I didn’t really develop an interest in cooking until college, and even then it was more of a casual interest. But once I was living on my own, cooking became my favorite hobby. Nothing helps me decompress after a long workday quite like chopping veggies and whipping up sauces and dressings. I stand by my belief that there should be a candle that smells like garlic cooking in olive oil and few things bring me more joy than trying out a new recipe from one of my favorite food bloggers. Over the past couple of years, I’ve even delved into creating recipes of my own, which means I’m spending even more time on my favorite hobby.
As my passion for cooking has grown, I’ve found myself using a few of my kitchen tools almost daily. Essential kitchen tools look different for every person, but today I’m sharing the list of my go-to kitchen tools that I couldn’t live without. I use most of these tools daily, so if you’re looking to start cooking more and don’t know where to start, use this list as a starting point and your kitchen will be ready for action in no time!
- Classic Chef’s Knife – If I could only use one kitchen tool for the rest of my life, it would be a good knife. I like to keep my knife collection pared down to the ones I actually use, which is about ten – and this one is by far my favorite. Nine times out of ten, I prefer to use a classic chef’s knife when cooking. I actually initially got this one as a gift for my dad, and I liked it so much when I used it at his house that I decided to pick one up for myself. It’s super lightweight but sturdy and it makes chopping vegetables a breeze.
- Stainless Steel Citrus Juicer – My dad got me this stainless steel citrus juicer for Christmas a few years ago and I don’t know how I ever lived without it. I’ve heard that your taste buds change every seven years, and that’s certainly true for me. For years I wasn’t a fan of lemon to the point where I’d leave it out if a recipe called for it, but a few years ago a switch flipped inside me and now I want lemon on everything. I use this juicer almost every single day and it still looks brand new. I love that it comes in two pieces, so it doesn’t take as much arm strength as a traditional juicer.
- Zester & Grater Tool – Darian and I are both self-proclaimed parmesan cheese addicts, which means I use our zester & grater tool multiple times a week. I’m a big fan of multi use tools, so I like that this can be used for both grating things like parmesan and zesting citrus. Since my aforementioned lemon renaissance, this tool has been a gamechanger zesting a lemon in thirty seconds flat, and it makes it easy to top every pasta dish with some freshly grated parmesan.
- Joseph Joseph 5 in 1 Utensil – In a weird way, I have the fact that my dad is notoriously hard to shop for to thank for the discovery of this tool. I stumbled upon it at Sur La Table probably about a decade ago when I was wandering around gift shopping for my dad. I thought it looked cool so I grabbed one, and it was an instant hit. It can be used as a spatula, a slotted spoon, a solid spoon, a turner, and a slicer all in one. Once I moved out on my own, it was the first item on my list of kitchen tools to buy, and it’s been a staple in my kitchen ever since.
- Stainless Steel Mixing Bowls – These mixing bowls get used every single day, whether it’s to mix olive oil and seasonings into my veggies, to put together a salad, to or corral chopped ingredients before they go in the pan. I love this particular set because each bowl comes with a lid, so they’re great for things like pasta salad so you don’t need to dirty an extra dish by transferring the contents to Tupperware. I’ve been using these daily for the last four years and they’re still in pristine condition!
- Magic Bullet Blender – I’ve always loved my magic bullet, but in the last year or so I became a person who makes my own salad dressing and sauces from scratch, and it’s been getting even more use ever since. Mine has been going strong for more than 5 years, and although I’m probably due for an upgrade soon, this one is an affordable option that will get a lot of use.
- Marble Salt Cellar – If you enjoy cooking, trust me when I say you need a salt cellar. I keep mine on a little stand right next to the stove along with olive oil, vinegar, and pepper, and I use it multiple times a day. It’s a gamechanger to have easy access to my favorite sea salt so I can season my food as I cook, and it’s big enough to easily fit a measuring spoon of any size. I love this one because it’s pretty but practical, and the marble ties in nicely with our counters.
- Dutch Oven – After years of lusting over Le Creuset dutch ovens but knowing I couldn’t justify the price, I finally decided I should just get a more affordable option, and I’m so glad I did. I would eat soup every day if I could, and now that I have one I can confirm that a dutch oven is an absolute necessity for soup lovers. This dutch oven is great quality and stands up well to constant use, minus one tragic soup recipe that has left some marks on the bottom.
- Glazed Mini Bowls – I picked up these affordable little bowls at least five years ago and I love them so much! They’re the perfect size for whipping up a quick aioli or sauce and they’re even microwave safe, so if you need to microwave one of your sauce ingredients you can use the bowl for that too. I use these so frequently that I actually picked up more cute little bowls on our recent trip to Portugal and I’ve already gotten tons of use out of those ones, too!
- Immersion Blender – An immersion blender is one of those tools that I didn’t know I needed until I had it. As mentioned above, I’m a big soup lover, and this makes blending up soups a breeze. It’s also great for things like getting the lumps out of mashed potatoes and can even be used to make dressings in a pinch. I love that this one comes with a cup you can use it in, but you can also use it directly in a dutch oven or soup pot.
