KitchenAid Artisan Mini Review

The KitchenAid Artisan Mini is the runt in a family of very capable stand mixers. Don't let this machine's small size fool you; it can do the work of much larger mixers. The only significant down-side is that the machine's 3.5-quart bowl limits the size of the recipes it can handle. This, and the increase in cost, is the price one pays to have a performance mixer that will fit into smaller kitchens.

Performance Comparison

The Artisan Mini packs a punch but won't eat up all of your kitchen real eastate.

Likes

Our favorite thing about the Artisan Mini standing mixer is that it performs at a very high level despite being a smaller, low capacity machine. It has all the standard attachments — flat paddle, dough hook, whisk — and it maintains the attachment port that is so popular among KitchenAid enthusiasts. Most importantly, it has a powerful 250-watt motor that can handle the contents of its 3.5-quart bowl.

Surprisingly, the Artisan Mini excelled in the kneading metric tests. This undertaking was assumed to be the province of much larger mixers. However, this little burro proved us wrong. As such, we find this machine to be a viable solution for serious cooks and bakers with limited space to store a bigger machine.

Dough hook (L) and flat beater (R).

Dislikes

Our critique of this machine is limited to a few minor points. Primarily, the small bowl poses problems for production cooking and baking, but this is a compromise that should be obvious and the result of limited kitchen real estate. Also, the machine's beater attachment tends to dig a bit of a hole in the bowl contents, requiring the user to get involved with the spatula from time to time. Also, this deficit can result in the grating of ingredients like chocolate chips.

The flat beater tends to dig a hole in some of the more sticky mixing mediums -- a problem remedied with a quick sweep of the spatula.

Finally, the narrow diameter of the bowl exacerbates the bowl-access issue common to all mixers with the motor mounted in the head of the machine. The consequence at clean-up time is relatively minor but worth mentioning.

Value

Like so many electronic devices that maintain their original functionality but are made compact, the KitchenAid Artisan Mini comes at a premium. If you need a high-quality mixer in a small size, we think that this product is worth the price of admission. However, if you are not limited in this way, one can get a larger mixer of equal quality for less money.

Conclusion

The KitchenAid Artisan Mini offers users a lot of power and performance in a relatively small package. This machine boasts all the features that KitchenAid is known for, such as the standard dough hook, whisk, and flat beater, as well as the aftermarket attachment port. Moreover, it has ample power in its 250-watt motor. While the compact size of this machine comes at a bit of a premium, it is well worth the cost if you're a productive cook with a compact kitchen.