Best Mandoline Slicer – Reviews of Top 5

It’s actually a little amusing to read what professional chefs, experienced home cooks and other experts say about choosing the best mandoline slicer — because they are in complete disagreement.

Some will tell you that a good mandoline slicer should be very easy to set up, so don’t bother with those that come with a blade for every possible cut because you probably won’t use all that anyway.

Others advise that a good mandoline should be very versatile and give you the option to choose various thicknesses plus do a variety of cuts, including dice, julienne and cube.

Here’s a novel idea – how about you get the details on each of the 5 bestselling mandolines and decide for yourself?!

Mandolines Comparison Chart

Here’s a quick look at the top 5 Mandoline Slicers. For more info click “Read Review” beside any model, or just keep scrolling down this page.

* When it comes to mandolines, “safe” is a relative term. Some models are safer by design, and the red/yellow/green faces in the above chart are meant only to give you an idea about the hand guard. Basically the quality ranges from completely worthless to slightly helpful but still not trustworthy. No matter which model you choose, always wear a safety glove. Be sure to see The Mandoline User’s Best Friend below (at the very end)!

IMPORTANT!

Do not buy any mandoline slicer without also buying a good, heavy duty safety glove, and use it. One example is the NoCry shown at the end of this article. If you think I’m being over cautious, click any link below to go to Amazon and skim through the reviews. Over and over and over you’ll see warnings written by people who have been injured, to the extreme of ending up in an emergency room.

Mandoline Slicer Buying Guide – A Few Quick Tips

You’ll probably want to avoid any mandoline that does not have blades that are either v-shaped or mounted in a diagonal position. With a blade that runs straight across the cutting platform you have to exert a lot of force. That makes it more difficult to slice hard foods and in some cases much easier to cut yourself.

Some models are dishwasher safe, and others aren’t, but that really shouldn’t be a deciding factor. The heat of a dishwasher will dull the blades over time, and some get hot enough to warp the plastic frame, even on the top rack. Anyway, mandolines aren’t that difficult to clean.

Mandolines that have legs will “stand up” on a cutting board, and that’s a matter of personal preference. Some like having the legs because it can feel a little more stable and a little less scary. Others find legs to be annoying because you have to stop often to clear out the sliced food underneath. In the summary reviews below, “no legs” is listed as a Con simply because many people prefer to have the option to to use legs when they want to.

Finally, if you’re mainly looking for a slicer to make homemade French fries, be sure to note the maximum thickness setting. Most mandolines work fine if you like matchstick or very thin fries, but not if you prefer a chunkier cut.

Top 5 Mandoline Slicers Reviews

Benriner Japanese Mandoline Slicer

Hands down, the most popular model is this new and improved version of the bestselling classic Benriner. Pros and chefs love it, as do thousands of home users. It’s sturdy, compact, and has an extra wide bed. It’s the only model in this price range that is continuously adjustable, allowing you to select any thickness up to 1/4 inch. Although, note that what it doesn’t have is a measurement indicator to let you know exactly what thickness you’re using.

The 3 cross-cutting blades included are fine, medium, and coarse toothed. This Benriner does not do cube or waffle cuts, but the sharp blades produce great results for very thin slices and julienne strips.

Just beware that this may not be the best choice for beginners. The blades are incredibly sharp, and the hand guard has been redesigned but is still rather small — it may not work well at all with some foods, and it doesn’t provide much finger protection. Wearing a safety glove is always a good idea, but with this mandoline it’s a must.

See it on Amazon: Benriner Japanese Mandoline Slicer

Swissmar Borner V Power Mandoline V-7000

It’s easy to assemble and to use, with a push-button mechanism that lets you adjust size and thickness without having to remove the inserts. Even changing out the inserts is a simple procedure (once you get the hang of it) that doesn’t put your fingers at terrible risk.

Compared to other models it has an exceptionally good hand guard that fully protects your fingers. The only problem you might have is with smaller vegetables, so for that you may want to use a safety glove instead.

Another nice safety feature is the “0” position safety setting that recesses the blade when not in use.

This model does not do crinkle or waffle cuts, but the 3 inserts that are included will let you julienne, shred, cube, and cut basic French fries. The surgical-grade stainless steel blades cut from both angles, which makes it work well on both hard and softer foods. It creates nice even slices and tends to beat its competitors at cutting very uniformly.

This may not be the most compact unit for storage, but all of the parts snap together so it can be neatly put away in one piece.

See it on Amazon: Swissmar Borner V Power Mandoline V-7000, Green

OXO Good Grips V-Blade Mandoline Slicer

This Oxo model is the top choice of Serious Eats and has earned 5 star ratings from hundreds of home users. Yet it does have some drawbacks to consider.

