Transform Your Kitchen With These 45 Essential Items

Kitchen is the heart and soul of a home. Thus, giving it a facelift can do more than provide a nice aesthetic experience to walk into every day.

You can stock up your kitchen with the best cookware, decorations and necessities on the market to experiment with your recipes, host more dinner parties or even spend less money on takeout. 

If you are on a hunt to transform your kitchen with kitchen essentials, this article is just for you.

That being said, walking into a kitchen store can be a bit intimidating.

It seems like there is truly an appliance for every niche cooking style and dish, from shaped waffle makers to fancy ice makers and specialty mini griddles made specifically for breakfast sandwiches.

With so many options out there, it can be hard to know what will truly transform your kitchen for the better and what will simply create unnecessary clutter. 

You may already have your eye on a few must-haves, like ceramic non-stick pans, a high-quality knife set, or a fancy new air fryer.

In addition to those essentials, here are a few more things you must put on your wish list if you’re looking to transform your kitchen into a cooking haven.

1. Ceramic Non-Stick Pans

If you haven’t already switched to ceramic non-stick pans, we’ll be honest: you don’t know what you’re missing.

These game-changing tools will not only make your cooking easier by preventing sticking and burning but also help you cut calories because you don’t need to use oil with them.

Ceramic non-stick pans will also help you avoid the toxic chemicals emitted with other cookware materials. 

Plus, ceramic non-stick pans come in various fun colors, so not only will you get a pan that makes cooking much easier, but you’ll get something that looks good in your kitchen and elevates your mood when you’re cooking your early morning eggs. 

2. A Great Set of Knives

If you’re even the most amateur of cooks, upgrading your knife set to something sharp, sturdy and durable is an absolute must. It’s not an exaggeration to say a great set of knives will completely change the way you cook.

It can even increase the amount of enjoyment you get out of the process of cooking. If you want to start slow and invest in a few staples at a time, experts recommend at least getting a high-quality serrated knife, chef’s knife and paring knife.

These three knives will not only make chopping, peeling and cutting so much easier, they’ll ensure you’re staying safe, as the old saying really is true: a dull knife is a deadly knife. 

3. Seasoning, Chopping, And Handy Materials

How many times have you found yourself squeezing a dozen limes by hand, peeling a handful of potatoes or smashing garlic by hand and wishing you had some sort of magic tool to help speed along the process?

While not necessary, there are so many helpful tools on the market nowadays to take the pain and effort out of those pesky prep steps. Examples include potato peelers, electric handheld whisks, lemon/lime squeezers, avocado scoopers, and apple peelers.

These fun items are great to put on your list if you’re having a housewarming party or moving into a new space after a wedding. They may even make some of the most annoying parts of cooking enjoyable!

4. A Designated Kitchen Speaker Or TV

If you’re lucky enough to put a small TV in your kitchen, you should try to do so – especially if you love to entertain, have people over or even just cook or bake alongside your friends and family.

This TV can be used for so much more than just catching up on your favorite show.

At the same time, you wait for your pasta to cook – use your kitchen TV to follow instructional cooking YouTube videos, play music or music videos or even simply put on a photo slideshow to add to the mood of your party or special night. 

If that’s not your style, purchase a wireless speaker you can use to play tunes while you cook or even catch up on your favorite podcast to pass the time while you do all the prep work. 

While some people prefer to keep TVs, phones or speakers out of the kitchen as much as possible to create more of a peaceful family space, you can work with these things to add to your events and nights in a special way. 

5. One Gadget To Replace Them All – Air Fryer

Air fryers are one of the hottest kitchen appliances on the market right now, and it’s easy to see why. They make foods crispy without the unhealthy oils traditional frying.

They also virtually eliminate the need for toasters or toaster ovens, which can ultimately save you money and space in the long run.

6. Cutting Boards

Cutting boards are one of the kitchen essentials where all vegetables get chopped up into pretty little shapes of all sizes. With the right type of cutting boards, all the chopping gets done in a jiffy.

