At a glance
If Pinterest-inspired bento lunchboxes are getting you down (seriously, who’s got time to make panda rice balls?), there is an easier way to make mealtimes more fun. Whether you’re looking to jazz up boring zucchini, swap carbs for lighter options or trick your kids into eating more veggies, a spiralizer can help. The best spiralizer is easy to use and quickly produces sturdy noodles, and maybe even more than 1 type of them. It’s also easy to clean and store, with any bits neatly stored away. Here are Australia’s top spiralizers, chosen from expert insights and real Aussie opinions.
OXO Good Grips Handheld Spiralizer
Get hands-on with your noodle making with the OXO Good Grips Handheld Spiralizer. Just RRP $20, this easy grip, easy to use spiralizer has a compact design that makes it suitable for every kitchen. Capable of producing sturdy noodles, the multi-pronged food holder slash storage cap helps to minimise waste.
Pick
Progressive PL8 Professional
If you’re already into spiralizing or want more than 1 type of noodles, consider the Progressive PL8 Professional Spiralizer. It’s far more expensive than our OXO winner but it does offer more. It produces 3 different ribbon types and has a crank handle which you may find easier to use.
How we picked
We started in our usual spot: CHOICE, Australia’s leading consumer advocacy group. They’d tested a range of spiralizers which gave us an idea of how they performed in test kitchens.
But we wanted to know how spiralizers performed in real kitchens. For that, we headed to ProductReview.com.au, Australia’s first consumer opinion website. Unfortunately, we didn’t find many spiralizers reviewed.
So, we had to widen our search. We looked at Aussie sites and further afield to The Wirecutter, The New York Times-owned product review website. All this combined gave us a good range of spiralizers that are available in Australia.
This time, our usual criteria didn’t apply. We couldn’t find spiralizers that had been both reviewed by the pros and loved by Aussie consumers. Which means with most of the spiralizers we reviewed, it’s an either / or situation and in some cases, neither. With a lack of supporting evidence, 1 of the biggest features we looked for was price. Because spiralizers aren’t a kitchen essential, we felt like you probably didn’t want to spend too much money on something you’d use once or twice before relegating it to a kitchen drawer.
This guide covers 3 types of spiralizers, including benchtop, handheld and electric.
Benchtop spiralizers have a crank handle for you to turn with 1 hand, while feeding the produce in with the other. As the name suggests, they sit on your benchtop, usually held firm with rubber or suction feet. They normally offer more than 1 type of cutting and can store all their bits onboard when you’re done.
Handheld spiralizers are the most basic and affordable spiralizers. Providing a decent arm workout, you hold them with 1 hand while twisting the produce through the spiralizer with the other. They’re light, portable and easy to store. But they might only come with 1 cutting blade.
The electric spiralizers we reviewed are standalone appliances. But you can get ones that attach to a compatible stand mixer. They’re the easiest and fastest to use – and also the most expensive. Simply press the button and the machine does the hard work.
The 4 best spiralizers in Australia
- Best for most -> OXO Good Grips Handheld Spiralizer
- Best for luxury -> Progressive PL8 Professional Spiralizer
- Paderno Spiralizer 4-Blade
- Avanti Spiretti Fruit and Vegetable Slicer
How we picked
We started in our usual spot: CHOICE, Australia’s leading consumer advocacy group. They’d tested a range of spiralizers which gave us an idea of how they performed in test kitchens.
But we wanted to know how spiralizers performed in real kitchens. For that, we headed to ProductReview.com.au, Australia’s first consumer opinion website. Unfortunately, we didn’t find many spiralizers reviewed.
So, we had to widen our search. We looked at Aussie sites and further afield to The Wirecutter, The New York Times-owned product review website. All this combined gave us a good range of spiralizers that are available in Australia.
This time, our usual criteria didn’t apply. We couldn’t find spiralizers that had been both reviewed by the pros and loved by Aussie consumers. Which means with most of the spiralizers we reviewed, it’s an either / or situation and in some cases, neither. With a lack of supporting evidence, 1 of the biggest features we looked for was price. Because spiralizers aren’t a kitchen essential, we felt like you probably didn’t want to spend too much money on something you’d use once or twice before relegating it to a kitchen drawer.
This guide covers 3 types of spiralizers, including benchtop, handheld and electric.
Benchtop spiralizers have a crank handle for you to turn with 1 hand, while feeding the produce in with the other. As the name suggests, they sit on your benchtop, usually held firm with rubber or suction feet. They normally offer more than 1 type of cutting and can store all their bits onboard when you’re done.
Handheld spiralizers are the most basic and affordable spiralizers. Providing a decent arm workout, you hold them with 1 hand while twisting the produce through the spiralizer with the other. They’re light, portable and easy to store. But they might only come with 1 cutting blade.
