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1. A clip-on strainer brilliantly made to fit in any size pot or pan, so you can drain water, grease, or any other liquid without using a bulky (and hard to clean) colander.
I recently picked one of these up, and it is such a game-changer. I have hated using a colander so much. It's so bulky, hard to use, and takes SO much time to clean. This solves all those problems. I've clipped it on various pots and pans, and it fits every single one. It makes it ridiculously easy to strain the water out of the pasta and even the excess fat from ground beef. I'm throwing my old colander away because it will never be used now that I have this genius tool!
Promising review: "Love, love, love this pasta strainer!!! My husband and I hate cleaning out the strainer, so I ordered this to make life easier. OMG, does it make life easier!!! If this ever breaks, I’ll be ordering another! It’s very sturdy and easy to use. Absolutely love it!" —Freyja
Get it from Amazon for $11.99+ (available in five colors).
2. A microwave rice and quinoa cooker to take the task of making your grain on the stove (that takes approximately 20 minutes) and turn it into a super-simple step in your dinner-making plans. The bowl is designed to stop water from overflowing, so you can make the base of your dinner in less time. Plus, when it's ready, you can just serve it in the bowl, and that saves yet another step.
Promising review: "We love this rice maker! Prep time in just minutes... This has saved us so much time, especially when we need dinner done quickly! The rice comes out fully cooked... In the beginning, it may take a few tries, since all microwaves are different, (setting at 800) as recommended, you'll eventually know what amount of rice goes with what amount of water, etc... I add salt to taste and a teaspoon of olive oil, and it comes out delish! When done, just turn it over on your serving plate or just serve it directly from the container... Afterward, just pop it in the dishwasher, no hard rice scraping to do. Highly recommend!" —Ani
Get it from Amazon for $27.95.
3. A veggie chopper, slicer, and spiralizer because chopping takes an absurd amount of time. Like seriously, when I read a recipe and it says it will take 20 minutes, they're not taking my slow chopping skills into account. This gadget will ~cut~ that chopping time in half.
It comes with a small-dice blade, large-dice blade, spiral blade, and ribbon blade that are interchangeable and gives you the option to chop, slice, and julienne vegetables. Plus, you get a lid with a built-in chop and a storage container to hold the veggies.
Fullstar is a small business established in 2017 that specializes in kitchen gadgets.
Promising review: "I’ve had this for a couple of months now, and it makes my life SOOOOO much easier. Anything I’ve thrown at it, it’s sliced with ease. Tomatoes, cucumber, peppers, onions, celery, carrots...EASY! I even use to chop the eggs when I make potato salad now since it’s so easy and makes perfect slices.
"What used to take me three to four mins chopping up an onion and then a face full of ruined makeup, now takes less than one minute and no makeup ruined. The blades are SHARP, definitely be careful when removing them. But the lock on the tray makes it easy and so far I haven’t hurt myself with it. Typically, I’ll use it and then rinse out the top and put it in the dishwasher. It’s been through on the top rack well over 20 times now and still looks brand new. If something ever happens to this one, I’ll be back to get another one. It saves me so much time when cooking dinner!" —Macygrey09
Get it from Amazon for $19.99+ (available in five sizes and four colors).
4. Or a hand-powered chopper enabling you to chop an onion in seconds. Yes, you read that right. I said S-E-C-O-N-D-S. Suddenly, your least favorite cooking activity will be your favorite because you'll be done with it in no time and can move on to actually cooking your dinner.
Promising review: "This chopper is amazing!! I love cooking, but used to absolutely HATE chopping onions... until someone gave me this chopper! Now I simply have to quarter the onion, throw it in the chopper, pull the handle about 10-15 times, and they're ready to be used! No more teary eyes or spending a long time chopping onions. The cup is big enough to fit a whole onion... I think the capacity is 3 cups. There are tons of other uses to this as well... you can chop pretty much anything from herbs, veggies, and fruits, to making salsa and guacamole." —Valjulia
Get it from Amazon for $18.18+ (available in three colors).
5. A Thaw Claw designed to defrost meat seven times faster. All you have to do is suction it to your sink, fill the sink with water, and then put the frozen food under the claw. It will be defrosted in no time — and you'll never have to scrap your dinner plans because you forgot to take the chicken out of the freezer last night...
Plus, it was created by a Black-owned small business!
Promising review: "A package of frozen meat would have taken at least two days to thaw in the fridge. I used this for a 2-pound package a couple of days ago, and the meat was thawed within 90 minutes. One of the most practical kitchen gadgets I own." —Llda Schellhase
Get it from Amazon for $18.95 (available in four colors).