The best cutting boards can be made of plastic, wood or rubber. Glass cutting boards are also available in the market but it may reduce or diminish the power of knives eventually.

7. Bowls

Bowls, in many places, are used for serving as well as eating food. You must be astonished to know that bowls once were used to drink tea and other alcoholic drinks!

Bowls are essential in kitchen for various purposes such as mixing the ingredients, kneading dough and storing food items.

If you are a freak like Monica from F.R.I.E.N.D.S, you can use different types of bowls. You have rice bowls, soup bowls, salad bowls, dip bowls, pasta bowls, candy bowls and other multifunctional bowls as well.

8. Can Opener

If you have the habit of stocking canned foods, you need the help of can openers undoubtedly. A can opener or tin opener is used to open tin cans. It is not a surprise that there are more than fifteen types of can openers.

The most basic types of can openers are manual can openers, electric can openers and powdered can opener. Depending on your preference, you can choose either a top cutting can opener or side-cutting can opener.

9. Measuring Spoons And Cups

Do you know what is paramount to getting a recipe right? The right ingredients and the right measurements! That brings us to the next kitchen essentials which are measuring spoons and cups.

Measuring spoons and cups are usually used separately for wet and dry ingredients.

1 cup, 1/2 cup, 1/3 cup, 1/4 cup and 1/8 cup are the standard sizes of measuring cups while 1 tablespoon, 1/2 tablespoon, 1 teaspoon, 1/2 teaspoon and 1/4 teaspoon are the standard sizes of measuring spoons.

10. Colanders

Fan of pasta? You definitely colander in your kitchen. A colander has a perforated bottom which strains the ingredients allowing the liquid to drain.

Colanders are used for washing vegetables and fruits that you buy on the spot. They drain water from the items faster so that they are eligible to be cooked immediately. 

Especially when you have spinach at home, you need to filter it away from the dust it has gathered. Washing it thoroughly is a necessity to have it cooked properly.

11. Whisk

Do you have cream at home and try harder to make it whipped and give it a consistency? Then the best tool to possess is nothing but a whisk. 

It is a non-electric blender that smoothens any compound easily. Whisking and whipping can be done with the help of a whisk, and any ingredient can be incorporated into the mixture easily as you stir it. 

Preparing the dough or the batter to bake requires a whisk where every ingredient is just blended to the perfect smoothness.  

This also gives some kind of viscosity to the items which are being whipped, like cream, butter, or even milk.

12. Salad Spinner

Salads tend to become watery and damp if they are not strained properly. 

You need a spinner to mix all the vegetables properly and keep them consistent where they can be munched.

A salad spinner just becomes equipment of great necessity in that case which will help strain away all the excess liquid. 

It has an attached filter where the liquid will be removed, and the salad has a thick texture to be swallowed. It also conveniently mixes all vegetables properly to give the salad a smooth blend and shine.

13. Grater

A normal cutter for soft foods would crush and smudge away all its essential nutrients and juices. You will need a grater to cut soft items smoothly enough that they are pulverized into small particles. 

A grater is of excellent importance in that case where a normal knife would not be so effective. Grater is very essential as kitchen equipment to slice away vegetables, cheese, lemon, or even spices like ginger or garlic.

14. Juicer

What do you do when you need puree or juice from any vegetable or fruit on the spot? A juicer is definitely a worthy need in the kitchen as it will help squeeze the juice out of the pulp, be it any vegetable or fruit.

Nowadays, smoothies, purees, and juices have great health benefits and are commonly used as ingredients in many recipes, from stews to dessert items. 

Hence the need for the juicer is no longer conventional to enjoy a beverage but also grind or crush out any ingredient so that you can use it in many important food items. 

15. Sharpening Rod

Sometimes your knives will go to sleep and will not have the edge to cut vegetables, even the softer ones. If you have to bring some sharpness to knives or blades in the cutters, you need to have sharpening rods. 

