Head to the kitchen department of any store and you’ll no doubt see shelves upon shelves of kitchen equipment. The array of tools and gadgets can be both exciting and overwhelming.

In the past, a stocked kitchen meant having just the essentials: pots, pans, baking sheets, a cutting board, and a good knife.

However, today there are countless gadgets available, from pricey air fryers to stylish mortar and pestle sets. All the options can leave you wondering “Do I really need that?”

Often the answer is “no.” But some gadgets actually pull their weight in the kitchen and are worth buying.

Here are our picks of the 15 best kitchen gadgets to spend your money on.

We all use our kitchens differently. Perhaps you’re into simple meals that don’t require much prep, or maybe you love creating extravagant dinners to impress your friends.

Because our cooking styles and levels of culinary know-how vary, the gadgets that are truly essential will also vary by kitchen.

We want you to purchase items you’ll actually use. Not all the specific gadgets we mention here may be a perfect fit for your kitchen, but these types of gadgets tend to be useful for many home cooks.

To determine whether each item is actually worth your money, it’s important to consider the types of meals you usually make and which kitchen tasks you might like a little extra help with.

We considered the following factors when deciding on the best kitchen gadgets:

  • Practicality: These items can be used frequently in most kitchens.
  • Cost: A handy gadget doesn’t have to be expensive. We looked for items that provide the best bang for your buck, whether they cost less than $20 or more than $100.
  • Quality: We chose items that are known to be well made, durable, and reliable.
  • Reviews: The items below have mostly positive reviews online or come highly recommended.
  • Vetting: The products on our list have been vetted to ensure that they align with Healthline’s brand integrity standards and approach to well-being. You can read more about our vetting process.

A note on price

General price ranges with dollar signs ($–$$$$) are indicated below. One dollar sign means the product is rather affordable, whereas four dollar signs indicate a higher cost.

Generally, prices range from $13 to $400, though this may vary depending on where you shop.

Pricing guide

  • $ = under $25
  • $$ = $25–$75
  • $$$ = $76–$200
  • $$$$ = over $200

Best air fryer

  • Price: $$$$
  • Warranty: 1-year limited

If you like your food nice and crispy, then you may want to invest in an air fryer.

While it’s the most expensive item on our list, the Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro is worth the price. The machine features a two-speed convection fan for more even cooking. Plus, it can act as a toaster oven (also on our list), so you’ll get more bang for your buck.

If you’re surprised to see an air fryer on this list, let us explain. Air fryers like this Breville model are more efficient and have larger capacities than they used to. Beyond being able to feed a crowd, they cook food quickly and don’t require much hands-on time.

Plus, because you’re using air to “fry” your food, you’ll need less oil than with regular frying. That means you can slash the saturated fat content of your favorite fried foods!

Pros

  • 13 cooking functions
  • great replacement for or addition to a conventional oven
  • designed for better cooking control

Cons

  • expensive
  • takes up valuable counter space
  • some reports of difficulty getting replacement parts

Best toaster oven

  • Price: $$$$
  • Warranty: 1-year limited

Having an extra oven available can be handy, whether you have many mouths to feed or are just feeding yourself.

More oven space means you can prep different foods at varying temperatures. Plus, if you live solo, a countertop oven means you don’t have to turn on your “big” oven to cook your dinner.

Breville’s the Smart Oven is a sleek toaster oven that you won’t mind having out on display.

It offers nine cooking functions, including bake, broil, roast, bagel, and toast, meaning that it can function as both an oven and a regular toaster.

Pros

  • consistent results
  • nine cooking functions

Cons

  • expensive
  • takes up valuable counter space

Best slow cooker

  • Price: $$
  • Warranty: 1-year limited

There’s a reason people love their slow cookers. You can simply add your ingredients to the cooker in the morning and have a hot meal ready by dinnertime — no stirring required.

Great for everything from chili to pulled pork, the Crockpot 7-Quart Oval Slow Cooker is a great no-frills option for busy professionals and families.

The cooker features basic functions that are easy to use — including a warming function, which is handy for holding and keeping food at the right temperature during dinner.

What’s more, the bowl insert and lid are both dishwasher-safe, making cleanup a breeze.

Pros

  • inexpensive but performs well
  • easy controls and simple design
  • available in smaller and larger sizes
  • dishwasher-safe bowl and lid

Cons

  • functions only as a slow cooker — no additional functions
  • bulky to store

Best small food processor

  • Price: $$
  • Warranty: 18-month limited

Essential? Maybe not. Helpful? Absolutely! This mini food processor saves the day when it comes to food prep.

The small capacity is perfect for making salad dressings and marinades. It can also handle chopping vegetables and pureeing small batches of soup.

Plus, it’s small, so it stores easily, and parts can be easily removed and cleaned by hand or in the dishwasher.

