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Moving into your first home, creating a mammoth wedding registry, or simply perfecting your culinary lineup? Ensure you have all the basics with the ultimate kitchen checklist.
Feeling overwhelmed at the very thought of knowing what to buy for your kitchen? In this blog, we’ve detailed the key foundational pieces (AKA, the basics) every homeowner should have. Plus, we’ve linked tonnes of quality items we recommend purchasing.
So, here’s the ultimate kitchen checklist. Download our free printable PDF below or save this post to keep close by when kitting out the heart of your home!
The Ultimate Kitchen Checklist
Utensils
Knife, Fork & Spoon Set
Choosing cutlery can be stressful enough as it is. So, save yourself the stress (and money!) by investing in a complete set. We always stick to silver, but you can switch it up with copper, black, gold, or otherwise!
Steak Knives
Fancy? Maybe. But also totally necessary for steak night.
Salad Servers
A must-have for any eager-to-please host.
Knife Set with Block
It goes without saying, doesn’t it?
Scissors
Handy for all kinds of kitchen tasks, we recommend buying regular shears as well as specialised meat scissors. And if you’re a dab hand in the kitchen, herb scissors are another pair you definitely need in your arsenal.
Pizza Cutter
Trust us, serving shop-bought pizza is way easier with one of these magic little kitchen must-haves. But the question is, do you prefer a class wheel cutter or a slightly more boujee rocker?
Peeler
PSA: Y-shaped, AKA Swiss peelers, are by far the easiest and safest no matter your culinary skill level.
Mesh Sieve
Essential for straining pasta, rinsing rice, or sifting flour.
Colander
A mesh sieve’s confusing counterpart – handy for washing or straining larger whole foods like fruits or veggies.
Citrus Juicer
Perhaps not an essential on everyone’s kitchen checklist, but if you love to bake or cook from scratch, you’ll be reaching for this often. Speaking from experience, it’s the best tool to get the job done in record time, ensuring you don’t waste any juice!
Grater
Perfect for fueling your cheese obsession, but can be used for other food items, too.
Slotted Turner
This is by far our most used utensil.
Ladle
Serving soup or stews from the pot? You’re gonna need one of these.
Large Spoon
Necessary for mixing and/or serving.
Slotted Spoon
A must for separating foods from boiling water to taste.
Wooden Spoon
Yep… another spoon for scooping virtually anything. Any cook’s best friend.
Spaghetti Spoon
Carbaholics: this one’s for you. No further explanation necessary.
Kitchen Utensils Set
On a tight budget? Prefer all your utensils to match? Investing in a quality utensils collection means you save a tonne of money whilst adding to the aesthetic appeal of your kitchen!
Tongs
You’ll be using these for almost everything – you’ll see.
Potato Masher
Duh. We’re certain we don’t need to explain this one.
Jar Opener
Are we the only ones that know about these things?! Consider this gadget an absolute lifesaver for opening super tight jars or bottles.
Tin Can Opener
We’ve all seen those ‘hacks’ for getting into tins without a tin opener. But in our opinion, it’s not worth a trip to the ER.
Cookware
With an abundance of cookware out there, we’ve whittled our selection down to the very basics. Essential for whipping up a myriad of dishes (depending on your culinary skills and eating habits), we’d suggest every homeowner has at least one of each in their kitchen!
Saucepan Set
Frying Pan
Casserole
Wok
Sheet Pan
Baking Pan
Loaf Pan
Muffin Pan
Drinkware
You didn’t think we’d miss these off our kitchen checklist, did you? Although it’s easy to assume you simply need “mugs and glasses”, there are so many styles you might not even know about…
Mugs
Small Tumblers
Highball Glasses
Wine Glasses
Champagne Flutes
Beer Glasses
Dishes
Again, it’s a good idea to have a myriad of serving dishes, from ramekins to side plates, pasta bowls and family-sized serving platters. Especially during the holiday season, you’ll be grateful you have these in your kitchen.
Dinnerware Set
Salad Bowls
Ramekins
Pasta Bowls
Serving Platter
Appliances
Toaster
One tip for ALL appliances on our kitchen checklist? Don’t scrimp on quality in favour of a bargain price. The difference in functionality is monumental, especially for items like a toaster.
Kettle
Whether you prefer electric or stovetop kettles, consider your tea or coffee obsession taken care of.
