While some appliances are more hassle than they're worth, a stand mixer saves you valuable cooking time without adding to the dishes load. After all, you were going to dirty a bowl and a beater anyway. And often the attachments and bowl are dishwasher safe. Some brands can also power accessories like jug blenders and food processors, so one space-saving appliance can do the job of multiple electricals.
Read on for our pick of five of the best, or scroll down to the bottom of the page to read our Buyer's Guide which explains what to look for in a stand mixer.
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Best stand mixers
1. Swan Retro Stand Mixer: The best stand mixer under £100
Price: £99.99
This isn't just an affordable stand mixer, it's an affordable gorgeous stand mixer. If you love colourful retro styling and you're on a budget then look no further.
Despite the price tag, the solidly built it comes with all the basics you might need. It's supplied with three attachments: an aluminium dough hook, stainless steel beater and whisk. Both the dough hook and beater are Teflon-coated for easy cleaning.
Mechanically speaking it has eight speeds and a planetary action. The latter helps the attachments pick up all the food in the bowl, which is good because this is a powerful mixer. Turn it up to eight and your mixture really does fly out sideways. You'll be thankful for the see-thru splash guard on top then. We love the fact you can store the cord when not in use too.
Key specs: 1000W; 4.5 litres; 8 speeds; 3 attachments (dough hook, beater, whisk); 2-year warranty
2. Kenwood KM337 Classic Chef: The best stand mixer under £200
Price: £140
Surprisingly affordable for a Kenwood Chef – a classic design which has stood the test of time. Many of us will have fond memories licking cake mix off a K beater as children.
As well as the legendary K beater, it comes with a balloon whisk for eggs and a dough hook for breadmaking. A see-thru splash guard on top improves on the original's design.
Thanks to planetary action, the beater picks up food from the bowl beautifully; nothing goes unstirred. But if you're a keen baker, it's well worth reading the instructions and learning how to set up the accessories precisely (it's quick, you just adjust a lock nut). This gets the beater, whisk or hook perfectly positioned to be very nearly touching the bowl.
Where some stand mixers have multiple speed settings, the KM337 is variable, just turn the dial to wherever feels right. It also has a pulse setting for quick bursts.
Optional accessories include food processor, blender and ice cream maker, all of which attach to the top. The KM337 is also available with a blender attachment that sits on the top for £60 more.
Key specs: 800W; 4.6 litres; variable speed; 3 non-stick attachments (K beater, whisk, dough hook); 1-year warranty
3. Sage Scraper Mixer Pro: The best stand mixer for foodies
Price: £250
Heston Blumental lends his name to this Aussie brand for good reason. Sage appliances are always innovative and designed with foodies in mind: unusual features give them the edge over rival premium appliances.
All four attachments are dishwasher safe. Most notable is the scraper beater with flexible edges that wipe the side of the bowl – think of it like a windscreen wiper for your cake mix. This along with planetary action mean it keeps everything in the mix. Results are super-smooth and mixing is much faster because you never have to scrape ingredients down.
Its other main innovations are a countdown (or count up) timer to help ensure you don't over-whip and load sensing technology that senses when heavy batters are being mixed and automatically adjusts the power to maintain the selected speed.
It comes with a splash guard, spatula and cord storage too.
Key specs: 1000W; 4.7 litres; variable speed; 4 attachments (scraper beater, standard flat beater, dough hook, wire whisk); 2-year warranty (5 years on the motor)
4. Kenwood kMix KMX050: A gorgeous-looking stand mixer
Price: £240
A classic yet contemporary design. The styling has fifties curves but it wouldn't look out of place in a modern kitchen. In fact thanks to its range of bright colours and see-thru mixing bowl, it would be a centrepiece.
Its large 5-litre capacity means you can whip up a dozen eggs at a time or make a hell of a lot of cake batter – nearly 3kg of it, enough for two or three cakes.
The kMix has eight speed settings and an electronic sensor keeps them consistent, regardless of load. This mixer will literally see you through thick and thin.
With stand mixers, it's often hard to keep an eye on the mix but the Kenwood's see-thru mixing bowl and splash guard make it a breeze.
Its other star turn is the fold setting – a very gentle speed that combines ingredients without making them fly everywhere. It works brilliantly with the creaming beater, a soft attachment designed to get all the batter off the sides.
And finally there's a power outlet above the bowl for adding accessories like a grinder.
Key specs: 500W; 5 litres; 8 speeds; 4 non-stick attachments (K beater, whisk, dough hook, creaming beater); 1-year warranty
5. KitchenAid K45SS Classic Mixer: The classiest-looking stand mixer around
Price: £300
This is the smaller of KitchenAid's two popular home mixers with planetary action. But the other, the Artisan, is only a fraction larger and costs at least £100 more. And we're not convinced you need it because the Classic really does much the same job.
Our only concern is the mixer's power. 275W doesn't sound like enough. Even if you get the Artisan that's 300W.
In practice, both mixers are plenty powerful enough for home baking but tough jobs like kneading dough are a struggle for the motor – so if you plan to use your stand mixer for your daily bread then go for something more powerful. But if you're more of a Bake Off cook then the KitchenAid won't disappoint.
Our other, smaller quibble is that it doesn't come with a splash guard, you'll have to pay extra for one. This really should come as standard on a mixer at this price.
Key specs: 275W; 4.3 litres; 10 speeds; 3 attachments (non-stick flat beater, wire whisk, non-stick dough hook); 2-year warranty
Best Stand Mixers: Buyer's Guide
How much should i spend?
The good news is that you can get a good stand mixer for under £100. Spend more and you get better features and accessories and/or more elegant styling. If you're a keen baker with GBBO ambitions, it's worth investing more.
What attachments do I get as standard?
Stand mixers typically come with three attachments: a beater, a whisk and a dough hook. A few models also come with a soft beater that really scrapes the mix off the sides of the bowl like a spatula, saving you a job and pretty much halving the time of mixing.
You'll also want a splash guard to prevent icing sugar explosions and batter splatter.
What kind of accessories can you get?
Some stand mixers have power points on the top or above the bowl for attaching accessories. Some even come with accessories such as jug blender, food processor or meat grinder. This is a handy space-saving option as it does away with the need for a second appliance.
If you'd like extra accessories, look out for deals where the mixer comes bundled with them.
More obscure optional accessories include sausage makers, ice cream maker bowls and pasta makers.
What is 'planetary action' and why do I need it?
All the best stand mixers use what's called planetary action. This lets you mix the contents brilliantly without the need for a great big spinning beater that's the size of the bowl.
Think of the smaller beater as a spinning planet, the axis of which in turn spins around the centre of the mixer. The result is efficient mixing, minimising how often you have to scrape ingredients down off the sides of the bowl. Pretty much nothing goes unstirred, saving you a lot of time.
What kind of premium features should I look out for?
Pricier stand mixers sometimes trade on their good looks, sometimes on their build quality and sometimes on extra bells and whistles.
Keen cooks may want to look out for digital features like a countdown timer (this helps you keep track of time so you don't over-whip your eggs, but it's also prudent to keep mixing times short and sweet to ensure the motor doesn't overheat).
Some mixers also have a pause button, so you can add ingredients and then return to the same speed setting. Soft start reduces mess by going very gently at first. And load sensing detects when you're mixing something that's especially tough or easy going and then adjusts power so that the speed is consistent no matter what.
