We hope you love our recommendations! Some may have been sent as samples, but all were independently selected by our editors. Just FYI, BuzzFeed and its publishing partners may collect a share of sales and/or other compensation from the links on this page.
1. An air fryer so you can bring your leftovers back to life or make super crunchy and crispy foods with little or *no* added oil! You'll get all the benefits of deep frying without the treacherous pot full of burning hot oil.
Promising review: "I never wanted an air fryer but my kids wanted me to try one. The Ninja Air Fryer is the best investment I ever made. It's easy to cook in, easy to clean and best of all, the food is actually crisper than I thought it would be. One of the best things about the air fryer is no deep frying." —Kathy Jolly
Get it from Amazon for $89.95.
2. Or, a multipurpose toaster oven that will have everyone (including you!) forgetting that you don't have an actual kitchen. With this you can basically do anything — air fry, broil, bake, roast, dehydrate, reheat, rotisserie, toast, and warm. AKA you can host a dinner party with a *whole* roasted chicken and then come out with freshly baked cookies, all from this one appliance!!
This also includes some accessories: an enamel baking tray and stainless-steel oven rack, air fry basket, BBQ-style rotisserie spit and forks, and lift tool, all are dishwasher safe!
Promising review: "This air fryer oven is amazing. I have only had this for a few weeks, but so far it's so easy to use it's scary. I was intimidated when I took it out of the box but there was no reason to be. The oven is very smart and pretty much tells you what the temp should be. Love the fact that it remembers the last setting especially for toast as I'm pretty consistent with the amount and color. I also made two chicken breast and roasted potatoes in it at the same time, and both turned out great. Potatoes were crispy with a nice skin, and the chicken breast was moist and juicy. I can't wait to try a few more things, but I can honestly say that it is my favorite go-to appliance." —Kathy
Get it from Amazon for $209.95.
3. An Instant Pot for making perfectly cooked rice without the stress and confusion that comes with making it in a traditional pot. You can also make pressure cooked (aka *fast*) dishes, slow cooked meals, and so much more.
Promising review: "I’ve had this thing for years. I even have bought a second one since this one in a different size. Instant pot is a game changer and can turn the laziest ramen noodle and boxed mac 'n' cheese-eating horrible cook into somebody in the kitchen. I can cook now!!!" —Turd Ferguson
Get it from Amazon for $79.99+ (available in three sizes).
Still wondering if this is right for you? Check out I Tried The Instant Pot That Everyone's Obsessed With for an in-depth look.
4. A rolling kitchen island so you can create the perfect ~faux~ kitchen with counter space, a drawer, a spice rack, a cabinet with two shelves, and a towel rack!!
Promising review: "This was ordered for a friend's daughter. They said it was great having a big space with two shelves inside so you can store big pots and slow cookers, etc. It's great to have four wheels so it moves easily and the wheels lock. The cart is heavy duty, not made from flimsy material." —Mountain Momma
Get it from Amazon for $134.99+ (available in two colors).
5. Or, if floor space isn't necessarily available to you, a set of floating shelves to take advantage of any vertical space that may be wasting away currently. This set comes with three different-sized shelves so you can finally have a place to keep your spices and other ingredients that have been scattered around.
Promising reviews: "Love the color and the hardware design. Love that the design offers the choice of hanging the shelves with the hardware above or below, and it is attractive either way. Lovely addition to a recent kitchen remodel!" —LMsensei
"Simple and easy to install. I used one in the bathroom, one in the kitchen and the other in the living room. I love the three different size options." —Fary Rodriguez
Get a set of three from Amazon for $21.99+ (available in six colors).
6. OR! A mounted pot rack in case you need a place to store the few pots, pans, bowls, and utensils you have laying around.
Promising review: "We have a really tiny kitchen and needed more space to store pots. This was a great option for the price and so far has held up really well! We cook every day and so are constantly taking items off of them and putting it back on the shelf. Not only does it look sharp but it frees up counter and cupboard space!" —Benjamin Burdick
Get it from Amazon for $62.
7. A Fellow electric kettle so you can brew the perfectly hot cup of coffee or tea at the ~exact~ temperature you want without needing a stove. Added bonus, this thing is gorgeous so you won't even need to find a place store it — you can just let it sit out and serve as decor.
