Tag Archives: Kitchen

Shopping for a home cook? We’re here to help! Explore our guide to the best kitchen gifts. It features ideas like top-rated appliances, knives, and more.

If you’re looking for kitchen gifts for the home cooks in your life, you’ve come to the right place!

Below, I’ve rounded up the best kitchen gifts of 2023. They include ideas for everyone on your list: the home baker, the vegetable lover, the cook who’s obsessed with meal prep, that person who lives for their morning coffee, and really anyone who loves cooking.

These kitchen gift ideas range from all-star appliances to handy cooking tools to high-quality food items. Though they vary in size and price point, they’re all great additions to a home kitchen. You can’t go wrong!

The Best Kitchen Gifts of 2023: Our Top Picks

It’s impossible for me to write a kitchen gift guide without including a Vitamix blender. Vitamix makes the best high-speed blenders on the market. They stand the test of time (our editor Phoebe has had hers for almost 10 years!), and they can blend up the creamiest smoothies, sauces, and soups.

I currently own the Vitamix A3500 Ascent Series Smart Blender. This advanced blender has settings for smoothies, hot soups, dips, and frozen desserts. It also has a cleaning function, which makes cleanup a breeze! The 2.2 HP motor can easily puree tough ingredients like nuts—no soaking required.

If you’re looking for kitchen gifts at a more accessible price point, I recommend the Vitamix E310 Explorian blender. It has a 2 HP motor and ten variable speeds to help you refine the texture of whatever you’re blending.

Buy the Vitamix A3500 Ascent Series Smart Blender:

Buy the Vitamix E310 Explorian Blender:

Every home chef needs a good cast-iron skillet, and I can’t recommend this Staub pan enough. It can go seamlessly from the stovetop to the oven, and it conducts heat beautifully.

I use this pan daily for searing and sautéing vegetables, making frittatas and shakshuka, and cooking perfect grilled cheese sandwiches. I love that it doesn’t require any seasoning—the enamel-coated surface is easy to clean with soap and water. This skillet is an investment piece, but it will last a lifetime.

A Dutch oven is one of the best cooking gifts because of its versatility. You can use it for making soups, stews, and sauces on the stove or pop it in the oven to bake a loaf of bread!

I love Staub’s 5-quart tall cocotte. The cast-iron material is fantastic at retaining and conducting heat, and it’s coated with enamel, meaning that it’s easy to clean with just soap and water. This Dutch oven also comes in a gorgeous array of colors. I like to serve food straight out of it at the table. The pot looks pretty and keeps everything hot! It’s pricier than some other options, but it will last a lifetime.

We all know a home cook who wants to sharpen or replace their knives. Surprise them with a new chef’s knife as a gift! I’m a huge fan of all of Zwilling’s knives, but I especially love the smaller profile and lighter weight of this 7-inch knife. Compared to a traditional 8-inch chef’s knife, it fits more comfortably in my hand and is easier to maneuver for precise cutting. The white handle and carbon steel blade look striking too.

Do you know an air fryer-curious cook? They’ll love this air fryer toaster oven from the makers of the Instant Pot. It’s the model I own, and I get SO much use out of it. It preheats almost instantly, and it makes French fries, tofu, and veggies like broccoli perfectly crisp in minutes! And it doesn’t just air fry—this countertop oven has functions for baking, roasting, toasting, reheating, and more.

If you know someone who’s looking for inspiration in the kitchen, my latest cookbook, Love and Lemons Simple Feel Good Food, would be an amazing gift. This New York Times-bestselling book is packed 125+ fresh, delicious recipes. Half the recipes are easy to make with on-hand ingredients, like quick weekday breakfasts, toss-together salads, and sheet pan dinners. The other half are designed for meal prep, like sturdy packable salads, freezer-friendly lasagnas, and make-ahead desserts.

It also includes fun features like these:

• Mix-and-match recipe charts, like A Guide to Grain Bowls, Shaking Up Shakshuka, and Mix and Match Tahini Cookies
• 3-in-1 meal plans, where a single grocery list transforms into 3 different meals. Each one centers on a single vegetable or pantry staple. Spoiler: you’ll finally finish a whole head of cabbage!

Some of my favorite recipes from the book are the Freezer Carrot Cake Bars (p. 247), Sweet Potato Paneer Burgers (p. 153), and the Creamy Cauliflower Enchiladas (p. 107). I can’t wait to hear what yours are!

My second cookbook, Love and Lemons Every Day is packed with plant-based recipes for every occasion, from quick weeknight dinners to holiday meals. It also includes handy cooking charts (i.e., how to roast any vegetable, a giant grid of 5-ingredient salad dressings) and resources (like a list of what kitchen tools you actually need) to help readers become more confident and resourceful home cooks.

My first cookbook is the perfect cooking gift for anyone who loves trying new veggies from the farmers market. Organized alphabetically by vegetable, it features simple recipes to help readers make the most of seasonal produce.

Stocking Stuffers for Cooks

These silicone stasher bags are one of my favorite kitchen gifts for cooks cutting back on single-use plastic. I use my set everyday for packing snacks for our kiddo and sealing up partially-squeezed lemons. The best thing about them? They’re easy to clean in the dishwasher!

