The Unexpected $30 KitchenAid Attachment That Can Help Make Meal Prep So Much Speedier

As summer winds down — err, that might just be wishful thinking — it’s time to start shifting gears into everyone’s favorite subject: meal prep. While it might not be the sexiest aspect of home cooking, for many people, it’s the most involved culinary project they do during the week. That’s because meal prep (in any of its numerous forms) makes life a whole lot easier, whether you’re portioning out all of your meals in individual Tupperware containers or you’re just making a couple of big batches of grilled chicken or pasta that you can add to your weeknight dishes. And, if you’re not on the meal prep grind but want to start, we’ve got you covered. One easy way to up your meal prep game is to have the right tools — and if you’ve already got a KitchenAid stand mixer, you’re going to want to snag this Large Food Tray Attachment ASAP to take your prepping situation to the next level. 

If you’re already a fan of the grinder and food strainer attachments, then this is the gadget for you. Basically, this Large Food Tray Attachment clips onto either of those and allows you to have much more volume in the hopper — perfect for large-format meal prep — when you’re using your stand mixer. That makes it much easier to process bigger batches of ingredients (think: soup, mirepoix, sofrito, baby food for the week), because you don’t have to constantly reload the hopper over and over. Plus, cleanup is a breeze, since the attachment is dishwasher-safe. And, if you’re not a meal-prepper, you can also use this to make grinding your own meat or making sausage so much more convenient. (And, if you’ve never had homemade sausage or ground your own beef, you’re in for a treat. 

“At first I thought this was an unnecessary piece for my attachments, but after having a couple of pounds of meat to grind, it sure came in handy … It is one piece and super easy to wash though and it just slides on over the grinder tray. Makes it easier to put all your food on this tray before you start, then you have both hands free instead of constantly scooping your food up into the original small tray.” — Sunsail

“It does hold a lot of extra food items to grind, it snaps on very easy and securely, it gives the option of a mess free place to sit a scoop or the plunger, it is easy to clean if you don’t let the food dry hard, [and] it virtually eliminated the chance of dripping raw product into the processed food.” — W. Sipe

“I really like this food tray attachment for my KitchenAid strainer. It allows you to put more apples or tomatoes or whatever you’re straining into the hopper … I’m very glad I got this attachment. Well worth it.” — Reading Is Fundamental

So, if you’re looking to expand the capacity of your already-awesome KitchenAid Stand Mixer — even if you aren’t a meal-prepper — you can’t go wrong with the affordable, easy-to-use KitchenAid Large Food Tray Attachment. 

Buy: KitchenAid Large Food Tray Attachment, $29.99

This post originally appeared on Kitchn. See it here: The Surprising $30 KitchenAid Attachment That Can Help Make Meal Prep So Much Speedier