19 Must-Have Products For Your Starter Kitchen
Every home cook needs these basic yet important products.
We hope you love the products we recommend! All of them were independently selected by our editors. Just so you know, BuzzFeed may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page if you decide to shop from them. Oh, and FYI — prices are accurate and items in stock as of time of publication.
Maybe you've just graduated from school or perhaps you're moving into a new home or apartment. If you're building your starter kitchen, there are a handful of essential products you'll want to stock it with. Here are the practical kitchen products you'll use time and time again.
1. A dishwasher-safe nonstick skillet (with a lid) that can be used on the stove top or in the oven and will come in handy for frying eggs, making pancakes, or cooking delicate foods like fish.
Promising review: "I'm so pleased with these skillets. This was an expensive purchase for me, but I've come to realize that you really do get what you pay for. These have substantial weight to them (not heavy, but sturdy), they cook evenly, and can also be used in the oven. Cleanup is easy too. I'm glad I made the investment!" —Cynthia H
Get a 10-inch skillet from Food 52 for $89.
2. A stainless-steel Calphalon eight-piece cookware set containing two different-sized frying pans, two sauce pans, and a Dutch oven, which is all you need to cook just about anything from stir-fries and pastas to soups and stews.
Promising review: "We had been needing a new cookware set for a few years and my only requirement was that I wanted stainless-steel. This set exceeded my expectations. The stay-cool handles are just wonderful, and everything in the set is very easy to clean. I have burned all sorts of food on these pots and pans and it wipes off no problem. I also love that I can just throw them in the dishwasher. The glass lids are an extra bonus because you can see if your food is done cooking." — RetroModernMom
Get it from Target for $149.99.
3. A set of six super sharp Mercer Culinary Genesis knives, which includes a chef's knife, bread knife, boning knife, utility knife, and paring knife, all of which comes in a fashionable wood block surrounded by tempered glass for all your slicing, dicing, and chopping needs.
Promising review: "I absolutely love the look of this knife set. It's very sleek and takes up minimal counter space, which is great when you live in a small space. The knives are all excellent quality and they were extremely sharp upon arrival. They made some serious slices in my cutting boards which was impressive. The stand is very easy to put together and take apart for cleaning. The knife handles are nice and heavy and pretty well-balanced. They all seem to be holding their edge very well. Overall this is a really great quality product for a good price." —M
Get it from Amazon for $179.95.
4. A mini Cuisinart food processor with a removable blade for no-fuss cleaning, perfect for chopping small portions of veggies, mincing garlic, preparing pestos, or making homemade nut butter.
Promising review: "For a small food processor, this one packs a punch. I use it mostly to save myself the work of hand-chopping onions and other veggies. My wife makes pesto in it all the time. This product is excellent value for the money. I love that it's small enough to fit in a shallow drawer in my kitchen yet big enough to chop an entire onion in one fell swoop. I've owned this for over two years now, and it's still working like its brand-new." —Kellie Dyslin
Get it from Amazon for $39.99 (available in five colors).
5. A 6-quart enameled Lodge Dutch oven that is ideal for roasting a whole chicken, braising meats, slow-cooking stews, and baking loaves of bread. Plus, it's cute enough to be used as a great serving vessel.
Promising review: "So far I have been impressed with the quality of the Lodge Dutch oven. I debated between the Lodge and a Le Creuset, and I was willing to spend the extra money on a Le Creuset, but only if it was worth it. After looking at many reviews I decided to go ahead and try the Lodge. So far it has been excellent. It's nonstick and looks good in my kitchen. They're easy to clean: Even a pot of homemade caramel that burnt a bit on the bottom came out fairly easily. I've run it through the dishwasher several times and still no visible wear."—Peak Adventure Rentals
Get it from Amazon for $69.90+ (available in 10 colors).
6. A mandoline slicer with multiple blades for julienning, slicing, and grating produce — anything from tomatoes and potatoes to corn on the cob — so you can give your knife skills a rest and prepare recipes most efficiently.
Promising review: "I love how sharp the blades are and how I can adjust the thickness of whatever food I'm slicing. It was pretty simple to figure out, and that's coming from someone who has never used a mandoline slicer before. I'll never go back to using a knife to slice veggies. The price of this product was a few dollars more than other mandolin slicers, but I'm so glad I paid a little extra to receive a gadget that works great and will last." —dorothy sherratt
Get it from Amazon for $34.97.
7. An angled, easy-to-read OXO liquid measuring cup that holds up to two cups and can be easily cleaned in the dishwasher.
Promising review: "When I was shopping for a new measuring cup and saw this one, I thought, 'that's a weird design.' But I quickly discovered how easy it is to measure liquids in this measuring cup just by looking down, without having to bend over to check it out from the side. Why haven't manufacturers been doing it this way all along?" —S. Dias
Get it from Amazon for $13.95.
8. A thin silicone spatula perfect for scraping the last bits of peanut butter from a jar, folding smoothie ingredients into a narrow blender, or reaching those hard-to-get edges of scrambled eggs.
