OXO's Good Grips 3-Blade Hand-Held Spiralizer is Useful

We purchased the OXO Good Grips 3-Blade Hand-Held Spiralizer so our expert reviewer could put it to the test in her kitchen. Keep reading for our full product review.

Spiralizers are handy little devices that are perfect for vegetable noodles and more. We decided to put the OXO Good Grips 3-Blade Hand-Held Spiralizer to the test to see how it stacks up to the competition. We ravaged the produce aisle, choosing vegetables that we wanted to spiralize. Zucchini and yellow squash were obvious, so we stocked up on those. We looked for sizable carrots but only found thin ones, so we opted for a parsnip instead. Then we got to work, making spirals for chicken zoodle soup and ribbons for salad. Now we know exactly what this spiralizer can and can’t do.

Setup Process: Simple

When we first looked at this spiralizer, we thought the food would feed into the clear part of the holder, but instead, it feeds into the shallow end and emerges from the clear end. In theory, the holder may not be necessary, but it offers a safe, easy, comfortable grip on the spiralizer. The blade housings each twist onto the holder easily and remove just as easily. The pusher keeps hands and fingers far from the blade, but it’s not necessary until the food is getting short. Then, the little spikes on the holder push into the food to hold it firmly while twisting. 

Performance: Great zoodles in two sizes

Spiralizers are probably most often used for making zucchini noodles, commonly referred to as zoodles, so that was one of our first tests. We used both the large and the small spiralizer blades to make thicker and thinner zoodles that we tossed into a pot of chicken soup. We were happy with both versions of zoodles, and making them was simple, but we’ll admit right here that if we were making a main dish of zoodle pasta for regular family dinner, the twisting would become tedious after a while.

The instructions note that vegetables should be at least 1 1/2 inches in diameter, but large carrots were totally absent from the grocery store so we tried spiralizing the large end of the largest carrot we had, just to see how it would work. We got some small curls but gave up quickly. Since the spiralizer cuts a core from the center of the vegetable, we weren’t going to get a lot of usable carrot if we continued; small carrots would yield almost nothing.

We found a large parsnip and sent that into the spiralizer. It cut well, but we needed a bit more strength since parsnips are pretty tough. It was a good test, though, since it’s unlikely we’d use any tougher vegetables.

On the large end, vegetables need to fit into the spiralizer’s opening, so they need to be less than 2 3/4 inches in diameter. That was large enough for the Idaho potatoes we had, but large baking potatoes or fat red potatoes would need to be trimmed. The spiralized potatoes we cut were great for making hash browns, and it was easy to do, sending the potatoes straight into the pan.

The cucumber we chose worked fairly well when we cut it into ribbons, but it also oozed a lot of liquid as we cut. Perhaps a firmer cucumber would have worked better, but we don’t often need cucumber ribbons, so we’re not overly concerned about the less-than-perfect result.

We also tried the ribbon cutter with zucchini and then cut the ribbon to make slices for salad. The ribbon slices were a uniform thickness, which could be useful for recipes. Our lunch salad didn’t really care, but the even slices would be nice for dinner parties, and the long ribbons could be a pretty alternative to zoodles in some recipes.

Design: Easy to use and store

The hand-held spiralizer has five separate pieces: three blades, one spiralizer body, and one pusher. We were more than pleased that all of the pieces twisted together so they could be stored as one unit, with the pusher covering the exposed blade. The three blade sections are different colors, so you can tell them apart when they’re sitting on the counter—but we’re never going to remember which color is which cutting blade.

This tool worked well and didn’t leave a lot of waste behind, aside from a thin slice about the depth of the holder’s spikes, along with the small center core. For us, those leftover bits were either a snack or we cut them to use for our recipes.

Features: Three different blades

The spiralizer includes three different blades that are easy to swap. The blade with the green housing cuts 1/8 inch noodles similar to spaghetti, while the blade with the orange housing cuts 1/4 inch fettuccini-like noodles. The third blade with the red housing cuts a thin ribbon. We liked the noodle blades the best, mostly because we liked that shape for recipes.

Cleaning: Dishwasher safe

While this is completely dishwasher safe, we found that sometimes food would get stuck in the corners of the blades. For that stuck food, we felt most confident scrubbing it out with a brush, and once that was done it made sense to wash the parts by hand. Still, we’re pleased the parts can be washed in the dishwasher. 

Price: Affordable, but not cheap

When it comes to hand-held spiralizers, the OXO spiralizer is a bit more expensive than most, but still very affordable at around $20. For those on a strict budget, the same model is available with fewer blades. The plastic it is made from is sturdy, so we don’t anticipate breakage, and the fact that it is dishwasher safe is a plus. 

OXO Good Grips 3-Blade Hand-Held Spiralizer vs. KitchenAid Spiralizer Plus

We enjoyed using the OXO hand-held spiralizer for small tasks, but we realize that it’s probably not sufficient for spiralizing large quantities of vegetables for a main dish for a family on a regular basis. While it’s not hard to use, the twisting would be tedious after the first half-dozen zucchini. That’s where the KitchenAid Spiralizer Plus attachment (view on Amazon), which we also tested, really shines, since it uses the power of the mixer to do all of the work. We’d recommend the KitchenAid to heavy users who have a stand mixer, but we still like the OXO for occasional use.

Interested in checking out more options? Take a peek at our guide to the best spiralizers.