6. A "Gracula" garlic crusher because cutting and mincing garlic cloves by hand is THE WORST, but this little guy will make you smile and make prepping food easier.
Promising review: "This is so ridiculous how cute and functional it is! I hated chopping or mincing garlic before getting this! It is fast and efficient and can get a lot done quickly. Did I mention how cute this is? Also, please know this IS dishwasher safe. I pop the hair off before putting the top in the dishwasher, and the bottom is one piece so no issues of water getting in and staying there, as other reviewers have expressed concerns about. BUT! If there is ONE THING that is a bit of a pain, it is getting ALL the bits out — but a small silicone spatula or scraper does the trick just fine for me! I use this garlic tool daily — it is honestly a game-changer for my cooking game! And it is fun and cute, which makes me want to use it more! Will be getting these for stocking stuffers for all my adult kids this year for the holidays — definitely one of those things they didn't know they need!!" —Llamazon Customer
Get it from Amazon for $14.95.
7. A set of toaster oven bags designed to make the perfect grilled cheese without turning on the stove. You'll brie so thankful for this easy dinner, especially after you finally finish your work day and find you're exhausted and just want to eat now. Why does a grilled cheese always sound good at that moment??
You can also heat up pizza slices, chicken nuggets, and more with it, meaning you'll have dinner ready in a matter of minutes. Reviewers say these are also great for anyone with a gluten allergy who needs to keep their bread separate in the toaster.
Promising review: "I get lazy and hate to heat up the stove for grilled cheese. I used old bread from the freezer and popped it in to try it — WOW, great grilled cheese. I buttered the outside and it was great!! Love these." —Kulena
Get a 4-pack from Amazon for $5.10.
8. A set of nonstick, heat-safe sheet pan dividers capable of cooking all the ingredients you need for dinner at the same time without your salmon juice getting all over your potatoes. Instead of having to use multiple pans or *GASP* cooking ingredients after each other, you can put them all on the same pan and have dinner ready in no time.
Prep'd is a small business that was founded in 2015 by two industrial engineers who believed cooking should be simple, easy, and ultimately fun.
Promising review: "Brilliant. 100000% Recommend them! It lets me separate veggies by how long they take to cook, so they are all ready at the same time and nothing is over/undercooked. I love these cheat sheets. They are a great tool for my kitchen." —yule
Get a set of four from Amazon for $29.99.
9. A rice cooker and warmer about to make your life so much easier because you won't have to waste any of your time trying to make the grain on the stove, only for it to end up a liiiitle too crunchy. It has two different settings for white and brown rice, as well as a steam and cake setting. Just be warned — you may want to eat rice for every meal once you own this.
10. A microwave pasta maker that just might revolutionize how you make pasta. Just put the pasta and water in, stick it in the microwave, and you'll have al dente pasta in minutes. You'll never have to wait for the water to boil again.
Promising review: "This is a fantastic product. I’ve been cooking for more than 50 years. Pasta has always been a simple, go-to, dinner for me. Tending to the boiling pot of pasta was just part of the process. I’ve been getting 'tired' of cooking as I’ve aged. This simple little microwave pasta cooker has simplified cooking so much more than I could have imagined. It seems silly, but it’s kinda like a little miracle. No more toting a heavy pot to the stove. No more pouring pasta and boiling water into a colander. It’s simple, lightweight, and foolproof. You’ll never regret buying this." —Winkie
Get it from Amazon for $16.99.
11. An Anyday starter set, which includes one deep and one shallow dish and lid designed specifically to cook proteins, grains, vegetables, soups, and more, all in the microwave. Plus, you can use the bowls to serve *and* store, which means you'll not only save time but also have fewer dishes to wash when you're done.
Anyday is a female-founded small business on a mission to utilize the microwave to make cooking easier and faster.
Promising review: "The Anyday is a weeknight game changer. Instead of reheating leftovers, cooking from my usual repertoire, or giving into laziness and ordering delivery, I’m using Anyday to steam fresh veggies and poach fish. Learning to reinterpret recipes for the microwave has been an exciting new creative outlet in the kitchen. We’re eating healthier, more elaborate dinners on weeknights because it all comes together so quickly and easily. The bowls will easily pay for themselves many times over in all the delivery orders that I don’t place." —Brian E
Get the starter set from Anyday for $85+ (available in two sizes and three colors).
12. A rapid egg cooker you can use to make hard-, medium-, or soft-boiled eggs in a matter of minutes. So, goodbye to not knowing what you're going to eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner this week.
Multiple people on the BuzzFeed shopping team love this little device and so others, as it has more than 94,800 5-star ratings. Plus, it comes with a recipe book to help you come up with a few new ideas to try.
