10 Kitchen Tools That Make Cooking So Much Easier, According to Chefs

You’ll wonder how you ever managed without these affordable utensils.

Whether you plan your meals weeks in advance or 15 minutes after walking in the door, every home cook knows having the right kitchen tool can save you precious time. It might be tempting to stock your kitchen with all sorts of specialty gadgets you’ll only use once before quickly forgetting you own them (hello avocado slicer) but don’t. Instead, we recommend you opt for multipurpose kitchen tools that will help you be a more efficient cook. To find the best ones, we asked chefs across the country to share the kitchen tools they can’t Iive without. The best part? They all cost less than $35.

Fish Spatula

It’s not just for fish! You really can’t beat the versatility of a fish spatula. We use it to turn eggs and flip pancakes. “It’s the unsung hero of spatulas,” says David Figueroa, chef and founder of Melinda’s Hot Sauce. He uses it for smash burgers and for flipping delicate fish fillets with finesse.

Tongs

Whether you’re cooking a simple weeknight meal or prepping for an elaborate dinner party, you’ll be using your tongs. Tongs offer a long reach and firm grip, making them handy for a multitude of tasks. They’re essential for flipping vegetables on the grill, tossing salads, stirring pasta, serving noodles, and even elegantly plating dishes, says Tamara Earl, baker and executive chef at Delectablez in Wilmington, Delaware.

Kitchen Scissors

While at the top end in terms of cost on our list of multipurpose kitchen tools, kitchen scissors are a must. Reid Shilling, chef and owner of Shilling Canning Company in Washington, D.C., uses them for cutting twine, cheesecloth, the ends of haricot verts, snow peas, and green beans, splitting lobster tails right down the shell without cutting the meat, deveining shrimp without removing the shells, and more. Some cooks even prefer to use kitchen scissors over a paring knife to chop herbs (in a measuring cup or similar container).

Offset Spatula

After the fish spatula, the offset spatula is one of the most useful multipurpose kitchen tools. It’s often used for spreading frostings and fillings but another way it’s handy is to pick up things, whether it be off a tray or something out of a pan. It’s small and allows a lot of control and stability, says Donald Young, Michelin-starred chef and owner of the Duck Sel in Chicago. He says you can also use it like a spoon to stir or taste things with.

Potato Masher

Obviously this kitchen tool is great for mashing potatoes, but the design of a potato masher also lends itself well to other kitchen tasks says ButcherBox chef-in-residence, Ashley Lonsdale. She recommends it for effectively breaking up ground meat in a pan while it’s cooking, smashing avocados, or mashing bananas for banana bread.

Microplane

Beloved by chefs and home cooks alike, the microplane is the ultimate time-saving kitchen tool and so much easier to use than a box grater for fine shavings. Use it to grate Parmesan, fresh ginger or garlic, spices like nutmeg, or to zest citrus—and it’s the tool for making chocolate shavings, too.

Silicone Scraper

It’s the Swiss army knife of bakery kitchen tools. Chef Yadira Stamp of Esencias Panameñas  in Washington D.C. uses the curvy side of the scraper to scrape the sides of the bowl when making any kind of dough or to dislodge batter or whipped cream from the mixing bowl. The flat side she uses to cut dough before weighing or shaping it, to scrape off any dough stuck to the countertop or to smooth out the frosting on cakes.

Tea Strainer

A useful tool to have on hand, tea strainers are, of course, excellent for straining tea. They can also be used to sift powdered sugar, skim stocks and sauces, and even as a sink filter, says Young.

Comal Griddle Pan

Whether you want to dry roast tomatoes, tomatillos, garlic, toast bread, cook tortillas, or pancakes, a comal is your best friend, says Iliana de la Vega, chef and owner of El Naranjo in Austin, Texas. She also uses it to keep things warm, setting a saucepan on top of the comal while the comal is set over low heat is a great way to diffuse the heat and keep the sauce warm without drying it out, she says. You can also bake pizza on a comal.

Cake Tester

This simple item is useful for much more than checking if cakes are done, says Brett Edland, executive chef of The Resort at Paws Up in Greenough, Montana. He uses a cake tester to check the doneness of meats and vegetables and to vent plastic wrap, among other things.

Bridget Shirvell