29 Inexpensive Kitchen Products That Will Be Used All The Time

So you can roast big batches of meal prep veggies at the beginning of the week with all your favorite sauces and seasonings without worrying about the cleanup (or wasting parchment paper).

Promising review: "I like to do what I can to reduce my carbon footprint but I don't want to make my life unnecessarily difficult or ineffective. These mats allow me to eliminate the use of foil or parchment paper on my baking sheets, thereby saving money and being that much less potential product in the landfill. So far I have baked breadsticks and roasted vegetables on them, and they work like a charm. The heat distribution is great and they're nonstick without using spray or oil. If I had a complaint, it would be that they're a little hard to clean by hand due to how bendy and flexible they are and the fact that oil and grease seems to want to stick to it like a magnet. It isn't a big deal, though, and I'll be buying more of these." —Michelle Daniels

Get a set of two from Amazon for $12.44.

Reviewers swear by this for making their wine taste that much better — this not only serves as a leakproof stopper, a filter and a pourer, but it can aerate your wine to bring out the flavor. Extremely cheers to that.

Promising review: "I wouldn't consider myself a 'wine connoisseur' by any means, but I typically have a bottle or so float through my house each week. This wine corker takes the hassle out of pulling the original cork out, it is easy to clean, makes the wine taste better, and hello it's cheap! Would make a GREAT cheap gift for a wine drinker. At the moment, I only have the one, but I'm planning to grab a few more to keep on hand." —JasonKim Lebeda

Get it from Amazon for $9.55.

So you can keep all the fixtures and appliances in your kitchen in tip top shape. This does the trick on on everything from dirty stove tops to grimy sinks to caked-over ovens. A lot of people compare it to the Magic Eraser in paste form, so even your weirdest, most stubborn stains will meet their match.

Promising review: "I used this product for my stove because it's one thing I dislike like cleaning. I have used multiple degreaser sprays and they all are so toxic and don't work for me. The Magic Eraser was okay but I used several at a time and I had to scrub so hard. But this product oh my goodness, legit a miracle. It doesn't have any type of smell. I put the paste on a cloth, clean the area then wipe it off with a damp cloth and voilà, magic!" —May

Get it from Amazon for $7.97.

Perfect for any honorary members of the Kitchen Safety Patrol — these are designed to be four times stronger (!!) than leather to keep your digits safe.

Promising review: "I bought the gloves because I had two nasty cuts in quick succession from a cheese grater. Anyone who has had injuries to their fingers knows how difficult it is to continue to do everyday activities and meal preparation while still protecting your wound. I received the gloves quickly after my order and pressed them into use immediately that evening. I am most impressed. My fingers/hands were protected from my very sharp grater and knife while I prepared dinner. I bought two pairs, one to keep and one to give as a gift. I am now going to buy a third pair in a larger size for a friend who also likes to cook but suffers from occasional run-ins with mandolines, graters, and knives. Great product!" —O'Hare

Get it from Amazon for $11.49 (available in sizes S–XL).

You can pop one into a cycle with your dirty dishes to wipe out the occasional grime or funky smell, taking care of it periodically instead of waiting for the sitch to get out of hand.

Promising review: "We have very hard water in this area, and though my dishwasher is supposed to be self-cleaning when you use the right detergent (which I have been), it's been getting gunkier and gunkier and a couple of months ago the rinse aid dispenser stopped filling properly. When I looked that up, the online advice said that can happen if it gets too dirty and gave advice on running the dishwasher with vinegar and other tricks. But I saw this and, being pleased with Affresh's machine cleaners I'd used on my clothes washer, decided to try it. It worked AMAZINGLY, in ONE try. My rinse aid dispenser immediately started working good as new again, and my dishwasher is the cleanest it's been since we got it! Love it!" —Mouriana

Get a pack of six from Amazon for $5.39.

It's designed with special vents to keep your fruits and veggies fresh longer, so your produce will actually stay decent between your weekly grocery hauls.