Promising review: "I am not a fan of 'extra gadgets' in the kitchen. They clutter things up as far as I am concerned. But this truly is a game-changer for my hard-boiled eggs. I have tried EVERY method in the book for hard boiling. This cooks them perfectly — no gray rings. They peel with no struggles at all! The only drawback is that you can only do six at a time, but it goes so quickly that I don't even mind that all. Easy to use, easy to clean. You won't be disappointed in this gadget — it does what it is meant to do perfectly! —Michelle Z
Get it from Amazon for $19.99+ (available in seven colors).
And read one BuzzFeed writer's full Dash rapid egg cooker review.
13. A nonstick meat and potato masher here to help you make breaking up ground meat and other foods SO much easier than using a spatula. Reviewers (more than 44,300) love this tool and say it's easy to clean (you can just throw it in the dishwasher!).
Promising review: "I saw this on TikTok and had to get it! It works exactly like it should, and you don’t really need a spatula when you’re cooking meat with it. It grinds the meat and helps to stir it :). It is dishwasher safe although it took me two washes. That’s most likely because my dishwasher sucks. But it is easy to keep clean." —ashley coogan
Get it from Amazon for $9.99+ (available in black and blue).
14. A floating pasta timer hilariously named Al Dente who will sing a different melody at different intervals to let you know how done your pasta is. No need to guess if your pasta is ~al dente~ enough for your liking when you're little sous chef will let you know when it's been seven, nine, and 11 minutes.
15. An Instant Pot here to revolutionize the way you cook because it does it all. It's a pressure cooker, slow cooker, rice cooker, steamer, sauté pan, yogurt maker, and food warmer all rolled into one snazzy appliance. It'll probably be working overtime in your kitchen from now until forever.
Check out our full review of the Instant Pot!
Promising review: "If you have never had an electric pressure cooker, you don't know what you are missing! I had one for years, and when it broke I decided to buy the Instant Pot because it could be used for several ways of cooking. I bought the 8Qt, and I was not disappointed. I don't care what cut of meat you put in it, it will come out tender. I brown it and in no time it's done. If you are a working person, you can have your meal on the table in no time. I use this almost daily. The pan cleans up easily, but I also bought a non-stick pan. Now I am looking for all the other pans for it to use for baking and steaming and whatever I can find. This takes the place of so many other appliances, so you won't have your counters cluttered up. I can't say enough about how much I like this. I found the lid a bit tricky at first but, now I know you just put it on backward and it fits, something I think they could have mentioned. At any rate, do yourself a favor and get one you won't be disappointed." —bearsma88
Get it from Amazon for $83.99+ (available in three sizes).
16. And some Instant Pot magnetic cheat sheets that somehow make the genius device even easier to use because you'll know exactly how to cook so many different dishes without having to ask Alexa for help once.
MGQ USA LLC is a small business creating magnetic cheat sheets to help make cooking easier.
Promising review: "I am so happy that I decided to give this product a try! What an amazing idea. I placed the smaller magnet right on the Instant Pot and use it daily for a quick reference. Instead of searching the cookbook or internet, I can just glance over and know in an instant how to program my IP for that particular product." —Olesya
Get it from Amazon for $6.99+ (available in two sizes).
17. A 5-in-1 countertop cooker perfect for preparing burgers, salmon, and even grilled veggies without an outdoor grill. Plus, you can use it as a panini press to craft the perfect grilled sandwich. Yummm, I'm getting hungry just thinking about all the delicious food you're going to make with this thing. Yes, this means you can even have a barbecue in the middle of winter. And how cool is that?
This combines a contact grill, panini press, full grill, full griddle, and half grill/half griddle into one counter-space-saving device. So yes, you can use it to grill burgers on Friday night *and* make pancakes Saturday morning.
Promising review: "We use this appliance at least once daily and often two or three times a day. I have owned the Griddler for two years. Handles breakfast like a champ. It is a master at lunchtime sandwiches and scores well with grilled meats/vegetables at dinner. Love the floating hinge and sear/melt function for open-face sandwiches and desserts. Dinner main course of grilled fish/seafood, beef, and chicken always have the proper sear and temperature. Grills vegetables and fruits to perfection. I love fresh grilled asparagus and peaches. Griddler never fails to impress with beautiful scored produce. Except for sauces and soup, the Griddler has replaced my stovetop." —Terry J. Miller
Get it from Amazon for $99.95.
18. An electric Aroma Housewares 3-in-1 Superpot grill you can use for slow cooking, steaming, and simmering, oh my!
Plus, the nonelectric parts are dishwasher-safe.
