16 kitchen gadgets under $25 we can’t live without
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I love cooking. I find myself whipping up a meal upwards of five nights a week (much to the astonishment of my roommates) . It is always worth it in the end, especially since I save a bunch of money when I eat in.
By the same token—since I am a savvy (or maybe just cheap?) shopper—I rely on kitchen gadgets that aren’t state-of-the-art but that are still good quality. Sure, I could buy a $50 cutting board—but I could also buy a $23 one that is just as good!
Perhaps someday I’ll stage a fake wedding to curate an expensive registry filled with upscale kitchen goods from Williams Sonoma—but even so, I’d stick with my beloved $3 spatula—and these other inexpensive kitchen must-haves that the folks at Reviewed can’t live without.
1. This roll-up dish drying rack to save counter space
“A sink full of dirty dishes drives me crazy. I’m lucky enough to have a dishwasher in my apartment, but I also have a lot of stuff that has to be hand-washed, and not a lot of counter space for a dish drying rack. This handy little device is crazy perfect for my double sink. It lays perfectly over half the sink so I can wash in the other half and then let everything drip right down the drain. No moldy spill trays, no wet counters. And the fact that it rolls up for storage? Amazing.” — Samantha Gordon
2. A spiralizer for oodles of zoodles
“When I first got into the spiralizing trend, I had one of the larger models, which I now use for sweet potatoes and beets. I also invested in the $10 Veggetti that I affectionately call the Zoodler (I really hate the OG name). I only use it for spiralizing zucchini, which is what I probably spiralize most. It’s smaller, easy to clean, and I can travel with it, so I’ve found myself ‘zoodling’ more because of it.” — Courtney Campbell
3. A garlic press that prevents stinky fingers
“It’s way easier and faster to push a few cloves of (unpeeled!) garlic through this mechanism than it is to peel and mince the cloves with a knife and cutting board. The cleanup is way easier too, thanks to the spiky mechanism that flips around to push any stuck garlic back through the grates. Plus, the whole process is quick, gratifying and your fingers won’t reek of garlic for eons to come. Also, jarred garlic is NOT just as good (don’t @ me on this, Olivia).” — Jessica Teich
4. A do-it-all nonstick pan
“We received this Copper Chef non-stick frying pan as a gift last Christmas. Since then, it’s been our primary frying pan for all of our cooking (love to make scrambled eggs in the morning). It’s also really great to clean too since everything just slides off.” — Kyle Hamilton
5. This tiny measuring cup that bartenders swear by
“I love this small, angled 2-ounce measuring cup (also called a jigger). I see bartenders using this exact version all the time, as it’s perfect for making cocktails, but I use it for general cooking measurements as well. I particularly like the stainless steel version with etched markings because I know it won’t fade no matter how many times I run it through the dishwasher.” — Jeremy Stamas
6. A coffee bean grinder that’s great for spices too
“This spice/ coffee grinder is probably the single biggest improvement I saw in my cooking for under $25. Grinding your own spices is almost always the better choice, and this machine has been reliable, easy to clean, and breaks down even really tough spices like annatto seeds to a consistent powder.” — Andrew Winson
7. A fancy soft boiled egg cracker
“My most favorite inexpensive kitchen item is my soft boiled egg cracker. My parents brought one back years ago from France, and it completely changed my breakfast game. Spoiler alert: I eat A LOT of soft boiled eggs. I am not sure why really, I just always grew up eating those because I loved dipping my bread into a runny egg sitting in a perfect little cup. I digress. Mine looks like this BUT the top rated one on Amazon looks a bit different” — Patricia Camerota (That’s me!)
8. This foil cutter to quickly pull foil from wine bottles
“I absolutely love this foil cutter to open my wine bottles. Sure you can use a knife, but this in one quick squeeze cuts the foil off the top of the bottle, without the fear of cutting yourself in the process.” — Alicia Cypress
9. These durable pan scrapers for your beloved cast iron
If you’ve got a cast iron skillet (and especially if it’s a Lodge) you should spend the $3 and get these plastic scrapers. You can clean burnt- or caked-on food off without having to use soap or something super abrasive that would damage months of careful cast iron seasoning. They’re cheap, convenient and incredibly useful. — Mike Roorda
10. This finger-saving can opener
“I feel very passionately about this can opener. First, it has a locking mechanism so that once it punctures the top of the can, the handles are bound together so you don’t have to squeeze the entire time, or worry about having to go back over half-opened sections of aluminum again. Secondly, it has magnet on the front to remove the lid of the can once it’s opened, so you don’t slice a finger on the sharp can edge. It’s wonderful.” — Jessica Teich