Kitchen Gadgets I Can’t Live Without

Whoa—bold statement with that title, right? While I can technically live without all of these gadgets, I definitely don’t want to. I’m in the kitchen cooking at least once a day (except for those lovely cheat days when we order pizza or go out for dinner), and these tools make things run so much smoother. I’ve used all of these gadgets for many, many years, so they’re definitely up there as far as my favorite things go, so I’m going to share a bit about them and why I love them so much*. Sound good? Keep on reading!

*This isn’t a sponsored post; I just love all of these kitchen gadgets. BUT there are affiliate links, so if you click on them and buy ’em—and you really should, because they’re all awesome—I get a small (peanuts, really) commission from it.

A few of my favorite kitchen gadgets, and why you need them:

Onion Goggles

Laugh all you want, but these specs are gems in the kitchen (or in the bathroom when dealing with toxic paint). Seriously though, you can forget tearing up if you’re wearing these while cutting onions. Even my daughter knows that if I’m cutting onions I need to have my goggles on. “Mama, glasses,” she tells me, and then points to the drawer where we keep them. You may look a bit dorky wearing them, but I’d rather look like a nerd than have stinging eyes and tears streaming down my face.

[Tweet “Onion goggles: You’ll look dorky wearing them, but you’ll say bye-bye to stinging eyes and tears!”]

Garlic Peeler

Who knew that something so small and simple could be so vital in the kitchen? We use garlic all the time, and as much as I love this veggie root, I don’t like smelling it on my hands. Enter the garlic roller. This thing peels cloves lickity-split, so I don’t have to worry about using a knife to smash ’em or using my finger nails to get the skin off. Garlic rollers are the way to go.

Ninja Express Chop

We bought this when we lived in a hotel for three months, because we needed a small appliance that pulled its weight. This machine is small, but mighty, and I use it at least once a week, because it minces, chops, and blends—wham, bam, thank you, ma’am! I love its small footprint most of all. We actually have a giant food processor, but it’s the last thing I want to haul out from the cabinet for random Tuesday-night meal. This little guy, on the other hand, is tiny, portable, and gets the job done.

[Tweet “Want the secret to a fabulous kitchen? It’s a ninja!”]

Garlic Twister

So, I was totally suckered into buying this. We were walking through a market in France, and there was a man showing off this little device. It was obviously all in French, and while I don’t speak the language, it was hard to deny the fact that he was a great salesman. I saw him crushing those garlic cloves in a few seconds flat and I knew I had to have it. Sure, you could have a garlic press, but those things are hard to clean. I just pop this in the dishwasher and it’s good to go.

Moka Pot

Yeah, there are tons of coffee-making machines out there, but this one is near and dear to my heart. I bought mine in Italy and it’s technically a “three-cup” machine (three cups as in, three teeny-tiny espresso cups or 6 ounces to go in your American-sized mug), but I use it as a solo serving for myself. Sure, you could use a little coffee pod, French press, or just make half a pot of coffee, but then you’d miss out on enjoying the Italian way of enjoying a cup of joe! The coffee percolates up and before you know it, you have a quaint cup of coffee.

Kitchen Food Scale

Before I got serious about cooking and baking, I never realized how vital it was to have a scale in your kitchen. It’s essential for baking, but it’s also really handy for figuring out portion sizes, which is a huge part of my Weight Watchers journey. We’ve had this one for years and it’s still working like we just bought it yesterday. As an added bonus, I use it for other things besides food—it’s excellent if you need to weigh out a package to send in the mail. Win/win.

And, not pictured (because I forgot to include this in the picture, and as much as I love blogging, I don’t enjoy setting everything up again and retaking a picture):

Mix ‘N Chop

You guys. If you make ground beef on the regular (or ground turkey, sausage or…whatever), then you need this in your life. Before I had  this, I’d spend most of my time cooking ground beef trying to mash it all up to get smaller bits; I’d stand there practically hacking at the beef only to have a sore arm later. But now? Now I just use this little guy and within seconds my meat is all broken up. It’s awesome and so useful, and I’m kicking myself for not adding it to the photo (it was in the dishwasher, so I completely forgot about it).

There ya go, a few of my favorite kitchen things.
Do you have any of them, and do you love them as much as I do?
Tell me about what kitchen gadgets you can’t live without in the comments!