This Ultimate Foodie Gift Guide is the best place to find the perfect present for that kitchen gadget loving person in your life!
Oh, we’ve worked hard on this foodie gift guide! If you watch our twice weekly live show (you do watch, right?!), you know that I absolutely adore kitchen gadgets. Love love love kitchen gadgets!
But not just anything. We have a smallish kitchen and lots of people in my house, so if we’re going to add something new to the mix it had better be fantastic!
This gift guide contains affiliate links.
This list is comprised of my absolute favorite kitchen items. Things that make life easier and more fun when it comes to food and cooking. And any time it’s possible, things that are bright, colorful, and cheerful!
Foodie Gift Guide – Under $10
- Dish scraper – I know, I know. There is absolutely nothing glamorous about a dish scraper. But it’s one of the best things you can have sitting on the sink ledge! Makes a great stocking stuffer. This little gadget makes quick work of anything stuck onto pots, pans, and plates!
- Julienne peeler – Want to make some super quick zucchini noodles for one, or quickly shred some carrots for your salad? This julienne peeler is the perfect solution! Great for folks in apartments or small spaces too.
- Knife sharpener – Let me tell you about this knife sharpener! I won it at a conference almost ten years ago, and I still use it several times a week. It’s one of my go-to housewarming gifts and everyone I know just loves it.
- Oil mister – This is the perfect gift for folks who want to make sure they know exactly what they’re spraying on their pans. We like to put olive oil in ours, but you could use anything from vegetable oil, grapeseed oil, avocado oil, or whatever you like! Just pump the top a few times and it sprays a fine mist of the oil you chose.
- Santoku knife – My favorite knife for cutting vegetables! This knife is the perfect size and shape, handles great, and is super reasonably priced. Also, I just love that it’s fun and colorful!
- Silicone baking mats – Nothing sticks to these! Whaaaa?! Perfect for baking sugary cookies, or cheesy croissants. You know why? Because nothing sticks to these!!!
Foodie Gift Guide – Under $25
- Five layer cake pans – These cake pans are so much fun! They make a five layer cake out of one box cake mix. All five will fit in the oven at once, and they cook in about 1/3 the time of a normal cake! Have I mentioned they’re so much fun?! See them in action with our Chocolate Overload Cake.
- Garlic press – Need fresh minced or sliced garlic, but don’t want to peel or chop your garlic? This garlic press is the bessssssst. We’ve had ours for as long as I can remember (maybe a wedding present?), and I use it several times a week!
- Cookie stamps – I don’t make a whole lot of cookies, but when I do, we love to pull out our cookie stamps! If you’re making shortbread style cookies that don’t spread, you can stamp them beforehand. If you’re making more traditional cookies, stamp them as soon as they come out of the oven while they’re still soft and hot!
- Bundt pan – Using a bundt pan is the best way to make any cake look fancy and fabulous. Doesn’t matter if it’s a straight out of the box cake mix with canned icing – this bundt pan will make it look grade A!
- Bakers half sheet – It’s cool, we only have about six of these bakers half sheets because they’re good for absolutely everything. Cookies? Yes! Steak? Yes! Cake? Oh yeh! Roasted veggies? Uhhhh huh!
Foodie Gift Guide – Under $50
- Mandolin slicer – Make pickle slices, or scalloped potatoes. French fries, and shaved onion. You won’t get a better or quicker thin slice than with this mandolin. Just make sure to use the safety guard, no one *actually* wants a knuckle sandwich!
- 15″ Cast iron pan – This. Pan. Is. Huge. Literally massive. I have two and they’re sooooooo amazing. I love using these on my grill to make a beautifully seared steak or some yummy Old Bay shrimp. And in my oven or on the stovetop when the weather’s no good for grilling!
- Spiralizer – Even if the only thing I ever made with this was zoodles (zucchini noodles), it would be 100% worth the cabinet space. Thankfully though, it’s not the only thing I make. My kids love spiralized apples, and hubby and I are partial to curly fries!
- Stick blender – Possibly the most used gadget in my entire kitchen. The key to making a hand blender useful versus a giant pain in the butt is to rinse it immediately after using. That way you’re never trying to get crusty dried goop out from under the blades.
- Electric mixer – I love love love love love (x’s 100) my stand mixer. Really and truly. But my daily work horse is this handheld electric mixer. It even comes in allll the colors. Which, yay!
- Belgium waffle maker – This electric waffle maker makes four gorgeous perfect fluffy waffles. Mmmmmmm. We suggest you break yours in with this yummy pumpkin spice waffle recipe!
- 6.5 Quart dutch oven – This enameled cast iron dutch oven can go from stove top to oven, and look beautiful doing it. Perfect for chilis, roasts, breads, and stews. Mine is yellow, what color will you choose?