They make the blades sharper as you press them and rub them with sharpening rods. It would definitely sharpen the knife’s edge instantly, and you can just cut anything from a tough vegetable to soft fruit. 

16. Skillet

What would you do if you didn’t have a skillet in the kitchen? It is good not having a kitchen at home. From pan-frying, searing, braising, broiling, and roasting to stirring any ingredients, the skillet is the way to go.

It has a bottom surface that withstands heat and cooks anything equally and properly. The heat would spread proportionally amongst all ingredients on the stovetop.

17. Saute Pan

Saute pan is used for sauteing all the ingredients facing the heat. It has a surface and a base that spreads the heat equally. 

It is used for braising, poaching, sauteing, and also deep frying. It has an excellent capacity to retain heat and expose it to all the items. It is quite big, which gives room for stirring all the items inside.

It also has a lid which makes it very appropriate for cooking anything that sputters and splashes out.

18. Saucepan

What if you need to cook something liquid, and it is going to splash into your kitchen walls? Yes, the saucepan is the right tool for something like that. 

Any liquid items like a sauce or stew can be cooked in the saucepan. It has a deep curvature, which means nothing is going to splatter out of the rim by any means. 

19. Slow Cooker

Slow cooking is considered to be the healthiest form of cooking. It helps tenderize hard food items like meats. Slow cooking also brings flavor to the item and helps retain the juices of the cooked dishes. 

Stews, casseroles, and soups can be cooked in the slow cooker, eventually cooking the items to a smooth consistency. It will make it very soft and boil all the ingredients, so they eventually get mixed properly.

20. Electric Hand Mixer

An electric hand mixer is just an electric whisk where you can blend, whip, shred or mix all the ingredients. If you want every ingredient in the item to be mixed and gelled well with each other, you will need an electric hand mixer.

An electric hand mixer is quite useful for all kinds of items like salads, sauces, or stews. It can whisk all the ingredients to perfect consistency and make the item look perfect. 

21. Grill Pan

Grill pans are perfect for filling your tummy with a special snack or something more healthy. Any vegetables, steaks, and meats can be grilled with a grill pan, and the item will be equally and properly roasted to have a crispy texture.

It is used for all cooktops, including induction or stovetops, and even in the oven.

22. Baking Sheet Pan

You can only bake something with a baking sheet pan or a baking tray. A baking sheet pan is a right tool if you have to bake bread rolls, cookies, sheet cakes, pies, or pizzas.

A baking sheet pan looks like a flat metal pan kept in the oven. It looks quite elegant and can be used to bake any ingredient that strikes your mind.

23. Blender

We all know what a blender can do. There can be no kitchen without a blender that mixes and crushes anything from vegetables to meat. You can make smoothies, purees, juices, sauces, dips, and pastes.

The consistency at which the blender mixes all the ingredients depends on your choice. It can blend anything to smoothness or even coarse if you want to. 

24. Casserole Dish

Casseroles are well-known as a dish that is actually a stew, pot roasts, sauces, and soups. They are named like that because it is made in casseroles with big lids and substantial bottom base.

They can be kept in an oven or stovetop, and anything can be cooked properly. It is very attractive and can probably serve many people many times. Washing it up is also easier and more efficient. 

25. Stockpot

Stockpot is a big utensil that looks like a cooker. You can cook stews, boiled foods, shellfish, and other recipes. It is deep and big enough to hold large volumes of water. Liquid items can be cooked with great consistency with a stockpot’s help. 

26. Spatula

You need something to serve or stir the ingredients. Spatula is the needed to tool to do it. It is long enough to spread out to all ingredients in the pan and can be used to stir all of them equally.

Spatulas actually come in different materials and are flexible enough to be used for multiple purposes like stirring, whisking, serving, or even tossing anything.

