7 Creative Uses For A Stand Mixer Beyond Cakes

Generations of children grew up watching their mothers and grandmothers making cakes with a stand mixer. Despite being around for more than a century, the appliance is still an iconic household staple today. Today's younger cooks and creatives, however, have a couple of tricks up their sleeve when it comes to using it. Sure, they might break out the stand mixer to whip up a classic cake from a box of cake mix or a vintage layer cake, but their stand mixer sees a whole lot more action than that. Stand mixers can be used to make everything from main dishes to arts and crafts! Need some inspiration? Here are a few creative uses for a stand mixer beyond cakes.

Shredded Meat

Shredded meat is a delicious addition to anything from salads to sandwiches to enchiladas, but pulling it by hand can be time-consuming. You can solve this problem by mixing the meat up with a hand mixer or stand mixer while it's still warm. It's as quick as it is delicious.

Ice Cream

There's nothing like a bowl of homemade ice cream, especially on a hot summer day. If you don't own an ice cream maker, it's not a problem. All you need is a nifty ice cream attachment for your stand up mixer. Rosebakes shared her recipe for homemade vanilla ice cream and the recipe is extremely simple. She uses heavy cream, whole milk, sugar, vanilla, and a pinch of salt.

Playdough

Stand mixers can be used to make more than just food. In fact, you can use your standup mixer to make playdough in under a minute. The folks at KitchenAid posted the recipe which calls for flour, salt, cream of tartar, olive oil, boiling water, and of course, food coloring. Mix them in your stand up mixer for 20 seconds and you're done.

Meatloaf

Old fashioned meatloaf is a real crowd-pleaser, but the traditional process of mixing it up in your hands is, frankly, messy and gross. Prairie Californian bypasses this issue by adding the ingredients to a stand mixer. Give it a try! The ingredients will mix quickly and thoroughly and your fingers won't be covered in raw meat when you're through.

Butter

Back in the old days, people made butter in a wooden contraption called a butter churner by using long pole to keep cream moving until it turned to butter. It took a great deal of effort and shoulder power. Today, most people buy butter from the store, but you easily make it at home with your stand mixer instead. A Little Insanity says one quart of whipping cream will yield about a pound of butter when you mix it together with salt and cold water.

Fresh Pasta

Sure, dried pasta is convenient but for special occasions or recipes with delicate sauces, it's smart to substitute fresh pasta for dried pasta. All you need is a pasta attachment and you can make it in your stand mixer! The best part is, you probably already have the ingredients in your kitchen. Katie's Cucina posted a helpful video that demonstrates how easy it is to make spaghetti with just flour, water, eggs, and salt.

Bread or Pizza Dough

There is perhaps nothing as satisfying as the smell of homemade bread wafting through the air or the aroma of fresh baked pizza in the oven. Homemade dough generally requires kneading though, and that can be a lot of work. You can cut down on that labor by taking the advice of A Couple Cooks. In fact, they say this method provides such terrific results that the dough practically melts into shape when you stretch it!