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Inside: There are so many kitchen utensils and gadgets out there that you could easily fill all your cabinets and then some. I personally believe kitchen utensils and gadgets make for great gifts ideas. Here are 20 kitchen utensils and gadgets that you actually need, will want to use, and that make for excellent gifts ideas.
I never thought I would be one of those people. You know…someone who wants sensible, practical gifts for birthdays or Christmas.
Don’t get me wrong, I still enjoy other types of gifts, but, more often than not, I find myself asking for things that I need or use around the house.
One reason that I find myself leaning toward practical gifts is that we are trying to save space in our home and not junk it up with unnecessary things, so I want to focus on things like kitchen utensils and gadgets that make excellent gifts. These are kitchen utensils and gadgets that we need and will actually use.
I’ve compiled a list of kitchen utensils and gadgets that we use almost on a daily basis in our home. These kitchen gadgets and utensils help me create healthy foods for my family.
Table of Contents
20 Kitchen Utensils and Gadgets You Will Actually Use
These kitchen utensils and gadgets are some of what we use in our own kitchen most frequently.
Related: 7 Kitchen Appliances You Don’t Really Need
1. Blendtec (or high-powered blender)
I use my Blendtec multiple times a week to make smoothies, blend sauces and other ingredients, froth my DIY bullet-proof (fat burning!) coffee, or create any number of other creative foods (like lots of my favorite Trim Healthy Mama recipes!).
I’ve had my Blendtec for going on 10 years, and I don’t know how I would live without it! It is most definitely a kitchen utensil (really, a small appliance!) that I use on a regular basis.
A few years ago, someone gifted me another high-powered blender–a KitchenAid Variable Speed Blender. I never thought I would love any kitchen gadget more than my Blendtec, but the KitchenAid comes in really close (don’t tell anyone, but I might actually prefer it to my Blendtec now!).
Related: 5 Ways to Update Your Kitchen for $100 Or Less
I use my high-powered blenders so frequently that–unless we have company visiting–these are two appliances that I actually keep sitting out on my kitchen counters!
A high-powered blender is a must for any real-food cook to have in her kitchen. If something like a Blendtec or Vitamix are not in the budget, then there are other options like the Ninja Pro, which is what I owned before the Blendtec. In fact, I started my Trim Healthy Mama eating journey with a basic Ninja blender, and it worked fine for a while until I was able to upgrade (after it did, admittedly, bite the bullet! I really do use my blender a lot!).
Related: Easy Tips for Uncluttered Kitchen Counters
2. Lemon/Lime Squeezer
This may not seem like a big deal, but I love my lemon squeezer and use it all the time. It is so much easier than trying to hand squeeze lemons or limes, and you get way more juice out of the fruit.
I think I got mine at ALDI (my long-time readers know what an ALDI fanatic I can be!), but I found this one on Amazon for a really great price! A lemon/lime squeezer is a kitchen utensil that would make a great stocking stuffer for the cooks on your list (hey–that might even be your husband!).
Get a free menu planning printable. Join my weekly-ish homemaking newsletter, and, as a bonus, you’ll get the printable PDF! Justclick here to get it and subscribe.
Related: 4 Kitchen Staples to Always Keep On Hand
3. KALORIK Toaster Oven/Air Fryer Combo
I still laugh when I think about this, but one of our biggest fights before we got married as over whether or not to register for a toaster oven or a toaster. I wanted the toaster, and Will wanted the toaster oven. It was simply that we each wanted what we had grown up with in our childhood homes.
We ended up registering for both a toaster and a toaster oven, and we actually ended up getting both. However, over time, I grew to fall in love with the versatility of a toaster oven. It was me who eventually decided to ditch our toaster all together!
(I can see it now: Our kids will be fighting with their future spouses in favor of “Team Toaster Oven” when it comes time to register for wedding gifts! Ha!)
