The 10 Best Kitchen Tools I’ve Ever Bought (So Good I Bought Them Twice)

Last summer, we got a little spot up in the mountains, and even though we lucked into buying it fully furnished, there were still a few comforts we found ourselves missing from our place in Half Moon Bay. Namely, in the kitchen (though I must admit — the previous owners had obviously done their research and left us plenty of quality pieces — thanks guys!).

But it made me realize: if the pieces we ended up adding were good enough to buy not once but twice, they’d certainly be worth sharing with the masses. Especially since Chris and I are extremely minimal/practical/anti-single-use tools when it comes to, well, most things.

10 Kitchen Essentials Worth Repurchasing (Minimalist, Mom-Approved Favorites)

Some of these you’ve heard me (and other TME friends) talk about time and time again. Some of them have flown under the radar and, while they’re not necessarily ground breaking, I can’t imagine our kitchen functioning quite the same without them.

So here we go — the 10 Best Things I’ve Ever Bought For My Kitchen. So good, in fact, that they were even worth repurchasing years later.

---

1. Zojirushi Rice Cooker: The Ultimate Family Meal Prep Upgrade

The picture says it all. There are people who like rice and then there are people who like rice. If you’re still cooking rice on the stove, you might not even know if you’re the latter — imagine that! I used a $30 rice cooker for years and it was fine. Fine. But a couple of years ago, after doing wayyy too much research and reading many a Zojirushi rice cooker review, I gifted myself this exact Zojirushi Rice Cooker for my birthday, and it’s so worth the splurge. (While there are many to choose from, this one is ideally “smart” without being overkill.)

The biggest advantage, in addition to perfectly cooked rice, of course, is that you can keep rice in it on the warm function for daysss, which means hot rice on demand for weekday breakfasts, packing sushi or musubi for school lunches, after-school snacks, you name it. Hot rice with a fried egg, kimchi and furikake? Name a better girl dinner.

You can also make brown rice, quinoa, oatmeal, jook (Chinese rice porridge), all at the touch of a button — not to mention all those viral one-pot rice cooker recipes you see online. For a household with kiddos, especially, it’s game-changing. Also available here if you’re avoiding Target.

---

2. The Milk Frother We Use Every Single Day

We use a milk frother about 900% more than I ever would have expected. It’s the best milk frother for matcha (just load up everything and go!) and Chris uses it for his daily latte, but we also use it to reheat said items when they’ve been neglected for hours (oops!) and to make hot cocoa or steamers for the girls.

We’ve used this exact version at home or the past four years (and recently bought the same one for the cabin), and I love it because the whisk attachments are nice and secure, so they’re not easily interrupted by the addition of heavier powders (cocoa, collagen). We’ve also owned this exact Nespresso version (in fact, it lasted us 11 years of daily use!) if you’re willing to spend a little bit more.

---

3. Microplane Grater: The Most Underrated Kitchen Tool

There was an era (pre-Rachael Ray, I’m sure) when I wasn’t aware a Microplane even existed — or if I was, I assumed it was one of those kitchen tools that professional chefs use. But for the past 20 years, I’ve used it almost daily. For grating frozen ginger into stir-fries and smoothies, frozen garlic into, well, everything, fresh nutmeg onto lattes, teensy chocolate shavings onto yogurt or cocoa, parm onto soups/salads/pastas — and, of course, zesting all the citruses.

---

4. Why a Dough Whisk Is For So Much More Than Baking

This is a random one, but this dough whisk is the perfect tool for mixing bread dough (if you’re still sourdoughing so hard, you likely know this), but it’s also great for things where you’d be sorely tempted to use a whisk but you know you’re not supposed to overmix things — i.e. cakes, muffins, pancakes, etc.

But the job I use it for the very most? Mixing meatballs or ground meats. It’s perfect for incorporating ingredients evenly without overmixing, so if your household loves meatballs, meatloaf, burgers, kofta, dumplings, egg roll bowls, etc. (even any of the above using Impossible or Beyond products), it’ll pay for itself in the first few uses.

---

5. The Air Fryer That Converted Me (Even as a Toaster Oven Loyalist)

I held out on an air fryer for so long (growing up in an Asian household, I’m a toaster oven loyalist — IYKYK), but once I made the leap, I can’t imagine ever going back. I use this exact one (in blue) almost every morning to heat or reheat items for the girls’ lunches, and I actually prefer leftover pizza reheated in the air fryer to fresh. And for quick meals (especially on nights when it’s just me and the girls), it’s perfect for smaller quantities of tofu, chicken or salmon. Of course, it’s also excellent for making all those yummy junk foods you’d usually fry, too — fries, wings, onion rings, spring rolls — and my kiddos love it for homemade bagel bites and pizza rolls after school. I know there are loads of options out there, but this has genuinely been the best air fryer for our family.

