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.
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!
I would definitely recommend an Instant Pot or a pressure cooker. They are a life saver when in a hurry and time is of the essence. I will never boil another egg, it is soo easy and fast to make hard cooked eggs, and shells don’t ever crack! Electric pressure cookers are a God send, don’t know how I lived without one for so long!!
I would add a good pair of kitchen scissors to the prep tools list. Also a quality vegetable peeler for those of us not practiced in the art of peeling with a knife.
Yes! Scissors are essential and so is a vegetable peeler. Just a plain simple one they stay sharp longer.
I’m convinced. At 78, I need to learn how to cook and eat, having not done so during my workaholic days. Great site and I will spend a lot of time with you
Hi Beth, what is the white baking pan with the black rim you use?
Hi Charlotte! Thanks for asking, I need to add that to this page! You can find all the white enamelware that I use linked on my shop page. :)
What is the brand of your cooktop you use in your videos? Do you recommend it? I’m looking for one.
Unfortunately, I don’t recall the brand (I don’t have it at home with me right now), but it was just something cheap that I got off Amazon. I wouldn’t recommend it anyway. It’s pretty terrible. Haha! I just ordered a new one this week, so we’ll see how that does…
Having married into an Asian-American family forty-odd years ago, I find that a rice cooker is one of my “must haves”. Just add rice and water, push the button and forget it. Rice is done perfectly and stays warm while I’m preparing the rest of the meal.
I love you list! but I have somethings to add. I love my stand mixer, because I can use it for so many things, and I can do other things while it’s going, unlike with beaters. We have both a food processor and a blender, but I use my blender so much more, I don’t think I’d buy both, in the future. I use my pressure cooker to save on time and as a regular stock pot.
Also, some other tools I find very useful: a citrus juicer, pastry blender, cookie scoop (for cookies to meatballs to twiced-baked-potatoes), metal tongs, and a shifter/sieve.
What is the white baking pan you use in the title graphic of this article? I see you use it in other recipes as well. Would you recommend these over the standard metal baking sheets? Thank you!
It’s from Rove + Swig!
If you’re looking for me I’ll be over here in the corner with Beth Moncel and Alton Brown. I may be the one furthest in the corner. *grin* For me there is a clear distinction between a tool and a gadget.
Mac & cheese in the plan and no grater to hand? Hand me that knife and get out of the way.
I’m not a luddite. I consider my iPad streaming Netflix an important kitchen tool. I just don’t want to spend a lot of money on things that make clutter, take extra cleaning, and aren’t really better than investing that time and money on skills.
Herewith my thoughts on Beth’s excellent article.
Pots & Pans
Cooking for one or two I would have a 1, 2, and 3 or 4 qt pot. Cooking for four regularly I’d get one bigger as well. I’m a huge fan of big skillets, even when cooking for small numbers. Our two most used are 12″ and 16″ skillets. If you’re making an 8×8 of mac & cheese you’ll be glad of the space from a 12″+ skillet.
Big pressure cookers are also good as big stock pots. We have a 5l pressure cooker and a 16qt pressure canner. Those are our stock pots.
Bakeware
I’d add sized-to-fit cooling racks to the baking sheets. You won’t be sorry. Keep parchment paper in stock.
Prep Tools
I don’t often disagree with Beth. I like a really big hardwood cutting board. Really big. My main one is 2’x3′. Mise en place becomes piles on the board instead of lots of little bowls to be cleaned.
The only thing I use a paring knife for is making tomato roses. I even make olive bunnies with a chef’s knife. Missing from the list is a peeler. If I didn’t have a peeler I’d use a paring knife more often.
Add a microplane under the cheese grater category and a mandoline to the knife category.
For can openers the newer side-cutters are wonderful.
I have a couple of rolling pins but when pressed (throwing together momos in someone else’s kitchen) an empty wine bottle will do. Hint: box-o-wine is not your friend here.
Storage
Mason/Ball jars are indeed wonderful. You have to keep buying them because you give food to others as gifts and they don’t give the jars back.
Appliances
Manual slow cookers are the best. IP is a cult. Step away from the Kool-Aid.
We have a hand mixer. I don’t remember when we last used it. I’m not sure where it is. We have a stand mixer we use a handful of times each year. Glad we have it. Not sure I’d buy one.
Missing from the list is a stick blender. It may be why we don’t use our hand mixer often. Often used instead of a food processor. Fast, easy, and a doddle to clean.
Missing from the lists: a knife hone, a tri-stone, a vacuum sealer.
Hard to beat the social magnet of an outdoor grill. If you have electric cooking a butane catering burner will prevent eating cold beans from a can during power outages.
The knife sharpener is key! I used to get out the food processor and chopper for everything until recently, when I read this old BB post: https://www.budgetbytes.com/how-to-slice-dice-and-mince I never considered blunt knives. I just thought my knife skills sucked 🤦🏾♀️ . It’s been life changing.
My husband bought a strawberry huller. Seriously, dude? It doesn’t get a lot of everyday use but I’m here to tell you when it’s strawberry season it’s my favorite thing in the drawer. Second only to my tiny whisk, recommended by some TV chef. And if you bake, you definitely need a stand mixer.
What do you think about the Instant Pot? All the rage, as you must know, and I’m wondering if I can use that and get rid of a slow cooker and a rice cooker.
After using an Instant Pot for a little while, I think my final thoughts are that it’s a luxury piece of equipment. It does a few things well, but I wouldn’t recommend using it for all of your cooking. The few things that it can do well you can also do with a slow cooker or rice cooker, but at a fraction of the price. So unless you’re willing to pay the high price tag to make those few tasks faster (cooking beans from dry, or “slow cooking” meat), I don’t think there’s much of an advantage to it. I think the stove top does a better job in about the same amount of time for most other types of recipes (because you always have to account for the time it takes for the IP to come up to pressure and then release again).
I love mine for making my own chicken stock and yogurt. I bought it when my slow cooker broke and I don’t regret it. It also has an actual low setting in slow cooker mode. My old slow cooker burned things on the low setting all the time.
What are the white baking pans with the black rim in the photo on this page? I’ve seen you make some of your sheet pan meals on these pans, and I love the look of them!
Hi Erica! Beth uses Rove and Swig enamelware
1. High speed blender (for smoothies, soups, and dressings)
1a. Immersion blender for when I’m too lazy to use the blender for soups
2. Instant pot. I have three pressure cookers, but this one gets the most use. We both work full time and we’ve got 2 kids at 2 different schools.
I am concerned about using the soft plastics that are contaminating our planet. I am not even sure if it is only the soft kind. I am moving towards more foil products and glass for storage and also paper bags (lunch bags) . It can be done. Starting somewhere to help clean up our planet is something that should be on everyone’s list.
Hola Beth: I’m learning to be a minimalist in the kitchen and I’ve been going through my kitchen drawers and 8′ tall pantry. I’ve taken all non-micro and -non-dishwasher safe bowls, plates, etc. out and now I can see just how much more useful (and safe for m/w and d/w) I have, so I’m using those items more often. Cuidate, CL
That’s fantastic! Great work!