About a year ago, we purchased a new toaster oven withall the bells and whistles: a KALORIK Toaster Oven/Air Fryer combo! Air fryers have been all the rage in recent years. While I’m not one to hop on trends, Will was eager to try one.
Related: 10 Homemade Kitchen Cleaners
A combo appliance made sense for us because we knew this was another kitchen gadget (that we were gifting to ourselves!) that we would want to keep out on the counter.
While I use my high-powered blendersa lot, I think we actually use our toaster oven/air fryer combo more! This one appliance can toast, bake, broil, air fry, and I think it even has a grill setting!
This small kitchen appliance (so much more than a kitchen gadget!) has been the Christmas gift that we gave ourselves that has kept on giving nearly every single day!
A word of caution: After reading about how toaster ovens can have the tendency to catch fire,I’ve gotten into the habit of keeping ours unplugged when it’s not in use.
Related: 5 Tips for Getting Kids to Help In The Kitchen
4. Ceramic Griddle and/or Waffle Maker
We use a ceramic griddle every time we make pancakes. Even our oldest daughter uses it to make them with ease. Things don’t stick to it, and it’s easy to clean up.
We also use our ceramic waffle makerwhen we are feeling like waffles instead of pancakes.
Whether it be a griddle or waffle maker, these two would make excellent gifts for the kitchen utensil or kitchen gadget enthusiast in your life.
Get a free menu planning printable. Join my weekly-ish homemaking newsletter, and, as a bonus, you’ll get the printable PDF! Justclick here to get it and subscribe.
Related: Is a High Speed Blender Worth It?
6. Instant Pot
I’m going to be honest: I use my crockpot a lot more than I use my Instant Pot, but my husband uses ours at least once per week!
A few months ago, we started a new-to-us Sunday afternoon tradition (which mirrors a similar tradition both of us had as kids!), where Will makes a ButcherBox beef or pork roast in the Instant Pot after church each Sunday.
A frozen roasts cooks up so fast in an Instant Pot. It amazes me how tender he gets the meat with no thawing involved!
There are so many things you can make quickly in an instant pot. I now prefer cooking chicken (again, from frozen!) in an Instant Pot to boiling it when I need cooked and chopped or shredded chicken for casseroles or soups, etc.
I also now prefer baking potatoes or sweet potatoes (one of my favorite Trim Healthy Mama “E” fuels!) in my Instant Pot.
The Instant Pot is another kitchen gadget that we gave to ourselves for Christmas that keeps on giving all throughout the year.
Related: 10 Essentials for a Healthy Kitchen
7. Crockpot
An oldie but a goodie–while Instapots and air fryers may have taken center stage in recent years, I’ll always be a crockpot fan.
Many years ago, the slow cooker someone had given us as a wedding gift died. At the time, my family was struggling on a low income, and my blogging friend Stacy was kind enough to gift me with a Hamilton Beach nesting slow cooker. Sadly, it does not look like these are made any longer. Ours still works, but the dials eventually wore down.
A few years back, my parents gifted me with a 7-qt. Crockpot brand slow cooker. I absolutely love this one too! Because we have a large family, I ended up keeping both slow cookers.
Since both of my beloved crockpots were given to me as gifts, I most definitely consider the slow cooker to be on my top lists of kitchen gadgets to gift to others–particularly when it comes to wedding or Christmas gifts.
I love being able to make dinner in the morning and know my evenings will not be rushed, especially now that we’re in the season of sports practices, games, etc. in the afterschool hours.
My friend Stacy is the queen of crockpot cooking! In fact, she’s written two crockpot cookbooks–Crock OnandKeep Crockin’.
Related: Is Your Water Toxic?
8. Berkey Water Filter
I could not live without my Berkey water filter. Well, I could, but my water wouldn’t be nearly as clean or healthy. We live on city water, and this filters out all the nasty stuff that I don’t want my family drinking.
The Berkey is fairly expensive, so it would be a kitchen gadget that you would want to gift yourself if clean water is one of your family’s priorities.
