Kitchen Must-Haves

For those of you who follow my instagram (or check out the feed at the bottom of this page!), you know that I absolutely love to cook and bake. Over the years I have accumulated a plethora of different kitchen tools, some that I’ve realized I couldn’t live without, and some that I rarely ever use. In this post I’m going to talk about the items I think every kitchen needs. 

Immersion Blender

I bought an immersion blender specifically because I wanted to make butternut squash soup, but I didn’t want to have to pour hot liquid back and forth from a pot to the food processor and back again. It has become a major staple in my kitchen though, specifically for making quick smoothies for breakfast. Instead of having all kinds of parts to clean making a smoothie in a blender, I just have the blade piece of my immersion blender (which also came with a whisk attachment) to clean because I can blend smoothies right in my cup! I have a Crux Cordless Immersion Blender, it’s awesome because it’s rechargeable and doesn’t take up much space.

Pizza Stone

I use my pizza stone not only for making pizza, but for making my pita bread! It’s also great for baking loaves of bread; you let it heat up in the oven while the oven preheats, and it gives you a great, even baking surface. I have this Augosta Pizza Stone, which also came with a pizza peel paddle and a pizza cutter, so for the price it was a really great deal!

Cast Iron Skillets

Yes, that is skillets, as in multiple. I was gifted a 12-inch cast iron skillet for my wedding shower, and now have an even larger cast iron skillet which I use to make bigger dishes, like paella, or skillet pizzas. Getting a smaller cast-iron skillet to make eggs is on my wish list, and I’d also like to get a cast iron dutch oven for baking rustic breads. Here is a multi-size set to get you started!

Multiple sets of measuring cups and spoons

As someone who absolutely loves to bake and cook, I just don’t ever feel like I have enough measuring cups and spoons; I even have a set of double-sided measuring spoons and even that is not enough. I have an entire drawer that’s just for measuring cups and spoons, along with my baking spatulas. Here is a set of cups and spoons that is really cute!

Knife sharpener

This is so, so important! You can buy the most expensive knives out there, but they will do you no good if they get dull and you don’t have a sharpener to take care of your knives. I honestly forget about it sometimes and will get frustrated that my knives aren’t working great, and then I remember, sharpen them, and life is so much better. This is the sharpener I have, and I love it.

Silicone pastry mat

The silicone pastry mat I have is great - it has measurements on it, so it’s perfect for rolling out pastry doughs for pies and rolling out sugar cookies. I love that it rolls up easily, but flattens out perfectly so you don’t have to fight with keeping it down while you’re working with your dough.

Crock pot

I feel like this is absolutely a must-have for every single kitchen, ever. You can make everything in a crock pot, from breakfasts, desserts, dips, meals; it is a fantastic kitchen tool. It’s even better if you get a Wemo enabled crockpot; I was gifted one as a housewarming gift when Adam and I moved into our apartment, it’s WiFi enabled and you can control it from your phone! Not only that, you can set it to automatically change from cooking to keep warm, so you really can set it and forget it, and not worry about coming home to burned food!

Large stock pot

As I’ve mentioned in previous meal planning posts, I often double soup and chili recipes and freeze some for later. I used to make the mistake of overfilling my regular pot and when it would get to a boil it would start overflowing, but now that I have a stock pot, I can double recipes with ease to freeze for later, freeing up time in the future when I won’t have to cook.

Kitchenaid Mixer

This is another given - I wasn’t convinced until I had one, and now I don’t know how I lived life without one. Baking cookies has been such a breeze these past few years as I can set the dough to mix and start cleaning up and getting ready for my next batch of cookies. It has given me confidence to try making bread using my bread hook. I have a wishlist of all kinds of attachments I want to get, and I can’t wait to keep experimenting and making delicious things with my mixer. You may be scared of the price, but I’m telling you, you get every penny out of a Kitchenaid!

Deep skillet with lid

As with my stock pot, I’ve often made meals in my regular skillet but it would be way too much food and would be practically overflowing, things wouldn’t heat evenly, and it was just frustrating. For Christmas last year my mom bought me a deep skillet with a lid, and wow, it is perfect for some of the meals I like to make, specifically my sausage tortellini skillet meal. 

Plenty of Dish Towels

I forget where I read it, but someone once said that a good kitchen always has plenty of dish towels, and I couldn’t agree more! Not only for drying your hands, but placing over bowls while you’re waiting for dough to rise, covering fresh rolls before dinner is served, laying them out for a place to let things cool, and also just because having soggy, wet dish towels is gross, so I’d rather have a plethora so I can switch them out and know that they are fresh and clean when I need them. I also have cute ones that I switch out with the seasons or holidays, so there’s always a bit of festiveness even in the kitchen. Christmas Tree Shops is a great place to find season dish towels at a reasonable price, unfortunately you can’t get their seasonal stuff online, so here’s a really cute set on Amazon if you don’t have a Christmas Tree Shops near you.

Box Grater with Collection Chamber

Box graters come in handy not only to grate cheese, but also grate potatoes for hashbrowns, or shred veggies to sneak into dishes if you have a picky eater. It can be so incredibly messy using a box grater, though, so my advice is to buy one that has a collection chamber! Mine has a plastic insert that slides right in the middle, and you can collect whatever you are grating without making a mess, and it even has measurements on the side, so you know how much you’ve grated if you need it for a recipe.

Food Processor

I honestly couldn’t live without my food processor; I made hummus every week and it just would not be the same without the ease of using a food processor. I make sauces for different dishes, salsa verde, and pesto. Instead of shredding chicken, you can throw it in the food processor and it’s quickly shredded for you. You can chop candies for baking, and buy nuts in bulk and chop them yourselves with a food processor. This Cuisineart food processor is another kitchen gadget that has a bit of a hefty price tag, but I use mine multiple times a week, sometimes even multiple times a day.

I could probably think of more necessary items, but these are the items off the top of my head. What are your most used kitchen items? Is there anything on this list you don’t agree with? Something you think I’m missing? Please share your thoughts in the comments below!