Pros

  • great for making salad dressings and marinades or chopping vegetables
  • available in several colors
  • easy to clean and store

Cons

  • small capacity

Best stick blender

  • Price: $$$
  • Warranty: not disclosed

Clocking in above $100, a stick blender is another item we don’t mind splurging on. That’s because it’s a true workhorse in the kitchen, great for pureeing soups, blending salad dressings and smoothies, whipping cream — the list goes on and on.

This particular model from KitchenAid comes with several attachments to perform a variety of functions, including a whisk, a chopper, and three bell blades.

It’s a versatile kitchen helper that also gets great reviews for its power and easy cleanup.

Simpler models without all the attachments are also a great option if you’re in the market for a basic and more affordable version.

Pros

  • five blending speeds
  • three bell blades, plus whisk and chopper attachments
  • dishwasher-safe

Cons

  • has a cord, which may limit where you can use it
  • not designed for large capacity blending

Best hand mixer

  • Price: $$$
  • Warranty: not disclosed

A stand mixer is awesome but too big for some kitchen tasks. That’s where a hand mixer can be helpful. This KitchenAid model is perfect for whipping cream, mixing quick-bread and cookie batters, and every small job in between.

The nine speeds make it easy to blend foods at a pace you’re comfortable with, and the four attachments easily pop in and out with the touch of a button.

It’s lightweight for easy handling, and the attachments are dishwasher-safe for easy cleaning.

Pros

  • nine speeds
  • four attachments, including a whisk and dough hooks
  • dishwasher-safe attachments

Cons

  • less powerful than a stand mixer
  • not ideal for long mixing times or large, dense batters

Best hand juicer

  • Price: $
  • Warranty: lifetime

If you’re trying to add flavor to food while using less sodium, then you know how important fresh citrus juice is. And if you’ve ever tried to squeeze a lemon or lime on your own and felt like you just couldn’t get all the juice out of it, then this helpful hand squeezer is just what you need.

The Zulay Kitchen 2-in-1 squeezes lemons and limes but can also handle small oranges and mandarins. It’s dishwasher-safe and super easy to clean by hand. Plus, it’s small enough to fit into any drawer for easy storage.

We also love that it’s budget-friendly and comes in a variety of colors.

Pros

  • small, simple construction
  • easy to clean
  • available in multiple colors
  • lifetime warranty

Cons

  • only one function
  • not great for squeezing large amounts of citrus

Best pizza steel

  • Price: $$$
  • Warranty: none

Conventional ovens typically can’t reach the high temperatures needed for crisp, chewy pizza, which is where a pizza steel comes in.

The Original Baking Steel is designed to absorb and conduct heat to create great pizza every time. It can also be used to cook bread, English muffins, pancakes, and burgers.

The steel is heavy, so it’s a bit cumbersome to move. But again, if delicious pizza is what you’re after, a little workout is well worth the results.

Pros

  • simple design and function
  • easy to use and clean
  • multiple uses — not just pizza
  • helps pizza cook more quickly

Cons

  • heavy and a bit cumbersome

Best digital scale

  • Price: $$
  • Warranty: lifetime

If you’re a baker, then you need a digital scale. After all, nothing helps with precision measuring more than a scale. Even if you’re not a baker, a scale is handy for measuring when you don’t feel like dirtying measuring cups and spoons.

The Escali Primo Digital Scale doesn’t have many bells and whistles, but it does exactly what it needs to do: accurately measure the weight of your ingredients. Plus, it’s easy to read, easy to clean, and easy to store.

Pros

  • compact, simple design
  • easy-to-read digital display
  • available in multiple colors
  • lifetime warranty
  • provides measurements in grams, ounces, and pounds:ounces

Cons

  • maximum weight of 11 pounds (5 kilograms)
  • small surface area

Best coffee/spice grinder

  • Price: $$
  • Warranty: 1-year limited

If you’re a coffee drinker, then you need a grinder that gets the job done.

The KRUPS Fast Touch grinder is ideal for coffee drinkers and for those who like to use fresh spices in their cooking and baking. It can also help grind nuts and seeds.

This version from KRUPS is powerful yet small enough to store. It’s also easy enough to clean between uses.

The grind size depends on how long you run the machine. While it’s not as precise as some other grinders, you can get a fine grind with a longer run time or a coarse grind with a shorter run time.

Pros

  • useful for coffee beans, nuts, seeds, spices, and other small foods
  • easy to clean and operate

Cons

  • small capacity
  • less precise grind size than more expensive models

Best silicone food containers

  • Price: $$
  • Warranty: none

Perfect for freezing soups, stews, sauces, and other liquids, Souper Cubes are a must for most home cooks.

These food storage containers are made of flexible silicone, which makes it easy to pop out frozen portions of food when you need them.

