I’m a huge fan of keeping things simple in the kitchen. I buy basic kitchen tools and equipment that can serve multiple purposes, and leave the specialty gadgets behind. People have been making great food for thousands of years without tools dedicated to one task (hello, banana slicer, I’m looking at you!) or electronic gadgets that are supposed to make your life easier, but really just clog up your countertops and cabinets. So I’ve made this list of kitchen tools and equipment that will help you run an efficient, no-frills kitchen.
You don’t need to purchase all of these things before you begin making meals at home. Instead, think of this as a goal list of items that you plan to acquire over time. These are my go-to kitchen basics. These are the things that make my kitchen work.
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Pots & Pans
The most important quality to look for when purchasing pots and pans is the thickness or weight of the metal. If you buy pots and pans that are constructed out of thin metal, they will not cook food evenly, and you will have difficulty achieving good results with recipes. I have had two sets of pots and pans that have worked well for me, the Simply Calphalon Non-Stick set, and the OXO Tri-Ply Stainless Steel Pro set, as well as a few cast iron pieces. If buying pieces individually, I suggest the following sizes and types:
- 2-Quart Sauce Pot
- 6-Quart Stock Pot
- 8-Inch Skillet
- 10-Inch Skillet
- Deep Covered Sauté Pan – This is probably one of the most versatile pots or pans in the kitchen. It can be used as a skillet or a pot, and can often take the place of two different pieces.
- Cast Iron Skillet – Cast iron very affordable, lasts generations, and is perhaps the best at cooking food evenly, but it does take a little more effort and upkeep. You can’t just throw this one in the dishwasher, so consider this purchase carefully. Make sure it matches your lifestyle!
- Dutch Oven – This is another great multi-purpose kitchen piece. It can take the place of the 6 quart stock pot listed above, it can go from the stove top to the oven, and can act very much like a slow cooker by keeping moisture in, cooking with low radiant heat, and making your food extra succulent. They can be a bit pricier, but you will get a lot of use out of it!
Tip: I like to buy pieces with glass lids, when possible, so I can see what’s happening inside the pot without removing the lid and letting steam escape. I also try to get pieces that do not have plastic on the handle, so they can go from stove to oven, if needed.
Bakeware
- Glass or Ceramic Casserole Dishes (one large, one small) – These can be used not only for casseroles, but also for roasting a variety of meat or vegetables. Extremely versatile!
- Baking Sheets (set of three) – Again, one of the most versatile pieces in my kitchen. Just about anything that goes in the oven will have a baking sheet under it.
- Muffin Tin – Good for muffins, or other small portion dishes like breakfast egg cups, mini meat loaves, and more.
- 9-inch Pie Plate (glass or ceramic)
- Pizza Pans (for pizza-holics like me. I prefer perforated pizza pans for crispy crust)
Prep Tools & Kitchen Gadgets
- Mixing Bowls (glass or stainless steel)
- Cutting Boards (I also like to use cutting mats, like these, for a quick clean surface when chopping multiple items)
- Measuring Cups and Spoons – I prefer metal to plastic
- Liquid Measuring Cup (microwave safe, 2 cup volume)
- Spoons, Spatulas, Whisks (metal or wood, preferred)
- Instant Read Thermometer (save yourself from the perils of food poisoning!)
- Colander
- Chef’s Knife – This is the workhorse in your kitchen. Invest well, if you can. If you have larger hands you’ll want a 10″, if you have smaller hands an 8″ might be a better fit.
- Bread Knife
- Paring Knives (great for small jobs)
- Cheese Graters (One of the most used items in my kitchen, good for WAY more than just cheese! Make sure to get both fine and coarse graters)
- Can Opener
- Rolling Pin
Storage and Supplies
- Parchment paper
- Aluminium foil
- Cling wrap (plastic wrap)
- Mason Jars (super multi-purpose and they last a lifetime)
- Resealable storage containers
- Kitchen Towels – Basic “bar mop” kitchen towels (if you’ve ever worked in a commercial kitchen, you know how valuable these are)
Appliances
I don’t use many appliances, but these have gotten GOOD use in my kitchen!
- Slow cooker (Doesn’t need to be fancy, 5-7 quart is a good size)
- Food processor (The exact one I use is no longer in production, but this is the next generation of it.)
- Hand Mixer – For those times when you just don’t have the energy to whisk by hand
What are your “must-have” kitchen basics? Share your knowledge and experiences in the comments below!
When I had toddlers I had to survive a year n a half without a stove. Toaster ovens are great for heating n baking. Get pans that fit it. And use the top. It gets hot too. I would out covered sauce pans on top. While the casserole cooked, I got the veggies ready. The second thing was n electric skillet with deepish sides. Can use to roast, fry, heat soups etc. , bake. And using small glass pans cook several things at once. Variable heat meant I could even make it double as the base like a crock pot.
It’s a tad bit indulgent, but after I bought my garlic press I have NEVER looked back. Chopping garlic was one of my least favorite kitchen chores so it has been a good (and cheap!) investment. 😂
And as a tip for stocking your kitchen on the cheap, I’ve had a lot of luck finding casserole dishes at Goodwill, and sometimes even those “last-forever” pieces like cast iron or enamel coated cast iron.
You’re right! I was at Goodwill one day and a brand new Staub “pumpkin” 5-quart cast iron pot was on the shelf, with the original stickers still on it. I got it for $15, and I had seen it in high-end kitchen stores for $375. I also got a Lagostina 8″ chef’s knife for $3. It’s the sharpest knife I’ve used.
