While many cooks swear by their high-end Kitchen-Aid Mixers, Le Creuset Dutch Ovens and All-Clad cookware, the fact is, you can get a ton of bang for your buck when it comes to tools in the kitchen.
That’s why we’ve assembled our favorite kitchen gadgets — from tools that strip a corn cob in seconds, to the last whisk you’ll ever need — that are as useful in the kitchen as they are friendly to your wallet.
We hope you find these cheap kitchen solutions as useful as we do. Just an FYI: 22Words may receive a share of sales made from links on this page.
1. This Drawer-Friendly Collapsible Whisk
For those of us that don’t like to keep kitchen implements out in the open, the whisk is often the nemesis of orderly drawers. But with the Joseph Joseph Twist Whisk, I see a truce on the horizon. Use it as a flat scraper, or give the end a twist, and it’s a whisk. Best of all, the steel whisks are coated in non-scratching, easy to clean silicone.
Get one on Amazon
2. This Classic Swing-A-Way Jar Opener That Will Open Stubborn Jars For You
People desperately in need of salsa have sworn by the Swing-A-Way Jar Opener for decades. It’ll also open other jars with ease, but in my experience, salsa jars are the most stubborn, all the more so for how delicious their contents are.
Get a Swing-A-Way on Amazon
3. This Simple Stencil That Will Perfectly Portion Your Pasta
Pasta may not be expensive, but there’s no reason to waste it by preparing too much. With the I Could Eat A Horse Spaghetti Measuring Tool (that’s a mouthful), you can perfectly proportion your pasta preparation to minimize the need to bag up those used, slightly congealed noodles that you’ll never actually eat as leftovers.
Get one on Amazon
4. This Handy Accessory That Will Keep You From Using Too Much Of That Delicious Salad Dressing
Salads are healthy. Salad dressings (often) are not. Screw a Jokari Healthy Steps Portion Control device onto your favorite dressing, and you’ll know just how much delicious dressing to allow yourself per salad.
Get a set of two on Amazon
5. This Steel Monster That Makes Short Work Of Pineapples
There are more conservative methods of cleaning pineapple, but you’ll find no faster and cleaner than this pineapple corer and spiral cutter. And in the end, you’re left with a nifty hollow pineapple that’s begging for a frozen drink.
Get it on Amazon
6. This Palm-Mounted Peeler That Should Have Been Invented Decades Ago
When’s the last time you peeled a carrot and didn’t send half the peelings flying across the counter? And you spent the fifteen minutes after peeling cleaning up, wondering why you didn’t just buy that bag of baby carrots to begin with? Stop all that nonsense with the Chef’n Palm Peeler.
Get one on Amazon
7. This Razor-Sharp Zester And Grater That Any Self-Respecting Home Chef Should Own
Whether you’re shaving nutmeg for your pumpkin pie, or reducing a brick of parmesan into delicious piles of cheese-dust, you’re going to want one of these zesters and graters. There’s a huge variety of them on Amazon, but the Oxo grater seems to balance quality with economy, and excellent customer reviews.
Get it on Amazon
Second only to my whisk (see #1), I have waged almost eternal war with my measuring cups when it comes to drawer storage. Which makes these Good Cooking Collapsible Measuring Cups a game changer. Made of heat-resistant and easy to clean silicone, these cups just make so much sense, I wonder why non-collapsible sets even exist.
Get them on Amazon
9. These Multi-Bladed Scissors That Will Shred Your Herbs And Your Sensitive Documents
Stop wasting space on your cutting board attempting to fancily chop your cilantro. With five sets of stainless steel blades (that’s ten deadly blades total!) these scissors make short work of herb prep. And, I’m fairly sure they’ll also shred any and all sensitive personal documents.
