The 7 Best Pastry Blenders of 2023

This useful kitchen tool is known by three different names. The official name is "pastry blender," for the job it was originally designed to perform. Other names you may hear it referred to are "dough blender" and "pastry cutter" (although these are technically inaccurate). What can a pastry blender do? It can cut butter into pastry dough, mix biscuits (like Copycat Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits) or cookie dough, smash up ground beef into pieces in a hot pan, mash cooked potatoes, and even help make good guacamole. It can mix a streusel topping, chop whole canned plum tomatoes into smaller pieces for a spaghetti sauce, dice boiled eggs for an egg salad, and blend the ingredients for hummus.

As you can see, this is a great tool to have in the kitchen whether you’re a beginner home cook or a pro. It can replace some of the work done by food processors or electric mixers, which is helpful if the power ever goes out or if more than one person is cooking at the same time.

Our Top Picks

Best Overall:

Spring Chef Dough Blender at Amazon (See Price)

Jump to Review

Best with Wooden Handle:

Williams Sonoma Olivewood Pastry Blender at Williams-Sonoma ($20)

Jump to Review

Best Large:

Spring Chef Large Dough Blender at Amazon (See Price)

Jump to Review

Best Set:

Spring Chef Dough Blender and Pastry Cutter Set at Amazon ($12)

Jump to Review

Best with Wire Blades:

Fox Run Pastry Blender at Amazon (See Price)

Jump to Review

Best for Easy Cleaning:

OXO Good Grips Dough Blender With Blades at Amazon (See Price)

Jump to Review

In This Article

Our Picks
What to Look for
FAQs
Why Trust The Spruce Eats?

Best Overall

Spring Chef Dough Blender

Spring Chef Stainless Steel Dough Blender

Amazon

View On Amazon View On Walmart

What We Like

Comfortable rubberized grip
Sturdy construction
Dishwasher safe

What We Don't Like

Not great for large hands

This dough blender is getting a lot of buzz, and with good reason! Made by Spring Chef, a small but growing company in Dallas, Texas, it’s been manufactured to be used by both professional and home cooks. Five sturdy stainless steel blades make easy work of your kitchen tasks, and the rubber handle has enough "give" to make it more comfortable for use than a stainless steel or plastic handle. This size is perfect if you have small or medium-sized hands.

This dough blender has a lifetime warranty, is dishwasher safe, and is a great tool to have for all levels of cooks.

Materials: Stainless steel, rubber | Available Sizes: 3-inch, 4-inch | Dishwasher Safe: Yes

Best with Wooden Handle

Williams Sonoma Olivewood Pastry Blender

Williams Sonoma

View On Williams-Sonoma $20

What We Like

Olivewood handle will age beautifully
Large surface area
Sharp blades

What We Don't Like

Hand wash only
Pricey

This classic stainless steel five-bladed pastry blender with a beautiful olivewood handle is available exclusively at Williams Sonoma. The shape is slightly more rectangular than the majority of other dough and pastry blenders while also having enough of a rounded edge to be able to rock through dough and scrape the edges of the bowl, making it very effective in allocating the strength of your hand to the work being done. The olivewood handle will age well, and it gives this tool the feeling of being an heirloom piece.

It’s slightly larger than the usual medium-size dough blender, making it suitable for all hand sizes. It is hand wash only.

Materials: Stainless steel, olivewood | Available Sizes: 5-inch | Dishwasher Safe: No

Best Large

Spring Chef Large Dough Blender

Amazon

View On Amazon View On Springchef.com

What We Like

Inexpensive
Excellent construction
Comfortable rubberized grip

What We Don't Like

Very large hands might still find this small

This is the larger size of our recommended “best overall” dough blender, with all the same features. It’s manufactured for either the professional or the home cook, has five strong stainless steel blades, features a comfortable rubber handle, is dishwasher safe, and has a lifetime warranty. This larger-sized dough blender has two benefits: It can be used for larger batches of dough, and it can be used by people with larger hands much more comfortably than the standard size tool.

Materials: Stainless steel, rubber | Available Sizes: 4-inch | Dishwasher Safe: Yes

The 9 Best Pie Crust Cutters, According to a Pastry Chef

Best Set

Spring Chef Dough Blender and Pastry Cutter Set

Amazon

View On Amazon $12 View On Springchef.com

What We Like

Great value for both pieces
Available in several colors
Built well

What We Don't Like

Dough blender is the smallest size

The Spring Chef dough blender and bench scraper are here together in this very useful set. Each tool is manufactured to the high Spring Chef-standard, with sturdy stainless steel blades that make the work easy and rubber handles for ease of use. The bench scraper has inch measurements for your use along the beveled edge of the blade and an ergonomically designed handle.

