The 25 Kitchen Products Every Home Cook Needs

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Our list of tested tools includes a trusty cutting board, essential kitchen appliances, and durable knife sets.

Food & Wine / Russell Kilgore

Cooking is an art, and like most arts, it requires particular tools. If you’re reading this, chances are you have already, wisely, started to invest in kitchenware, from the essentials for beginners to some high-end kitchen items. A well-curated kitchen prepares you to cook all of the best recipes, whatever your skill level. Tools like balanced knives, sturdy cutting boards, cast iron cookware, and fast-working food processors rank among our must-haves, while the brands we recommend have come out ahead in multiple rounds of testing. We’ve rounded up the kitchen items every home cook needs, so you can cross-check our list with your kitchen and build your inventory as needed.

One of the most important pieces of equipment for a home cook, a good chef’s knife makes chopping, slicing, and dicing more efficient. We put this chef’s knife by Mac Knife through three rounds of testing and were impressed with its versatility, comfort, and overall performance. It made quick work of chicken, sweet potato, onion, and garlic, though it struggled a little with cleanly slicing through tomato skin and herbs (nothing sharpening with a honing steel can’t remedy).

This Japanese-made knife features an 8-inch, alloy steel blade with a Pakkawood handle, which feels great in the hand and provides a comfortable, secure grip even with wet hands. Weighing just 6.75 ounces, it’s lightweight and easy to maneuver, though you may find you need to use more pressure to cut through winter squash and other tough items.

When it comes to cutting out potato eyes or deveining shrimp, a big chef’s knife can feel too unwieldy. Enter the paring knife — a small but mighty kitchen essential, it’s excellent for more detailed work. This one’s 3.5-inch stainless steel stamped blade has been ice-tempered so it doesn’t rust, and it features Global’s signature molded handle that is surprisingly grippy thanks to its dimpled pattern. It’s very lightweight at just over 4 ounces. We tested it over a few weeks and found it to be razor sharp right out of the box, requiring very little effort for cutting. It even sliced through the skin of a tomato effortlessly. Because of its seamless construction, it’s very easy to keep clean and wash by hand.

If you jumped on the sourdough baking craze of 2020, you already know how useful a bread knife is for cutting through a well-baked crust without crushing the soft interior. But a serrated blade has more uses in the kitchen, including dealing with softer foods, like cakes and hardboiled eggs. This large knife from Zwilling features a unique combination of scalloped and pointed teeth that cleanly sliced through baguettes and tomatoes during our tests.

It has a 9-inch stainless steel blade that has been ice-hardened so it’s resistant to corrosion, and a plastic and metal handle that is easy to grip — a bonus when having to hold on tight while sawing through the tough skin of a kabocha squash or an extra crusty loaf of bread. Though this knife falls on the pricier end of the spectrum, Zwilling’s reputation for long-lasting, quality blades makes us feel good about the investment.

Once you’ve invested in good knives, a well-made cutting board is crucial to the care and maintenance of your blades. The John Boos Block is a favorite of professional chefs and home cooks alike. This one is made from end-grain maple, which is gentler on knife edges than less-pricey side-grain versions. It’s hefty, weighing 10 pounds, but it won’t budge when you’re using it — especially if you employ the restaurant kitchen trick of placing a damp towel under it for more grip). The large surface area gives you lots of room to chop, slice, mince, and chiffonade.

While its size and weight make it a bit cumbersome to clean, it’s worth the trouble to hand-wash and oil it (you just want to avoid the common cutting board mistakes). And if you don’t have enough room to store it, you can show it off on your kitchen counter.

Food & Wine / Joy Kim

The iconic KitchenAid mixer has been a fixture in many home kitchens since 1937, and for good reason. Whether you’re a new or seasoned baker, this stand mixer is an incredible assistant that can do the heavy lifting of whipping egg whites, homogenizing batter, and kneading bread dough. This version features a tilt head for easy placement and removal of the twist-to-lock bowl, and an easy-to-use 10-speed control. It also comes in many finishes so you can coordinate and contrast it with your kitchen decor.

We found this mixer to work slower than some others we tested, but it outperformed them overall. Its included attachments and bowl are dishwasher-safe, making it easy to clean. And if it wasn’t already extremely versatile, KitchenAid’s best attachments can turn your baking buddy into a pasta maker, meat grinder, and more.