The design features a fluted, no-drip spout and a degree dial that allows you to set the temperature between 135–212 degrees Fahrenheit and even hold it there for a full hour.
Promising review: "I couldn’t be happier with my Fellows EKG water heater! Set the temperature, wait a minute and voilà, hot water at the perfect temperature for my French press coffee. It’s life changing. No more guessing at the water temperature of the stove kettle! Beautiful sleek design looks great on my coffee bar! I highly recommend this kettle!" —BCPW
Get it from Amazon for $165+ (available in seven colors).
8. Or, a Keurig coffee maker to brew the perfect cup of coffee whenever you want it. Plus it comes with a storage compartment that holds nine pods and slides right in to where the cup goes when the machine is not in use.
Promising review: "I was pleasantly surprised this came with a 'pod holder' to hold up to nine pods! That's amazing to me. Secondly, it's easy to use, easy to figure out and makes a great cup of coffee. The 'strong' setting on the machine is awesome for when you need a little extra kick of caffeine like I do sometimes in the morning. And lastly, I LOVE the color!! It sits pretty on my counter and goes with my decor. I also love that you can detach the water reservoir to fill it or for easy cleaning. That's a great feature in my opinion. Well worth the money I paid for this little machine!" —Trixi
Get it from Amazon for $84.69+ (available in seven colors).
9. A panini press designed with a floating lid that won't cause all your delicious sandwich insides to flop out when you are just trying to get it to the perfect level of toastiness.
And it stores vertically for compact storage in even the teeniest kitchens.
Promising review: "Freaking awesome! Who knew?! Just like the real thing, at a rock bottom price. This is one of the smartest purchases I have made in a while. This little machine works. The only thing is you have to remember to unplug. Love it. I am eating loads of veggies because of this little number, and saving money as well making my sandwiches at home." —Customer
Get it from Amazon for $44.99 (available in two colors).
10. Or, if you need a little more ~oomph~ in your cooking, an electric indoor grill so you can get that "fresh off the grill" flavor no matter what the weather is outside or how little space you may have on your balcony (if you even have a balcony).
Promising review: "I purchased this Hamilton Beach grill in December 2019. I use it several times a month throughout the year. It grills to perfection and is a breeze to clean. I wanted to use it for a while before I left a review. Well, here I am, three years later, to honestly rave about this appliance. I do not think you will be disappointed." —J.M. Brown
Get it from Amazon for $94.99.
11. A griddle to whip up some of your famous pancakes (no they aren't just Bisquick!!). It also has a nonstick surface so you can fearlessly cook eggs and bacon, and all that grease will drain into a special drawer that you can dispose of once it's cool.
The drip tray is also dishwasher safe!
Promising review: "Something like this is a must have if you ever need to cook more than a couple pancakes, or eggs, or pieces of bacon, or sausage at once. This heats up super quickly. And the nonstick copper surface is really smooth and slick. It has a little grease trap drawer underneath that the channels on top direct any grease toward, and once it cools down, it's really easy to remove and dispose of." —Matthew Altman
Get it from Amazon for $24.99+ (available in two sizes and two colors).
12. A Black + Decker microwave for those nights when all you can manage to make is a frozen dinner and maybe some microwave popcorn.
Promising review: "This microwave is surprisingly powerful. We replaced a larger microwave with this one. I was concerned that it wouldn’t hold enough for the meals I cook. It not only holds everything I need but cooks it faster. We actually like it so much that we’ve purchased two within the last year. The first one was included in the house we sold and I didn’t even consider a different microwave when shopping for our new place. It’s compact, noise level is low, easy to clean and powerful." —Amazon Customer
Get it from Amazon for $84.91+ (available in three sizes).
13. And a microwave rapid cake maker because sometimes you just need a freshly baked cake but you thought it was no longer possible since you didn't have an oven. Think again! This will let you whip up a cake in only SIX minutes, so you can get to decorating (and devouring) almost immediately.
Rapid Brands is a California-based small business that specializes in dishwasher-safe, microwaveable, BPA-free kitchen products.
This gadget just requires half a box of cake mix plus the mix-in ingredients. And since it's only half the cake mix, you know what that means…you can do it all again tomorrow!
This is a great option for dorms, studio apartments, and for safer, easier baking with kids.
