AmazingRibs.com is supported by our Pitmaster Club. Also, when you buy with links on our site we may earn a finder’s fee. Click to see how we test and review products.

A Guide To The Most Essential Small Appliances

Share on:
small kitchen appliances

Choose Wisely, Appliances Take Up Valuable Space

It would be nice to have all kinds of small appliances on hand from a waffle maker to a deep fryer, but no one has unlimited counter and cabinet space.

When choosing small appliances, ask yourself this question: How often will I use this item? If it’s only once a year, do you really need it? And do you have the space for it? Here’s a guide to the most essential small appliances both large and small.

Click Here To Search Our Reviews And Ratings Of Tools, Toys, And Accessories

The Best Stand Mixer For A Kitchen’s Biggest Tasks

By:

Clint Cantwell, Champion Pitmaster

A quality stand mixer is definitely an investment but there is very little that a beast like the KitchenAid Artisan Stand Mixer can't handle, especially with the countless accessories that are offered. If, however, you only need to whisk and blend, a KitchenAid hand blender does a great job and saves a lot of space.

Anova Culinary Sous Vide Precision Cooker Review

By:

Clint Cantwell, Champion Pitmaster

Join the sous vide revolution with the Anova Culinary Sous Vide Precision Cooker, a Bluetooth enabled self-contained heating and circulation unit that enables you to produce results that are impossible to achieve through any other cooking method. Here is our full review of this handy and compact immersion circulator.

Breville Joule Sous Vide Review and Rating

By:

Clint Cantwell, Champion Pitmaster

While there are countless sous vide immersion circulators currently available, one of our favorites is the Breville Joule, a sleek unit that not only performs extremely well, its compact shape fits easily in a kitchen drawer. WiFi and Bluetooth enabled, the Joule works in conjunction with the Breville/ChefSteps app.

An Electric Hand Mixer Whips Sauce, Batters, And More In a Jif

By:

Meathead, BBQ Hall of Famer

An electric hand mixer whips up batters lickety split. Plus, if you don't make doughs and batters often, it's much cheaper than a stand mixer.

Breville Pizzaiolo Smart Pizza Oven, Rated And Reviewed

By:

Dave Joachim

The Breville Pizzaiolo smart pizza oven looks like a stylish countertop toaster oven, but gets cranking to temperatures above 750ºF! Read our review because that's unheard of for any home oven.

Vitamix 5200 Blender. A Blender That Pulverizes The Competition

By:

Clint Cantwell, Champion Pitmaster

If you make a lot of smoothies, sauces, and other blended foods then a high quality blender is in order. While there are several decent economically priced blenders out there, the lifespan of these models tends to be short due to inferior parts and a lack of horsepower, especially compared to a Vitamix or Oster.

FoodSaver Vacuum Sealer Keeps Food Fresh Longer

By:

Meathead, BBQ Hall of Famer

The best way to store food more than a week is in the freezer. Foods lose few nutrients and little quality when frozen. A vacuum sealer helps prevent freezer burn for long storage. The sealer also helps marinades penetrate deep into foods and it's perfect for sous vide cooking.

OXO Good Grips Stainless Food Scale with Pull-Out Display Review

By:

Meathead, BBQ Hall of Famer

I don't know how I lived without a good, accurate digital kitchen scale for so many years. If you ever mix up anything with flour, weigh it instead of measuring it with cups. It's so much more accurate.

A Slow Cooker Has Multiple Uses

By:

Meathead, BBQ Hall of Famer

A slow cooker has myriad uses including braising when your oven is full or you want to leave the house without leaving the oven on. It's also perfect for keeping all kinds of foods, including smoked pulled pork, warm for serving.

Breville BOV845BSS Smart Oven Pro Review

By:

Clint Cantwell, Champion Pitmaster

Say goodbye to subpar toasters and toaster ovens and hello to the amazing multi-function Breville BOV845BSS Smart Oven Pro 1800 W Convection Toaster Oven! whether its toasting bagels, baking cookies, or re-heating pizza, this top notch toaster oven can do it all while heating up in a fraction of the time of your oven.

Blend Hot Liquids Like The Pros With A Stick Blender

By:

Clint Cantwell, Champion Pitmaster

You may have never used a stick blender like the Cuisinart 2-speed Smart Stick but they are quite popular among chefs for pureeing soups and sauces directly in the pot, a much safer alternative to blending hot liquids in a standard blender where the steam will expand and blow scalding soup all over you and the kitchen.

There’s Nothing Like a Rice Cooker

By:

Meathead, BBQ Hall of Famer

A rice cooker cooks, steams and warms more than just rice! Here's the one that we like best.

Fissler CookStar Portable Induction Cooktop Review

By:

Meathead, BBQ Hall of Famer

Sometimes one burner is all you need. This compact and convenient burner is portable and uses induction technology to avoid heating up your kitchen. And it's not too expensive.

A Food Processor Is An Essential Small Appliance

By:

Meathead, BBQ Hall of Famer

A blender on steroids, this essential tool does a better job on thick purees like pestos. Plus, it comes with attachments that allow you to shred, slice, and grate your way to greatness.

A Deep Fryer Isn’t Essential But Very Useful On Occasion

By:

Meathead, BBQ Hall of Famer

You can't beat a deep fryer for making a large quantity of party food. The one holds 2.2 pounds of food, has a clever oil drainage system, a viewing window in the lid, a non-stick interior, and an air filter that helps prevent oil smells. Plus, it's relatively inexpensive and compact for easy storage.

An Electric Coffee and Spice Grinder Can Improve Your Cooking

By:

Meathead, BBQ Hall of Famer

Freshly ground coffee beans and freshly ground spices are so much better tasting. Whole beans and seeds keep better longer in the pantry. Just pick up a cheap grinder and it will improve the taste of your coffee and your cooking.

Published On: 6/26/2019 Last Modified: 2/13/2024

 

High quality websites are expensive to run. If you help us, we’ll pay you back bigtime with an ad-free experience and a lot of freebies!

Millions come to AmazingRibs.com every month for high quality tested recipes, tips on technique, science, mythbusting, product reviews, and inspiration. But it is expensive to run a website with more than 2,000 pages and we don’t have a big corporate partner to subsidize us.

Our most important source of sustenance is people who join our Pitmaster Club. But please don’t think of it as a donation. Members get MANY great benefits. We block all third-party ads, we give members free ebooks, magazines, interviews, webinars, more recipes, a monthly sweepstakes with prizes worth up to $2,000, discounts on products, and best of all a community of like-minded cooks free of flame wars. Click below to see all the benefits, take a free 30 day trial, and help keep this site alive.


Post comments and questions below

grouchy?

1) Please try the search box at the top of every page before you ask for help.

2) Try to post your question to the appropriate page.

3) Tell us everything we need to know to help such as the type of cooker and thermometer. Dial thermometers are often off by as much as 50°F so if you are not using a good digital thermometer we probably can’t help you with time and temp questions. Please read this article about thermometers.

4) If you are a member of the Pitmaster Club, your comments login is probably different.

5) Posts with links in them may not appear immediately.

Moderators

  Max

Click to comment or ask a question...

Spotlight

These are not paid ads, they are a curated selection of products we love.

All of the products below have been tested and are highly recommended. Click here to read more about our review process.

Use Our Links To Help Keep Us Alive

Many merchants pay us a small referral fee when you click our “buy now” links. This has zero impact on the price you pay but helps support the site.