Microwave
There are certain cooking tasks that only a microwave can be responsible for, right? It’s worth deciding whether a straight-up microwave or microwave-cum-oven is best for your kitchen needs.
Slow Cooker
Perfect for casseroles, soups, and one-pot recipes, if you haven’t already got a slow cooker, why not?
Blender
From blending soups to creating delicious smoothies and creating homemade sauces, a large blender is one of our top kitchen gadgets.
Coffee Machine
It might be an investment initially, but if it curbs your daily coffee shop visits, it’s worth it, right?
Air Fryer
Nuff said. We’ve hopped on the hype and we’re obsessed.
Kitchen Scales
A must for those days when following a recipe seems like a good idea…
Mixer
Not sure which mixer is best? If cooking and baking isn’t quite your thing, start with a hand mixer before splashing out on a Kitchenaid.
Bakeware
Mixing Bowls
Plastic mixing bowls might be lightweight and cheap, but they stain easily and quickly look tatty. That’s why we always recommend stainless steel or ceramic bowls!
Spatula
Always stick to silicone – they’re super durable and last forever.
Rolling Pin
We’re no experts, but we’ve heard wooden spatulas are superior here.
Pastry Brush
We prefer silicone pastry brushes as they’re super easy to clean!
Cake Server
You know those kitchen essentials that just make life a little simpler? A cake server is definitely one of those.
Measuring Cups
How else are you gonna prep your ingredients?
Measuring Spoons
We know what you’re thinking: “Is there a difference between measuring cups and spoons?” And the answer is yes – spoons are for teeny tiny quantities.
Whisk
A balloon whisk is the most versatile for baking, as well as other cooking tasks.
Barware
Ice bucket
AKA a boujee drink cooler. Ice buckets aren’t just reserved for champagne, wine, or prosecco (although that is our fave way to use them!).
Cocktail shaker
A necessity? Certainly not, but a great cocktail shaker will make your hosting endeavours that bit more memorable.
Metal Straws
A great must-have for any drink – not just fancy cocktails – metal straws are way more planet-friendly than plastic alternatives. And we love that they come with teeny-tiny brushes for easy cleaning. It’s the little things, right?
Bar Tools Set
This is definitely one of the few items on our kitchen checklist that not everyone will be eager to purchase. But if you’re into more advanced cocktail making, we’d consider it an essential.
Corkscrew
We can bet most wine bottles now come with a screw top, but you never know when you’ll get caught out by a cork (speaking from experience).
Bottle Opener
Again, a bottle opener is another staple in your utensil collection. And whether you consume bottled drinks or not, you never know if future guests will.
Cleaning
Dish Drying Rack
If you *don’t* have a dishwasher and regularly find yourself washing mammoth-loads of dishes, a 2-tier dish drying rack helps to drain dishes, drinkware, and utensils more effectively.
Dish Soap
This one’s a no-brainer.
Sponges
Again, we know you’ve likely already thought of this one when drawing up your kitchen checklist. A great multi-purpose cleaning aid, our cupboards are always stacked with fresh sponges.
Cloths
Whether hand washing delicate glasses, cleaning surfaces, or otherwise, an assortment of cloths always come in handy.
All-Purpose Cleaner
If you’re anything like us, you probably hate having a cupboard full of separate cleaning products all claiming to achieve a slightly different result. That’s why an all–purpose, zero faff cleaner is our go-to – always.
Scrub Brush
Great for removing stubborn grease and dried-on food from dishes, a scrub brush is one thing on your kitchen checklist you’ll definitely reach for on the daily.
Scourer
Struggling to remove grease, stains, or leftover food from pans and trays? A scourer will be your bestie for a squeaky clean result.
Oven Cleaner
Did you know that your oven is much more energy efficient when it’s clean?! *mind = blown*
But trust us, cleaning your oven is NOT a job for the multi-purpose cleaner. A task like that demands something a little more specialised.
Miscellaneous
Egg Cups
Dippy eggs, anyone?
Meat Thermometer
Often considered a boujee kitchen essential, a meat thermometer isn’t necessary – but for some, it totally is. That’s why we couldn’t help but add it to our kitchen checklist.
Timer
This is one for all the time optimists out there. If you know, you know.
Food Storage Boxes
A must for food prepping or storing leftovers, we use these food storage boxes every single day, and we know you will, too.