Our Berkey sits on our countertop, and I also use it to filter cooking water. In an ideal world, we would have a whole house filter, but that’s not currently in our family budget.
Get a free menu planning printable. Join my weekly-ish homemaking newsletter, and, as a bonus, you’ll get the printable PDF! Justclick here to get it and subscribe.
Related: 9 Essentials for Packing a Waste-Free Lunch
9. Stainless Steel Plates and Cups
Many years, while our children were still very young, we moved away from plastic cups and switched to stainless steel cups. Our kids mainly use these cups, and they are much more durable than glass and safer than plastic. We also have some divided stainless steel plates that they also use on a daily basis.
For their lunches, we use Bentgo boxes for our younger children and small stainless steel bowls packed in lunch boxes for our older kids (because they say bento boxes are no longer “cool” at their ages). We also have a set of stainless steel measuring cups and spoons that I use exclusively.
Stainless steel kitchen utensils or kitchen gadgets are usually small and affordable enough to gift them to others, whether it be to teachers or extended family members. A set of the stainless steel measuring cups and spoons I love would also make for a fun stocking stuffer idea.
Related: Do You Need a Garlic Press?
10. Silicone Utensils or Bakeware
In an effort to move away from all plastic in the kitchen, we also switched all of our cooking utensils over to silicone ones.
I also wanted to move away from non-stick muffin tins, so we switched those to silicon muffin pans as well. We also have some silicon straws that we love.
I see the cooking utensils and silicon straws as small enough kitchen utensils and gadgets to fit in a stocking–or they can be small gifts for teachers, etc.
Related:What Can You Do With a Food Processor?
11. Food Processor or Chopper
I probably have not been using my food processor to the best of its ability. There is so much more it can do, but I mainly use it to chop things up. Actually, I use my little food chopper more than the big processor.
I’ve had a little food chopper since I got married in 2005, and it’s really been one of the best gifts ever. I don’t even remember registering for it or, sadly, who gifted it to us, but I’m so grateful because our food chopper is definitely among one of my most used kitchen utensils and gadgets!
Get a free menu planning printable. Join my weekly-ish homemaking newsletter, and, as a bonus, you’ll get the printable PDF! Justclick here to get it and subscribe.
Related: Homemade Cream of Chicken Soup
12. Huge Soup/Stock Pot
Again, to move away from the toxic non-stick cookware, I wanted a large soup pot that was either ceramic or stainless steel. My husband gave me one for Christmas a few years ago, and it’s definitely become one of my most-loved kitchen gadgets–particularly during the winter months.
Soup (like this chicken tortilla soup!) is one of my favorite meals to make on a budget because it stretches really far. With a large pot, it’s easy to make enough to feed our large family and have some leftovers as well.
If I’m making soup to take somewhere else–like to a party or other event–I’ll sometimes cook it more quickly in my stock pot and transfer it to my crockpot for transporting. I did this recently when I signed up to provide supper to my daughter’s 13-member basketball team.
Related: Why You Absolutely MUST Make the Switch to Glass Storage Containers
13. Glass Storage Containers
Many years ago, we moved away from plastic storage and started adding glass storage to our kitchen. I added a few pieces at a time, and now it is all we use for food storage.
A few years ago, concerned about the number of plastic storage containers I observed in my mom’s kitchen, I decided to gift her a set of glass storage containers for Christmas, among a few other kitchen utensils and gadgets I gave her that year.
Get a free menu planning printable. Join my weekly-ish homemaking newsletter, and, as a bonus, you’ll get the printable PDF! Justclick here to get it and subscribe.
Related: How to Re-Season A Cast Iron Pan
14. Cast Iron Skillet
In addition to my ceramic cookware, I also use my cast iron skillet fairly regularly. It’s one of those classic kitchen utensils and gadgets that every real-food kitchen needs. Not sure how to re-season a cast iron skillet? I have a great tutorial for seasoning a cast iron skillet in this post.
