I Finally Faced My Mandoline Fear: The Best Slicers After Extensive Testing

To be honest, I had never even heard of a mandoline before I went to culinary school. On one of my first days, my professor pulled out an ancient German stainless steel model and, in a matter of seconds, sent perfect slices of potato cascading away from the blade. That moment completely changed how I thought about precision cutting. Fast forward a couple of years, and I was working in a kitchen with a chef who expected me to have a mandoline in my knife kit at all times. In professional cooking, consistency is key, and the mandoline delivers precision faster and more reliably than even the best knife skills.

But for many home cooks, mandolines are terrifying, awkward, and often written off as too dangerous to bother with. I’m here to dispel your anxiety: I put a variety of mandolines through a battery of tests to find the best ones. (And they’re not scary, I promise!)

Over the years, I’ve learned that sharp blades are the key spec of a good mandoline. Blade sharpness is more important than any other factor. Mandolines with truly sharp blades sliced cleanly through potatoes, tomatoes, and citrus with minimal pressure. A sharp blade is also safer, because it doesn’t require as much force as a dull one. It also makes smoother cuts with less sticking. Price didn’t equate to sharpness, as several mandolines under $20 performed better than more expensive ones.

My Testing Process

To find the best options out there, I designed a series of practical tests. First, I completed a potato test: I sliced yellow potatoes on the thinnest setting, then measured each slice with calipers to see if the thickness matched the marked setting. I repeated this process for the medium and thickest settings as well. Beyond that, I also ran a tomato test to determine each mandoline’s ability to handle soft, delicate foods without snagging the skin or mashing the flesh. For the lemon test, I used each mandoline to thinly slice half of a lemon, noting if the peel caught on the blade and how cleanly the slices fell through the cutting slot. For mandolines that passed the previous tests and had additional options, I used potatoes to evaluate functions like julienne, waffle cuts, or wavy texture.

The Best Mandoline for Most People

My top pick for most households is the OXO Good Grips V-Blade Mandoline Slicer. This inexpensive mandoline has been a favorite for years. It has a wicked-sharp blade that offers little resistance, no matter what food is being sliced. It even cut clean French fries, which other mandolines struggled to do. It has four clearly marked thickness settings, in both millimeters and inches, that can be adjusted with a simple turn of a dial. The kickstand folds out so you can use it on a cutting board or over a bowl. The trade-off is that the blades are housed on the underside of the mandoline, and switching them out requires some careful finagling in tight spaces. Still, for performance alone, it is hard to beat.

The Best Mandoline for Serious Cooks

The Benriner Mandoline Slicer is the classic workhorse of professional kitchens. This Japanese-style mandoline performs with professional precision. Its sharp, handcrafted stainless steel blades cut cleanly and consistently, no matter the vegetable or fruit. The adjustable thickness dial lets you smoothly go from wafer-thin, translucent slices to chunkier cuts. The compact size lets it fit in a knife roll and even the most cluttered kitchen drawer. Unlike almost all other mandolines on the market, the main blade can be removed for sharpening. For stability, there is a rubber-padded foot on one end and some notches on the sides, which allow it to rest on a bowl or pot. I recommend this one for more experienced cooks who value versatility and control.

The Best Handheld Mandoline

If you need something simple for small jobs, the Joseph Joseph Multi-Grip Hand-held Kitchen Mandoline is perfect. Handheld mandolines tend to make a trade-off between versatility and simplicity. While this style usually features fewer cutting options, it makes up for this with simplicity and ease of use. The blade is sharp enough to slice cleanly through potatoes and tomatoes without excessive pressure, and the three thickness settings are easy to switch mid-task. I especially liked the blade guard, which grips food securely without excessively gouging or wasting it. Combined with the ergonomic handle and nonslip edges, using this mandoline felt controlled and low-stress.

The Best Safety Mandoline

For those who are still feeling anxious about open blades, the Dash Safe Slice Mandoline makes safety the top priority. To operate it, you place the ingredient into a chute, press the plastic insert against it, and pump the blade down. It slices food competently, and it’s practically impossible to cut yourself with it. It features a handy dial on the bottom that lets you adjust the thickness and built-in teeth that cut two julienne sizes. The downside is that the chute is approximately three square inches, so larger items will have to be cut down to fit. Also, the numbers on the thickness dial were slightly off when I measured with calipers, and it tended to tear soft tomatoes.

The Best Mandoline for Large Produce

The Mueller Austria Adjustable Mandoline stands out for its ultra-wide cutting surface and ability to accommodate large, awkward ingredients. It’s especially useful for slicing cabbage, squash, or other oversized vegetables. The blade is sharp and effective, and I was able to achieve slices as thin as half a millimeter—the thinnest of all mandolines I tested. On the flip side, it also features the thickest setting at nine millimeters. The bulky body and fixed kickstand take up more storage space than slimmer designs, but for serious volume, it is worth it.

Important Lessons About Mandolines

During testing, I found that V-blades were just as efficient as straight blades. Many mandolines advertise V-shaped blades as a major performance upgrade, but I didn’t see a meaningful difference. When a blade is sufficiently sharp, it cuts cleanly, no matter the design.

I also concluded that hand guards were more trouble than they're worth. Most guards leave a lot to be desired. There’s an inverse relationship between the size and efficacy of the teeth: smaller teeth damage your food less but offer a weaker grip, while larger teeth hold better but at the cost of gouging into produce. Instead, I relied on cut-resistant gloves, which provided a consistent barrier between my hand and the blade without interfering with control or visibility.

Furthermore, mandolines generally fall into two camps: those with freely adjustable thickness dials and those with preset slice widths. I gave higher marks to mandolines with continuous adjustment because they allow for far more flexibility in real-world cooking. Being able to fine-tune thickness, even slightly, makes it easier to adapt to different ingredients, techniques, and personal preferences. This versatility is what makes Benriner mandolines the go-to choice for the vast majority of professional chefs.

A mandoline is not any more dangerous than a knife, but like any sharp blade, you should handle it with care. If you don’t have a cut-resistant glove, a towel can work in a pinch, or you can use the included blade guard. Whatever you do, don’t try to operate the mandoline with just your bare hand. With the right tool and a little practice, you’ll be slicing like a pro in no time.