Promising review: "The long handle and skinny size of this spatula makes it very useful for lots of jobs from stirring leftovers in a pan to scraping ingredients from my Vitamix. I loved my first so much that I bought another." —Sur La Table Customer
Get it from Sur La Table for $10 (available in two colors).
9. And a metal fish spatula perfect for flipping delicate foods, which goes way beyond salmon (think: pancakes, burgers, omelets, and more).
Promising review: "I bought this product after watching an America's Test Kitchen review and it does not disappoint! This spatula is gentle and can fold my omelets but it's hefty enough to flip burgers, break up ground beef perfectly for taco night, flip grilled cheese and pancakes. I will buy this as a gift for all my friends and family that love to cook." —omalabuyo
Get it from Amazon for $23.91.
10. A sharp microplane that has finer blades and is easier to clean than a box grater, and is ideal for zesting citrus, finely grating garlic or ginger, or shredding cheese.
Promising review: "I'm extremely happy with this purchase. I'm much more likely to use recipes that require zested ingredients. It's very sharp, as mentioned in other reviews, but it's much faster and more productive than using the side of a cheese grater. We zest citrus most often, but we've also tried garlic cloves. It's not terribly wide so it might not be ideal for large blocks of cheese." —Linae BT
Get it from Amazon for $9.97.
11. A set of 17 essential OXO kitchen tools and utensils, including nylon spoons, silicone spatula, tongs, whisk, vegetable peeler, and more.
12. An OXO garlic press for quick mincing that will help you cut down on cooking prep time (because everyone knows fresh garlic tastes worlds better than the pre-minced stuff).
Promising review: "I usually use the flat side of a knife to crush garlic, but I finally decided to spend the money on this garlic press. Why did I wait so long? It is worth every penny! It's easy to clean and makes quick work of mincing garlic. Plus, it's a lot safer than using a knife." —Maxie'nMe
Get it from Amazon for $16.95.
13. A three-piece set of sturdy OXO cutting boards that are color-coded so you don't have to worry about cross-contaminating your meat, poultry, and produce.
Promising review: "These are the best cutting boards. They stay in place thanks to the rubber on the sides/bottoms. They're also a perfect size for nearly any chopping job. I will definitely buy these again when it’s time to replace." —Caitlin W
Get a set of three cutting boards from Amazon for $39.99.
14. A set of eight dishwasher-, microwave-, and freezer-safe Pyrex mixing bowls with lids for easy storage.
15. A set of 13 dry measuring cups and spoons that magnetically stack together for easy and organized storage.
Promising review: "What a steal to get this many measuring utensils in one set! The magnetic nesting spoons are genius. The double sides spoons are great for narrow bottles that can be tricky to fit a spoon into. Also, if you need the same measurement for liquid and dry ingredients, you can use two sides of the same spoon so you don't need to clean in between." —Ashley
Get it from Amazon for $22.49.
16. A set of two aluminum Nordic Ware cookie sheets for baking just about anything or for roasting one-pan meals that require minimal cleanup.
Promising review: "These are very useful sheet pans, and the two-pack is a great deal. You can use them to bake cookies, roast vegetables, make crostini etc.... The two different sizes are great to use at the same time especially if you're cooking a meal with more than one side dish. There's also an edge that keeps juices and oil from dipping onto the oven." —likegoodfood
Get a half sheet and quarter sheet from Target for $19.99.
17. A powerful Ninja blender large enough to purée generous portions of soups, smoothies, dressings and sauces but small enough to store in your kitchen cabinet.
Promising review: "This is the blender I've been looking for. I wanted something better than the $25-35 Oster, Hamilton Beach or Black & Decker product, but I didn't want to buy an expensive Breville or Vitamix. This Ninja blender's multi-blade spindle quickly blends fruit or ice and the control panel is simple. Be warned, the blades are extremely sharp. It cleans easily: I just add a few drops of dish soap and some warm water to the blender jar, run it for a few seconds and rinse it out." —Kathleen Hamilton
Get it from Amazon for $79.99.
18. A set of three collapsible silicone colanders for washing produce or straining pasta that fold up for easy storage even in small spaces.
Promising review: "I love that these colanders collapse up so they don't take up a ton of space in my kitchen cupboards. They're about the size of a dinner plate when folded together. I'm happy that the colanders come in a set with multiple sizes so I don't have to use a big colander to wash something small like grapes." —Gretchen Pileggi
Get a set of three strainers from Amazon for $15.99 (available in two color sets).
19. A pre-seasoned Lodge cast-iron skillet with a protective handle that can cook just about anything from eggs to steak, can withstand lots of heat, and can be used on the stove top, in the oven, or on top of a grill.
Promising review: "I love this skillet. I use it on the stove, in the oven, on the grill, or sitting right down in the coals of a campfire. Nothing heats as well and as evenly as cast-iron. This 12-inch skillet is big enough for six quarter-pound burgers, lumberjack-sized pancakes, a couple trout or bass, and it's deep enough to bake an upside-down cake." —Jack H
Get a 12" skillet from Amazon for $43.71 (available in nine sizes).