Best Kitchen Tools for Foodies — from a Bunch of Bloggers Who Love to Cook!

Lemon Squeezer

Katie Wells of Wellness Mama uses her lemon juicer often and writes about the benefits of drinking lemon water. Having a tool like this will make it easier to use citrus daily, which is great for your health.

Crinkle Cutter

Amy Roskelley over at Super Healthy Kids says, “This crinkle cutter is an easy way to make your kids veggies just a little bit more fun and it doesn’t take up too much space in a kitchen drawer! We use it for cucumbers, potatoes, and even carrots.“

This tool makes it so easy for young children to cut soft foods like cheese, as demonstrated in the knife skills lesson in the Kids Cook Real Food eCourse. (All our recommendations for kids can be found on our comprehensive Kids Cooking Resources page that we created for our members!)

Silicone Spatulas

Ricki Heller says this about her silicone spatulas, “They are sturdy enough to mix cookie dough, but flexible and soft enough to fold in aquafaba. I also use them to saute and mix stews, sauces, etc–and they don’t soak in the pasta sauce colors the way wooden spoons or other non-metal utensils do. Plus, they’re safe for non-stick surfaces.”

Tiffany at Don’t Waste the Crumbs especially likes small ones like these (but I love that she also teaches us to spend bigger bucks on quality supplies like her ultimate fav tool, coming up below!).

Big Items Foodie Bloggers Use Daily in Their Kitchens

From appliances that cost hundreds of dollars to the humble cast iron skillet, these tools deserve a place on your counter or at the front of your easiest-access cupboard. I own and adore almost all of these items, but there are two that I don’t even have! (Can you guess which two?)

High Powered Blender

Tsh Oxenreider at The Art of Simple, Kiran Dodeja Smith at Easy Real Food, Laura Coppinger at Heavenly Homemakers, Erin Odom at The Humbled Homemaker, Wardee Harmon at Traditional Cooking School, Tiffany at Don’t Waste the Crumbs, and Stephanie Langford of Ultimate Bundles all have a high powered blender such as a BlendTec or Vitamix on their list of favorite kitchen appliances.

Tsh says, “I didn’t know the wonderful world I was missing until I got a real, grownup blender that works magic.” and Erin says, “There is no question about it. I use it multiple times every day!”

The Blender Girl, Tess Masters, says that the KitchenAid Pro Line Series blender is now the most powerful blender on the market.

Instant Pot

Kiran also ranks her Instant Pot high on her list (and so do I!!). When talking about her high powered blender and her Instant Pot she says, “These have both been such worthwhile investments!!”

If you’re considering getting an Instant Pot but are on the fence, read my pros and cons that might help you make your decision. 

Stainless Steel Electric Frying Pan

Kelly the Kitchen Kop loves her Stainless Steel Electric Frying Pan. She says, “This sucker is just what a busy Mom needs so you can throw meals together faster than if you had to use two pans or make several batches. It’s super easy to clean, too!

A Really Good Knife

A good sharp knife is a workhorse in a real food kitchen, along with a good cutting board (my mom got me that one years ago for Christmas and I am still grateful!).

Wardee Harmon at Traditional Cooking School highly recommends this vegetable knife from Cutco. Here are some other similar knives, if you don’t want to spring for Cutco yet.

Donielle Baker’s of Natural Fertility and Wellness thinks a 5-6 inch knife is the perfect size, and this Santoku knife is her favorite one.

If you need a recommendation for a good knife for a kid to use, I have a big resource list of products we use and love in the Kids Cook Real Food eCourse. (Tip: Keep goggles in your knife drawer for the onion cutting without tears, especially for kids!)

Food Processor

Wardee‘s Cuisinart 11-cup food processor ranks high on her list of favorite kitchen appliances.

Ricki Heller, author of the best-selling Naturally Sweet and Gluten-Free likes the Cuisinart 14-cup food processor in particular and says, “It’s a biggie, but it always gets the job done, from making nut butter ultra-smooth, to mixing tough grain-free bread dough, to mixing up my dogs’ raw veggies (I actually have two separate ones–one for us, one for the dogs!!).”