Promising review: "LOVE LOVE LOVE these! We buy only organic produce which does not tend to last very long and when you pay as much as we do for organic you don't want it going bad so fast. My favorite thing about these is that it keeps my lettuce crisp and fresh for weeks not days. I've been able to buy bunches of lettuce and keep them in the fridge for several weeks. I keep the second container for strawberries, asparagus, blueberries, etc. and it keeps them fresh for way longer now. Not only that but it prevents them from molding after only a few days so I'm not worried about having to eat my strawberries in two days now. Will definitely be buying more in the future. Totally worth every penny and super easy to wash and dry." —Jessica

Get it from Amazon for $10.15+ (available in multiple sizes and sets).

A Middle Eastern spice blend of thyme, toasted sesame seeds and sumac that you'll find yourself sprinkling on just about every meal you whip up to add a little extra savory, spicy depth to it.

Promising review: "This za'atar is the best quality I have found. I've also found that the balance of sumac and thyme to be just right. This instantly spices up my boring meal prep food and I put it on my chicken, meats, salads, yogurt, or just in olive oil — basically it makes everything taste so much better. I highly recommend it!" —TC

Get it from Amazon for $9.99.

You can use it to sauté, sear, bake, broil, braise, fry or grill. It's also built to last for decades, whether you're using it on the reg in the oven to make pillowy biscuits or on the stove to make the kind of steak that'll waft through your whole house.

Promising review: "This gets 5 stars from a picky reviewer. My husband was very impressed by the skillet when we cooked our steak last night and I was impressed when the cleaning was so easy! Highly recommend if you want to experience the high-end quality steak!" —2kiddos

Get it from Amazon for $17.90 (available in twelve sizes and styles).

It simultaneously cooks an egg, toasts bread, warms precooked meat and melts cheese into the perfect sammie in less than five minutes. Egg McWHOMST???

Promising review: "I am actually excited for my weekday breakfast now. These homemade mcmuffins are so good! My favorite version uses sliced tomatoes, Swiss cheese, and precooked bacon (from Costco). So many options, so easy! My kindergartener and my teenager both love it. I may have to buy another one for our family. It's also easy to clean with a quick wipe-down." —Joolie

Get it from Amazon for $24.99+ (available in three colors).

It's small enough to slide into your utensil drawer – it'll more than earn its keep by taking care of those pesky pits and giving you slices so perfectly portioned that you'll actually start looking forward to adding avo to your WFH salads again. This three-in-one tool can split an avocado with its pointy tip, remove the pit with its center, and make perfectly even slices with the bottom — a much safer alternative to using a regular knife and potential falling prey to the dreaded "avocado hand."

Promising review: "So worth the space in the kitchen! This thing really does what it says. I love mine and use it all the time. Pit removal is super easy with this, no more knife-prying. I didn't think the cutting tool would be as effective as it is but it works great as well. No complaints on this product — would buy again!" —K. Cyr

Get it from Amazon for $9.99.

So you can add a pinch of sweet and a kick of spice to all your favorite staples, whether it's avocado toast, pizza, grilled cheese or even ice cream.

Promising review: "We received our first bottle of Mike's Hot Honey as a gift and it sat in our cupboard for nearly a year before I ventured to try a bit on some roasted veggies. But then I happened to be making some egg/avocado toast for breakfast one day, and I drizzled this on the toast as a base (then topped with eggs, bacon, avocado, gouda cheese and sriracha) and OH MY GOSH. That little breakfast delight became an overnight family favorite, and the bottle of Mike's became an instant sensation. Now we make that delectable little gourmet sandwich to impress our overnight guests, and can't imagine our life before Mike's." —Johanna J.

Get it from Amazon for $9.99.

It'll both delight and emotionally confuse your tastebuds with a combo of creamy avo + HEAT so delicious you'll never get bored of your own cooking ever again. The question is less what can you put it on and more what can't you put it on. Reviewers mention salads, burritos, eggs, burgers, sandwiches and steak.

Promising review: "Flavorful and with just the right amount of kick. I lay this stuff on my meal prep foods to give it an extra oomph." —Lazara Landa

Get it from Amazon for $9.30.

