A master list of my most-used, tried and true kitchen essentials: from pots and pans to knives, appliances, and must-have tools, this is a comprehensive list of products I use on a regular basis.
I thought it would be useful to create a well-loved kitchen essentials list!
With a focus on minimalism (a cluttered kitchen is my worst nightmare!), these are my favorite cooking tools that I use nearly everyday.
There is a wide range of prices included in this list
From gadgets that you can find on sale to appliances, like a Vitamix, that are quite pricey. I’d rather have something that I love like a Vitamix last me 10 years (it has!) than a dozen cheaper ones turnover in that time.
These are the things I use EVERY DAY.
We obviously have more items in our kitchen than listed below, but these are my essentials.
As you know I’m all about a tidy home, I definitely find myself drawn to appliances and cookware that can multi-task. Rather then having a cupboard (or three!) exploding with miscellaneous pans specific for one purpose, I’m all about products that can do it all – like the Always Pan.
Let’s dive into the cabinets… here are the KERF kitchen essentials!
My Kitchen Essentials List:
Pots and Pans
Our Place The Always Pan – this is my newest pan and I am obsessed! The inside is lined with a nontoxic ceramic coating, and you can do anything inside: braise, sear, steam, strain, saute, fry, boil, serve. It comes with a handy steamer basket too. Note this pan was gifted to me.
All-Clad 12″ Skillet – this has been our go-to, everyday main cooking skillet for a long time, but the Always Pan is taking the top spot these days! The All Clad skillet is large, wide and heavy so I use it for cooking big dishes – like 4 big pieces of salmon or chicken.
Calphalon 3.5-Quart Pot – this saucepan is the perfect size – not to big, not too small. I use it for oatmeal, spaghetti sauce, and small dishes (like cranberry sauce).
Le Crueset 12” Skillet – this large, flat skillet is great for pancakes and quesadillas (which I make everyday!) because it has low flat sides.
Calphalon 8 quart Stock Pot – my go-to for large soups, sauteing a ton of kale, or boiling pasta.
Kitchen Tools
Salad Spinner – of course you could wash and dry kale by hand, but why would you!? A salad spinner is a must have.
OXO Garlic Press – mince 3 cloves at once. Love this thing.
OXO Peeler – I’ve used some rickety peelers in my time, but this one is strong and smooth. I prefer a Y peeler myself.
Spoonulas – great for scraping sides and scooping all in one.
Wooden Spoons – we have a variety of wooden and silicone utensils
OXO Microplane – ideal for grating garlic for dressings, zesting lemon, grating nutmeg, and squeezing lemon juice to catch the seeds
Box Grater – go-to for cheese
OXO Pizza Cutter – we use this daily for quesadillas and weekly for homemade pizza night
OXO Rubber Bottom Mixing Bowls – these are my favorites because you can rough them up and they won’t break. I love that there are just three sizes: small, medium, and large. I use these every day for salad making to pancake batter.
Medium Colander – I like a small one for washing berries
Large Metal Colander – and a big one for pasta or potatoes (bonus if they stack for storage!)
Glass Stacking Bowls – I use these as meal prep bowls and love the variety of sizes. Small bowls for a sauce and big ones for chopped veggies to keep the cutting board clear. These also make a great Hugh Jass salad eating bowl!
Appliances
Vitamix – mine was gifted to me by Vitamix in 2009 and is still looking as new as it did the day it arrived. If it were to break I would 100% replace it.
Cuisinart Coffee Maker – I love this coffeemaker because it doesn’t have a glass carafe! You press a button to dispense the coffee. (I have shattered one too many carafes!)
Breville Electric Kettle – we use this daily in the winter for tea! It’s really fast compared to the stovetop or microwave.
Rice Cooker – I love any appliance you can set and forget, and we make nearly all of our grains in this one, from quinoa to oatmeal.
Breville Toaster Oven – we use this daily for toast or baking small things like an individual pizza for Mazen. I’ll never go back to a pop-up toaster because you can do so many things in this kind!
Breville Microwave – I love our microwave because it has a turn wheel to add time – so much faster than pushing buttons!
Slow Cooker – while I do not use my slow cooker daily, it’s on the list because there is nothing like it. When I do use it, I love it!!
Baking
Sheet Pans – we have both small and large ones for different needs.
Small and Large Casserole Dishes – multi-use for both prep work and baking.
Pizza Stone – we love our stone for pizza making, so if you’re a pizza-loving family, this is a must-have.
Knives
We have several other knives, but these are my favorites.
Shun Ultimate Serrated Utility Knife – this is my favorite knife in our kitchen. The serration is great for cutting small fruits and veggies, like red peppers and pears, and it small size is great for my hand.
