This kitchen essentials list is the last you'll ever need. Check out 71 of the best quality cookware, utensils, equipment, tools, appliances & more for your minimalist kitchen in this kitchen essentials list.
18. Mixing Bowls
For mixing together salad
dressings, spice rubs,
marinades, sauces, or even
for storing leftovers, a set of
high-quality
mixing bowls
is a must.
19. Our recommended mixing bowls can
be found here:
mealime.com/kitchen-essentials-list/
#mixing-bowls/
Mixing Bowls
20. Colander
For draining pasta or washing vegetables and salad
greens, a well-designed colander
is an essential piece for your minimalist kitchen.
21. Our recommended colander can be
found here:
mealime.com/kitchen-essentials-list/
#colander/
Colander
22. Vegetable Peeler
A vegetable peeler isn’t a multi-tasking kitchen tool, but
this peeler is still an essential because of its ergonomic
and high-quality design.
23. Our recommended vegetable peeler
can be found here:
mealime.com/kitchen-essentials-list/
#vegetable-peeler/
Vegetable Peeler
24. Potato Masher
Most potato mashers are bulky and
tough to fit in a drawer.
Our recommended option is a “flip”
masher that stores easily and is made
of high-quality stainless steel.
25. Our recommended potato masher
can be found here:
mealime.com/kitchen-essentials-list/
#potato-masher/
Potato Masher
26. Whisk
A whisk is one of
the most used
items in your
kitchen.
Our recommended whisk is
ergonomically designed, dishwasher
safe, and high-quality.
27. Our recommended whisk can be
found here:
mealime.com/kitchen-essentials-list/
#whisk/
Whisk
28. Salad Spinner
The best kitchen
tool to ensure crisp
salad greens, this
salad spinner is a
joy to use and
can even be used
for storage and
serving.
29. Our recommended salad spinner can
be found here:
mealime.com/kitchen-essentials-list/
#salad-spinner/
Salad Spinner
30. Grater
This 7-in-1 grater
can grate citrus, fine,
coarse, ultra-coarse,
parmesan, shave, slice,
and even has a ginger
grater. It’s a heck of a
well-built
multi-tool!
31. Our recommended grater can be
found here:
mealime.com/kitchen-essentials-list/
#grater/
Grater
33. Our recommended shears can be
found here:
mealime.com/kitchen-essentials-list/
#shears/
Shears
34. Citrus Juicer
Juicing citrus fruits
is always a mess.
This citrus juicer
gets rid of the mess
and includes
measurements so
you know precisely
how much juice
you’ve squeezed.
35. Our recommended citrus juicer can
be found here:
mealime.com/kitchen-essentials-list/
#citrus-juicer/
Citrus Juicer
36. Garlic Press
A garlic press isn’t an
essential item, but if you
don’t like chopping your
own garlic this
highly-rated
garlic press is a great
buy.
37. Our recommended garlic press can
be found here:
mealime.com/kitchen-essentials-list/
#garlic-press/
Garlic Press
38. Paring Knife
Though all you need is a high-
quality chef’s knife, this short-
blade paring knife comes in
handy for small, detailed jobs.
39. Our recommended, premium, and
budget paring knives can be found
here:
mealime.com/kitchen-essentials-list/
#paring-knife/
Paring Knife
40. Honing Steel
A honing steel is a must for
re-aligning the blade of your
chef’s knife.
41. Our recommended honing steel can
be found here:
mealime.com/kitchen-essentials-list/
#honing-steel/
Honing Steel
45. Stainless Steel Skillet
The stainless steel skillet will be
the workhorse of your kitchen.
Buy once, use for a lifetime.
46. Our recommended and premium
stainless steel skillets can be found
here:
mealime.com/kitchen-essentials-list/
#stainless-steel-skillet/
Stainless Steel Skillet
47. Sauté Pan
With a wide flat bottom and high sides,
a sauté pan is suited especially well for
sauces, searing & braising meat.
55. Cast Iron Skillet
Cast iron cookware have been used for over
2,000 years. They have great heat retention
properties and will complement your stainless
steel skillet nicely.
57. Grill Pan
Grill pans are great for summer dishes that you would
ordinarily barbecue. With a high-quality cast iron grill pan,
however, you can get those nice grill marks on your food
without leaving the kitchen!
