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Thinking of getting a stand mixer? Maybe you just bought one and you want to know some easy but creative stand mixer recipes that you can follow. Don’t worry, there are plenty of stand mixer uses for beginners that you can enjoy. You can get tasty results with a KitchenAid stand mixer or any other brand. It’s all about being creative with as little effort as possible.
Top Stand Mixer Picks
KitchenAid Artisan 5-Quart Stand Mixer
- Size: 5-Quart (makes 9 dozen cookies)
- Materials: Polished Stainless Steel Bowl with Handle
- Accessories: Coated Dough Hook, Coated Flat Beater, Pouring Shield, 6-Wire Whip
- Features: Tilt-Head, 10 Speeds, 59-Point Planetary Mixing, Power Hub
- Colors: 20+
Considered the premier stand mixer, the KitchenAid Artisan is ideal for any recipe. This is currently the most popular stand mixer model and it’s easy to see why. It has all the features and power you need. This is my personal favorite and it works with all the recipes here. We just did an article comparing the Artisan vs Artisan Design Vs Artisan Mini. See which one works best for you.
KitchenAid Professional 600 6-Quart Stand Mixer
- Size: 6-Quart
- Materials: Stainless Steel Bowl with Handle
- Accessories: Burnished Flat Beater, Power Knead Spiral Dough Hook, Wire Whip
- Features: Tilt-Head, 10 Speeds, 67-Point Planetary Mixing, Power Hub
If you want to feel like a professional, then the KitchenAid Professional 600 is definitely what you need. With an extremely powerful motor, even better planetary mixing, and tons of features, this stand mixer is for those who demand the best. This is an expensive stand mixer, but you get what you pay for. This just made our list of KitchenAid vs Cuisinart vs Hamilton Beach stand mixers.
Cuisinart SM-50 5.5-Quart Stand Mixer
- Size: 5.5 Quarts
- Materials: Polished Stainless Steel Bowl
- Accessories: Dough Hook, Chef’s Whisk, Splash Guard, Flat Mixing Paddle
- Features: Tilt-Head, 12 Speeds, Cuisinart Attachment Outlet
A solid stand mixer with good capacity, a strong motor, and many wonderful features. We recently highlighted this in our review of the best stand mixers under $200 and it’s a great model to have in your kitchen. If you want to get a new stand mixer or upgrade your current one, this is a budget-friendly model with many premium features.
1: Easy Shredded Chicken
Shredded chicken tastes great. Whether paired with some tasty BBQ sauce, hot sauce, mayo or anything else, being able to make easy shredded chicken will keep your hands cool while making meal prep a breeze. A stand mixer does a great job and requires almost no work on your part.
Cook the chicken (I prefer thighs, but breasts work fine too) and then place it in the stand mixer while it’s still warm. Use the paddle attachment and mix at a low to medium speed. You’ll have pounds of shredded chicken in under a minute.
While I’m highlighting chicken here, you can do this with ANY other meat or protein. Make stand mixer shredded beef, pork, tofu, or anything else you want.
2: Guacamole
Holy guacamole is this a simple way to use stand mixers! Making guacamole for yourself or a few people is simple, but what if you need to make enough for a whole party? Or, what if you don’t want to do all that mixing? Stand mixer guacamole is so easy you’ll be shocked you didn’t think of it before.
Place all the ingredients in the stand mixer (avocados, onion, lime, tomato, garlic, salt, pepper, and anything else you want to add) and turn the mixer on. You’ve never made easier guacamole in your life.
3: Meatloaf
I personally love meatloaf, but I hate mixing it together. The beef, breadcrumbs, eggs, it’s a mashup of life’s toughest ingredients all in one bowl. If you want to keep your hands clean, then it’s time to make stand mixer meatloaf. Like everything else here, it’s simple. You’ll want something stronger though like a KitchenAid Artisan to make sure you have enough power to work through the ingredients.
Combine your preferred ingredients into the mixing bowl, use the paddle attachment, and let it work it’s magic. Everyone has their own personal recipe for meatloaf. My mom’s was super simple: ground beef, onion, egg, breadcrumbs, that’s it. Add other veggies, use different meats, and add some seasoning (please, please season your meat! Took me forever to convince my mom to do it). The stand mixer will do all the heavy work for you.
4: Meatballs
The exact same thing as above. Just bust out the Italian seasoning and form the meat into little balls when you’re done. It’s just as easy, just as tasty, and just as quick.
5: Mashed Potatoes
Mashed potatoes are easy to make, but they require a lot of work for manual mashing. Maybe this is a labor of love for some people, but I see it as a waste of time and energy, especially when I’m making enough for a party.
Many people use hand mixers for mashed potatoes. That solves one problem because this is definitely easier, but these mixers overbeat the potatoes and they end up gummy. For perfect mashed potatoes you’ll want to use a stand mixer. Boil your potatoes and add them to the stand mixer. Drizzle in your butter and stand the stand mixer with paddle attachment.
