The best cheap kitchen gadgets in 2023

OXO’s scale has a handy pull-out display that makes it easy to read the scale even when you have a large bowl on top. Plus, it also comes with an imperial/metric toggle.

After an instant-read thermometer, one of the few items I think everyone should have in their kitchen is a food scale. I know what you’re thinking: aren’t food scales only useful for baking? The answer is no. They will streamline every aspect of your cooking, especially meal-prep, by allowing you to do away with measuring cups, while also giving you more accurate measurements overall. A scale is also essential if you’re calorie counting or tracking your macros.

Microplane Professional Series Grater

Microplanes make it much easier to grate and zest ingredients, and they’re much easier to maneuver over bowls and other dishes than standard box graters.

If you’re like me, you probably bought a box grater at the start of your cooking journey only to find out it’s terrible. I’m here to tell you there’s a better way to grate cheese and zest limes, and it’s called a Microplane. There are a few different variants, but they all offer the same advantages over a box grater. Being smaller, a Microplane is easier to maneuver over bowls and other dishes. As for what model to buy, I like the Professional Series line for its wide blade and clean design. For zesting, you want to go for the “Fine” model. The “Ribbon” variant is also great if you want to shave chocolate and cheese.

Before moving to Portugal, my neighbor gifted my partner and I a silicone utensil rest. Since then, this simple tool has been an indispensable part of my kitchen arsenal.

Before moving to Portugal, my neighbor gifted my partner and I a silicone utensil rest. Since then, this simple tool has been an indispensable part of my kitchen arsenal. Once you start cooking at the stove, it helps to have all your tools right in front of you. A utensil rest helps with that while reducing the amount of cleanup you have to do afterward. Once you’re done, you can just toss it into the dishwasher. Best of all, you can buy one for about $10.

An electric kettle is a must-have kitchen essential, and Cuisinart’s JK-17P1 boils water faster, looks nice on a countertop, and best of all, won’t break the bank.

While an electric kettle is neither essential for cooking or preparing tea and coffee, this kitchen appliance can make both those tasks safer and easier, as well as reduce cooking time. You can spend a lot to buy a kettle with multiple temperature settings, but unless you’re a tea connoisseur, I don’t think that’s a feature most people need. Cuisinart’s JK-17P1 boils water faster, looks nice on a countertop, and best of all, won’t break the bank.

Acacia Salt Cellar

Crate and Barrel nifty and attractive acacia wood salt cellar comes with an attached lid so that the two parts never get lost or separated.

Shortly after reading Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat, and learning the importance of salting dishes from within, I bought my first box of kosher salt. I didn’t have a good way to store it at the time, so I used a small bowl whenever I went to cook. The problem with that approach was that the salt would dry out if I left the bowl out. A salt cellar solves that by adding a lid to the bowl. Crate and Barrel makes a nifty (and attractive) acacia wood model that comes with an attached lid so that the two parts never get lost or separated.