KitchenAid Artisan Plus Review: Is the $600 Mixer Worth It?

The Precision Revolution: Why KitchenAid’s New Artisan Plus is More Than Just a Pretty Face

For decades, the KitchenAid stand mixer has been the undisputed monarch of the kitchen counter. It is the heirloom appliance—the kind of heavy-duty machine passed down from grandmothers to grandchildren, usually accompanied by a stained recipe card for legendary chocolate chip cookies. But for all its rugged reliability and iconic silhouette, the KitchenAid has long harbored a frustrating secret: its speed settings were often more suggestion than science. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve tried to gently fold flour into whipped egg whites, only to have the stir setting feel like a gentle hurricane, sending a cloud of white dust across my backsplash.

KitchenAid has finally addressed this decade-old gripe with the new Artisan Plus Stand Mixer. Billed as the most significant overhaul since 1955, this isn’t just a new coat of paint. It is a fundamental rethink of how a mixer should behave in a modern, precision-oriented kitchen.

Artisan Plus At A Glance

Price: $599.99 Capacity: 5-Quart Polished Stainless Steel Bowl Speed Control: 11 distinct settings, including a true half-speed for folding Key Innovation: Redesigned control lever for granular, in-between speed selection Included Accessories: New self-scraping beater, dough hook, and wire whip New Signature Colors: Sundried Tomato, Hibiscus, Mineral Water, and Evergreen

The End of the Gentle Hurricane

The headline feature here is the speed control. For years, professional-grade competitors like the Breville Bakery Chef have held a slight edge over KitchenAid by offering digital timers and more granular speed dials. The Artisan Plus is KitchenAid’s emphatic response to that challenge.

In the past, you had ten speeds, but the jump between stir and speed two always felt like skipping a gear in a sports car. The Artisan Plus introduces a dedicated half-speed. This is a revelation for anyone who works with delicate mixtures like meringues or sourdough starters. It allows you to incorporate dry ingredients or aerated whites without deflating the structure you’ve worked so hard to build.

More importantly, the control lever itself has been re-engineered. It no longer just clicks into presets; it allows for nuanced micro-adjustments between those 11 settings. This level of tactile control puts it on par with high-end European mixers, giving the home baker the kind of precision that used to be reserved for commercial pastry kitchens.