Update
A chunk of plastic from my Le Mini Plus lid finally broke off in the dishwasher. It had been cracked for ages so I wasn’t surprised. I took the opportunity to order a new lid, bowl and blade. It totalled to £69 plus £4 delivery.
£73 isn’t a small amount of money but it’s cheaper than buying a brand new Le Mini Plus. The original parts held out for seven years, which is decent by most standards.
My Magimix looks brand new and is working like a dream again. I no longer have to hold the bowl in place while it processes food and the blade is incredibly sharp. The new lid has been redesigned so it has a taller inner lip - this is the bit that snapped off in the dishwasher so this lid should last even longer.
Before I bought the Magimix Le Mini Plus (affiliate link) I had a small food processor that came with my Philips stick blender. It served me well but the design wasn’t the best and the lid got water stuck in it, which felt unhygienic. I’m glad I used it because it showed me that for most of the food I cook I wouldn’t need a full sized food processor.
Kitchen worktop space is a precious commodity in most kitchens and wherever possible I keep my appliances on my countertops; if I have to pack and unpack something then I won’t use it.
I bought the Le Mini Plus over the Micro because I wanted more power and extra accessories like the mini internal bowl and graters. The Le Mini Plus motor also has a longer warranty; it came with 10 years when I bought it and now it’s an impressive 30 years.
The good bits
Space saving
The Le Mini Plus has a small footprint (H37 x L15.5 x D21cm) and can sit on a countertop that has cupboards above it. It doesn’t need a huge amount of clearance, unlike my bread maker.
Workhorse
I purchased the Le Mini Plus in 2013 and have used it a couple of times a week on average, sometimes more. I haven’t had to replace a part yet (after 7 years I have, see the update) although some parts, like the main bowl and blade, are getting tired. Mostly I use it to:
- Make pesto, tapenade and other sauces and dips
- Make vegetable mash using peas or broad beans
- Process bread into breadcrumbs
- Grate cheese (I’m looking at you, Nigella’s Mexican Lasagne) or vegetables for a slaw
- Make Raw Brownies (consisting of almonds, dates, cocoa and honey)
The Le Mini Plus doesn’t like processing the dry and sticky ingredients for Raw Brownies and I have to physically hold it down or it would vibrate off the countertop. This was the recipe that caused the plastic notches on the main bowl to break off so now I have to hold the bowl in place to engage the motor and blade. To be clear, this isn’t a complaint. Raw Brownies should be processed in a more powerful food processor and despite making them regularly, the Le Mini Plus is still going strong after seven years; it’s an absolute workhorse.
Spare parts
Spare parts are easily obtained from BBS Ltd and they ship quickly. I ordered a 4mm grater and spare mini bowl. If I were to replace my main blade and bowl then my Le Mini Plus would likely be as good as new but I’m holding out until they give up completely.
The main Sabatier blade is ridiculously sharp. When it was brand new it cut Col through a tea towel so treat it with caution.
Quiet
If you’ve ever owned a Nutribullet you’ll appreciate the Le Mini Plus’s quiet motor. It depends on what you’re processing (nuts are loud) but it never makes me reach for my ear defenders (I actually wear ear defenders when using my Nutribullet, which Col has dubbed “The Bone Grinder”).
Easy to clean
All of the bowls and blades are dishwasher safe. The bowl has been washed hundreds of times on the top and bottom rack and has yet to turn cloudy. None of the parts take up much room in the dishwasher.
The bad bits
White plastic
Magimix has now updated all of the plastic parts from white to black (sadly after I bought my food processor). This was a good move as white plastic can get stained.
The mini bowl
After purchasing an extra mini bowl, thinking that I would use it often, I rarely do. The mini bowl has its own blade which is less powerful than the main blade but I find that it doesn’t have enough reach. Foods like olives, garlic and ginger stick to the sides of the bowl where they can’t get processed. Sauces don’t have this problem as gravity pushes the liquid back down towards the blade.
The contents of the mini bowl can sometimes spill into the main bowl. It’s to be expected, with food being flung left, right and centre, but I lazily assumed that I’d be able to use the mini bowl and not have to wash up the larger one. Because of this I rarely use the mini bowl unless I need to separate my ingredients.
Overall thoughts
The Le Mini Plus is one of my most used and loved kitchen gadgets. It’s still going strong after seven years despite occasionally being mistreated. The motor and main blade are powerful, quiet and have provided years of reliable service although heavy usage has meant that foods like crusty bread and nuts now take longer to process. The only small con I have is that I don’t use the mini bowl.
I love that all the parts fit easily in the dishwasher and the overall build quality is impressive; the bowl and blade still look good and function well despite their age.
The size of the Le Mini Plus is perfect for our household of two. Although I need to process certain foods (like a whole cauliflower) in batches, I wouldn’t change it for a bigger model because its compact size is one of its biggest selling points.
Would I replace it if it broke tomorrow?
Yes, immediately.