Related: Simple Baked Cabbage
15. Stoneware
I love my pizza stone and use it more than any of my other baking sheets. It’s great for baking cookies, my kids’ favorite gluten-free chicken nuggets from ButcherBox, cauliflower crust pizza, and many other things.
As well, I’ve started adding other stone bakeware to our collection. My favorite piece of stoneware currently is my small bar pan, which fits perfectly inside our toaster oven. In fact, I probably use this pan in our toaster oven every single day! This is definitely one kitchen utensil/gadget that I cannot live without.
Related: 40+ Non-Junk Stocking Stuffers Your Kids Will Love
16. Reusable Sandwich Bags
We’ve actually put reusable sandwich and snack bags in our kids’ stockings before, and they’ve loved them. These little kitchen gadgets are a fun addition to lunch-making supplies.There are so many cute little patterns, and they are so useful for snacks, sandwiches, and other items.
Related: Burr Grinder: It’s Not Just for Coffee
17. KitchenAid Mixer
I know people that swear by their KitchenAid Mixer, and I love mine when I use it. My husband’s grandmother gave us ours as a wedding gift, and it’s still working wonderfully, even though we’ve had it since 2005!
It’s a small kitchen appliance (like others in this post, it’s so much more than a kitchen utensil or gadget!) that is the perfect gift for a bride-to-be or your daughter for a special occasion, like a milestone birthday or Christmas.
My mixer makes making homemade mashed potatoes a cinch (so creamy!), and my kids and I love using the dough hook for making cookie dough and pie crusts. There are apparently a bunch of different attachments you can purchase for a KitchenAid mixer, but mine came with these three, and those have suited me just fine for nearly two decades.
It’s important to note that I don’t bake enough to keep it out on my kitchen counter or use it on a weekly basis, but I definitely use it frequently around the holidays!
If you’re a frequent baker, a KitchenAid Mixer is a must-have!
Get a free menu planning printable. Join my weekly-ish homemaking newsletter, and, as a bonus, you’ll get the printable PDF! Justclick here to get it and subscribe.
Related: Healthy, Low-Carb Pasta Alternatives You’ll Actually Love
18. Spiralizer Slicer
If you love making zoodles (zucchini noodles) or shredding/slicing other hard vegetables, you need a spiralizerin your kitchen tool belt. It makes it so much easier and faster.
I know a lot of people love their mandolin slicer as well, but I don’t personally own one. Whether you opt for a spiralizer or a mandolin slicer or both, your loved ones are sure to be blessed by these kitchen utensils / gadgets if you choose to gift them.
Related: Amazingly Easy Homemade Garlic Salt
19. Real Salt
I know this is not a utensil or a gadget, but it is perhaps one of the most used items in my kitchen, so I’m including it anyway: I couldn’t cook without my Real Salt. It’s natural, unrefined, full of helpful minerals, and loaded with flavor.
Real Salt makes for a great stocking stuffer for the cooks in your life!
20. Stick Vacuum
OK, I know this is not technically a kitchen utensil or gadget either, but hear me out.
I swore I would never spend a lot of money on a stick vacuum like a Dyson stick vacuum, but after going through 2 or 3 cheap ones, I finally bit the bullet when I saw one on sale and had some other coupons to knock it down even further.
I love this vacuum, and we mainly use it in the kitchen area because of all the crumbs and stuff that get on the floor with having four kids and a dog. It is so easy to quickly run it after we eat to clean up any messes. I know there are some other options out there that are more affordable, but if you have kids, I would highly recommend investing in a good cordless stick vacuum.
BONUS: Get Your Free Holiday Menu Planner Printable
Get a free menu planning printable. Join my weekly-ish homemaking newsletter, and, as a bonus, you’ll get the printable PDF! Justclick here to get it and subscribe.
If you like these 20 Kitchen Utensils and Gadgets that make excellent gifts (for yourself or for your loved ones!), you can also find more ideas in our Ultimate Gift Guide.