27. Stirring Spoon

Stirring spoons are not very different from spatulas but have a base that is actually helpful to scoop off any items. It can be used for stirring, mixing, serving, and eating.

Stirring spoons can also be used as measuring spoons to include the right amount of spices to be mixed. From salt to pepper, anything can be whisked or stared with the help of a stirring spoon without any issue.

28. Tongs

Good kitchen tongs complete your kitchen like nothing else. You need kitchen tongs compulsorily, from serving food items to turning steaks and tossing a salad. It also has silicon tips which prevent scratches or tears in the utensils.

It is available in stainless steel or even in plastics and does help serve many purposes. Sometimes, if the food is very hot and you cannot plate them effectively, the tongs help greatly. 

New cooks and chefs need help tackling heat or stirring vegetables with firm hands. Tongs help them with necessary force and handle hot items without any issues.

The grip on the handle gives good friction and helps handle any utensil, even if they are slippery or fragile. 

29. Ladle

Ladles are a great help when you have to plate something or serve some dish. It can also be used to stir portions of sauce or pasta. Soups and vegetable stews can be served on the dishes with the help of a ladle.

Ladles are long enough to touch the bottom of the pan or long utensils and can bear heat to the maximum extent. 

30. Oven Mitts

How can you survive in your kitchen without oven mitts? If something is kept in the oven or stovetop, you have to handle the hot item by taking it out.

Oven mitts help you protect your hands from hot surfaces or utensils. It helps you pick anything from the oven without being subjected to heat. It also has a frictional hold that helps carry the item.

31. Trivet

If you have a hot item in the pan or a utensil, it is difficult to position it on the table to serve. The table could quickly get damaged or spoiled as the surface would be subjected to instant heat.

A trivet helps a great deal in protecting the surface from that excessive heat. It keeps away the direct contact of the table surface with the hot substance by absorbing all the heat.

Trivets come in different sizes and materials, and people choose them according to their preferences. 

32. Splatter Guard

The name suggests this important equipment’s purpose, which is needed when you have a frying pan. When using a frying pan, the oil burning hot would splatter or spill out with the risk of hurting you.

A splatter guard acts as a shield to protect the oil from splashing out or even splattering out. You can safely stand close to the stovetop without any hassles if you have the splatter guard covering the pan. 

33. Food Storage Containers

All the food you have prepared in the kitchen must be appropriately stored. This is an important piece of equipment in the kitchen for storing food you have prepared. Without them, the food items are bound to get spoiled or easily damaged.

Preservation comes across as an important concept when you manage a kitchen. The facilities and amenities you own are supposed to help you support good storage.

Food storage containers can be used to preserve the dish in refrigerators or even at room temperature. They can also be positioned in the freezer without any extreme temperature fluctuations. 

34. Aluminum Foil

When preparing for a journey or even planning a trip, you must have your food items packed safely. The best emergency equipment to make that dream possible is by having aluminum foils at your disposal. 

Aluminum foils also help you store any food item, from cut vegetables to fruits. They also help shield some cooked items while cooking or even while storing. 

It prevents the food from direct heat or even any extreme temperature fluctuations. Any item wrapped in aluminum foil is sure to be safeguarded from external dirt or pollution.

35. Parchment Paper

Parchment paper is very similar to aluminum foil, except they help the food items when they are placed in the baking oven. Everything from vegetables to fruits can be wrapped in parchment paper and positioned in the oven. 

The parchment paper also preserves the moisture in the food intact. You don’t have to galvanize or grease the layers of the parchment paper as it will take care of smoothness by itself. 

The parchment paper also withstands heat and temperature fluctuations to the maximum. It keeps the concentration and flavor of the food item in place. 

36. Towels

You cannot run a kitchen without the help of towels. It is so handy and very essential when you have to cook items. From handling hot items to cleaning up your hands, towels serve multiple purposes.

It is very difficult to navigate dishes or food in the kitchen without towels. Serving or even preparation takes a lot of effort and can get the place messy. Towels are the sole saviors and are quite convincingly very handy.