Get them on Amazon
10. These Steel Clips That Will Save Your Veggies From A Fiery Demise
The bottom of my grill is littered with the carbonized corpses of dozens of narrow vegetables that fell through the grates: scallions, carrots, zucchini slices — all met their end because I didn’t yet own these Grill Clips. They’ll hold your veggies captive as you grill them to tender deliciousness, and they make it easy to distribute identical veggie assortments to your guests. (No more hogging the scallions, Dave!)
Get a set of four on Amazon
11. This Simple Device That Rocks Your Garlic Like KISS Rocks Detroit City
If you’re still using that minced garlic that floats in a jar of cloudy water, stop it. The Joseph Joseph garlic rocker makes easy, clean-hands work of fresh garlic. Just rock it atop a fresh clove and you’ll have fresh minced garlic in seconds. And your recipes will thank you.
Get one on Amazon
12. These Tiny Clip-On Cups That Will House Your Delicious Dips
Where were these genius Dip Clips when I was a sad, slump-shouldered child, attempting to coat my carrot sticks in an ever-thinning puddle of ranch dressing? So much wasted time. Such an unbalanced carrot-to-dressing ratio.
Get a set of four on Amazon
13. This Lil’ Devil That’ll Ensure You Never Burn Your Knuckles Again
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve burned my hands, fishing into the oven to check the progress of one of my many culinary accomplishments (which may or may not rhyme with ‘broven brake brizza’). With the Lil’ Devil Oven Pull, your hands stay safe while the silicone devil does the dirty work.
Get one on Amazon
14. These Tall Narrow Ziploc Bags That Will Make Perfect Popsicles Every Time
It’s simple: with the Zipcicle, you can make your own popsicles. Whether or not you choose to add ‘spirits’ to your recipe, well that’s up to you.
Get a set of thirty-six on Amazon
15. This Magic Yellow Cylinder That Makes Cleaning Corn Fun
Stop wasting precious kernels with your sloppy knife-based corn-cleaning techniques. The Chef’n Cob Corn Stripper makes short work of your corn, leaving a pile of delicious whole yellow kernels on side, and a perfectly denuded cob on the other.
Get one on Amazon
16. This Silicone Sleeve That Peels Your Garlic with Ease
If you’re not looking to rock your garlic into oblivion, the OXO garlic peeler may be perfect. Just toss a few cloves into the silicone cylinder, give it a press and a roll, and voila: perfectly peeled garlic. It’s a well-made gadget that even comes with its own carrying case.
Get one on Amazon
18. This Tiny Colander That Your Cans Deserve
Sure, you can keep using the top of the can as a strainer like a Philistine, or you can drain your black beans like a pro with this tiny, affordable can colander. Seriously, the thing will probably pay for itself in non-spilled beans/tuna/corn in a few weeks.
Find it on Amazon
19. These Clip-On Spouts That Will Minimize Spills And Drips
Cleaning up an epic kitchen sessions is annoying enough, without having to scrape dried drips of batter off your countertops. These silicone bowl spouts will direct your concoctions from bowl to pan with nary a drop spilled. And since you can’t order a specific color, they’ll also spice up your life with a little surprise when you open the package from Amazon.
Get one on Amazon
20. This 3-In-1 ToolThat All But Makes The Guacamole For You
While it may not make you the master guacamolean (my newest word) that I am (hint – it’s all in the lime juice and salt ratio), the OXO Good Grips 3-in-1 Avocado Tool will make the process a lot less painful. From opening, to pit removal, to slicing and removing, the tool takes the messy work out of avocado prep.
Get it on Amazon
21. This Knife Sharpener That Chefs Swear By
Nothing will sharpen a knife better than a fine stone and a trained hand, but who in the world has time for that? Run your blades through the Accusharp Knife Sharpener and you’ll be left with edges that even professional chefs wouldn’t sniff at. And you’ll have a lot more spare time.
Get one on Amazon
22. This Silicone Fish That Makes Egg Separating Fun Again
There many devices that’ll separate an egg, but few will do it with as much lighthearted fun as this charming Nuovoware Fish.
Get it on Amazon