Our Test Kitchen Editor Can't Stop Raving About This DIY Pasta Maker (2024)

Any home cook will tell you that getting their hands on a KitchenAid stand mixer (finally!) changed their life for the better. Out of the box, these heritage lifelong mixers can do so much to revolutionize prep work on a daily basis — especially for bakers, who can elevate their finished baked goods a lot easier thanks to KitchenAid's deft precision. But a KitchenAid can do so much more than just whip through wet and dry ingredients with ease thanks to its highly precise line of attachments.

Nearly all of attachments and accessories are designed to be used with any Kitchenaid. The gadgets that are specifically designed to fit into what's known as the attachment socket of your stand mixer (which is covered by the silver cap at the very top of your mixer's tilting head) can reportedly be used with any model dating all the way back to 1937. KitchenAid's most popular mixer models have been within the Artisan series recently, and all of the attachments on this list work well with any Artisan stand mixer. These attachments can help cooks prep savory recipes, whiz through fresh homemade pasta. grind and sift all kinds of ingredients, and even eliminate the need for a vegetable spiralizer that may hog space elsewhere.

Editors in the Good Housekeeping Institute's Test Kitchen highlight the following attachments as a way for you to turn an everyday mixer into an "all-around workhorse for cooking" in any kitchen. All of these items have been tested in our Kitchen Appliances Lab. We're sharing the best KitchenAid attachments based on their workability and versatility in the kitchen, their cost, and whether or not they're likely to make cooking complicated dishes that much easier at home.

This may be the most powerful attachment for home cooks, as it revolutionizes the pasta making process for anyone(even pros!). A sheet cutter makes making fresh spaghetti, fettuccini, and linguine-style noodleschild's play. There are two different rollers to make processing pasta dough so much easier; simply putthe dough together in the bowl, and then feed it into the low-speed setting on the roller, which will knead it.The automatic speed allows you to use two hands to keep long pieces feeding into the machine, and it's quite sturdy.

If you're a burger lover or love to barbecue, this attachment is for you — it can handle all proteins, as its metal encasing stands up to the task. You can power through pounds of beef, pork, poultry, or even fish; you can also choose to create blends yourself. You'll get a removal tray with the attachment to set your meat into, plus a plastic sausage stuffer tube, a meat pusher for trickier grinds, and a cleaning brush.And if you haven't made sausage from scratch before, this attachment makes the whole process less intimidating. A plastic model is available at a lower price point, as well.

Unless you're a professional chef, shredding lettuce with your knife (or cheese with a grater!) feels near impossible. This shredding and slicing attachment makes it easy to enjoyfreshly shredded produce and dairy. You'll swap between two different blades for uniformly sliced items — cucumbers, onions, or tomatoes, as examples — as well as shredded ingredients.

Probably one of the most exciting offerings for veggie lovers and low-carb dieters combined, the spiralizer attachment replaces the need for a standalone gadget. It has blades that quickly spiralizesand peels(!) a variety of produce, including squash, zucchini, potatoes, and carrots, too. You can customize the noodles' thickness: Enjoy tight spirals or shavings, or create thicker, luxe ribbons.If you like to eat clean, healthy meals that are packed with fresh vegetables and fruit, this attachment will certainly come in handy.

Yes, it's technically not an attachment — but these accessories are SO necessary for KitchenAid mixer fanatics! Sometimes, you need to mix wet and dry ingredients in separate bowls, or may want to keep raw ingredients away from sullying other recipe elements. This year,KitchenAid has released 3 brand new designs for your stand mixer: A metallic finish stainless steel bowl (in multiple colors!), a clay ceramic bowl, and the sage leaf ceramic bowl. Some of these bowls are microwave and oven safe up to 475°F, whereas all are safe for the dishwasher.

Each mixer comes with two standardized attachments, including a whisk and a dough hook. Having more than one whisk is a good idea for those who take on multiple projects at once, as it whips egg whites and makes mixtures airy.But KitchenAid also offers a suped-up version of their mixing paddle(also included), which is equipped with a silicone attachment designed to ensure every bit of yourdry or wet ingredients is incorporated smoothly.

This all-in one attachment comes equipped with many functionalities you'll find highlighted in other attachments. You can julienne, shred, and slice fresh ingredients, and you can also adjust the thickness of the cut before you begin. Because it's designed to replace a food processor on your countertop, it can handle proteins, too. Our tests had no issues with any kind of vegetables, but choosing to work with softer proteins (or those that have been paired down in size) yielded best results.

If you're more of a fan of shorter noodles or speciality pasta shapes, this attachment may be better for your needs. You can make a fewshapes of pasta: spaghetti, bucatini, rigatoni, macaroni, and fussili. You'll force the dough through the chosen shape and cut the length at your choice.

If you're a bonafide pasta fanatic, this attachment may be for you. While cutting ravioli by hand (with specialized tools) can be quite tricky, this attachment does its best to standardize the process by stuffing and shaping at the same time. You can cook the ravioli right away after passing them through this attachment, or you can freeze to cook later. Tip: Freeze the freshly made pasta in a single layer, and then transfer into a larger freezer bag for up to a month.

A game changer for vegans and vegetarians alike, this sheet cutter solely creates luxe lasagna-like ribbons from all kinds of fruits and vegetables. You'd be able to easily execute dishes like this gorgeous carrot and radish salad, or any better-for-you pasta dish that calls for vegetable noodles. You can create thicker ribbons with one blade (a low-carb bread sub, perhaps?) and thinner, delicate sheets with another.

Juicing is a messy business, but if you've been wanting to drinkfreshly minted green juice in the morning, this can certainly do the trick. While it's billed as a solution to create sauces and jams, our tests found that it's best to keep the tasks assigned to this attachment as simple as possible. The pulp screens included with the gadgetmake sure your fruit or vegetable juice is just the way you want it.

This attachment replaces your standard mixing bowl, and makes use of your mixer's rotating paddle. Nearly any of our favorite DIY ice cream recipes are a breeze with this attachment. You'll only need a few minutes to effectively whip your ingredients into shape; and while the manufacturer's instructions say you can freeze the bowl before use, you may also store the ice cream in the freezer for a make-ahead treat.

Any baker will tell you how annoying it is to meticulously sift and measure each dry ingredient before you even preheat the oven. It perfectly incorporates and sifts all of your dry ingredients, and is embedded with a scale that takes the guesswork out of baking when precision is key. It directly places the sifted ingredients into your mixing bowl, and makes for a great gift for bakers who are always game to try new recipes.