7 (cheap!) Kitchen Tools We Love

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Do I Need These?

Finding the right kitchen tools can be intimidating. There are expensive, obscure gadgets that you buy and they sit in your cabinet, only to be used once or twice a year. We don’t think you need expensive cookware to make delicious food.

We’ve put together a list of our favorite tools that we use everyday. The best part? All of them are under $20.

These simple tools can make a big difference for anyone trying to cook better food.

The better Grater

Microplane

Ever wonder how restaurants get those light, fluffy piles of parmesan on your salad? You can thank a microplane for that. It replaces a normal grater in most situations and helps you get better results with shredding cheese, zesting, and shaving chocolate. This is one of our favorite tools that you will see us mention in many of our recipes.

dough, cleanup, and more

Bench Scraper

This simple tool is a game changer for anything you’re doing with dough. From pastas to bread, a bench scraper becomes an essential tool that you didn’t know you needed. We even use ours for cleaning up countertops, since you can scrape off any food that’s left after cooking.

Get it all

Citrus Squeezer

A citrus squeezer is really the best way to make sure you’re getting all the juice out of lemons, limes, and other citrus. Other tools like a reamer get the job done, but we’ve found this squeezer from Oxo is the easiest way to juice citrus.

Prep Faster

Versatile Measuring Cup

At only $7, this item is a no-brainer. This glass measuring cup from Anchor Hocking replaces your measuring spoons and lets you speed up prep. It has measurements in ounces, tablespoons, teaspoons, and milliliters so you never have to convert units.

Thank us later

Silicone Spatulas

If you aren’t using silicone spatulas in your kitchen, it’s time to upgrade. They’re great for scraping bowls and pans, and get into the little nooks and crannies of containers. They’re also easy clean since they’re one solid piece without any cracks for food to get stuck in. These utensils are some of our favorites, and come in a pack of 3 for only $10.

Better Ice = better Drinks

Silicone Ice Cube Mold

It’s time to replace your gross old ice trays. Next time you’re making cocktails, you’ll appreciate having a larger piece of ice from one of these molds. Sure, it looks prettier, but it serves a functional purpose too. A single large cube has less surface area than many small cubes, so it melts slower and dilutes your drink less.

Buy in Bulk, Stay organized

Squeeze Bottles

We have reusable squeeze bottles for anything we buy in bulk or sauces we make on our own. At any given moment, we have a half dozen of these 12 oz bottles in our kitchen with canola oil, soy sauce, simple syrup, and any number of other ingredients. They’re super useful and a great way to stay organized.