Assembly isn’t the easiest. You’ll have to read the instructions, and be extremely careful. You have to exert some force to get the inserts snapped into place, and that puts your fingers awfully close to those wicked sharp teeth. The only safe way to do it is to wear a glove or use some other very good finger protection.

Clearly, the blades are razor sharp, and the v-shape design makes them cut better and easier. The blades can’t be sharpened, but you can buy replacements. However, as long as you don’t toss your mandoline in the dishwasher, the blades should stay sharp for a very long time.

The Oxo does have a good safety grip with prongs to hold food. It works pretty well for protecting your fingers, but the way it’s designed also leaves some waste. For that you can always use gloves, which you’re going to need anyway for changing blades.

Thickness settings are adjusted with a dial that is clearly marked so you can see what you’re doing. Options are 1.5, 3, 4.5, and 6mm.

Blades included are straight, wavy for crinkle cuts, and julienne. It will not dice. You’ll get good results on crinkle cuts, but don’t expect any success with waffle. Some users find that disappointing, but in fact the manufacturer does not list that as one of its capabilities.

See it on Amazon: OXO Good Grips V-Blade Mandoline Slicer

Mueller Austria V-Pro 5 Blade Adjustable Mandoline Slicer

This mandoline averages high ratings from the majority of owners, but still, there are some complaints. Many of them are just rants about the thing being dangerous because its blades are so sharp. That is, after all, the point of a mandoline. We recommend gloves.

Some other gripes are unfounded, such as the folks unhappy to discover that using a food holder (to protect your fingers) results in a small amount of food waste (you have to slice the last little bit by hand, as with all mandolines).

As for legitimate complaints, some owners felt that the grater blade was somewhat awkward and not as easy to use as the slicer. Others didn’t understand use of the vegetable holder and thought there should be a video demo as well as other included instructions.

One other owner purchased this mandoline for use with a dehydrator, and he was disappointed at the lack of a thickness guage. This is a good point to consider if you’re looking for precision. If your mandoline doesn’t have a guide showing thickness settings, you can only eyeball it and guess at the adjustment.

Overwhelmingly though, owners love this mandoline for numerous reasons. One is versatility as you can slice, grate, shred, julienne and make crinkle (wavy) and waffle cuts. The 5 included blades are surgical steel, and the unit carries a lifetime warranty.

Owners also like the built-in legs that make it sturdier to use on the counter, and notches on the bottom that help you steady the mandoline when using with a bowl. For storage, the legs slide out from the back, and a plastic case is included for the extra blades.

All things considered, this model gives you lots of options at a very reasonable price, and it has earned an excellent reputation from hundreds of happy owners.

See it on Amazon: Mueller Austria V-Pro 5 Blade Adjustable Mandoline Slicer

PL8 Professional Mandoline – PL8 1000

While you may not find any professional chefs weighing in on this one, it’s a long-time bestseller online. It usually costs a little more than its competitors, but that may be justified because it’s loaded with features.

The slicing deck is stainless steel and extra wide, giving you more room for big potatoes or other large vegetables such as cabbage.

It has 4 thickness options (1, 3.5, 5.5, and 7.5mm). The included blades allow you to slice, julienne and do waffle cuts. This model gets lots of very high marks for being sturdy and having super sharp blades that make for easy slicing even on harder foods.

If there’s bad news it’s that this mandoline is big, about 16 inches long, so it’s going to cost you some storage room. On the plus side, the legs will fold up, and all blades are built in so it’s all in one piece. Also note that, to my knowledge, these blades are not replaceable.

It has non-skid feet and setting dials on the side for easier reading. The blades are integrated so they can be changed by simply turning a knob or switch. Great, one less opportunity to injure yourself because you don’t have to touch the blades to change them!

The only major complaint about this model is that the food guide may be nice for safety but has little nubs that get in the way when slicing some foods. You can get around that by removing it and using cut-proof gloves instead.

See it on Amazon: PL8 Professional Mandoline PL8 1000

Meet the
Mandoline User’s Best Friend

NoCry Cut Resistant Gloves – High Performance
Level 5 Protection, Food Grade.
Free Ebook Included!

These gloves are four times stronger than leather yet thin, soft, and elastic. They fit snugly for good gripping, providing lightweight, comfortable protection without all the bulk, and they’re both food safe and machine washable.

Besides all that, they only cost about $11.

No kidding, 11 bucks for a pair of ambidextrous gloves that could save you a lot of pain, or maybe even a trip to the emergency room. Do you need any other reason to buy them?

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