26 Clever Kitchen Tools That Will Help You Breeze Through Food Prep
Simplify the meal-prep process with our list of smart and affordable kitchen gadgets.
Okay, so maybe you can't chop, dice and peel like the contestants on Chopped, but you can buy gadgets that make it look like you can. Whether you're concocting a fresh fruit smoothie or a batch of mashed potatoes, we have a few things that will make the food-prep process so much easier — and faster. Shop our favorite kitchen gadgets that are affordable and will cut down your cooking time. (That means more time actually enjoying your food!)
This multi-use kitchen gadget allows you to chop uniform slices of onion with ultra-sharp stainless-steel prongs that pierce and hold even the hardest vegetables. You can also use it to help slice tomatoes, potatoes, cucumbers, carrots and more.
This four-in-one tool makes whipping up avocado toast a breeze. Use the safety blade to safely cut through the thick peel and slice, cube and dice the avocado. The innovative pitting tool makes the cumbersome pitting process quick and easy. The patented flexible scoop fits all sizes and shapes of avocado, leaving no waste behind.
This small but mighty gadget allows you to mince garlic to your desired texture without dirtying cutting boards or knives. Load the chamber with garlic, roll the unit back and forth on a smooth surface and let the interior blades take over.
Powerful yet simple, this cauliflower tool makes wrangling the tough vegetable surprisingly quick and easy. This handy gadget takes the hard work out of separating florets from stalk so your cauliflower and broccoli can go from vegetable drawer to dinner plate in a flash.
With a simple twist, this baby strips kernels off corn cobs, making your next summer salad or salsa super fast and easy.
Your hands will never have to touch a spicy pepper again. Minimize irritation and get the job done quickly with this serrated-edge slicer that works on more than just peppers; it's also the perfect tool for coring cucumbers tomatoes and apples.
Strip and collect fresh herbs from their woody stems with an herb stripper. Insert the stem into the desired hole, root side first, and pull the herb through. It's as easy as that.
Peeling garlic is fast, neat and easy with this cleverly designed tool. Simply place up to three cloves inside the flexible silicone tool and roll it on a flat surface. In seconds, the peels separate from the cloves and all the juices stay contained.
Chopping leafy herbs can take forever. Cut cooking prep time with a pair of herb scissors. These nifty shears feature five blades to instantly slice through herbs and greens for cooking and garnishing. And at less than $15, they’re easily worth the investment.
Create curly noodles from zucchinis, cucumbers and other long vegetables for pasta-like dishes, salads and garnishes. The open-blade design also accommodates round vegetables like potatoes and beets for curly fries, frittatas and more.
One of our favorite ways to save herbs is freezing them with butter or olive oil to use in skillet cooking later. You can use an ice cube tray from the dollar store to create little herbed starter blocks, but if you don’t have a lot of freezer space, the Chef'n SpiceCube Herb Freezer Tray is a lot better for storage. It features four different compartments plus a lid to keep different herbs separated.
Need a simple solution for quickly slicing hard-boiled eggs? This no-fuss slicer yields perfect slices with one press.
This compact stainless steel grater does double duty as a mini storage tub, neatly corralling cheese shavings after grating.
Need cheese slices? Try this chic tool. The adjustable stainless-steel wire cutter allows you to slice paper-thin slices or perfectly even slices up to 1/4-inch thick.
This handy citrus juicer features two reamers to use with both lemons and limes. Built-in teeth strain out seeds and pulp while pouring, ensuring pure, clean, citrus juice.
This simple but clever gadget will have you splitting and pitting photo-worthy peach halves in no time. It's perfect for prepping free-stone fruit for pies, cobblers, crumbles and salads.
Quickly and safely slice whole strawberries at once with this hand-held kitchen tool. Insert a strawberry into the device, then squeeze for perfect slices to top your salad and yogurt.
Core apples and pears in a snap! Simply insert the tool into the fruit, pull out the core and press the lever for easy core disposal. It even works on apples with a firmer flesh, like Granny Smiths.
Perfect for picnics and parties, this watermelon tool cubes and slices melons safely without a knife. Make perpendicular cuts to create those perfect watermelon cubes. Grab slices and cubes out with the tong end of the tool.
Enjoy your favorite fruit in less than 30 seconds! This sleek tool effortlessly peels, core and slices an entire pineapple into perfectly-shaped rings while retaining all the juice with minimal waste.
Tired of struggling to peel kiwis? This sturdy, two-in-one tool perfectly peels and quarters kiwis with one smooth motion.
For slicing big batches of produce, get the job done faster and more safely with a mandoline. This one allows you to adjust the thickness of slices and it folds down for easy storage.
This meat masher can not only chop all kinds of meats for quick cooking but is also perfect for mixing and mashing other foods, like potatoes, tomatoes, eggs, avocado and more.
These silicone rings ensure dough has an even thickness when rolling out. The biggest ones make a thick dough and the smallest make a thin dough.
Place perfectly portioned dough balls on baking sheets with this handy scoop tool. It’s also great for making uniform meatballs and filling muffin tins.