Shun Classic Chef’s Knife – but of course you gotta have a classic chef’s knife for all the big things! And the chopping.
Wusthof Bread Knife – this bad boy is SUPER sharp and great for crusty bread or watermelon.
Kitchen Shears – gotta have these for opening things and snipping herbs
Wood Cutting Boards – ours were handmade by Thomas’s brother!
Storage
Mesh Utensil Dividers – for all your home neat home needs! I like the metal ones because they look nicer than plastic and don’t break or splinter like wood.
Glass Tupperware Containers – we use these all day, everyday for our leftovers.
Lazy Susans – a must have for an organized!
Honorable Mention
These are additional items we have that don’t make the “essentials list” because we don’t use them as often:
- Air Fryer
- Milk Frother aka hot chocolate maker
- Nespresso
- Waffle Maker
- Instant Pot – I wish I loved it more
- Wok
- Kitchen Aid Mixer
The Clickable Gallery
Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog says
Great list! I should start taking cooking/my kitchen seriously, haha! 🙂
Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog
http://charmainenyw.com
Sheryl says
I enjoyed this post because I too, am an OXO fan. One thing I own, use frequently, and highly recommend, is the OXO Good Grips 9-Piece Nesting Bowl & Colander Set. I love the three sizes of colanders that each next inside a matching sized bowl that allows water to drain from the colander into the bowl while sitting on the counter, instead of a colander draining over the sink. The bowls come with matching lids for storage. The set is available at Crate & Barrel and Amazon. I also have a huge supply of OXO glass storage containers which I love and use daily; however, I don’t understand why you refer to them as, “Glass Tupperware Containers”. I believe Tupperware is a brand name that should be used only for its products and I like to give credit where it belongs – to OXO.
Kath Younger says
I have a OXO salad spinner that seems similar, but I don’t think I’ve seen the super awesome colander nesting set you’re describing!
And LOL you are right about the Tupperware wording 🙂 I think I just hate saying “food storage containers.”
Kath Younger says
Assuming this is the set? Love it – especially the color!
Sheryl says
Yes, that’s it, The set I own, which is at least four years old, is multi-color – the large is red, the medium is orange, and the small is yellow. The bright colors are handy to determine the size quickly but I also love the calming colors that are currently available.
Another favorite of mine is the OXO Good Grips GreenSavers. I especially like the long one for leaves of romaine and the square ones for shredded carrots and red cabbage. My family eats more salad when the produce is clean and ready to use. I can’t imagine how much money I have saved by not wasting produce due to these containers.
I promise I don’t work for OXO!
Kristy says
I love your dress! So cute!
Julie says
We use our kitchen shears to cut pizza and quesadillas – try it!! So easy.
Rebecca says
Long time reader with some honest feedback! I don’t expect or want perfection from my blogs just authenticity! However today’s post is literally hard for me to read because of the number of typos and other errors. “these these are my essentials” cranbrerry crueset “ a like a small one for washing berries” “a must have for an organized!” “it small size is perfect” that’s just some of them. I mean you must have spent so much time curating this post, pulling photos, styling everything, but then it seems like this is a rough draft with no proofreading. Again no one is perfect least of all me but I know you don’t want to look sloppy.
And a question, if you could only have one would you choose the toaster oven or the microwave? My forever debate with my wife lol!
Kath Younger says
I’m sorry Rebecca. Sometimes I am working with children running in circles around me or am rushing to wrap something up before I have to go pick Birch up from school. I stopped paying for an editor years ago because typos still got through. It is what it is and I’d appreciate some grace. I did correct the ones you pointed out.
And I’d go with a microwave because you can always use your big oven as a toaster oven but you can’t heat food FAST in either.
Jen says
Totally with you on the Instant Pot – so big and I just do not love it or use it much!
Kath Younger says
I wish I had gotten the slightly smaller one I think
Beth says
Can you use the rice cooker for the items use you the instapot most for? If you had to chose one to cook rice and grains in, would you still recommend the rice cooker at a higher price point? Or go with the instapot and it works just as well for those particular foods?
Kath Younger says
You can make some non-rice/grain foods in the rice cooker but it’s on the smaller side so I don’t think you could do a large soup for example. However, what I like about it most is that it IS small so it’s really easy to get in and out of the cabinet. And the non-stick bowl is awesome too!
Meg @ MegGoesNomNom says
Great list, many of these items resonated with me! I agree that I wish I loved our Instant Pot more – I just can’t get into it. Highly prefer my slow cooker for so many things!
Kath Younger says
Same!
Pat says
Thanks for the link to the oxo bowls/ colanders. I still have a pyrex 3 bowl set from my 1968 wedding! They are so heavy when stacked. My colanders are looking very sad. Time for a reset. And I love the color!
