As someone who is (and who has a husband who also is) easily convinced to try the latest kitchen gadget or piece of equipment that would make our lives “easier,” I can say with complete confidence that no all are worth the money – or the time.
Unfortunately, TikTok and affiliate links (and influencers) have made it a little difficult for us to tell if something is actually worth it in the kitchen, or if it’s a trend or fad that’s gonna earn them a commission. And no hate to affiliate links, it’s also how I make a living (jk, it’s a small dose of coin in comparison to my actual make a living business).
But I’m also not one to recommend buying something for the sake of buying it. Especially with the kitchen space I’ve got available (hint: it’s not a lot).
Please Note: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning if you shop via our links I may earn a small percentage at no extra cost to you. All products/recommendations are based on my own personal opinions.
The 5 Kitchen Gadgets I’m Obsessed With (And Why)
Okie, let’s get clear on who I am first: AKA I’m a mom of three who’s slightly obsessed with budgeting (especially the food budget) who makes a lot from scratch. We’re an ingredient household that only stocks snacks for kids and makes everything that could save us some $$$.
For example, we started making our own bread to save $1+ on each loaf (here’s how the math math-s) and it turned into making our own cheesy garlic bread, garlic knots, and our everyday bread.
TL;DR we spend a bit of time on prep already, but that’s a personal preference. Anything already portioned or pre-cut or pre-made is gonna save you wayyy more time than these tools ever will lol.
So, with that information in your mind, here’s the kitchen gadgets, tools, and equipment I love to have and use constantly:
#1. The Push Chopper
Believe it or not, we’ve had one of these in our kitchen for the past 10 years and I’ll have one forever. This little OXO Good Grips Veggie Chopper has to be a classic kitchen gadget. I remember seeing them in fundraiser magazines (or at least something similar) back when I went to middle school, and my mom actually bought one – and I 100% thought that it was useless (we never used it).
But when hubs bought one and we actually started using it? Never will we go without again. We’ve been through 3 of them over the years, and we use ’em almost every other day.
They’re perfect for dicing onions, garlic, peppers – really any veggie. Which makes it a good, smaller add-in for your spaghetti, tacos, etc. The score: a 10/10 (and it’s less than $30).
#2. Neretva Bread Machine
We made bread with a hand-me-down bread machine for the longest because it was free!! But once we decided to commit to making bread more often (as in, we don’t buy bread unless we’re hosting a large group now), we also opted to get a new bread machine.
This one is also loaded with features like a nut-dropper (idk the formal term for this), multiple settings for making dough, and a loud enough beeper to out-noise the singing of the washer and dryer when they’re done.
Technically, this is one that’s closer to $160.00 on Amazon, but you can usually find it on sale! And it’s made it through bi-weekly uses for the past two years (as of Aug. 2026) so I can definitely recommend it.
#3. Spice Drawer Organizer
This is one of the few kitchen gadgets I did actually believe in before I bought. And I was 100% influenced to do it. Right after we renovated our kitchen (not a fun process, believe me – especially when you’re on a budget), we finally had some more storage space. But we also opted for open shelving (saved money), which meant we needed an easy place to stash our spices.
After a few weeks struggling with everything shaking up in the drawer, I got this Spaceaid Spice Drawer Organizer along with the SpaceAid Bag Storage Organizer and it made a huge difference in my storage space. And they’ve held up for almost two years as of right now!
You can watch how I used them to organize my kitchen drawer here.
#4. AROMA Digital Rice Cooker
This sucker is massively underrated – I’ve been told over and over again I need a pressure cooker, but by far the rice cooker is used way more. From rice and grits, to veggies, it’s really the end-all-be-all of kitchen tools. Honestly, if you’re a Crock Pot kid of gal, a rice cooker will be your new BFF.
We snagged this Aroma Digital Rice Cooker about a year and a half ago, and it’s still going strong. I will say we didn’t use it nearly as much until we read what it could be used for, and then we’ve never stopped lol. For example, it makes us grits at least 3-4 times per week, maybe 6-7 when the kids are home during the summer.
#5. Mandoline Slicer
My husband actually uses this one so much more than I do (I think I’ve used it once), but it’s perfect for chopping up potatoes for hash browns, slicing the up to fry for potato chips, or making french fries. The one we have isn’t sold anymore, but this SupMaKin Safe Mandoline Slicer is pretty close to it.
It’s pulled out of the drawer maybe once a week, but it’s also one of the tools that save the most time. It also helps since we started planting and growing our own potatoes, making it a pretty consistent staple in our panty to cook.
The Kitchen Gadgets That Didn’t Make The Cut
Did I buy more kitchen gadgets than this? 100%. But they’re not all worth the hype. For example, the cheese grater that is the little circular thing (like this one)? It’s actually really difficult to keep sturdy when you’re shredding cheese. So you end up working 10x harder to hold everything together, and 10x on grating cheese.
Or a pasta maker, like the ones you put on the countertop (not the electric ones, the manual ones) are SO difficult to work with. We wanted to make our own pasta to save money, but the time lost spending on trying to figure it out wasn’t worth it.
And that’s my final opinions on the best kitchen gadgets 😉
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