My Top Ten Kitchen Essentials For Every Skill Level

I am not a professional chef. That said, I love me some fancy ass gadgets. I’m spilling on all the kitchen essentials everyone needs STAT.

I never really took cooking seriously until my boyfriend (now husband – *chef’s kiss*) and I moved in together in 2014. We left our home state of CT and moved to NY for a job he landed, which put us over an hour from home and experiencing adulthood for the first time.

Cooking frozen chicken tenders and rice packets was simply not going to cut it anymore.

We went to the store and stocked up on a basic set of pots and pans, and I slowly taught myself how to cook.

7 years, thousands of meals, and a few kitchen upgrades later, and I’ve compiled a solid list of kitchen essentials for every level of cooking skill. All of these items are in heavy rotation in my kitchen, and all of them are budget friendly!

Get out your shopping list!

Cookware

• Seasoned Cast Iron Skillet: I was terrified of using mine for the first several months I had it, but once I got the hang of it there was no turning back. It sears meat in a way you just cannot achieve with most other pans! Also excellent if you’re looking to build upper body strength – they are not light.
• Dutch Oven: I feel like this one item legitimizes you as knowing your shit in the kitchen. If you’ve made it to the level of owning and using a dutch oven – your skill will never be questioned again. Leaving it on the cooktop may seem like a simple decor choice to outsiders, but they’d be mistaken. Its to let all your guests know who’s boss.
• High Quality Non Stick Pots and Pans: we bought a budget set when we first moved in together, but you absolutely get what you pay for in this department. When we got married we got this set and there’s just no comparison. I love the variety of pans it comes with and there are lots of add-ons that you can purchase when your skills (or cabinet space) increase.

Countertop Appliances

• Food Processor: 2020 was the year of the food processor for me! I made the decision to make all my daughter’s baby food, and also started a veggie garden. #QuarantineLife. I was constantly steaming/stewing/pickling and my food processor basically lived on my counter. If you’re *not* an aspiring farmer/hippy mom, it is also essential if you want to make a good dip, salsa, dough, etc. The model I got has a slicing blade too!
• Egg Cooker: This may seem like an unnecessary purchase at first glance, but trust me. If you like eggs you need this! I use it mostly for hard boiling eggs because it is sooooo simple – they are done in minutes. From there I toss them in salads, make egg salad, or spread a little sriracha on them as a snack. Bonus: you can POACH eggs with this, too!
• Nice Coffee Maker: the coffee maker we have now was actually my sister’s, but we kind of hijacked it from her when she moved out because we enjoyed it so much! I love that you can make so many different portion sizes. It also lets you adjust the strength of the brew, and there’s an over ice option. There’s a frother attachment on the side, which if 2020 taught us anything, can really spice up a boring coffee in no time.

Food Storage/Utensils

• Glass Spice Jars with Custom Labels: This is where you should begin your kitchen essentials journey. I am not exaggerating when I say I got better at cooking once I did this to my spice cabinet. Everything fit in nice, organized rows and I was excited to try new spices because of it! No more rifling through your hodge podge collection of spices while your food burns. Everything is right there waiting to be turned into something yummy.
• Glass Food Storage Containers: I love making Sunday Gravy, but I hate how it turns plastic Tupperware orange! We made the switch to glass containers a few years ago and its amazing. No more nasty stains, and they don’t get foggy over time either.
• Glass Bakeware: I love a simple meal. One pot recipes, casseroles, I will make them all if it means less dishes. Glass bakeware is a must for this lifestyle. I’ve roasted whole chickens, made French toast casserole, perfected a few last minute throw-it-together dinners all in this bakeware. Super versatile, super affordable, a tried and true kitchen essential.
• Set of Silicone Cooking Utensils: I don’t know about you, but I much prefer silicone to wood. I feel like they are much better at scraping the sides of the pan/pot/mixing bowl. I had another brand before this one and they worked well, but the handles were super chunky which kept them from fitting in my countertop utensil holder. This brand is similar in price, but in my opinion is better quality and has skinny handles!

A few bonuses, too

Beeswax Food Wraps: Another new addition to our home, but already helping us cut back on plastic wrap and aluminum foil! They are a little trickier to care for than our other sustainable swaps, but worth the effort. They have antibacterial properties and when they are no longer useful (they last about a year if used regularly) you can compost them. We mostly use them for our fruits and veggies, which I imagine will kick them into overtime come summer with our gardens.

Silicone Reusable Bags: In an effort to reduce waste in our home, we have been making lots of small changes over time to eliminate single use items. We recently got this set of silicone resealable bags and they are excellent! They keep a good seal and are very low maintenance, which helps ease the transition away from plastic bags.

Organic Baby Food Cookbook: I made the decision to cook all of my daughter’s baby food at home instead of buying jars at the grocery store. If you decide to go this route, or even some hybrid version – I highly recommend this book. It was very insightful and gave lots of options for preparing, cooking, and storing the food in bulk. It also provides recipes all the way through to full blown family meals!

Is there something on your kitchen essentials list you think should be added? Tell me in the comments! I’ll probably buy it!