The Only 10 Kitchen Items I Actually Use (and What I Don't Think Is Worth It)

Less is more when it comes to cookware, tools, and kitchen appliances. I'm sharing what I use every day (or weekly) and it's not all that much. Wondering what's NOT worth it to buy? I've got that too!

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Queen of Small Spaces

I have a small, 1002 square foot, urban house in San Diego that was built in 1912. No garage, no basement, no high ceilings or lofts, no built in storage systems. Every centimeter literally counts.

Until my daughter just recently left for college, she and my husband and I, and our 3 fluffy cats, all lived here. However, 90% of her stuff is still here.

I run my food blogging company out of my home. Meaning, I have not only every type of cooking device, gadget, and heavy duty pots and pans. But I also have a whole photography paraphernalia superstore situation going on because taking pictures of food seems to require everything from cameras with huge lenses, photography backdrops, to a zillion white bowls that look almost the same, but aren’t.

I have food blogging friends that have a “studio” in their home, or adjacent to it, that’s basically as big as my entire home.

Which brings me to me point. I am super selective about what I hold onto since when it comes down to it, I use the same handful of kitchen items over and over.

Caveat: I can’t run my food blog with solely the 10 items that make the cut below, but since 99% of you are not running food blogs, we’re safe. Whew.

What You Will Not See on my List of *Essential* Items

I’m going to get controversial here and say that these items for me are not important to my daily (or monthly) life. They have their place, just not near-daily, or even weekly.

If I was younger, gift-giving to a young couple, on a financial budget, or a space-constraint budget, I would think twice before buying these items because you may not use them all that frequently and many are bulky - and expensive!

• Vitamix - Unless you’re blending tons of soups, purees, making homemade baby food, blending grains, it’s a lovely machine, it IS worth the price tag and I have had many - if you’re going to use it. Currently, I don’t reach for it very frequently at this stage of my life. It’s on my counter below because I have no where else to store it.

• Beast Blender or Magic Bullet - If you make protein drinks or smoothies (I don’t), then personal sized blenders are probably for you. But not for me.

• Food processor - See Vitamix, above. Same reasons basically.

• Slow cooker - I have a ton of slow cooker recipes on my site and even have a slow cooker ebook, BUT if I am being honest, I use my stove, oven, or air fryer (see below) more than my slow cooker. Mostly because I’m the queen of 30 minute meals. I’ve got an ebook for 30 minute meals, too!

• Instant Pot - I don’t make scratch beans or tough cuts of meat that I need to tenderize in an hour rather than 4 hours. That’s what pressure cookers do - they reduce cooking time for certain recipes. But I’m not making those recipes hardly at all.

• Stand mixer - I use mine for cookies and for most everything else, I try to use a hand mixer. I use it during holiday baking season or for my website at times, but not in my personal life on a weekly basis.

• Hand mixer - I use it, but just not weekly so it doesn’t make the cut of essential.

The Only 10 Kitchen Items I Really Use

Keurig Mini - I start my day by making coffee from this little machine. I love it because it’s got such a slim and narrow footprint. And no back tank of water, so no additional bulk and countertop space wasted. Note in photo above how slim it is. When I say I don’t have a centimeter to spare, I don’t.

GE Profile Nugget Ice Maker - I turn my ice maker on every morning because I love ice. I LOVE this machine and cannot say enough good things about it! I’ve had mine for about 5 years and originally bought it because the ice maker connected to my fridge kept braking. LG Fridge, love my fridge and it works great and there’s no reason to replace it. The repair guy for the ice maker said it’s so common for fridge ice makers to go out, but the repairs wouldn’t hold. I decided I’d be money ahead to just go ahead and buy a stand alone pebble ice machine and I’m so glad I did. If you love ice, and cute pebble ice at that, this is for you. Worth the price tag, I promise.

30 Ounce Yeti Rambler - With magslider lid. When I’m not drinking coffee (or a sparkling beverage), I’m drinking water. I’ve had this since 2018. It fits in standard car cupholders, it’s big enough but not too huge/heavy to take on-the-go, water stays cold forever, and I am not a straw person with water so that rules out many other brands and models, and I’m super happy with this one.

All-Clad 3-Quart Stainless Steel Skillet with Lid - I bought mine about 10 years ago. It was one of the first expensive-ish kitchen items I bought for my blog and my life about 10-12 years ago. It’s the skillet I reach for 90% of the time. I have made thousands, yes thousands, of recipes in it. From Garlic Butter Chicken to Thai Chicken Coconut Curry and everything in between, my website is a testament to all the things I’ve made in it over the years. It still looks amazing and keeps on ticking. I predict I’ll have it at least another 20 years. It’s that good. I try to handwash it…but it’s been through the dishwasher hundreds of times and is just fine.

Small Nonstick Skillet (Egg Pan) - Once a week or so, I’ll make eggs in this skillet. It’s the perfect size for 1 to 5 eggs. There is nothing like a nonstick pan for eggs and after buying countless versions, and most of them turning to crap pretty quickly, or needed to add a ton of oil (what’s the point of that in a nonstick?), I have been going strong with this one for about a year and love it. I handwash only. It’s also CHEAP. Today it happens to be $23 bucks. Run and grab it.

Large Le Creuset Oval Dutch Oven - If I’m making the best broccoli cheese soup, 30-minute turkey chili, a double or triple batch of anything that’s too big for my All-Clad (above) such as my Chicken Egg Rolls in a Bowl which I like to double it, I make it in this. I’ve had mine for over 19 years. I remember that I had it before I even had a baby. And she’s almost 19! Cast iron heats beautifully and the enamel keeps things from sticking a ton. If things do stick, soaking or some Barkeeper’s Friend is your friend. You get what you pay for with regard to cookware and I am confident that I have an easy 50 more years with mine.

Compact Air Fryer with Viewfinder Window - Best $70 bucks ever! I love this thing and it has a SMALL footprint as air fryers go. When I want to cook 1 pound of chicken breasts or less, and don’t it mindlessly and in about 20 minutes, this is what I use. My “Recipe”: Add the chicken, little drizzle of olive oil, season with salt and pepper generously, and poultry seasoning or taco seasoning or Old Bay to taste, and air fry for about 20 minutes at 390F, flip once midway. I especially love this machine on busy weeknights when I can’t even deal with anything more than what I just described but need to get my protein in.

Shun 7-Inch Santoku Knife - 99% of the time I reach for this knife which is a 7-inch. It’s the knife on the VERY LEFT. There’s also an 8 1/2-inch at Williams-Sonoma in case you want more knife. I love my Shun, I love it more than any other brand. I like Japanese knives more than German knives (Wusthof, Henckles); and I like santoku knives more than chef’s knives. If you do want a chef’s knife, I recommend this Shun 8-Inch Chef’s Knife. But knives are very personal. If you take it out of the box and you don’t like it, don’t like the way it feels in your hand, send it back! You’ll never reach for it and it’ll collect dust. I have all my knives (that I mostly don’t use LOL) on this 16x12-inch magnetic knife board.

Rowen Portuguese Stoneware Low Bowls - From Anthropologie, they’re my everyday dishes in Ivory. I love the low bowls. I also have the dinner plates and side plates, but I use the low bowls the most. It’s all dishwasher safe and easy to care for. Highly recommend!

Kitchen Gloves - The least sexy item here but the skin on my hands is so dry and the less water (or heat) that I can shield my hands from, the better!

Tell me what your must-have, non-negotiable kitchen items are that you use every day?