The set comes with a lifetime warranty and is dishwasher safe.

Materials: Stainless steel, rubber | Available Sizes: 3-inch | Dishwasher Safe: Yes

The 8 Best Bench Scrapers of 2024

Best with Wire Blades

Fox Run Pastry Blender

Amazon

View On Amazon View On Walmart View On Lifeandhome.com

What We Like

Thumb rest gives more leverage
Wires prevent overworking dough
Sturdy construction

What We Don't Like

Hand wash only

Wire blade pastry blenders are best used for small batches of quick breads or doughs where the ingredients aren’t too challenging or difficult to blend. This one has five strong stainless steel wires with a wooden handle. The design includes a stainless steel thumb rest on one side of the handle, which allows the user to increase the level of strength being applied to the dough. The size of this dough blender is slightly larger than the average, which makes it suitable for all hand sizes, including large.

It should be hand washed for longer life.

Materials: Stainless steel, wood | Available Sizes: 5-inch | Dishwasher Safe: No

The 5 Best Stand Mixers of 2024

Best for Easy Cleaning

OXO Good Grips Dough Blender With Blades

Amazon

View On Amazon View On Walmart View On Oxo

What We Like

Heavy-duty blades
Ergonomic
Versatile

What We Don't Like

Blades are a little far apart

Reliability is what you find with Oxo products, and its pastry blender is no exception. The sturdy, stainless steel blades slice right through cold butter, and easily blend it with flour for a supple pie crust. It’s also versatile enough to mash vegetables, or slice some fresh fruit.

The soft, non-slip grip is ergonomically designed for comfort, no matter how big a batch you’re making. And this stalwart tool is lightweight, making strain on wrists and palms minimal. The blades are thick enough for efficient blending and cutting. And cleanup is a breeze—just throw it in the dishwasher.

Materials: Stainless steel, rubber | Available Sizes: 5-inch | Dishwasher Safe: Yes

Final Verdict

You can't go wrong with the Spring Chef Stainless Steel Dough Blender. If you're looking for a set, we like the Spring Chef Dough Blender and Pastry Cutter Set.

What to Look for in a Pastry Blender

Material

The blades or wires of most pastry blenders are made of stainless steel, which prevents rusting, and we recommend steering clear of other materials. The handles are made of wood(s), plastic(s), and rubber—it comes down to your preference. Plastic and rubber will most likely be dishwasher safe if ease of cleaning is important to you. Wooden handles tend to make the pastry blender look more authentic with an heirloom-like feel (making them a nice gift) and have the potential of lasting much longer.

Blades

Most pastry blenders on the market today have blades instead of wires, which create a more adaptable tool. Wire blades are better suited for smaller batches and doughs that aren't challenging. Comparing the thickness of blades can help you decide which pastry blender will work best for the jobs you generally do in the kitchen.

Size

The standard-size pastry blender is suitable for small- or medium-sized hands and small or medium-sized jobs. If you’re working in larger batches or have larger hands, choose a larger model. Look at the size of the handle, too, because even in similarly sized models, the handle can be differently sized—and check the shape of the handle, which can be round, square, or ergonomically designed.

FAQs

Are pasty blenders sharp?

It depends on whether the blenders are made with wires or blades. Wires are good for less difficult dough (quick breads, for example) and are not quite as sharp. A blender with blades will be sharp but perhaps not as sharp as your chef's knife. Still, it's best to handle it with care.

What is the benefit of using a pastry blender to make a pie crust?

Using a pastry blender keeps your hands cleaner, and it also doesn't add as much heat to the ingredients as your warm hands might. But the most important reason is that pastry blender helps to evenly incorporate the fat into the dough, ensuring a lighter, flakier pie crust.

What's the best way to take care of pastry blenders?

Regardless of how you wash them, you'll want to handle them with care because they tend to be sharp. Follow the instructions recommended by the manufacturer; some can go in the dishwasher, and others, often those with wooden handles, require handwashing.

Why Trust The Spruce Eats?

Karen Resta is a writer specializing in food culture and history, cooking, pastries, and restaurants. She's also a former pastry chef and has traveled to Budapest, Kyiv, and Paris during their Fashion Weeks as a photographer and writer, always finding the best authentic pastries along the way. She now spends a lot of her free time baking at home and recommends quality within your given budget. Having the right tools available and knowing how to use them well (it can take practice, like anything else) makes all the difference, and she curated this list with that in mind.

The 8 Best Baking Pans of 2024

Additional reporting by

Carrie Honaker