KitchenAid Mixer

Tiffany at Don’t Waste the Crumbs recommends getting a KitchenAid Stand Mixer. and she doesn’t mess around, offering 30 ways to USE a stand mixer so you’re not left wondering!! (Impressive!)

Griddle

Tiffany at Don’t Waste the Crumbs also uses her electric griddle often. She says to look for one with a removable cooking surface because it makes it much easier to clean. And personally, I still use my cast iron griddle multiple times a day. The only time it leaves our stovetop is when we’re making gluten-free flatbread or homemade pizza on it! I might have to chat with Tiffany about this… 😉 

15” Cast Iron Pan

Stephanie Langford of Ultimate Bundles says, “I love that it goes on the stovetop and oven, and I can put double and triple batch recipes in it.” This 15″ skillet is big enough to cook for a family.

It’s easier than you think it may be to season and care for cast iron cookware.

Le Creuset Enameled Cast Iron Braising Pan

Jennifer McGruther Nourished Kitchen names her Le Creuset braising pan as a staple in her kitchen.

8-Quart Crockpot Slow Cooker

Stephanie Langford of Ultimate Bundles says, “I like the simple manual knob instead of the digital touch screens because it’s more reliable, less likely to break.“

Back to Smaller Kitchen Toys for the Wish List (so Unique!) 

This is where I’m getting a lesson right along with you all. I’ve never ever heard of a lot of these fun kitchen gadgets, and yet some may sneak onto my own Christmas wish list this year. What fun to see what people who cook daily really USE daily and couldn’t do without! 

KitchenIQ Ginger Grater Tool

Tess also likes KitchenIQ’s ginger grater, which is unique among ginger grating tools.

If you don’t use fresh ginger very often, you should definitely learn about how good it is for you…and then buy some next time you’re perusing the produce section. Here’s a truckload of ginger recipes to use it in.

Dreamfarm Mini Supoon

The Blender Girl Tess loves this silicone jar scraping spoon because it gets every last morsel of food out of her blender container and nut butter out of jars.

Immersion Blender

Here’s how this tool can help make life easier for Jessica Fisher of Fish Mama (and I’m with her on this one – I may have grabbed a second one on Amazon Prime day in July as a Christmas gift for myself because mine is 14 years old!!!).

Meal Prep Boxes

Jessica of Fish Mama also uses meal prep boxes like these to portion out food and make grabbing packed lunches easy on the way out the door.

Here are some other great lunch packing tools and tricks.

Pizza Screens

I had to look this one up when Jessica’s email came in – what are pizza screens? I wondered. But they’re on Fish Mama’s list of favorite kitchen tools, and I’ve decided I need to get over to her family’s house for a weekly pizza night someday! (If only we weren’t many states apart…)

Mason Jars

Wardee Harmon at Traditional Cooking School couldn’t do without her glass canning jars. Be sure to grab plastic lids too, because for daily storage, the two-part lids are annoying. I have a whole shelf of jars in my kitchen too!!

Bread Machine

Crystal Paine of Money Saving Mom uses her bread machine to make homemade bread for her family. This brand is top of the line, and here are some other more affordable options if you’re just getting started making your own bread. (Check Craigslist and rummage sales too though – seems like bread makers are an unfortunate item that everyone thinks they’ll use and then nobody ever does – which is good for us to get them for $10!!!)

Milk Frother

Crystal of Money Saving Mom tells all about her experience with her milk frother on her blog. Less expensive than hitting a fancy coffee shop every day yet still get that “pamper yourself” fun in your morning coffee. Crystal has had a huge turnaround in her health in the past year or two, so even though she’s known for saving money, she’s also got good info on saving your health!

Breville Tea One-Touch Tea Maker

Jennifer McGruther of Nourished Kitchen writes about her experience with this particular tea maker on her blog.

KitchenIQ Citrus Zester

The Blender Girl Tess Masters likes this one because it catches the zest on the back. This pea pesto recipe is a delicious way to use that zest.

Cheesecloth

Wardee Harmon at Traditional Cooking School uses cheesecloth for all sorts of things in her Traditional Cooking School classes. Cheesecloth is really useful for straining the whey out of homemade yogurt.