63. Broiler Pan
For use under the
high-heat broiler
in the oven, this
sturdy broiler pan
won’t warp and
contains grooves and
a draining pan to
keep your oven
clean.
65. Stockpot
This very largepot (12-quarts) is ideal
for homemade broth or large portions of soup.
It isn’t an essential item for a minimalist
kitchen, but if you are the “broth-making”
type, this is a great buy.
68. Spatula
A spatula is an essential cooking tool used for
mixing, spreading, and turning. Our
recommended spatula is heat resistant up to
600 degrees fahrenheit and won’t melt if you
leave it against a hot pan!
70. Stirring Spoon
These stirring spoons are extremely high-
quality. Durable, heat resistant, dishwasher
safe, and they won’t scratch cookware or pans.
Highly recommended!
72. Tongs
For easily flipping
meats and
vegetables, a good
pair of tongs is a
must. This pair
won’t scratch your
cookware, won’t
melt, and can be
operated with only
one hand!
74. Ladle
A ladle is used for serving liquid dishes like
soups, stews, or sauces. This ladle is
strongly built and won’t melt if you
leave it against a hot pan. It’s a great buy.
76. Oven Mitts
No more wrapping your hands in a
towel when removing dishes from the oven.
These oven mitts are dishwasher safe and
will protect your hands for a lifetime.
78. Trivet
A trivet is a heat
resistant pad that you
place hot dishes on.
Do away with dirty
cloth trivets, and use
these beautiful
bamboo trivets
that will last a
lifetime.
80. Splatter Guard
Cooking can be messy. With this fine mesh splatter
guard you’ll no longer have to clean up splattering
grease and oil from your pans. It will fit most pans, is
simple to clean, and even has feet so you can set it
down after use and keep your countertops clean.
82. Thermometer
A quality meat
thermometer is a must if
you often cook meats and
want to stop guessing
when they’re done. This
top-selling and ultra-
fast thermometer is a
great buy!
85. Immersion Blender
An immersion blender
is used to blend or
purée food in the
container it’s being
prepared in. This is a
super useful item for
blending soups and
sauces quickly and
without any mess.
87. Kitchen Scale
For precisely
measuring raw food, a
small & lightweight scale
is needed. This small
scale measures in US
and Metric units and is
highly incremental so
you know exactly how
much food you have.
89. Blender
If you’re a fan of
smoothies, sauces, dips,
or soups, you’ll likely
want a powerful
blender instead of
having to use (and
clean) a food processor.
92. Storage Containers
High-quality food storage containers are essential
for bringing lunch to work and storing
ingredients (or cooked meals) in the refrigerator so
they stay fresh for days.
94. Aluminum Foil
Aluminum foil is useful for cooking, cleaning,
protecting, scrubbing, lifting, steaming, and
storing. Because it’s so useful, we recommend
stocking up on inexpensive foil.
96. Parchment Paper
Parchment paper is used in cooking as a disposable
non-stick surface that greatly helps to avoid
messes in the kitchen. Simply line your casserole
dish or baking sheet pan with parchment paper and
you’ll be able to clean up in a flash!
98. Towels
After much searching
and testing, we found
these 100% cotton
“flour sack” towels
to be the best. Drying
dishes, wiping up
spills, dusting, and
regular kitchen
cleaning are a breeze
with these towels!
100. Sponges
These “dobie” all-purpose pads have just
enough scouring ability that you don’t need a
dedicated scouring pad, but work just as well as a
delicate sponge does. High-quality across the board.
102. Heavy Sponges
If our recommended all-purpose sponges aren’t
enough for a heavy job, these heavy-duty
scrub sponges will be able to scour any tough job
you have to do.
104. Dish Rack
Even if you have a dishwasher you’ll still need to
hand wash some items or to give cookware a quick
rinse. This dish rack is a high-quality bargain that
you’ll use every day.
106. Ice Cube Tray
If you think all ice
cube trays are the
same, you’re in for
a treat. These
trays will release
entire cubes with
a single, simple
twist. They’re easy
and a joy to use.
110. Trash Bins
Because everyone
also needs trash bins,
you might as well
choose the best.
We’ve got small and
large trash bin picks,
both beautifully
designed by
simplehuman.