Add your warmed cream (or sour cream, that’s great too!), mix on a slower speed and you’re just minutes away from the best mashed potatoes of your life.
6: Homemade Whipped Cream
Making whipped cream sounds easy on paper. Just get cream and mix until you get stiff peaks. Do it once and you’ll see how much effort this takes. If you want to avoid the hand cramps and wrist pains, then I suggest using a stand mixer for homemade whipped cream. Now it’s really easy.
Just pour the cream into your stand mixer bowl, use the wire whisk attachment, and mix until you get stiff peaks. It’s only a matter of waiting. For even better whipped cream you should chill the wire whisk. This makes the whipped cream even airier and lighter.
7: Homemade Churned Butter
Follow the directions for homemade whipped cream above. Only difference is you’ll be going longer until the buttermilk is released. It takes time but, in the words of Alton Brown, your patience will be rewarded. Speaking of Alton Brown, have you heard of his favorite coffee maker? Check our review of the AeroPress to see why he likes it so much.
8: Quick Breads and Muffins
Quick breads and muffins are no-brainer recipes, but once again, this is all about reducing effort so you have easy, quick eats. Just dump your dry ingredients in the bowl, use the paddle attachment, and add your wet ingredients. Every quick bread recipe is different, so use whatever recipe you find. You’ll be happy you’re doing it with a stand mixer.
9: Homemade Dip
Is there anything better than a dreamy homemade dip paired with chips, pretzels, or veggies? I don’t think so. Dips come in so many varieties. There are sour cream-based, dressing-based, yogurt-based, and so on. Then you have different seasonings, veggies, and other ingredients that make each dip unique and tasty.
No matter what your dream dip looks like, a stand mixer is ideal for mixing it all together. You can technically use any stand mixer, but I love using KitchAid stand mixers for their planetary mixing action. This perfectly incorporates ingredients so each bite has the right amount of spice and sauce.
Just place everything in the mixing bowl, turn it on with the paddle attachments and your dip will be ready in no time.
10: Pizza Dough
Making pizza dough by hand requires lots of kneading. You could use a bread machine for pizza dough, but what if you don’t have one laying around? Stand mixer pizza dough is simple. Just combine your ingredients and you have a no-knead pizza dough that requires no manual effort.
Most pizza dough recipes call for flour, yeast, water, oil, and salt. Follow whatever pizza dough recipe you have and place everything in the mixing bowl. Use the dough hook and get to mixing. It won’t be long before you have homemade dough ready for the piel. While you could use your oven, we reviewed some pizza ovens you might be interested in.
11: Fresh Pasta
If you’ve only had dry pasta your whole life, then I urge you to try fresh. You don’t know what you’re missing. Start by making the pasta dough (cause you can do that with a stand mixer!). Once finished, attach the pasta roller to your stand mixer and thin it out to your preferred thickness.
When it’s at the right size, change over to the cutter attachment and you’ll get perfect pasta strands ready for boiling water. The KitchenAid pasta roller attachment works with any KitchenAid model, or you can use any other pasta roller.
12: Egg/Tuna/Chicken Salad
Whether as a guilty pleasure, tasty lunch, or even for a whole party, you can make as much egg, tuna, or chicken salad as you want with a stand mixer. Add the protein of your choice (you could mix and match, but I can’t guarantee they’ll taste great together) along with the mayo and other ingredients. I’m partial to honey mustard, but to each their own.
Simply blend for a few minutes and you’ll have a ton of salad.
13: Mixing Natural Nut Butter
You can’t make peanut butter with a stand mixer (you need a food processor for that) but I promise this is a great use for your stand mixer. Have you noticed how most natural peanut and nut butters come with that thick layer of oil on top?
Mixing it in is such a pain. I always get oil on myself and am frustrated by the time I’m done. Now there’s an easier way. Dump the entire jar into the mixing bowl and let your stand mixer do the work. Everything’s properly mixed for a great taste and so much less work.
14: Scrambled Eggs
Making scrambled eggs is easy you say? Sure it is when it’s only a few eggs. But what if you’re making enough for a big quiche, a whole party, or this week’s meal prep? Why mix over a dozen eggs by hand when the stand mixer can do all the work for you?
Crack the eggs into the mixing bowl and use the paddle attachment. It won’t be long before the eggs are fully mixed and ready for cooking.
15: Meringue
Have you ever tried making meringue by hand? It’s terrible. You just keep mixing and mixing and mixing, it’s an awful experience. Hand mixers work fine, but when you need lots of meringue and don’t want to do lots of work, the stand mixer is perfect.
Dump in the egg whites, use the wire whisk and set to high. Mix until you have stiff peaks and you’re finished.
Conclusion
Stand mixers allow you to do some much and with little effort. These are just some of the uses you can expect from your stand mixer. Try your hand and see what you can make.