my 5 favorite kitchen tools for under $10

The kitchen is my happy place. There’s something about taking ingredients, items that are often useless on their own, and creating something that nourishes people, that brings them together. Sometimes I love the quiet comfort of a familiar recipe, of careful measurements. Other times, I love the unknown of experimenting, of wondering what the end result will be.

I have some pretty treasured gadgets in my kitchen, including my KitchenAid mixer. I use it several times a week. Most of my most frequently used tools, though, are inexpensive and versatile. Today I’m going to share a few of my favorites.

cheese slicer

This exact cheese slicer is the one J. and I have owned for nearly seven years. As two cheese-loving parents of two cheese-loving kids, we use it a lot. It’s sturdy and slices at the perfect thickness for a grilled cheese- we call that cheese toast around here- with the added perk that it can double as a spatula to flip and cut your sandwich.

Bonus: in a pinch, it makes a a workable bottle opener.

bamboo spoons

I use at least one of these bamboo spoons every day. They come as a set of six and cost just over $1 each. I’ve had my set for more than two years and they’re still holding up well, even though I wash them in the dishwasher. I use them for anything you’d use a regular wooden spoon for, and I use the squared off ones as spatulas.

Bonus: you can try this cool DIY.

dough whisk

I saw this dough whisk recommended on a blog and decided on a whim to buy it. Turns out, I use it pretty frequently. I love to use it to mix cookie dough and bread dough, as well as various batters. It’s easier to clean than a regular whisk and is better for thick batter and dough.

Bonus: you get to tell people that you use a Danish dough hand whisk. Fancy, huh?

pan scrapers

My step-mom first bought me one these pan scrapers several years ago. It was an afterthought in the checkout line at Bed, Bath & Beyond and I’m sure she has no idea how much I’ve loved it (Ann, if you read this, you’ve revolutionized the way I wash dishes!). There really isn’t anything to explain about these little guys, other than that they are masters at scraping cooked-on food and gook from dishes while saving your fingernails.

Bonus: they’re a great tool for scraping the sticky stuff left over after removing labels.

rada paring knife

I originally bought this knife out of a sense of obligation. A student was selling these knives as a fundraiser, so I bought one. I’d long been unhappy with the inexpensive knife block J. and I bought when we first married, so I figured it might be a slight improvement. Now, a year later, I own six or seven of these knives, plus the knife sharpener.

I love how sturdy they are and how easy they are to sharpen (until now, I was terrified of knife sharpeners, thinking for some reason that they were dangerous or difficult to use). I highly recommend any knives from this brand; I think you’ll be as pleasantly surprised by their quality and affordability as I was.

Bonus: buy these knives through a fundraiser and support a good cause while getting some new kitchen bling.

What are your favorite inexpensive kitchen tools?

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