Just keep it on the side of your sink and rub your brush into it — it'll create suds that cut through residue and grease and keep all your dishes streak-free and squeaky clean. Psst — you can also use this to spot treat laundry, stains on the carpet, and take labels off jars! No Tox Life is a mother/daughter-owned, Texas-based Etsy shop established in 2015 that specializes in vegan, bath, body and home care.

Promising review: "So happy to find the shipping material was also plastic-free. This is my first dish bar that I’ve tried and I’m really pleased! I cut it up into four so i don’t have the whole block out (cut with a serrated knife when it’s fully dry). I use it with a bristle brush and it washes nicely! Sufficient suds and cuts grease too. I am sold and will fully switch from liquid dish soap to this." —MM

Get it from No Tox Life on Etsy for $9.98 (psst — this item ships for free!).

It can cook and bake so many individual meals or quick side dishes using the power of rapid air technology that it'll spoil you for other methods of cooking forever and possibly make your family beg you to stop so the house will stop smelling like Brussels sprouts.

Promising review: "This item is a lifesaver. On hot days when I do t want to turn on the oven, I just pop items in the air fryer. It's fast, convenient, and cute. I have made chicken wings, jalapeno poppers, pizza rolls, chicken thighs, vegetables, and much more. It's very versatile. This would be perfect for a college dorm or a single person." —Eli O.

Get it from Amazon for $49.99 (available in five colors).

It's designed so that every single piece is a crispy "edge piece" and people in the family with different lasagna preferences can customize their own versions (sometimes you just gotta drown the whole thing in cheese, you dig me?). FYI, you can 6,000% use these for brownies, blondies and bread too.

Promising review: "As someone who has a child (now a teenager) that will not eat any form of cheese, this pan is amazing! I typically avoid making any food that has cheese mixed into it but now I can make him a section without cheese and the rest of us our regular cheesy goodness. Another benefit to this pan is how well the portions slice. One cut with the spatula gives you a perfectly formed square. Each section makes four regular sized portions for our family." —TLC

Get it from Amazon for $19.99.

So the next time you play my favorite game — "indiscriminately shove things in the air fryer and hope for the best" — you can actually experiment with confidence (particularly when it comes to meat and frozen foods!). Willa Flare is a California-based Etsy shop that specializes in cooking guides and other home goods.

Promising review: "I love it! I am not a cooker so this kind of help is greatly appreciated. The product is of great quality and was shipped fast. Thanks!" —Francisca

Get it from Willa Flare on Etsy for $12.99 (this item ships for free!).

Perfect for anyone who is looking to make the most of their drawer space and make it that much easier to put their cutlery away. The slots on this are extra deep to create so much more storage room you might get a lil' smug about it.

Promising review: "This was a quarantine impulse buy for me: I suddenly want everything in my home perfectly organized. This was great — the top row fits my set of steak knives and the bottom row holds miscellaneous knives for chopping." —MKB from CT

Get it from Amazon for $11.99.

It'll free your pasta from its hot juices straight from the pot and spare you storage space (is it just me or are colanders always in the business of being exactly in the way of whatever it is you need?). Psst — these are a game-changer for washing your fruit, too!

Promising review: "I've owned this for about six months, and I couldn't imagine cooking without it. I hate strainers. They are bulky and fill up the dishwasher, I'm lazy, whatever. This strainer is a lifesaver. Clip it on your pan, strain, and voila! And it is so easy to clean. A little hot water and it's good to go for the next round. I highly recommend this gadget, it will retire your current strainer." —Viola Evens

Get it from Amazon for $13.59+ (available in five colors).

It's perfectly designed for anyone with a hectic schedule, because it is the definition of "no muss, no fuss." This grates cheese, juices fruits and cuts, ribbons and more. All you have to do is change out one of the interlocking caps for a new function. Freshly squeezed OJ? Zoodles in the air fryer? Grated Parmesan on your pasta? Done, done and done. (And you never have to say "when"!!)