If you don’t have the space or budget for a stand mixer, a hand mixer is the next best thing to save your arms from the rigors of beating batter, whipping cream, and more. This Breville model is a nice upgrade from a traditional hand mixer with its powerful, nine-speed motor, and thoughtful features, like a digital display and light to see into the bowl. It also automatically recalibrates to optimize the attachment you’re using.

The ergonomic grip makes it easy to handle, and we love the silicone coating on the beaters, which helps to protect your favorite mixing bowl while also drastically reducing the clang of metal on metal (or glass). Also included are two scraper beaters, two balloon whisks, and two dough hooks, which you can tidily store in a handy detachable storage compartment.

Food processors make shredding, chopping, and slicing quick and easy, and this one from Cuisinart remains our top pick after multiple rounds of testing in our lab and regular use at home. It takes just a push of a button to create homemade salsa roja or chimichurri, and you can finely mince a large amount of onions without having to shed a tear. It has a 720-watt motor that helps power through purees, shredding cheese, and even handling tricky emulsifications, like mayonnaise and other dressings. It comes with shredding and slicing blades (not adjustable, but we can live with that), and the setup and controls are pretty straightforward, which we appreciate. And the blades, bowl, and lid are all dishwasher-safe so cleanup is a breeze.

From the creators of the Instant Pot, the Vortex aced our air fryer tests and is perfect for anyone who wants speed and efficiency. While air fryers are our go-to appliance for crispy French fries and quick chicken wings, we have cooked so much more in them. Its large, square-shaped basket held big batches of coconut shrimp and Brussels sprouts in our tests, and it cooked salmon fillets and pork tenderloin evenly and efficiently. Our results were consistently good. We found the controls easy to understand and use, and its nonstick interior took minimal time to clean. Plus, the coating hasn’t lost its nonstick properties after long-term use.

Getting every last drop out of a lemon or lime is a chore, especially if you’re squeezing larger quantities to make limeade or lemon curd. Give your hands a break with this manual juicer from OXO. Its extra long, easy-to-grip handles give a lot of leverage and the basket easily catches seeds and pulp. The enamel coating adds a pop of color to your kitchen, but it also keeps the juicer from corroding and makes it easy to clean; it’s dishwasher-safe, to boot. While you won’t be able to use it with larger citrus, like an orange or grapefruit, it’s handy for squeezing fresh lemon juice over fish or several limes for your favorite margarita recipe, while giving your fingers a break.

If you had to pick one frying pan to do almost anything, you’d be set with a cast iron skillet. This perennial favorite from Lodge has a classic skillet shape, a nearly indestructible body, and excellent heat retention and distribution. It works on any cooking surface, including induction cooktops, and its high heat capacity allows for a solid sear on steak and charring on vegetables — something nonstick skillets just can’t do. This pan also arrives seasoned, so it resists sticking out of the box. It cooked eggs and turned out skillet cornbread with an easy release. We’ve tested this pan multiple times, and each time, it has come out on top. Its performance and accessible price point make it our benchmark for cast iron greatness.

While you can cook almost everything in a cast iron or stainless steel skillet, sometimes you need a nonstick pan. Stickier foods like pancakes, crepes, and of course, eggs, benefit from a nonstick surface since you don’t need to use a ton of oil to get your food to release. Cheaper nonstick pans can warp or chip, but Made In built this one to last. It has the same five-ply construction as the brand’s stainless-clad pieces, with two layers of FDA-approved nonstick coating. It’s also suitable for all cooktops (including induction) and oven-safe up to 500°F. We liked how durable this pan was in our tests, and how easily eggs and fish could slip out after cooking. We tested the 10-inch pan and found the cooking area small for some tasks, but it also comes in a 12-inch version if you need a wider cooking surface.

We can debate if Staub or Le Creuset does it better, but there’s no question that a Dutch oven is one of the best multitaskers in the kitchen. Staub’s classic cocotte has a home with a few of our editors and in professional kitchens around the world. Compatible with all stovetops, including induction, this cooker can sear, braise, simmer, and bake; it’s heat-safe to 900°F without its lid. It excelled in our tests with durability to justify its higher price. It dark interior camoflauges staining or discoloration that may happen over time, keeping this piece looking almost new even after years of use. We love the architectural silhouette, glossy exterior, and selection of rich hues, which let this Dutch oven stand out on the stove and at the table as a serving vessel.