Where did you get your clear meal prep containers? I LOVE them! I’ve tried plastic ones, but they’ve always been super flimsy.
I’ve gotten them all from Amazon. :) Here is the link for the divided glass containers, the single compartment deep glass containers, and the shallow wide glass containers.
If you make homemade bread or pizza doughs and don’t have a stand mixer, I found Amazon sells a Danish dough whisk, it works great for big heavy doughs. Easy to clean too.
Thank you. I really like your blog. I use leftover rice in. A breakfast rice custard or pudding topped with wheat germ, crispy cereal, granola, or fruit.
Also, when my kids were younger & hungrier, I used 2 crockpots at a time, one for the meal & one for dessert. It is still my favorite fast simple tool.
Thanks again.
Baesz
My basics? Spices of all sorts, standing cooking racks, loaf pans.
COOLING RACKS, not COOKING racks!!
I really like you website and I have tried several of your recipes. I recently was gifted a cast iron skillet but I’m afraid to use it and mess it up. Do you have a video or know of a good tutorial explaining how to use and care for an iron skillet? I would greatly appreciate it.
Thanks!
Jacob
Unfortunately I don’t! My skillet came “pre-seasoned” so I haven’t done much to it. I just make sure to not use soap (when possible) and always rub it down with oil after it’s dry.
Before I started cooking with my cast iron skillets, I used Food52 to do a little research. They have some good video tutorials:
https://food52.com/blog/search?q=cast+iron+
Awesome, thanks for sharing that!
Jacob, try just typing “care for cast iron pans” into any search bar. There are also several videos available out there. Biggest thing to remember is to always make sure they are dry. Never soak in the water. or dishwasher. Store top down or hang, not on the bottom, as they collect moisture, and will rust in damp areas. And always keep oiled. And some of the lesser cost cast iron, is coated with something that chips off. Do be aware, look close at it.
Regarding can openers – this is my all-time favorite one: http://www.amazon.com/Good-Cook-Classic-Safe-Opener/dp/B000AX13US?ie=UTF8&colid=34PBLIULNP5SZ&coliid=I1I8G2C9OETOKQ&ref_=hit_wr_dt_vr_md_pt
This style of can opener makes it easy to just replace the lid on the can so that you don’t have mess with saran wrap, aluminum foil, or moving any leftover contents into a tupperware container.
This may seem way too minor to mention, but a batch (at least 3 or 4) of silicone scrapers/spatulas is an essential way to keep things on budget, in so many ways.
First, if you carefully measure your ingredients but then leave a large amount in the measuring cup, you may wonder why your recipe isn’t really matching the results you expected.
In a similar way, sometimes there is enough batter left in the bowl without a spatula’s help to make another couple of cookies or even an entire cupcake. Sometimes the amount you “rescue” with a spatula may seem small, but it still adds up, especially if you are working with more expensive ingredients.
And there is another more invisible saving from cleaning out bowls and pans fully: plumbing costs. If you are accustomed to just rinsing all that food down the drain (or worse, letting the dishwasher wash it away), don’t be surprised if you are faced with clogged drains and/or inefficient dishwashers. I have been cooking, a lot, for decades and have yet to have a clogged sink and my trusty dishwasher has not had any problems for almost 20 years.
So stock up on a few silicone scrapers, of different shapes and stiffness, and discover how much help they can be for the budget-minded cook.
What lid do you use for your cast iron skillet?
I actually rarely use it for recipes that require lids. If I needed to, though, I think I’d just test all my other lids to see if one was close enough to fit.
I use an old pizza pan as a lid for my largest cast iron skillet and found some odd covers at a thrift shop that work for my other sizes–I currently have FIVE different sizes of these wonderful skillets since I use them for all kinds of recipes. I would avoid buying any kind of cast iron cover, as with a cast iron Dutch oven I once owned. These add so much weight to the already heavy pans that they are unwieldy for most of us.
Beth, I love your cheese grater! What brand is it? Do you remember where you got it? I’m not a big fan of the box graters.
I don’t remember, unfortunately. :( I probably just picked it up at Target or the grocery store on a whim.
One thing I recommend if you’re just getting into stocking your kitchen is trying to find a restaurant supply store that’s open to the public. Nine times out of ten you will be able to find what you’re looking for at a fraction of the price or it’ll be durable enough that it’ll last you a lifetime. Granted they probably won’t be as nice to look at as some of the cookware in a store but by god they’ll last.
Same thing with disposables like plastic wrap, aluminum foil and parchment paper. I picked up a box of 1000 half sheet pan sheets for about $30 and i haven’t even gone through a 1/5 of them a year and a half later.
Awesome! I also keep generic plastic spray bottles around from the hardware store in case I need to make something like a bleach-water counter top cleaner when prepping poultry, as well as kitchen brushes that hold dish soap in their handles.
Instead of a wok, I used a 16 inch stainless steel pan. The idea of a wok is that you’re supposed to be push food off to the side, while you’re cooking other items. This huge pan works much better. I bought this new so it was rather expensive. Then I found out that I had to buy a lid separately. Still, I use this more than any other pan when I’m making a ‘throw everything together’ meal.
When you’re first buying supplies for your kitchen, the best place to get them is thrift stores. The basics, bowls, pots, pans, cutting board, even flat ware and good dinner dishes can be found for incredible prices at thrift stores.
I occasionally drive to a very expensive suburb who has a Salvation Army there. Their donations come from the people living in the area. I found beautiful dinnerware, slow cooker, toaster ovens for incredible prices.