Promising review: "LOVE THIS. I absolutely love this. So far I've used the thicker spiralizer, two of the grater things, and then the juicer. I love how easy this makes keeping everything together. And it's sharp so it actually cuts through things without you needing to work super hard to do it. The only thing I don't love is that the spiralizers are a bit hard to clean, but I guess that's with all of them? Not sure, this is the first I've owned. But, overall I'd recommend it :)" —Amazon Customer

Get it from Amazon for $14.99.

Perfect for when you need to get teensy things out of hot spaces like air fryers, the microwave or the toaster (I'm looking DIRECTLY at you, every English muffin I have ever consumed). The Tiny Craft Closet is an Arizona-based Etsy shop established in 2014 that specializes in pot holders, kitchenwares, apparel and gifts.

Promising review: "I received an air fryer for Christmas and these mini pot holders are perfect! The material is cute and washes well. Very well made!!! Thank you!" —Debbie Grooms

Get it from The Tiny Craft Closet on Etsy for $6 (available in 50 prints).

It might just become the MVP of all your kitchen tools — reviewers praise this not just for air drying dishes, bottles and washed veggies and fruit, but as extra counter space in a pinch.

Promising review: "I have a very, very small kitchen in my studio. Used not only for dish drainer, but washing fruits and veggies, and as a platform when putting groceries away." —Champagne Alley

Get it from Amazon for $15.97.

It's truly just out here doing the most — not only does the anti-slip rubber making opening even the toughest jars a breeze, but it also functions as a can opener and a bottle opener, too. Psst — a lot of reviewers with arthritis swear by these for pain-free, easy opening and parents say it makes it a lot easier for kids to open jars, too!

Promising review: "Having had arthritis in my hands since my teens, I have used many jar/bottle openers out of necessity. The OXO ones work well, but wear out within a year because of the volume of usage. This fabulous opener has yet to find a container that it cannot easily open, even bottles of water with heavily sealed caps. I love it so much I ordered another one to have in two drawers on either end of my kitchen. This gripper does not exacerbate my carpel tunnel syndrome, either. I would give it more stars if I could." —Patrizia L

Get it from Amazon for $9.99+ (available in eight colors).

So you can do your future self a favor by getting ahead of any ~off~ smells in your fridge and lengthen the times you can go between deep cleans. This deodorizer lasts up to six months and also helps keep produce fresher for longer. The company claims it's six times more effective than baking soda — a ton of reviewers mentioned they'd tried the baking soda method and failed, but that this worked like a charm!

Promising review: "OMG THIS THING ACTUALLY WORKS!!! I moved into my new apartment two months ago. When I first moved in I opened the freezer and fridge to sanitize since I have no idea if the previous tenants did, and boy oh boy when I opened it up... I got smacked in the face with the smell of old moldy food! I bleached it and decided to wait a day. Tried again the next day and the smell was still there. I bought some baking soda and put it in the fridge thinking it would solve it. Welp, it DIDN’T! Tried charcoal, tried taking bits apart and deep cleaning them and nothing worked. I got the two-pack and as soon as they came this morning I placed one in the fridge and one in my freezer. In an hour I noticed a difference. Went out to run some errands and when I got back home tonight I opened the fridge and noticed I couldn’t smell anything coming from it!" —Zoraida Gunter

Get a pack of two from Amazon for $17.97.

It doubles as a serving bowl, so you can pop movie theater-level corn while only using up a Frisbee's worth of valuable space. All you have to do is add generic kernels + whatever oils or butters you feel in your heart and you'll be raring to go.

Promising review: "This is a fast, effective and low-cost means to prepare popcorn. I got tired of paying a premium for microwave popcorn packets at the grocery. I didn’t want another appliance on my counter to air pop either. This was the perfect solution. I use inexpensive bulk popping corn, no oil or salt and I don’t have to worry about the metal in the microwave popcorn bags that gets extremely hot and scorches the upside down paper plate I have to put under the microwave bag each time. Plus, weren’t we told not to put anything metal in the microwave anyway? I pull the Salbree out, expand it and add a 1/4 cup of popping corn kernels in the base to the full line. I put it in the microwave for 3+ minutes and listen for the kernels to stop popping. Using the cool handles I lift it out of the microwave, give it a minute to cool and add just enough butter to give it flavor. Then I eat right out of the same bowl I cooked in. When done I dump out the few kernels that didn’t pop. I wash it out with dish soap and hot water, let it dry and then put it away for next time. Economical, safe, less oil and salt and only one bowl to clean. No new appliance and no metal in the microwave. Pure genius. A great value." —RobG

Get it from Amazon for $14.90 (available in 16 other colors).