For a combination of high performance and low maintenance, there isn’t a better choice for cookware than stainless steel. All-Clad has earned its reputation for well-made cookware, and this set has the essential pots and pans you need to get cooking. Made with tri-ply stainless steel, these six pieces (plus four lids) resist staining and corrosion. They have enough heft to stay put on the stove, yet are light enough to maneuver easily. The heat-conducting aluminum core ensures quick and even heating — so quick that we scorched and stained a pan during testing. With that said, our blunder didn’t affect the pan’s performance, and we confidently recommend this All-Clad set as an investment that will last.

We love a full-size blender, but an immersion blender can do a few things your countertop version can’t, like pureeing potato-leek soup while the pot is still on the stove or emulsifiying dressing in a ready-to-store container. This All-Clad model boasts a powerful 600-watt motor that beat out the competition in our tests, turning out homemade mayonnaise with just four pulses and three seconds of blending, blending soup to a silky consistency, and creating evenly crushed ice (no snow cone machine, no problem). Its stainless steel body is highly durable and easy to clean.

There are many excellent drip coffee makers on the market, but the Technivorm Moccamaster has impressed us over multiple rounds of testing. It’s a splurge, but anyone who is serious about coffee will appreciate the quality of its brews, which have the kind of aromatic nuance and flavor expression you’d expect from a pour-over coffee maker. This 10-cup machine is easy to set up, and though you can’t program it to auto-start, it brews an entire pot in just four to six minutes, so you won’t have to wait long for your morning cup. It comes in a wide selection of colors and looks stylish on the kitchen counter.

Using a coffee grinder can immediately upgrade your morning brew — the flavors and aromas that come from fresh grounds are unmatched. In our tests, the Breville Smart Grinder gave us consistent, precise grounds, which resulted in great coffee every time. This model offers a whopping 60 settings for every brew method, from a super fine espresso grind to a coarser grind for a French press. It also keeps messes at bay thanks to its airtight grinds container, and includes a cleaning brush. The hopper holds more than a pound of beans and the LCD screen and intuitive settings make this super easy to use, even if you’re not a coffee geek. You’ll never go back to pre-ground coffee again.

Yes, you could boil water on the stove for tea or instant ramen, but an electric kettle is noticeably faster and can give you precise temperature control. We love the Fellow Stagg EKG for this. Its gooseneck design allows you to direct water flow for perfect pour-overs, and it even has a built-in “brew stopwatch” so you can time your extraction to the second. It can be set between 135° and 212°F on its LCD control panel (you can toggle between Fahrenheit and Celsius), and it has an automatic shut-off after 60 minutes. “This is the one appliance I have on my countertop at all times because I use it basically all day, every day, and because it looks great,” favorite appliances to keep on the countertop

Making fluffy steamed rice on the stovetop is fine, but can end up disastrous if you aren’t carefully monitoring your cooking. From one of the best Japanese kitchen brands, this Zojirushi rice cooker can take away that panic about getting your rice right and frees up a burner on the stove. It has an extensive range of preset programs: white or sushi, jasmine, quick, mixed porridge, sweet, brown, and steam, and it uses induction heating for fast and precise heating. This large cooker makes 5.5 cups of rice at a time, so it’s great for feeding a family, and the keep warm feature lets rice stay ready without drying out. While this model is indeed spendy, its performance and longevity make it a worthy splurge for anyone who eats rice regularly.

Few kitchen utensils are as versatile as silicone spatulas for folding and stirring batter, scraping bowls, or cooking over the stove. This set from U-Taste has four versions: a jar spatula, a spoon spatula, and two standard spatulas (a large 11-inch size and a mini 9-inch size). Made from BPA-free silicone, these are heat safe up to 600°F so you can use them to stir-fry and sauté, scrape the last bit of gravy from a stainless steel saucepan, or gently lift and roll omelets in a nonstick pan without scratching. We put them to the test and found them to be truly heat-safe, with no warping or damage. While you may need a slightly stiffer spatula for scraping extra-thick batters or dough, this set wins our vote for everyday use.

