Kitchen Tools Worth Buying vs. Complete Waste of Money
My kitchen has been through phases. The “I need every gadget” phase left me with drawers full of tools I used once. The “minimalist cooking” phase left me struggling with inadequate equipment. After years of trial and error, I’ve figured out what’s actually worth the money and counter space.
Some tools genuinely make cooking easier, faster, or more enjoyable. Others are just clever marketing designed to separate you from your money. Here’s what I’ve learned from way too many impulse purchases and Amazon reviews that lied to me.
Tools Worth Every Penny
A Good Chef’s Knife (But Just One)
This is the most repeated advice for a reason. A sharp, well-balanced chef’s knife makes everything easier. Chopping vegetables becomes faster and safer. Prep work goes from tedious to almost enjoyable.
I spent years struggling with dull, cheap knives before finally investing in one good one. The difference was immediate and dramatic. Food prep that used to take 20 minutes now takes 10.
You don’t need a whole set. One good 8-inch chef’s knife handles 90% of kitchen tasks. Add a small paring knife and you’re set for most home cooking.
Cast Iron Skillet
This was a game-changer for someone who used to struggle with food sticking to pans. A well-seasoned cast iron skillet is naturally non-stick, retains heat beautifully, and goes from stovetop to oven seamlessly.
I use mine for everything - eggs, steaks, cornbread, even pizza. It’s been the most versatile tool in my kitchen and will probably outlast me. Plus you can get a good one for under $30.
Instant-Read Thermometer
This ended my era of cutting into meat to check if it’s done and watching all the juices run out. An instant-read thermometer takes the guesswork out of cooking proteins.
No more overcooked chicken or undercooked pork. No more anxiety about whether that expensive steak is ready. It’s especially crucial for food safety with things like ground meat and poultry.
Kitchen Scale
Baking became so much more consistent once I started weighing ingredients instead of using cups. Flour settles differently, packing varies, but 200 grams is always 200 grams.
Even for cooking, weighing ingredients is often faster and more accurate than measuring cups. Plus it’s easier to scale recipes up or down when you’re working by weight.
Complete Wastes of Money
Avocado Tools
I bought three different avocado gadgets before admitting that a knife and spoon work better than any specialized tool. The avocado slicer, the pit remover, the “avocado tool” - they’re all solutions to problems that don’t exist.
A knife cuts avocados perfectly. A spoon scoops out the flesh easily. These tools just take up drawer space and are harder to clean than regular utensils.
Banana Slicers and Apple Corers
Along the same lines as avocado tools, these solve problems that aren’t problems. A knife slices bananas just fine. An apple corer doesn’t core apples any better than a knife, and it only works on perfectly shaped apples.
These tools do one thing that regular tools already do well. They’re not faster, easier, or better - just more specialized and taking up more space.
Electric Can Openers
Unless you have mobility issues that make manual can openers difficult, electric ones are just counter space wasters. A good manual can opener is faster, quieter, easier to clean, and doesn’t require a power outlet.
I had an electric can opener for years that I used maybe once a month. It took up valuable counter space and was annoying to clean. A $5 manual opener works better.
Bread Makers
I wanted to love my bread maker. Fresh bread at home sounds amazing. But the reality is that bread makers make mediocre bread that takes hours and requires you to be home for the timing.
The bread isn’t as good as what you can buy at a good bakery, and the machine takes up huge amounts of counter space. If you want to make bread, learn to do it by hand - it’s more flexible and the results are better.
The “It Depends” Category
Food Processor
If you cook a lot and do lots of chopping, a food processor can be a huge time-saver. But if you’re only making dinner for two people a few times a week, it’s probably overkill.
Food processors are great for making large batches of things like hummus, pesto, or salsa. They’re excellent for shredding large amounts of cheese or vegetables. But they’re big, loud, and have lots of parts to clean.
Stand Mixer
If you bake regularly, a stand mixer is transformative. If you make cookies twice a year, it’s an expensive counter decoration.
I used mine constantly for about six months, then barely touched it for two years. It depends entirely on how much you actually bake versus how much you think you’ll bake.
Air Fryer
Air fryers work well for what they do, but they’re basically small convection ovens. If you already have a convection setting on your oven, you probably don’t need one.
They’re great for small portions and crispy results without much oil. But they’re another appliance to store and clean, and they can’t handle large quantities.
Tools That Surprised Me (Good and Bad)
Microplane Grater (Surprisingly Essential)
I thought this was just fancy marketing for a basic grater. Turns out it makes grating citrus zest, hard cheese, and garlic completely different experiences. It’s so much better than box graters for these tasks that it feels like a different tool entirely.
Garlic Press (Surprisingly Useless)
I thought this would make cooking with garlic faster and easier. Instead, it’s harder to clean than just mincing garlic with a knife, and it doesn’t work well unless the garlic is perfectly sized.
Mincing garlic with a knife is faster once you get the hang of it, and you’re not stuck cleaning out a specialized tool.
Rice Cooker (Depends on Your Rice Habits)
If you eat rice regularly, a rice cooker makes perfect rice with zero effort. If you have rice occasionally, a pot works fine and doesn’t take up counter space.
The key word is “regularly.” If you’re making rice twice a week, get a rice cooker. If it’s twice a month, stick with a pot.
The Real Questions to Ask Before Buying
Before buying any kitchen tool, I now ask myself:
- What am I currently using for this task, and why isn’t it working?
- How often will I realistically use this?
- Where will I store it when I’m not using it?
- Is this genuinely easier than what I’m already doing?
Most kitchen gadgets fail at least one of these questions. The good tools pass all of them easily.
What I Wish I’d Known Earlier
The best kitchen tools are usually the simple ones that do their job well without requiring special storage, complicated cleaning, or perfect conditions to work properly.
Multi-purpose tools are almost always better than single-purpose gadgets. A good knife handles more tasks than any collection of specialized slicers and dicers.
Quality matters more than quantity. I’d rather have five excellent tools than twenty mediocre ones. The good tools get used constantly and make cooking more enjoyable. The mediocre ones just create clutter.
The most expensive tool isn’t always the best, but the cheapest tool is usually not worth buying either. There’s usually a sweet spot in the middle where you get good quality without paying for unnecessary features or brand names.
Building a Kitchen Gradually
Don’t try to equip your kitchen all at once. Start with basics and add tools as you discover specific needs. You’ll make better decisions about what you actually need versus what seems like it might be useful someday.
Pay attention to what tasks you find frustrating or time-consuming. Those are the areas where the right tool can make a real difference. Everything else is probably just marketing.
The goal isn’t to have every tool available - it’s to have the right tools for the way you actually cook. A few excellent tools that you use regularly are worth more than a drawer full of gadgets that sounded good when you bought them.