A tofu press would be a great kitchen gift for the vegan or vegetarian in your life. I tested the best tofu presses earlier this year, and the Tofuture Tofu Press was my favorite. Its compact size makes it easy to store, and with just 3 pieces, it’s super simple to use! After only 20 minutes of pressing, it yields ultra-firm, chewy tofu that’s perfect for grilling, baking, or pan-frying.

I LOVE mini kitchen utensils because a) they’re adorable and b) they’re actually super useful! A mini whisk is great for mixing up salad dressings, and a mini spatula is essential for prying the last little bit of mustard or honey out of a tablespoon. This set is only $5! It’s one of the cutest kitchen gifts.

Fresh herbs take any dish to another level, but I’ll be the first to admit that chopping them can get tedious. Enter: these herb cutter scissors! Equipped with 5 pairs of rust-resistant stainless steel blades, they allow you to cut herbs, dried chiles, and more quickly and efficiently. They come with a small cleaning brush and blade cover for safe storage.

Know a cook who’s short on storage space? This OXO grater is a great alternative to a traditional box grater because it’s easy to stash in a drawer. Its non-slip foot keeps it sturdy during grating. The large holes are the perfect size for grating cheese, butter, and vegetables.

Chip clips have never been cuter! We all know it’s easy to lose little kitchen gadgets (just me?), so I love that these are magnetic. When I’m not using them, I stick them to my fridge.

Surprise a tea lover with this high-quality matcha powder from Ippodo! I tested the best matcha powders earlier this year, and the Ippodo Ummon matcha stood out from the rest. It has a deep, earthy flavor with only a hint of bitterness. Rich in antioxidants, it’s wonderful in matcha lattes, iced matcha, and traditional matcha tea.

Matcha drinkers will love this 3-piece bamboo set. It includes a bamboo whisk, also called a chasen; a traditional scoop, or chashaku; and tea spoon ideal for making frothy, lump-free matcha. Gift it on its own or with the matcha powder above!

I’m not kidding when I say that Seed + Mill makes THE BEST TAHINI. Creamy, nutty, and not at all bitter, it’s so delicious that I like to eat spoonfuls straight from the jar. Of course, it’s also wonderful for making recipes like tahini sauce, tahini dressing, hummus, and baba ganoush. The sesame lover in your life will devour this kitchen gift.

Quality olive oil is one of the best kitchen gifts for foodies. This year, I’ll be gifting the Brightland Olive Oil two-pack, which includes the Awake oil for cooking and a smoother Alive oil that is best for drizzling on bread or veggies. Brightland uses olives grown on small family farms in California that are cold-pressed for freshness and flavor. Their products are a cut above the average olive oil from the grocery store.

You know that friend who likes all things spicy? They’ll love this chili crisp! It adds crispy texture and spicy, savory flavor to veggie ramen, eggs, and more. Why not grab a jar for yourself while you’re at it?

Cooking Gifts for Vegetable Lovers

A mandolin slicer is a must-have cooking tool for any veggie lover. It quickly cuts vegetables into consistent slices, which come in handy for salads, pickles, gratins, and more. I’ve had this Benriner model for years. I love the non-skid base, easily adjustable blades, and user-friendly safety guard.

No more soggy salads! This OXO salad spinner is a game changer for cooks who like working with fresh herbs and leafy greens. The user-friendly hand pump design allows you to quickly dry them (it takes less than 30 seconds!) with minimal effort. Bonus: a storage lock holds the pump flush with the lid, making this kitchen gadget easy to stack and store.

I was an immersion blender skeptic until I tried this immersion blender. The 625-watt motor blends soups and sauces to smooth and creamy perfection, and the unique bell guard protects pots and pans from scratches. The blender has 5 variable speeds and a convenient long cord. If you know a home cook who can’t get enough butternut squash soup, the Vitamix immersion blender is the kitchen gift for them.

The Our Place Always Pan isn’t just cute—it’s highly functional too. It has a stainless steel handle and lightweight recycled aluminum body, and the nonstick ceramic coating is free of toxins like PTFEs, PFOAs, PFAS, and lead. The deep lidded skillet is oven-safe and comes with a removable steamer basket, so it’s good for more than just sautéing. Use it for frying, boiling, braising, searing, and more! A vegetable lover won’t find a more versatile piece of cookware for their kitchen.

Have you ever accidentally dumped WAY too much oil onto a tray of roasted vegetables? Same! I love this oil pour bottle from Figmint because it helps me not do that. The tapered stainless steel spout controls the flow of oil, making it easy to drizzle just the right amount over a salad, veggies, or bread. It looks super cute on the countertop too!

Every vegetable lover needs a good set of salad tongs! These Figmint serving spoons are made of gorgeous acacia wood. At just $10, they’re one of the most beautiful and affordable kitchen gifts.

You don’t need a full set of knives for chopping vegetables! The two knives in this Miyabi knife set—a 6-inch chef’s knife and a 3.5-inch paring knife—are the ones I reach for most often. With ice-hardened blades and scalpel-like sharpness, these knives would be one of the best kitchen gifts for a veggie-loving home chef.

Veg-table is bestselling author Nik Sharma’s latest cookbook, and it’s a must-have for home chefs who want to take their understanding of vegetables to the next level. Sharma digs into the origins and biology of more than 50 vegetables and shares over 100 flavorful recipes using them. Sharma is known for his science-based approach to cooking. If you’re a fan of Serious Eats (where Sharma is a columnist), you’ll love this book.

Hetty McKinnon is one of my biggest inspirations. Her compelling