So you can make spaghetti, ravioli and even steamed veggies a total cinch. Truly all you have to do is put water and dry noodles in it, hit the microwave buttons and strain it right out of the container. Noodles on noodles, y'all.

Promising review: "I don't want to get all gushy over a pasta maker, but man...I really love this gizmo! I try to limit my monthly food expenditures and the Fasta Pasta helps me work in at least one inexpensive pasta meal every week. If not more. First of all, I like spaghetti — either with normal Prego-type sauce or sometimes just with butter and Romano cheese sprinkled on. But I'm lazy and impatient and don't like things that take a long time to make, with a bunch of steps, and a big clean up afterwards. The Fasta Pasta is perfect for me. I get the exact amount of correctly-measured spaghetti; it's faster than boiling water in a big pot then having to watch and stir the pasta; the pasta comes out perfectly cooked every time; and the cleanup is a snap. No big pot; no colander; no spaghetti fork to lift out the pasta. Just the easy to clean Fasta Pasta, and a pot to heat up the sauce. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!" —Smilin Sam

Get it from Amazon for $16.99.

It boils seven cups of water in mere minutes so you can save a ton of prep time on dishes like pasta, oatmeal and instant meals. Reviewers also love it because it's cute as heck and the latch lid to refill it is much safer compared to other models, preventing the excess steam from burning you when it opens.

Promising review: "I'm so glad I picked this one. The mint green is a really nice color. Kinda like a light mint-aqua and matches perfect in my kitchen. This time of year I drink a lot of hot tea so this teapot is great. It heats the water super fast and stays warm to enjoy multiple cups. When I'm done, I make sure to empty the water out and I leave the top open so it air dries. The water tastes like water to me, there isn't any taste that comes off." —K.M.

Get it from Amazon for $37.68+ (available in two colors).

You can use this to map out all your grocery needs in advance — particularly handy if you're trying to cut costs or save time ordering groceries. The list magnetizes to the fridge, and has the meal plan on one side and a perforated "shopping list" you can tear off and take with you on the other side.

Promising review: "I ordered this meal planner not long before COVID and have since found it very useful. I usually use a grocery list app but have wanted to use paper lately, so this is perfect for meal planning, and has a paper list." —Veronica

Get it from Amazon for $9.95 (available in two colors).

It'll streamline all those bulky boxes and give you a nice, neat way to peruse your tea options in the morning without half the cabinet falling on you (curse you, Earl Grey Rose tea box, I will have my revenge).

Promising review: "I have an ridiculous amount of tea (loose-leaf and bagged). This product worked marvelously! It lives up to its promise of holding over 150 tea bags (if you utilize the bottom drawers as well)! It looks very nice on my counter. I've even been able to stack my little tins of loose leaf tea on top and beside it to create a nice little tea corner." —The Browns

Get it from Amazon for $17.99 (available in two colors).

It uses vinegar and water to blow hot steam into your microwave oven and loosen up all the old food and stains in a mere seven minutes (approximately two Harry Styles songs, if anyone's keeping track).

Promising review: "This product is so amazing, I'm going to get one for all of my children. I am a teacher, and I let my students use my microwave. Usually it takes me half an hour of scrubbing after 31 students have made popcorn, and heated up lunches. This time I used the product, and I literally spent less than one minute just wiping down the microwave!!! I will now keep one in my classroom, and one at my home. A miracle product that actually does what it says, remarkable!!!" —Desiree Barlow

Get it from Amazon for $8.18+ (available in two colors).