10 Kitchen Tools Essential for a New Cook
Looking to cook more? Stock a new kitchen? I’m sharing 10 kitchen tools essential for a new cook…
It’s that time of year…the floodgates have opened again and swarms of new college graduates are pouring into New York City (and many other cities around the country) to start their first job or maybe graduate school, or are just figuring out their next steps in the game we call LIFE.
Summer is unofficially behind us, which means back to a steady routine for many of us. To me, routine is only routine if I’m in the kitchen, consistently cooking dinner in between grad school shenanigans and work. Ahhhh the busyness is here again!
Whether you just moved into your own place (CONGRATS!) or are hoping to cook a littttle bit more this year, stocking a kitchy kitch for the first time can be a daunting task. While it would be nice if we could all have a Vitamix, the best cast iron pan and even a grill (#NYCproblems), these tools are expensive, LARGE, and definitely NOT essential for a delicious and nutritious home cooked meal.
So what DO I find essential?
Read on, my friends, to find out 10 kitchen tools ESSENTIAL for a new cook…
A 10- or 12-inch saute pan is the most versatile to whip up a stir fry, brown meatballs (or bean burgers!), and make scrambled eggs! If you invest in one that’s oven safe too, it’s a plus (and a great step before you invest in a serious cast iron skillet!).
Tongs are one of my most beloved kitchen tools that I never knew I needed! They’re great to toss salads, zoodles, pick up a piece of meat, and much more.
I’ve sang the praises of these bowls before, and I 100% believe they’re an essential for a new kitchen. Not only can you prep salads and grain salads and marinate meat in them, they’re dishwasher safe, fantastic for storage & SO versatile!
-
An adequate chef’s knife
Knives are expensive. Or at least good knives are expensive. But I truly believe if you have one semi-decent knife — AND learn how to use it — you’ll be good to go in the kitchen! This is the knife I used when I first started out and I would buy it again and again.
Unless you’re a baker, you may not think measuring cups and spoons are essential, but I’m telling you, THEY ARE…especially for kitchen newbies! Before you start playing around with recipes, follow a few so you get the hang of what you’re doing, and you’ll need measuring cups and spoons for that!
One of the simplest things for a cookin’ newbie to whip up has got to be pasta, and in order to do that, you need a stock pot to boil water! This 6-quart stock pot can be used for the simple, like boiling water, or a bit more complicated, like soup, and the even more complex like braising meat ((ohhh yeaaahhh I just went there!)).
If you’re not going to invest in my absolute favorite kitchen gadget — a spiralizer — a veggie peeler is the next best bet! Use it to make zucchini strands and carrot ribbons, to grate/peel ginger, and obviously peel any other veggie of your liking!
Whether you’re baking cookies, roasting veggies, making sheet pan meals, or using your baking sheet as a vehicle to roast a piece of fish or meat, baking sheets arae an essential kitchen tool for a new cook…just don’t make the same mistake I did and make sure you purchase a size that will fit in your miniature NYC oven! I personally prefer a sheet with a slight edge, as I think it’s more versatile, but whatever floats your boat bakes your cookies!
If you’re looking for a nutritious breakfast in the blink of an eye, look no further than a homemade green smoothie. So enter your magic bullet! Also great for making creamy soups, sauces, dips, and more!
If we’re talking the most basic of basic, you DEFINITELY need a spatula for everything from scrambling those eggs and that stir fry to removing cookies off of your cookie sheet and flipping a burger or piece of meat. I prefer a steel/metal version because who knows what’s in those plastic ones (even though I do have some of those at home too), but be careful not to scratch your pan! You can buy a “kitchen essentials” kit (and for a pretty affordable price too!) and get some other great stuff in there — like a slotted spoon and pizza cutter, large mixing spoons and rubber spatula too!
If you’re looking beyond these initial 10 items I also suggest…
- Cast iron skillet
- Mini waffle maker – so fun to change things up beyond pancakes!
- Air fryer
If I were to add one, it would be silicone baking mats. I use them daily!!
Yes! I love mine too!!
I don’t think I could narrow it down to 10! 🙂 Great list! I would add a great cutting board – invest in a good one and take care of it! 🙂
It was SO hard!! Definitely a very important tool!
A colander to drain pasta is an essential and a small paring knife is so useful…as a suggestion.
Great additions!!