Promising review: "I absolutely love, love, love this grill. I've made maple glazed chicken, regular grilled chicken, burgers, steaks, and roast in here so far and all of them turned out really good, especially the chicken. You can taste the grill taste, and as a chef, I look for quality appliances. This is one. Definitely recommend and have to my family members." —Dominique Harris.
Get it from Amazon for $30.30+ (available in two colors).
19. A fast-prep kitchen slicer that gives you a better grip while cutting awkwardly shaped food, such as tomatoes, grapes, and even chicken breasts.
Promising review: "One of those gadgets that is actually handy and not just clutter. I like to buy grape tomatoes because they are so flavorful and keep for a long time, but they are a pain to slice for inclusion in sandwiches and pizza. I bought this for that chore, and it makes it quite easy, and easy to clean up, too. I was pleasantly surprised to realize it is also ideal for the dangerous task of slicing bagels — perfect!" —Trey
Get it from Amazon for $15.95.
20. A knife specifically designed to make a clean cut through tomatoes so you don't have the juice squirting out everywhere, making a mess in your kitchen. You'll be surprised just how much of a difference this makes when crafting your delicious salad for lunch.
Promising review: "I love this knife! I stumbled upon a description when I was shopping for a sushi knife. It was so cheap, I decided to take a chance. Wow. It is such a great little knife. Yes, it works perfectly on soft tomatoes. But, to be honest, I use it for many other fruits and vegetables. It is amazingly sharp, the serrated edge is very effective, and it has a great feel in my hand." —Jane S.
Get it from Amazon for $15.60.
21. A lasagna trio pan with three different sections so you can make three different types of lasagna at once. If you have people with varying food allergies and likings, you'll be so thankful you don't have to spend the extra time making a different meal for each person.
Promising review: "As someone who has a child (now a teenager) who will not eat any form of cheese, this pan is amazing! I typically avoid making any food that has cheese mixed into it, but now I can make him a section without cheese, and the rest of us our regular cheesy goodness. Another benefit to this pan is how well the portions slice. One cut with the spatula gives you a perfectly formed square. Each section makes four regular-sized portions for our family." —TRU
Get it from Amazon for $19.99.
22. A rapid ramen cooker because ramen isn't just for students living in college dorms. Plus, you can make your own version of a dish many restaurants are now serving at high prices.
Promising review: "This has been a total lifesaver! Kids LOVE this, and I love that it takes only 3 minutes to make and has hardly any clean up. We love this product and have bought multiple ones. The only negative is that the ramen packages from Japan and Korea are too large for this size. It's meant more for smaller Top Ramen and Maruchan brands, not so much the Sapporo Ichiban or Nong Shim ramen brands etc. We end up having to break them up on squeezing the excess of the dry ramen in vertically to get it in totally." —kimchic
Get it from Amazon for $9.99.
23. A flexible silicone spoon actually designed with a genius feature — it has a tablespoon measure BUILT right into it, so you don't have to grab yet another utensil when the recipe says to add one tablespoon of oil again.
It's made to be heat resistant up to 600°.
Promising review: "Seriously, I love this spoon! I’m considering buying another, it’s that great. It scrapes, it stirs, and I can even use it to measure oil for the pan. It’s stiff enough to scrape pasta off the bottom of a pan, works as well as a spatula to clean off the inside of containers and really get every drop, and goes in the dishwasher too! It’s truly perfect." —emschwar
Get it from Amazon for $11.99 (available in four colors).
24. A compact 8-in-1 spiralizer made to grate, juice, spiralize, and shred all the ingredients you need for your recipe. This one tool really can do it all and make it so you can actually enjoy a home-cooked meal, even if you don't feel like you have any time for it at all.
Fullstar is a small business established in 2017 that specializes in kitchen gadgets.
BuzzFeed writer Emma Lord says: "I recently purchased this because it was my cheapest option for making zoodles, and also because my apartment is the size of a shoebox and there was no room for anything bigger. I LOVE how easy it is to swap out the caps to do other things, too — I've started grating my own cheeses and feel very fancy. But mostly I just love that it's very safe to use (it comes with a finger guard!), super easy to figure out, very compact, and even has measurements on the inside of the cup if you're ever portioning things out for a recipe."
Promising review: "LOVE THIS. I absolutely love this. So far I've used the thicker spiralizer, two of the grater things, and then the juicer. I love how easy this makes keeping everything together. And it's sharp so it actually cuts through things without you needing to work super hard to do it. The only thing I don't love is that the spiralizers are a bit hard to clean, but I guess that's with all of them? Not sure, this is the first I've owned. But, overall I'd recommend it :)" —Amazon Customer
Get it from Amazon for $17.99+ (available in three sizes).
