The Best Hamilton Beach Stand Mixer

Money may earn a commission when you click on the products and services below. Compensation may determine where and how they appear. This content was created and/or updated by a third party and not by Money's editorial staff.

https://money.com/best-hamilton-beach-stand-mixer/

Looking for a way to make your life a little tastier? The Hamilton Beach Stand Mixer can be a great way to prepare all sorts of delicious treats, making the kitchen the place to be in your home. It's gorgeous, has a highly functional design, and is incredibly user-friendly. A feature that makes it stand out from the crowd is the speed setting table — ensuring that you get the perfect mixing action for every recipe. In this guide, we’ll let you in on everything we love about the Hamilton Beach stand mixer, and we’ll also key you in on some things you’ll need to know before deciding whether or not to add it to your kitchen.

The positives of this model aren't just standard niceties; they really are something to rave about. Let's start with how much we love its visual appeal.

This stand mixer is available in metallic blue, pink, red, aqua, black, white, and silver. Its sleek design features a non-slip handle on top that allows you to lift and move the entire unit easily.

Another unique element we love is the permanent mixing guide on top of the mixer. Using the correct speed setting can make a significant difference toward achieving your desired batter consistency and aeration, and while most brands leave you guessing which speed is right for which job, Hamilton Beach lends a helping hand. This mixer's guide states which mixing speed is recommended for various tasks, including kneading, creaming, whipping, and folding.

The handles on the sides of the stainless steel bowl allow you to maneuver it without slipping. It's easy to pick up, even when full of batter.

This stand mixer's sleek design isn't something you’ll want to hide in the cupboard, so keep a little extra space on your countertop to show it off. Its tilt-head design allows you to swap attachments without having to remove the bowl. This also makes it much easier to set the bowl in place and remove it after mixing.

The bowl fits perfectly in the stand's bottom groove to ensure it stays in place while mixing, but this does, however, mean that the machine is only compatible with the bowl that it comes with.

The bottom of this appliance features non-slip feet to prevent it from moving around while mixing, which is an underrated but extremely helpful feature; you won't want to turn your back just to find your mixer walking itself off the counter and onto the floor.

This mixer's speed settings are on a large knob on the side of the machine, and they can easily be adjusted with wet or sticky fingers.

This mixer includes a splash guard with a pouring spout to make sure all your ingredients stay where they belong: inside of the bowl. The guard should be placed over the bowl as the last step before switching the machine on, and the pouring spout allows you to add ingredients while mixing without having to take the splash guard off.

One of the Hamilton Beach stand mixer's top features is undoubtedly its planetary mixing motion.

Planetary mixing motion refers to the way the head rotates along with the spinning action of the beater. This ensures more thorough mixing as the beater moves around the edges of the bowl, and it also prevents the batter from getting stuck to the sides. Mixers that don't have this feature will likely require you to scrape the sides periodically to reincorporate your ingredients.

Additionally, a planetary mixing motion results in better, more consistent creaming of ingredients (such as softened butter and sugar) that won't leave an oily layer.

This mixer's 300-watt motor has seven mixing speeds, with speeds one, two, and three designed for slow stirring, folding, and kneading.

Medium-density batters (such as cake and waffle batter) are at risk of being over-mixed or under-mixed at speeds either too high or too low, so you should use the middle speed settings for such mixing jobs. Batters that are overmixed will be gluey and dense, while undermixed batters will contain clumps of flour and might not rise well due to poor ingredient distribution. The middle speed settings are also the ideal option for creaming sugar with butter or egg yolks.

The faster speeds can effectively incorporate high-density air pockets into egg whites and cream for a light, fluffy texture. Higher speeds allow for smaller air bubbles to be created, which offers better consistency and firmness.

The Hamilton Beach stand mixer comes with a paddle/flat beater, a whisk, and a C-shaped dough hook, all of which are dishwasher-safe. Using the correct attachment is essential to achieve your desired outcome, so make sure you use the right tool for the job.

The flat beater should be used for mixing thin to medium batters for cheesecake, cupcakes, and waffles, as well as creaming butter and sugar. If your dough isn't too heavy and doesn't require excessive aeration, this is the attachment to use. It also works well for mashed potatoes, meatloaf mix, and fritter batters.

The mixer comes with a large C-shaped dough hook, which creates a kneading action for bread and other dough by pushing it from side to side against the bowl's edges. Never use the paddle or whisk to knead heavy dough, as doing so will only damage the machine and may cause it to overheat.

The balloon whisk is your go-to when whipping egg whites for a chiffon cake, angel food cake, meringues or while making whipped cream. Never use the balloon whisk for heavy batters; if you do, there's a good chance you’ll damage it.

This stand mixer comes with a 4-quart stainless steel bowl with handles. The great thing about its stainless steel design is that this is the optimal material for whipping egg whites, and it's also highly durable and dishwasher-safe.

Any additional or replacement bowls will have to be ordered from the manufacturer. In this regard, we wish Hamilton Beach offered easier ways to purchase additional bowls or included multiple with your purchase.

Although the Hamilton Beach stand mixer has pretty much everything you could ask for in a good mixer, there is one important aspect to consider before making your purchase.

The 4-quart (3.8-liter) mixing bowl is ideal for regular or large, family-size recipes, but once you start to double or triple large recipes for parties, catering events or a home baking business, you might find that it's just too small.

Overfilling the bowl can result in undermixed batter, poorly incorporated ingredients, and overflowing. It can also place too much strain on the machine, causing the motor to overheat. Keep in mind that, although the machine has more power than a hand mixer, its 300-watt motor is still at the lower end for stand mixers: it's only built to effectively handle the bowl's designed capacity.

A small detail we wish this mixer had is a cord wrap. While this is by no means a dealbreaker, it's definitely a useful feature to keep the cord neatly out of the way. Cord wraps can be purchased separately and stuck onto the side or back of the machine, which is what we’ll be doing to prevent tangles and damage.

This stand mixer can be the perfect kitchen companion for any home cook or baker. While mixers are often associated with baking, they’re also great appliances for savory cooking, such as mixing meatballs, burgers, salad dressings, sauces, marinades, and mashed vegetables.

Even if you enjoy grilling more than baking, a stand mixer can make tasks much quicker by combining ingredients more evenly than what's possible manually. So whether you bake or cook for friends, kids’ parties or you often have family over for large meals, this mixer can serve you well.

This seven-speed mixer also makes a great gift (or self-gift) for bakers who are detail-oriented, as the whisk, stainless steel bowl, speed options and planetary mixing motion are all designed to optimize results for all textures and consistencies. Perfectionist bakers will find their perfect match in this machine, as opposed to using a hand mixer, which will have a lot more variables influencing how your treats turn out.

If you’re a caterer or run a bakery from home, you may find this machine on the small side. You can always divide your batter or make the same recipe multiple times, but that poses a risk of inconsistent mixing and is also time-consuming, especially if you’re running on a deadline.

This stand mixer works well with all kinds of batters, including bread, pizza dough, genoise, macaroons, and fruitcake. You can also comfortably double up most recipes, but any more than that and a machine with a larger mixing bowl (and motor) is recommended.

We’re committed to making your money go further, and that's why each of our product guides are backed by thorough research, fact-checking, and expert insights. In fact, we don't give advice we won't take ourselves. Our kitchen experts have a professional background in catering, restaurants, and baking which means they know exactly what will suit your needs, no matter what your cooking style.