Promising review: "I love this cake maker! It makes just the right size cake for our family of four. They’re not exactly like a cake fresh from the oven, but pretty darn close! My 12-year-old son loves to use it, so much so we make a cake on a weekly basis. Since each cake only requires a half a box of mix, we don’t have to store them for long. I think they taste much better than a mug cake and are almost as easy." —Clare
Get it from Amazon for $12.99.
14. A mini fridge and freezer so you can still have access to ice cream, eggs, or whatever other cold products you love. Plus the retro design is so cute you won't even miss your old regular fridge.
Promising review: "This is the cutest refrigerator that I have ever seen!! The retro design is sleek and stylish!! It doesn’t take up much room as I had to purchase this item to put in my bedroom because I had knee surgery and could not use the stairs to go down to the kitchen to get food out of the refrigerator so I brought the kitchen to my bedroom!! My food stays really cold and it is very quite!! It has a huge amount of space to put your food items in and drinks as well!! Every time I look over at my new bright red Galanz refrigerator, it puts a smile on my face because this was definitely a great purchase and the price was not bad at all either!! I love this item so much that I even purchased the matching retro microwave as well!!" —Miechelle
Get it from Amazon for $259+ (available in three sizes and five colors).
15. A cooktop burner you can just set on your table and cook a whole meal with. It has a wide temperature range that is perfect for slow-cooking scrambled eggs or quickly boiling water for a last-minute pasta dinner.
This cooktop has a temperature range from 140–460 degrees and also features an automatic shutoff after 60 seconds if no cookware is sensed.
Promising review: "We bought this to avoid using a brand-new ceramic cooktop that replaced one that cracked, because we were planning to sell our house and wanted the new cooktop to look as new as possible. We decided to put the sale on hold for now, but we were so impressed with this little cooktop that we've continued to use it in place of our larger built-in. It's scary fast (it will boil a cup of water in under two minutes at the default 5 setting, and in six minutes on the 2 setting), and is cool to the touch in about three minutes after it's turned off. We're planning to build our next house, and two or three of these would easily take the place of a built-in cooktop, free up more counter space when not in use, and at one-eighth the price of an induction cooktop. What a great appliance." —M J
Get it from Amazon for $57.99+ (available in two colors).
16. Or, an electric skillet that is basically a combo stove and pan all in one. It heats up quickly and evenly so you can whip up your favorite dinner in no time. Plus the glass lid it comes with is dishwasher safe, so no worries if you get splatters all over it.
Promising review: "Perfect size and easy to clean. I travel for work and get stuck in hotels a lot. This makes it very easy to cook a real meal and it cooks perfectly. It is large enough that I can cook just about anything I want in it. Clean up is also extremely easy. Only regret is not purchasing it sooner." —Melissa Perry
Get it from Amazon for $34.99.
17. A Magic Bullet blender if you want to treat yourself to luxuriously smooth sauces, smoothies, nut butters, and more but don't want to invest the money or counter space for a full-blown blender.
This blender comes with the motor base, a cross blade, a tall cup, a short cup, a party mug, two lip rings, two stay-fresh lids, a to-go lid, and a recipe guide.
Promising reviews: "I use it daily to make smoothies, and I love how easy it is to set up and clean up afterward. It comes with several cups and lids and a recipe book. Also, it is small and can easily be put away in a drawer or cabinet." —Peas
"I love this little kitchen gadget! It’s great for making smoothies and salad dressings and many other things. Easy to use and clean. So many uses…I would never be without. I find it to be a much better product than the Ninja, and it is less costly. Great value and quality." —Anne
Get it from Amazon for $39.95+ (available in two colors).
18. A Dash mini waffle maker so you can quit buying Eggos in bulk and make your own waffles with special little touches. And if you try hard enough and have a big enough imagination, anything you want can become a mini waffle — hash browns, egg, cheese, pizza. *The limit does not exist!!*
Some of these even create shaped waffles (pumpkin, heart, bunny, etc.) so double check which one you are getting!
Promising review: "At first, I laughed and thought it was too small to really do anything. I was so wrong — it's an amazing little waffle maker!! Can cook almost anything on it! I have cooked eggs, waffles, and French toast." —S PETERSON
Get it from Amazon for $12.99+ (available in 16 styles).
The reviews used in this post have been edited for length and clarity.