The electric spiralizers we reviewed are standalone appliances. But you can get ones that attach to a compatible stand mixer. They’re the easiest and fastest to use – and also the most expensive. Simply press the button and the machine does the hard work.
Best for most -> OXO Good Grips Handheld Spiralizer
Get hands-on with your noodle making with the OXO Good Grips Handheld Spiralizer. Just RRP $20, this easy grip, easy to use spiralizer has a compact design that makes it suitable for every kitchen. Capable of producing sturdy noodles, the multi-pronged food holder slash storage cap helps to minimise waste.
If what you’re looking for in a spiralizer is one that spiralizes fruit and veggies easily, then we reckon you’ll love the OXO Good Grips Handheld Spiralizer. Sure, it’s no frills but it does the job – well.
This compact unit is easy to use. Simply put in straight produce, place it against the blade, push and twist clockwise. The result? Uniform, curly noodles. When you get down to the last bits, use the multi-pronged food holder to keep your hands safely away from the blade. It also maximises the noodles you get and minimises waste.
It has a non-slip grip for easy handling and is dishwasher safe for easy cleaning. The food holder doubles as a storage cap, which means no loose bits to lose. Thanks to its compact size, it fits in a kitchen drawer.
You’re getting all this handy goodness for just RRP around $20. The downside? It hasn’t been expert tested and doesn’t have any Aussie consumer reviews. But The Wirecutter – The New York Times-owned product review site – did choose it as their best spiralizer - budget.
Related: The Best Food Processor
Why buy the OXO Good Grips Handheld Spiralizer
Easy to use
Simply put in the veg and twist clockwise for sturdy noodles.
Easy hold
Thanks to the green non-slip grip which ensures you can keep a firm grip while spiralizing.
Minimal waste
The multi-pronged food holder maximises how many noodles you get and minimises waste.
Safety
The food holder also keeps your hands safely away from the blade.
Storage cap
When you finish with the food holder, it doubles as a storage cap, fitting neatly on top.
Compact design
Making it easy to store in a kitchen drawer and a great space-saver.
Dishwasher safe
Which makes cleaning quick and easy.
Price
It’s just RRP around $20.
The Wirecutter winner
If it’s good enough for the Americans, it’s good enough for us.
The not-so-good bits
1-blade
With 1 blade, and no accessories, it can’t handle much produce at a time, and it can only make curly noodles, nothing else.
More effort
A handheld spiralizer that involves turning action will always be more effort than its electronic counterparts. It could be tricky for anyone with arthritis or other hand issues.
Lack of Aussie insights
No expert testing and no ProductReview.com.au reviews either.
In summary
Get hands-on with your noodle making with the OXO Good Grips Handheld Spiralizer. Just RRP $20, this easy grip, easy to use spiralizer has a compact design that makes it suitable for every kitchen. Capable of producing sturdy noodles, the multi-pronged food holder slash storage cap helps to minimise waste. When you’re done, simply put it in the dishwasher.
Best for luxury -> Progressive PL8 Professional Spiralizer
If you’re already into spiralizing or want more than 1 type of noodles, consider the Progressive PL8 Professional Spiralizer. It’s far more expensive than our OXO winner but it does offer more. It produces 3 different ribbon types and has a crank handle which you may find easier to use.
If you’d prefer a benchtop rather than handheld spiralizer, meet the Progressive PL8 Professional Spiralizer. Looking a bit like a hand mixer, the Progressive PL8 Professional Spiralizer offers 3 different spiral cuts: thin julienne, thick julienne and thin ribbons. This gives you greater variety than our OXO top pick. It’s also got a crank handle, making it slightly less labour intensive than twisting the produce.
The tilted base lets you spiralize onto a chopping board. Or you can hold it over a bowl for a greater arm workout. Silicone-capped feet and handle keep it secure and stable, while making it easy to hold. There are no blades or parts to remove which means it’s easy to store too – no loose bits to find a home for. Plus, the stainless-steel leg is collapsible, helping with storage.
Like our OXO top pick, it’s dishwasher safe. It’s been reviewed by CHOICE but doesn’t have any ProductReview.com.au reviews. It comes in around RRP $100.
Related: The Best Kitchen Knife
Why buy the Progressive PL8 Professional Spiralizer
Crank handle
If manually twisting your produce seems like hard work, you’ll enjoy the crank handle that you turn.
3 different ribbon types
For great culinary versatility.
Tilted base
Which allows you to either spiralize on your chopping board or pick it up and do it over a bowl.
Collapsible stainless-steel leg
This not only helps with tilting the base but with storage and cleaning. Fold it away for easy storage and dishwasher loading.
Silicone-capped feet and handle
To keep it stable and to make it easy to hold.
No loose parts
Which means it’s easy to store with no loose parts to lose.
Dishwasher safe
Making it easy clean once you’re done.