If you don’t need the dual drawers (and honestly, we rarely use them in tandem), we have this version at the cabin, and it offers a larger, single capacity drawer with a handy window for viewing foods, and works just as well as our Ninja for a fraction of the price. I also love that you can choose to preheat it, or not. I also love the look of this one, if you’re intending to keep it out on the counter at all times (we do).

---

6. Le Creuset Tea Kettle: 16 Years & Still on My Stove

I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned this in a post, but if you’ve ever seen a passing glimpse of my kitchen, this Le Creuset Tea Kettle has made a cameo. In fact, it’s occupied a spot on our rangetop for the past 16 years, and I use it almost every day — a testament to the quality and the timelessness.

It heats superfast for my morning mug of hot water with lemon, is speedier (and quieter! so long as you beat it to the whistle…) than my electric kettle or the microwave, and is perfect for when a recipe calls for warm, hot or, duh, boiling water (it takes just a minute to warm water in this versus running the sink tap forever to get it hot — a waste of both time and water). Our parents use it every time they visit for their pour-over coffee, we use if often for tea after dinner, and, perhaps best of all, when the power is out (not uncommon at home or in the mountains!), it’s still just a matchlight away. It’s honestly the best stovetop tea kettle, and there’s a color to complement any decor/vibe, too.

---

7. Dapple Dish Soap: The Secret to Odor-Free Silicone & Plastic

Another sleeper hit, we buy Dapple Dish Soap in bulk, and it has a permanent spot next to our standard dish and hand soaps in our little sink caddy. While we initially bought it because it’s the best dish soap for baby bottles, it’s also a staple for washing all of our plastic and silicone pieces — Silpat liners, the world’s best cupcake liners, snack boxes, lunchboxes, you name it — without leaving behind any sort of flavor-ruining fragrance. No more honeysuckle-scented egg bites or blueberry muffins with a hint of Powerwash.

And, since it’s formulated for baby bottles and the like, it’s a clean, plant-based formula and it cuts through grease like a champ. We even use it mixed with hydrogen peroxide and water as a dye-free homemade laundry stain remover (I do a 1:1:1 ratio, but there are lot of “recipes” out there). An absolute non-negotiable.

---

8. Staub + Lodge Cast Iron Skillets: The Only Pans We Use

We ditched 90% of our cookware for cast iron almost 10 years ago and haven’t looked back since. There are two pans that are hands down, the most-used in our kitchen. The 10″ Staub Cast Iron (I love the matte black, but there are so many pretty colors!) is my go-to for everything from eggs, quesadillas and frittatas to seared proteins, sauteed veg, potstickers and even skillet lasagna. It’s the best cast iron skillet money can buy.

Then there’s the mini Lodge Cast Iron for smaller quantities of all of the above, but we use it almost everyday for omelets, fried or scrambled eggs for the girls, street-taco sized quesadillas, reheating leftovers, etc. It’s cheap ($13!), small to store and excellent quality.

---

9. The Fish Spatula: The Most Versatile Kitchen Tool You’re Not Using

Ignore the name, this spatula is the most versatile kitchen utensil for anything and everything (I mean, yeah, fish included, but most definitely not exclusively). It’s more flexible and agile than typical spatulas thanks to the thin profile and angled tip, so it’s perfect for turning or sauteing all the things, cutting and serving, smashing a grilled cheese, prying a gooey cookie off a baking sheet, and more. It’s easily my most-reached-for tool in the kitchen. There’s even a version for lefties that I gifted my mom this past Christmas. So good.

---

10. Instant Pot: The Weeknight Dinner Lifesaver

Another one that I swore I wouldn’t give into, but we’re on year 10 of owning this exact Instant Pot, and not a week passes where I don’t use it. If nothing else, it’s makes soft, medium or hard-boiled eggs that peel with zero effort. In fact, we use it weekly for that, alone. (I use this recipe for marinated soy sauce eggs — they’re on hand at almost all times.)

But it’s such a lifesaver for those evenings where you need dinner on the table in 30 but the chicken is still…in the freezer. Chicken, stock, a couple cans of beans, a small tin of tomato paste and taco seasoning go a long way in the Instant Pot. Make it thicker for a chili situation, thinner for more of a soup or stew. Lentil soups are big in our family, too, and they’re a speedy breeze in this thing. And carnitas, which we make in big batches and eat in all sorts of iterations for days on end. Also this Miso Red Bean Stew is such an easy Instant Pot dinner that we find ourselves making on repeat.

---

Realizing, as we’re at the cabin this week, that there are even a few more items I could have added here, so maybe there’s a Part 2 in my future? Let me know if you’re interested. Happy cooking, friends!

xo,
Em

Oh hey friends! Follow me on Instagram for accessible, easily adaptable recipes; real life kid lunchbox inspo; sneak peeks of The Mom Edit content (and sales!); and more snippets of our life on the Northern California coast. Byeeeeee.