25. A pastry tool useful for dividing dough, chopping veggies, and even stripping herbs while you cook. And as an added bonus — there's a handy conversion chart right on the side!
Promising review: "So I was skeptical, but I bought it because I thought it was cool to have the veggie/herb stripper and its width. What I didn't consider was the angle of it, that it's not just a straight cutter. I love to cook on my cast iron skillets and it has been AMAZING scraping while I cook with my Oxo skillet spatula. It's super easy to hold, and I'm able to scrape up hashbrowns (this morning) with ease with the angle. I've also chopped onions and nuts on the cutting board when I got lazy with the knife. I don't know about you, but I get slippery lizard fingers in the kitchen. I like the feel of the textured wood that doesn't slip out of my hand, not the cold, slick metal." —I Sing to Yahuah
Get it from Amazon for $9.99.
26. A Souper Cubes freezer tray specifically made with four spaces that fit one cup of soup or sauce. This way, you can make a whole bunch of soup and then freeze it in single-serving portions so it's easier to defrost and eat for dinner.
Souper Cubes is a family-run small business with a passion for better frozen meal prep and food waste reduction! Plus, their products are BPA-free, dishwasher-safe, and it have fill lines on the side of the compartments for half and full cups.
Promising reviews: "I saw this on TikTok and had to give it a try. It does not disappoint. Perfect way to freeze portion sized soups. Also helps me to not waste unused broth. Easy to use, store and clean. Once your item is frozen, just pop out, and store in freezer bags." —Meghan Swain
"LOVE LOVE LOVE. My freezer is so much more organized now. Gone are the days of having to defrost an entire bag of chicken broth for one cup for a recipe. I now have perfectly portioned 1/2-cup and 1-cup blocks ready to go. They fit easily in freezer bags, take up less space, and make me incredibly happy. There was a lot of attention to detail put into the design and I particularly appreciate the wire inside the rim that holds everything steady — no more worrying about spilling all the liquid on the way to the freezer. Just a fantastic product all around. I purchased this and a cheaper version from another manufacturer at the same time but returned the other product. This one is definitely worth the added cost." —Kate
Get it from Amazon for $19.95 (available in three colors and also a pack of two).
27. An air fryer that, once you try, you'll wonder how you've lived so long without it in your life. Not only can it "fry" french fries, meat, or veggies, but it can also heat leftovers in minutes — leaving them just as crispy as when you first ate them.
BuzzFeed writer Hannah Loewentheil says: "I'd been contemplating buying an air fryer for quite some time, but it wasn't until I found myself cooking every night with my family due to COVID-19 that I finally decided it was the right time to get one. Friends of mine were raving about their new Instant Vortex Plus Six-in-One Air Fryer, so after reading similar feedback on Amazon, I decided it looked like a winner. And it happens to be made by the same company that makes the crowd-favorite Instant Pot. I figured I would be using this appliance primarily as an air fryer, but as an added bonus, it can also roast, broil, bake, reheat, and dehydrate food.
"I've had this air fryer for about three weeks now, and I can honestly say it's become the hero of my kitchen. It preheats quickly, it's large enough to hold a good amount of food at once, it's easy to clean, and it makes food taste crispy on the outside and moist on the inside without any oil. I've been using my air fryer to make vegetables just about every night and it makes them taste so good. If you're cooking for kids, picky eaters, or you just don't get so excited about eating vegetables, the air fryer could be perfect for you. If you like chicken, the air fryer might change your life, and I don't mean that to be dramatic. The air fryer produces restaurant-quality chicken that tastes absurdly decadent, except there's no oil involved in the cooking — just air. We also tried making sesame chicken in the air fryer using boneless skinless chicken thighs. The sesame chicken tasted almost identical to my favorite Chinese takeout, and it had nothing to do with my cooking skills. Thanks to the air fryer, the chicken gets so crispy. I couldn't believe I made this at home!!"
Get it from Amazon for $89.99.
Check out the full review of the Instant Pot air fryer, plus some recipe suggestions, here!
28. A cutting board with a built-in colander that makes it so you can rinse your veggies and then chop them without moving an inch. And when you're hungry, you know that every second counts in the kitchen.
Promising review: "This is an extremely useful cutting board with the collapsible bowl for washing vegetables and/or fruits, draining them, or depositing scraps. It fits nicely over my sink and is easily cleaned and stored. Find myself using it every day!" —Patty Boh
Get it from Amazon for $24.99 (available in two colors).
Reviews have been edited for length and/or clarity.