Food & Wine / Tamara Staples

Whether shredding mozzarella for homemade pizza or carrots for salad, a good box grater will make your kitchen more efficient. This Cuisipro version offers four grating surfaces: coarse, ultra-coarse, fine, and slicer, plus a removable base with an integrated ginger grater. In our tests, its razor-like teeth easily shaved hard Parmesan cheese and soft cheddar cheese alike, creating even, separate shreds. Though it isn’t dishwasher-safe, we had no trouble cleaning it by hand; the silicone base also helps keep food particles from getting trapped.

When you’re roasting pork loin in the oven or caramelizing sugar on the stove, you need to know when to turn off the heat — you need an instant-read thermometer. The Thermapen ONE from ThermoWorks has come out on top after several rounds of testing and remains our go-to for its accuracy, lightning-fast responsiveness, and compact size. It’s a favorite tool of pitmasters and chefs, too. It turns on when you unfold the probe and will go back to sleep once you fold it up again, preserving its battery life. The large, backlit LCD is easy to read, and the orientation of the display will change depending on the angle you’re holding the thermometer, so you don’t have to turn your neck to see the reading. While it is one of the pricier instant-read thermometers, it’s precise and long-lasting: I have three, and my oldest one is over a decade old.

Our favorite cookie sheet after testing more than a dozen, this USA Pan was the only one with a silicone nonstick coating (no baking mat required). Unlike some other cookie sheets, it has a slightly raised rim around the edge so it can double as a baking sheet for roasting vegetables or sheet pan dinners. In our tests, we found the ribbed bottoms of the pan helped to distribute heat, facilitated airflow, and allowed excess fat or liquid to drain. It easily released bits of food from its surface, and it was incredibly easy to clean. Its performance and price for a set of two make it a kitchen must-have.

For some, a good roasting pan only comes out around Thanksgiving for the annual turkey dinner. But cooks in the know reach for one far more often for roasting chicken, reheating a spiral ham, and more. Made of thick stainless steel, this roaster from Cooks Standard has a sturdy roasting rack to let air circulate under whatever you’re cooking for an even temperature while allowing juices to drip away, encouraging a crispier, golden exterior. It also held temperature well during our tests, turning out beautifully browned potatoes. Since this roaster is modestly sized, it's ideal for smaller cuts of meat and is easier to store, but it’s not so small that you can’t easily maneuver it while wearing your go-to oven mitts. We like that it’s safe to use on the stovetop for making pan gravy (though it’s not compatible with induction). It’s dishwasher-safe but easy enough to wash by hand.

There’s much more to this Great Jones ceramic casserole dish than good looks. The Hot Dish has large, easy-to-grip loop handles for secure transport to and from the oven, even with oven mitts. This baker is also slightly deeper than your typical 9-by-13-inch pan, leaving space for an extra lasagna layer or a taller tiramisu. We tested this by baking lasagna and were pleased with the crispy edges and well-baked (but not overcooked) center. It’s oven-safe up to 500°F and can also go into the freezer and microwave; Great Jones also sells it as a bundle with a lid for storing or bringing to your next potluck. Available in four colors, this gorgeous, retro-inspired dish will last for ages, provided you’re careful not to scratch it with metal tools or knock it against a hard surface.

This 18-piece set of food storage containers from Glasslock ranks among our favorites for being air- and water-tight, durable, and versatile for use in the fridge, freezer, microwave, and oven (up to 446°F). The set includes nine glass containers and their BPA-free plastic lids, ranging in size from a 0.7-cup round to a 6.3-cup rectangle. In our tests, the tight seal of the lids helped keep a cut avocado from browning and lettuce leaves from wilting even after a couple of days, demonstrating how well they protect contents from oxidation and freezer burn. They resist odors and stains well and are dishwasher-safe for easy cleaning. Just remove the gaskets every once in a while to deep-clean them.

Bernadette Machard de Gramont is an LA-based freelance writer specializing in food, wine, cookware, and other kitchen and home products. After a two-year stint at Williams Sonoma headquarters in San Francisco, she now researches and tests a variety of cookware, bakeware, and wine tools, and interviews field experts for their insight. She personally owns a number of items on this list, including the Staub 5.5-quart Cocotte, Great Jones Hot Dish, ThermoWorks Thermapen ONE, Glasslock oven-safe containers, and pieces from the All-Clad Bonded Cookware Set.