Kath Younger says
Haha! I’d say you got your use out of that one <3
Robin says
Pat, I agree! Some of the things in my kitchen are from decades ago, when I graduated from college and moved out on my own or from our wedding. (I also have a couple of things that were hand-me-downs from my mom when she “upgraded!”) The pyrex 3-bowl sets are so heavy, but I have to say, they have been dropped and mis-handled by kids, and they are still going strong. I can’t see replacing them until I can hand them down to one of my kids!
I would love to see a list similar to this put together by chefs on the food network, etc. Everyone has their own “favorite” items. In my case, I don’t have a lot in common with Kath’s, other than the Calphalon pots/pans.
barbara says
I’m on the fence about buying and dedicating storage space to a waffle maker. Thanks for your recommendation.
Kath Younger says
If I didn’t marry into one I am not sure I’d go buy one, but it’s nice to have!
Judith Scott says
Kath, As usual this post is right on. I share many of your products, but I’m curious about the Always Pan. Is it as great as described? It’s pretty pricey for me, is it worth the cost? And I totally agree with you about the InstaPot, I just HAD to have 1, but I rarely use it
Kath Younger says
It’s the best non-stick pan I’ve tried in terms of being able to “wipe it clean” after use. I really like it, and it’s our new go-to. But if you already have a skillet you love, the price tag is definitely not cheap.
Louise RD says
Love this post. I have everything you have except for Naspresso machine. My hubby wanted to get one for my birthday but I felt it would take up too much counter space, ha! I also wasn’t into my pressure cooker until winter hit and I started making tons of bone broth. I sip a cup every day, like tea 😉
Kandace says
Thanks for the list. I love an organized kitchen, too. I have a coffee maker question. My husband and I only drink one cup each, daily. However, he is a regular drinker and I drink hazelnut. Do you think the coffee storage unit would pick up the taste of hazelnut? Also, can you fill the reservoir but only make one cup, or would it use all the water? Thanks so much.
Kath Younger says
While you can make 1-4 cups at a time, I think the hazelnut flavor would persist. Have you thought about a Nespresso?
AndreA says
Agree with the instant pot! I have one, and while I think it’s really neat and appreciate it I definitely only use it once in awhile. I’m also with you on the minimalism – to cut down I use scissors rather than a pizza cutter!!
Judy says
I don’t think you need to worry about your typos. There are a few bigger things
Going on in our world .
Kath Younger says
Agree…
Beth Tiegs says
OMG, yes. You’re so good at being diplomatic. I’m not sure I’d write such a kind reply.
Loved seeing inside your kitchen!
Janice Przybyl says
I’m with you on the Instant Pot. So far I’ve successfully made only yogurt, chili, and rice. Though it took me a couple of tries before I got the water-rice ratio correct so there wasn’t sticking on the bottom. I have yet to find a decent set of instructions so I can understand how the different functions work. I’m afraid to experiment without that knowledge. I tend to change recipes to make them healthier or to avoid ingredients my husband dislikes. The Instant Pot is a great slow cooker but I bought it for it’s instant features!
Nancy says
Maybe take a look at Pinch of Yum. They have a number of really good Instant Pot recipes with clear directions. My daughter organized my recipes into an app for me as a gift and I was surprised how many of my go to Instapot recipes came from that blog. Our current favorites are her Wild Rice Soup and Hawaiian Chicken Tacos. ?
Kath Younger says
They do have a really good IP mac and cheese!!
Janice says
Ohhh. I’ll have to look for that. I love a good mac and cheese!
Janice says
Thanks. I’ll look her up!
Cheryl Maxey says
We have both a large and a small crock pot and we use one of them at least weekly. This past year we replaced our toaster oven with a toaster oven/air fryer combo and it is the best kitchen appliance we own. We also just upgraded our food processor, another tool we use often. Our favorite pan is a non-stick coated, high side skillet by Chrissy Teigan that we randomly picked up at an Ollies. It has out-performed my nice caphalon cookware by leaps and bounds. Our Henckel knives are worth every penny
Jenny says
It surprises me to see how many people aren’t big on the Instant Pot. I use mine at least once, sometimes twice a week. I can make brown rice in 15 minutes, quinoa in about an eighth of that time, all other manner of grains, lentils (dry, from the bag on high pressure, in nine minutes and they’re ready– same for any dry bean, really), and I also use it as a slow cooker. It’s such a multi-purpose tool. The only thing that has never worked for me is that “foolproof” hardboiled eggs thing. NOPE. haha! Still peeling off half the egg with the shell. Otherwise, the convenience is just fantastic for me. Of course, everyone’s mileage varies!