is PureWow’s food editor and has been writing about all things delicious since 2016. She’s developed recipes, reviewed restaurants and investigated food trends at...
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