37. Sponges

Kitchen slabs or counters always get wet or even spotted with liquids or water. It will get slippery, and the floors or carpets have to be wiped off from wetness to have some efficiency in the kitchen.

Sponges play an important role in the kitchen. The porous attribute of the sponges helps exfoliate the kitchen floors, slabs, and even counters. 

38. Dish Rack

The kitchen is filled with dishes and utensils. If you cannot organize or arrange them to the convenience of people, that place will get messier. 

Dish racks help you arrange all the dishes or even vessels for convenience. The more organized the kitchen is, the more comfortable you get while cooking. 

Dish racks are essential facilities for positioning all vessels or utensils in an arranged form. Frequently picking and using them deserves a dish rack that is accessible to your reach.

39. Trash Bags

Where do you decompose the dirt from the kitchen? All the waste from the kitchen has to be shoved away safely, and you need trash bags. 

Preparation waste in the kitchen makes up for a lot of wet disposals. They can fill up the place and probably get messier. The only way to keep it clean or away from pollution is to have proper waste disposal amenities.

One of the main pieces of equipment is trash bags, which you eventually need by all means.

40. Ice Cube Tray

What do you do when you need frozen candies or even cool your drink? Ice blocks from the ice cube tray help cool up anything from liquids to items you have prepared. 

Sometimes they help you reduce the temperature of a cooked item.

You may also have some ice cubes in cocktails or beverages you prepare. Sometimes you may need iced candies or frozen chocolates as you get snacky. Ice cube trays may be a trivial concern, but it is important when you need ice cubes.  

41. Trash Bin

We have mentioned the importance of trash bags. Trash bins serve the same purpose as holding trash bags. You have to dispose of a lot of stuff when you are in the kitchen, and bins are the only way to go. 

Trash bins can be of different shapes, and you must ensure they are big enough for all your waste disposals. Trash bins come in different materials, from wood to plastics, and shield us from specks of dirt and impurities.

42. Vegetable Steamer

Cooking involves smoothening the texture of hard substances. You could mix all the ingredients and bring the flavor. However, there is a grinding need for the vegetables to be cooked so you can munch them. Otherwise, they are going to be difficult to swallow or eat.

Having a vegetable steamer cooks the vegetables, and the only task you need to take care of is preparing the gravy. The vegetables and all the hard ingredients can be steamed in the steamer and get cooked to softness.

The steamers help promote the texture of curries or stews by boiling away all the vegetables equally. They are also very healthy as there is no inclusion of oil in the process; even the chance of overheating is averted when using a steamer. 

43. Instant-Read Thermometer

No one can do without an instant-read thermometer when cooking meats. A thermometer in a kitchen is as useful and purposeful as it is in a clinic or a hospital.

The cooked meat is supposed to be validated with the temperature it reads on the internal layers. They may look like they are cooked, but they would be half-baked if not checked properly.

An instant-read thermometer to check the temperature would be a perfect fit for people who prefer to cook meat.

The thermometer is inserted into the densest part of the meat and checked for the temperature before it is declared to be cooked well enough to be served. 

44. Slotted Spoon

Slotted spoons are used as materials to sieve ingredients. It is used to retrieve items from a cooking liquid or even mix something into the hot portion. 

Spotted spoons also come as a package when you buy canned products like juices or fruits and vegetables. They are also used for eating and probably serving small portions.

45. Rolling Pin

Rolling pins are essential tools just to flatten and spread out any dough or pies. They can press any ingredient to make it look flat and simple.

It is very useful to make any dessert items or even bake baguettes, cakes, and pies. It can also bring shape to any food item according to your preference. 

Final Word

At the end of the day, anything that makes cooking easier and more enjoyable is going to completely transform the experiences you have in your kitchen.

Investing in a few big and small tools to make this a reality will set you up for tastier meals, less headaches and more quality time with the people you love. 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)