The containers seal tightly to prevent messes and spills, and they’re lightweight and easy to clean.

Pros

  • flexible for easy release of frozen food
  • dishwasher-safe
  • available in a variety of sizes
  • BPA-free

Cons

  • may stain

Best kitchen timer

  • Price: $
  • Warranty: none

Yes, you can use your phone as a timer, but we would argue that being able to see your timers easily — without risking getting pulled down the rabbit hole of apps — is helpful when you’re cooking.

That’s why we love this easy-to-read timer that lets you track up to four cooking events at once.

This timer is also handy because it comes with a space to write down what you’re tracking. This is especially helpful when you’re cooking multiple dishes at once.

Pros

  • simple design and function
  • includes a whiteboard
  • multiple timers

Cons

  • no fancy alarms, notifications, or other features

Best pepper mill

  • Price: $
  • Warranty: limited lifetime

Every good cook knows the value of freshly cracked pepper, and a pepper mill is a great way to capitalize on that delicious fresh pepper flavor your food deserves.

OXO is known for producing easy-to-hold, durable kitchen equipment, and this pepper mill is no exception.

Not only is it mess-free as advertised, but it comes with several grind size options. This means you can enjoy pepper finely ground or coarsely ground with just the push of a tab.

Pros

  • adjustable grind size
  • easy to use and fill
  • soft nonslip grip

Cons

  • comes prefilled, which some people dislike

Best mortar and pestle

  • Price: $$
  • Warranty: none

Who says a gadget can’t be useful and beautiful? This unpolished granite mortar and pestle from ChefSofi is display-worthy while also being helpful for creating delicious spice rubs, mashing fresh herbs into pastes, and breaking up chiles.

The mortar’s 2-cup (500-milliliter [mL]) capacity makes it suitable for larger tasks, and its heavy granite construction means you don’t have to worry about the mortar moving around while you work.

Pros

  • stable construction and design
  • beautiful
  • 2-cup (500-mL) capacity

Cons

  • a bit challenging to clean
  • heavy

Best oven thermometer

  • Price: $
  • Warranty: none

If you’re finding that your baked goods or roasts are never ready when they’re supposed to be, you’ll want to check that the temperature of your oven is correct. In fact, ovens often don’t reach the exact temperature you set them to.

This is why an oven thermometer is a necessary gadget for most kitchens — and a no-frills version, like this model from Taylor, is all you need.

You can simply set the Taylor Analog Dial Oven Thermometer in your oven and reference it before cooking. The large face makes it easy to see, and because it’s so simple, it should last years without needing a replacement.

Pros

  • easy to read
  • budget-friendly
  • durable
  • NSF certified

Cons

  • can be difficult to read if you don’t have an oven light

You may want to consider the following tips when shopping for your next kitchen gadget:

  • Identify your needs: Consider whether there’s a particular task you need help with in the kitchen or a type of meal that would be easier if you had a gadget such as a food processor or air fryer.
  • Do your research: Use the internet and this guide to help you narrow down your search. Read reviews and find models that meet your needs.
  • Consider battery-powered vs. corded options: Some cordless gadgets are just as powerful as their corded counterparts but may be heavier and more cumbersome. Decide what’s most important to you. If you’d like to use your gadget without being close to an outlet and you don’t mind the extra weight, go for cordless.
  • Consider ease of cleaning: Before you buy, check the recommendations for cleaning. Some gadgets have many small nooks and crannies that need a good scrub with a brush, while others can go right into the dishwasher.
  • Check the dimensions: Before you get too excited, check the measurements of your gadget and the space you have for it. You probably don’t want to purchase a toaster oven only to find out that your counter is too narrow for it. Measure your space and the gadget first to make sure they’re compatible.
  • Test it out: If possible, find a local store where you can view the device in person. That way you’ll have a better idea of what you’re buying.
  • Find the deal: Once you’ve determined what you want, shop around to see where you can get the best bang for your buck.

What is the most useful kitchen gadget?

The most useful kitchen gadget is one you’ll use frequently.

For example, if you dislike spending time cooking, a slow cooker is a great option. And if you’re always burning your food in the oven, then it’s probably time to purchase an oven thermometer.

What kitchen gadgets are worth spending more money on?

In general, larger appliances that require electricity are going to be more expensive than items with simpler construction.

While cheaper isn’t always better, the same is true for more expensive items. Often, you can get a good quality machine for less by opting for a model with fewer functions or attachments.

In general, we recommend spending a little more for a high quality toaster oven, air fryer, or hand blender to ensure that you’re getting a reliable, durable product.

Kitchen gadgets offer a convenient way to help streamline your cooking process.

While you don’t need them all, it can be helpful — and fun — to add a few gadgets to round out your kitchen setup.

While it’s still important to research the items you’re interested in, you can use this list as a starting guide to help identify the gadget that might be right for you.