- Tilt n Drain Griddle – This awesome griddle has a heavy cast aluminum base with premium nonstick surface assures stick-free cooking and easy cleaning! We use it for everything from pancakes, to eggs, to chicken breast, and seared steak!
Foodie Gift Guide – Under $100
- Ninja blender – We. Love. This. Blender. It blends all the things! Beautifully! No scraping the sides like I did in my old blender. And for a super reasonable price. My favorite thing to blend is Strawberry Lime Slushes!
- Cuisinart knife block – These are the knives we got for our wedding in 2003 (go ahead, count on your fingers). We still use them every single day. And they’re still great! Also, they’re a really classic looking knife, which I really like!
- Double wall insulated wine glasses – Okay, this one’s not really a gadget so much as something I find really useful in a hot kitchen. I can pour my cold wine or beer into one of these cute glasses and forget I did for hours. When I finally wander back, it’s still cold and ready for me. I’ve even sat it next to my flaming hot grill while I make burgers, and it doesn’t turn into warm beer soup!
- Calphalon everyday pan – This is a 12″ two handled pan that you will use pretty much every day. Which, of course is why it’s called an everyday pan. I have this one and the Le Creuset version. I use a whole lot of pots and pans in my line of work (apologies to my husband, the dishwasher!) and these are by far my most frequently used pans.
- Instant Pot electric pressure cooker – Hey there working parent! It’s me! Also a working parent! Can we talk about how hard it is to get a healthy dinner on the table during the week? So. Hard. Well, Imma tell you – this electric pressure cooker, and my gas grill are the saving graces in our home. A delicious roast with carrots and potatoes in 45 minutes? Yes, please! You’re seriously going to love this one!
Foodie Gift Guide – Over $100
- Keurig coffee maker – Confession: we actually have two Keurig’s in our house. One in the kitchen and one in the office. This single brew machine makes a damn fine cup of coffee, and quickly. Also, it’s super cute. Mine are turqouise (in the office) and retro blue (in the kitchen).
- 6 Burner gas grill – For Christmas last year we upgraded and gifted ourselves a 6 burner gas grill. It seemed like overkill at first, I mean it’s really really big. But oh my goodness, it’s been the most amazing thing! I love piling up the grill on Sunday afternoon with three or four different proteins and cooking a week’s worth of meat all in one swoop. It’s so convenient and there’s nothing like cooking outside and enjoying a cold beer. If you follow my snapchat, you know I’m out there a lot!
- Le Creuset braising pan – We talked a little bit about this one already. It’s the pumped up version of the Calphalon everyday pan. A little heavier, a little taller, a little nicer. And if you have a little more money to spend, then this is for sure the one to get. It’s a beautiful pan that you’ll use day in and day out.
- End grain cutting board – This is my absolute favorite cutting board and the one that I get the most compliments on. And p.s. I have a lot of cutting boards. It really is absolutely stunning, and knows how to take a beating. We use it every single day!
- Classic Kitchenaid stand mixer – Save the best for last? Or at least the most grand. I don’t know why, but a kitchen just doesn’t feel like a kitchen without one of these bad boys tucked away on the counter. My favorite things to make in ours are ginger cookies, no churn ice cream, and shredded chicken. Yup, seriously. The Kitchenaid shreds chicken like no ones business!
10-21-12
J. Young says
What a great list! I added the waffle maker to my Amazon wish list. I'm not a huge waffle fan, but I do like waffles and ice cream. Plus, why should my kids suffer just because I don't like something normal? Haha
J. Madison says
I love this list!! I would replace the kindle with the new Nook but other than that I want everything on this list!!! I will be sending links to this in my Birthday invitations!!
Erica Mueller says
Mmmmmn. Let's see… I have:
The Pyrex measuring cup, the locking tongs, the 5mm lens, the Canon Rebel T3, the nice slow cooker (diff brand, same features) the Kindle, the KitchenAid handmixer (LOVE. I love it so much in fact, that it's THE item I buy couples for their household showers.) and Heather's book. 🙂
And now I'm drooling over the rest…
teacakemake says
What an awesome list! Love it. Might have to show it to anyone thinking of getting me something for gifts.
Good Food Good Friends says
Thanks for this great list. Some of your favorite things are mine as well. A well equiped kitchen makes cooking so much more fun!
Margherita says
This list is great and super helpful!
tahir sumar says
great list! thanks for posting!
DaniVeras says
This is awesome April! I love it.
sanam arzoo says
can’t wait to get shopping! that grill looks fantastic!
Denise says
Awesome list!!! Definitely gonna use some.
April says
yay! <3
Kathy Treloar says
link to the instapot is not working… Just to let you know.
April says
thanks, fixed now and here’s the link if you need it: https://amzn.to/2W8wTgr 🙂