From herb strippers that help you avoid tearing your herbs, to veggie spiralizers that guarantee perfectly bouncy zoodles, there are a plethora of helpful kitchen tools at our fingertips. Given the litany of options (and limited drawer space), it’s important to focus on those that give the most bang for the buck.
So, which do you actually need to stock in your kitchen? To answer that question, we’ve called in the professionals.
Cooking multiple times a day, these pros know their kitchens like the back of their hands, including what tools will be the culinary MVPs day after day.
Read on to see which kitchen tools our favorite foodies use on the daily in their kitchen.
image from lauren conrad’s home by justin coit for mydomaine.
Teighan from Half Baked Harvest
My favorite kitchen tool is my Staub cast iron skillet. Couldn’t live without my skillet.
I use it for EVERYTHING and honestly don’t know what I would do without my Staub skillets. I use them to cook pretty much everything. They are best for one pot style recipes, which make busy weeknights a breeze.
Nothing really compares to a Staub skillet. Their enamel coating means I don’t have to season the skillet to keep food from sticking to the bottom, they can go right from the stove-top to the oven, and then to the table for serving, and most importantly, the cast iron cooks food evenly while always allowing for the perfect sear on everything from vegetables to meats. And as if that wasn’t enough, they look insanely beautiful and elevated in any kitchen. Bonus? They’ll last more than a lifetime.
Jeanine from Love and Lemons
I can’t live without my microplane zester!
I use it for zesting all sorts of citrus fruits (especially lemons!) for pastas, dressings, baking recipes, and more! It also comes in handy when I need finely grated garlic or ginger for a sauce or curry, or when I want to finish a dish with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.
I love it because it’s easy to use and clean (I even put mine in the dishwasher!). Plus, whatever i’m grating comes out really fine – perfect for incorporating into whatever I’m cooking.
Maria from Two Peas and Their Pod
The obvious answer would be my KitchenAid Stand Mixers. As you can see, I have a rainbow of colors to choose from. I don’t buy a lot of shoes or expensive handbags, I have mixers. Yes, I do use them all. Cooking and baking is my job and we get out all of the mixers to teach cooking classes and to bake cookies with the neighborhood kids during the holidays.
I use it mostly for cookies! I am a cookie monster and bake cookies ALL of the time, we have over 200 cookie recipes on our blog and an entire cookie chapter in our upcoming cookbook…maybe it’s an obsession.
The KitchenAid Stand Mixer is a dream machine, it makes whipping up a batch of cookies so easy…we also use it for cinnamon rolls, pizza dough, energy balls, shredding chicken, and much more! Plus, I love all of the different colors. They make me happy!
Alex from The Defined Dish
I have to say, I just bought an Air Fryer during Amazon Prime Day and it’s pretty fantastic (I have the Ninja). I hesitated to buy it because I didn’t want another gadget, but I am all for it now.
I use it for frying all types of things! The top of the unit holds a heating mechanism and a fan. Hot air rushes down and around the food placed in a fryer-style basket. This rapid circulation makes the food crisp, much like deep frying but with only a fraction of the amount of oil, so it’s a lot healthier too! I love frying up sweet potato fries (it only takes 8 minutes) or chicken nuggets for my littles (well, and me too).
I love it because: HEALTHIER FRIED FOOD. I mean…there’s not much more to say than that!
Daphne Oz
My favorite gadget would be a cherry pitter. My two youngest are total fruit bats, so we head to the farmers’ market weekly to load up on bushels of fresh fruit and cherries, in particular, are their favorites! When I tell you they could eat 100 in a sitting – each! -, it’s no exaggeration.
I don’t trust them with the tiny pits, and using the pitter makes it infinitely faster than carving with a knife. It’s also great for olives, another favorite in our household. It saves me tons of time and stress. And if you happen to be in the mood to make a fresh cherry pie, it’s essential!
Lindsay Maitland Hunt
My favorite gadget is the Chef’n Fresh Force Citrus Juicer. I use it for all types of citrus – lemons, limes, tangerines, you name it. I’ll even cut a grapefruit into wedges to juice them.
It gets so much juice out of every lemon and lime that it inverts each half until there’s just a dry shell remaining. It’s more expensive than your everyday juicer, but you’ll never let a lemon go to waste. Basically, it pays for itself in all the extra juice!
What is your go-to kitchen tool that you can’t live without? Tell us in the comments!