Price
It comes in around $100.
The not-so-good bits
No Aussie consumer insights
With no ProductReview.com.au reviews, it’s hard to tell how it really performs in Aussie kitchens.
In summary
If you’re already into spiralizing or if you want more than 1 type of noodles, consider the Progressive PL8 Professional Spiralizer. It’s far more expensive than our OXO top pick (about 5 times) but it does offer more. It produces 3 different ribbon types and has a crank handle which you may find easier to use than the twisting motion of the OXO spiralizer. A smart tilted base gives you flexibility in how to use it. It’s also dishwasher safe for easy clean up.
The Competition
Not found your perfect spiralizer yet? Consider one of these.
Paderno Spiralizer 4-Blade
For 4 different types of noodles, there’s the Paderno Spiralizer 4-Blade. It can produce thin angel-hair strands, spiral cuts, shoestrings and ribbon noodles. It also has a pin accessory that you can use with the blades to create accordion cuts – multiple thin cuts across the top of your produce. Simply slide in and out the blade that you need.
Featuring a crank handle for easy turning that can work for both left- and right-handers, we love the Paderno’s compact design. It collapses into its base for easy storage. You end up with 1 sturdy BPA-plastic free box that contains the spiralizer and all the blades. You can even use the lid as a catching tray for your noodles.
All the parts are dishwasher safe and it has suction feet to keep it securely on your benchtop. It’s RRP $80 and has 1 glowing consumer review, giving it 5 stars.
Choose this if...
Kitchen space is a concern, but you still want to create a wide variety of spiralized produce with an easy to turn crank handle.
Avanti Spiretti Fruit and Vegetable Slicer
With a RRP around $50, the Avanti Spiretti Fruit and Vegetable Slicer is the most affordable benchtop spiralizer we reviewed. It looks a little like a miniature guillotine, with produce being able to go through 1 of 3 different blades. It can create fine round noodles, medium-thick noodles or wide, ribbon-like ones. The blades are kept safely inside the spiralizer when you’re not using them, while the secure suction feet keep it stable
Although it’s dishwasher safe, handwashing is recommended.
Choose this if...
You want to spend the minimum on a benchtop spiralizer that offers 3 different cutting choices.
Important features to consider
To be honest, there aren’t many features to consider with a spiralizer – they’re all similar and pack the same minimal features.
Blade types
Your most basic and affordable spiralizer will offer 1 blade type, like our OXO winner. But others will offer multiple cutting styles, like spaghetti, thin or fine julienne, linguine and ribbon. You’ll need to experiment to see what type of noodles they produce.
Blade safety
Spiralizers have sharp blades, most of which are exposed when you’re using them. Look for features like finger guards to keep your hands safely away from the blades. The instruction manual should explain how to safely remove and wash the blades.
Food waste
Some spiralizers might claim to be more efficient at using every piece of the produce. But the reality is that all spiralizers produce waste. This is normally a used core plus 1-2cm of produce. You can use these up in soups or throw them in the freezer until inspiration strikes.
What you get if you spend more
Spending more doesn’t necessarily get you a better spiralizer.
Catch zone
Rather than spiralizing into a pan or chopping board, some spiralizers have a catch zone which captures the noodles in 1 handy place. Although this is a standard feature on the large electric spiralizers, we only reviewed one benchtop spiralizer with this feature – the Paderno Spiralizer 4-Blade.
Onboard storage
If you choose a spiralizer with multiple blades and attachments, it’s useful to have onboard storage to keep everything in 1 place.
Electric spiralizer
Pay more and you’ll get the convenience of 1-touch spiralizing with no arm workout.
The bottom line
Finding interesting things to do with fruit and veggies can be challenging. Enter a spiralizer, that kitchen tool you never knew you needed. And hey, maybe you don’t really need one, but it could be a handy tool to keep up your sleeve. The best spiralizer is easy to use and clean, staying stable in your hands or on the benchtop. It produces at least 1 type of cut produce well and packs away to a conveniently small size.
We think the OXO Good Grips Handheld Spiralizer is Australia’s best spiralizer. Although it’s no frills and only produces 1 type of cut produce, it does the job, well. Most importantly, it doesn’t cost a lot to try it – it’s just RRP $20. Priding itself on being compact, it comes with a multi-pronged food holder to minimise the waste (and keep your fingers safe). Easy to use thanks to the non-slip grip, it’s even dishwasher safe and will fit easily in a kitchen drawer.
A worthy alternative is the Progressive PL8 Professional Spiralizer. A benchtop spiralizer, it offers 3 different spiral cuts. Its tilted base means you can use it over a chopping board or hold it over a bowl. Silicone-capped feet and handle keep it secure and easy to hold. With a collapsible stainless-steel leg, it’s easily stored. When you’re done, you can put it in the dishwasher.
