Cooking is so much easier when you have the right tools—especially when they serve multiple purposes. Let’s be honest—most kitchen gadgets seem exciting at first, but end up collecting dust in the back of a drawer. After 20 years in business, we’ve learned what’s truly worth having in your home kitchen and what you can skip. Instead of another list of one-trick wonders, we’re sharing 20 kitchen tools we actually use all the time. These are the real MVPs—practical, reliable, and guaranteed to make cooking easier (and more fun).

Note: We are not affiliates of any brands mentioned. The products pictured are representative of the tools we use and are for visual reference only.

Dutch Oven - Essential for “one pot wonders” - meals that can be fully cooked in one pot and can easily transfer from stove top to oven. Soups, stews, braises…all cooked to perfection and easy to clean up saving you time and energy.

2. Knife Magnet - Protect your investment! Rummaging through drawers for your knives is not only a frustrating waste of time but dulls the blade. Storing them on a magnet keeps all your essentials at the ready and the blade visible so you can quickly see and grab the perfect knife.

3. KitchenAid Mixer - Not just for baking. KitchenAid mixers are workhorses that come with a variety of optional attachments to grind meat, spiralize veggies and make pasta, ice cream, bread and more. So rather than store a whole bunch of separate small appliances and gadgets, why not just use one?

Cuisinart 14-Cup Food Processor Williams Sonoma

5. Food Processor - The other workhorse! Beyond chopping and grating use it to make dips, spreads, nut butters, purees and even crusts for baking pies and tarts.

6. Wood Cutting Boards - They’re not only beautiful to display but are durable and much gentler on your knife blades compared to plastic and glass cutting boards. They cost more but they last much longer. While great for food prep, they also serve double duty as serving pieces and charcuterie boards. Are you seeing a theme here??

KitchenAid Go Cordless Hand Vacuum Crate & Barrel

7. KitchenAid Hand Vacuum - Game changer! I cannot stand all the tiny little crumbs that gather in the cracks and crevices of my appliances, stove top, cabinet fronts and drawer pulls. So this super light weight battery operated hand vac with multiple attachments makes me a very happy camper (or cooker?) and makes it easy to keep the kitchen neat and tidy.

8. Zester - Aka grater, Microplane, rasp grater. Use it to zest your citrus fruits, garlic or to grate hard cheese and fresh nutmeg. I’m partial to the model pictured above because the handle makes it easy to firmly grip and it has a protective sleeve for safe storage.

Hydration Nation 2-in-1 Lemon/Lime Squeezer Amazon

9. Handheld Juicer - Another space saver! This handy-dandy 2 in 1 version is specially designed to squeeze every bit of juice out of both lemons and limes.

10. Cast Iron Skillet - When seasoned and well-cared for cast iron is durable, versatile, non-stick and easy to clean. Cast iron works on any heat source, including induction, is oven-safe and retains heat well making it a good option for searing, frying, baking and broiling.

11. Pots & Pans - Similar to cast iron, stainless pots and pans are durable and versatile. But they’re also lighter weight and can stand up to acids like tomatoes, wine and citrus ingredients that are corrosive to cast iron.

12. Slotted Spatula - Or a “fish-ula” as we like to call it. Angled slotted spatulas like this one is suitable for anything requiring a spatula but the beveled blade makes it particularly useful for flipping delicate items like fish, pancakes and eggs.

13. Bench Knife - Aka bench scraper, dough scraper - Essential for bakers to section dough and scrape up sticky dough scraps, flour and crumbs but also for for non-bakers as it makes transferring chopped veggies and fruit off the cutting board and into prep bowls or pots/skillets a breeze.

14. Peeler - It’s not just for veggies. While a good peeler will help you get through pounds of potatoes quickly, it also comes in handy for making beautiful cheese savings to top your salads and chocolate curls on your favorite desserts.

15. Salt Cellar - A wood salt cellar or a ceramic salt “pig”, allows you to attractively store your salt at the ready and makes it easy to use precisely the amount you need when cooking versus a shaker.

16. Peppermill - Similar to a salt cellar, a peppermill allows you to more easily control the amount of pepper you use but also to adjust the grind from extra fine to course depending on your desired preparation.

17. Pot Scraper - Way back in the day I worked for Pampered Chef where I discovered pot scrapers, my favorite, most inexpensive kitchen tool. The durable plastic and curved edges make getting caked on bits off of all types of pots and pans easy and without scratching. I also use them to get labels off of jars and to remove sticky stuff from all surfaces.

18. Digital Thermometer - They’re fast and accurate making it easy to cook foods to safe temperatures.

19. Mini Whisk - My go-to tool for whisking an egg, combining small amounts of liquid ingredients, emulsifying sauces and dressings and for frothing.

Pampered Chef Mini Measure All Cup - Amazon

20. 2-in-1 Measuring Cup - One cup for both dry and liquid measuring. I love the push/plunge feature for measuring out sticky ingredients like peanut butter and for building and plating sushi towers. Bonus - It comes apart for easy cleaning in the dishwasher.

Declutter Your Kitchen: 20 Must-Have Tools for Everyday Cooking

Chef Melissa Wieczorek