My Kitchen Essentials

My favourite kitchen must haves and essentials! From mixers to cookbooks, pans, gadgets, dishes, mixers and small appliances.

I often get asked what my favourite kitchen dishes and essentials are, or after reading a post a reader will ask me where I got a certain dish from, so I thought I would share some of these essentials with you!  After all, a fully stocked kitchen makes cooking and baking so much easier.  I’m sharing my favourite pots, mixing bowls, storage ideas and the best cookbook ever!

My #1 Kitchen Best Friend…the Mixer

I don’t know what I would do with out my KitchenAid mixer!  This is my most used kitchen gadget.

Let’s talk pots and pans.  

I use this set of KitchenAid pots and pans and I love them!  They get a workout almost every day, and I like that they are sturdy, the lids are clear and the measuring lines help me when I simmering ingredients.  These pots are great.

I can’t live without my crockpot!  

They make meal times so much easier during busy weekdays.  I recently upgraded to this Breville slow cooker and I’m loving that I can also make risotto with it!

My Favourite Cookbook

This list wouldn’t be complete without including the Joy of Cooking cookbook!  I got this cookbook as a wedding gift almost 17 years ago and I refer to it weekly.  I think it’s the best cookbook in the world.

Every Kitchen Needs a Hand Blender

I love love love my Hand Blender and use it for everything from grinding nuts, to making guacamole, to making bread crumbs, it’s awesome.  I really appreciate it’s small size, and quick & easy set up and clean up.

Mixing Bowls for Everything!

Look at these mixing bowls!  Aren’t they gorgeous?!  I collect vintage Pyrex, and I thought these new edition Pyrex bowls would make a really nice addition to my kitchen.  Adorable and functional!

My favourite spatulas

A couple of years ago my father-in-law gave me a set of Core spatulas and I love them, especially the dual ended spatula.  These are great kitchen tools!  I also have the basting brushes and regular spatulas.

Potato Mashers make the best Mashed Potatoes

How do you mash your potatoes?  Mixer or hand masher?  I use a hand masher for all of my mashed potatoes because we just really like the texture a masher makes.  This potato masher is my favourite.

Counter Top Storage Jars are the Best!

One of the most asked questions that I get asked here on the blog is about my kitchen storage jars in this post.  I love to store kitchen essential ingredients in jars on my counter, and these glass jars are my favourite!

How do you store your recipe cards?

Recipe storage is prime real estate around here!  I have tried a few different ways to store my paper recipe cards, and over time I just really decided that I like to store them in a tin recipe box like this one.

My favourite cookie sheets!

For all of my cookie baking, I prefer to use aluminum cookie sheets with a sheet of parchment paper.  I like how even the baking is with these pans.  I have used nonstick pans, but I find that they burn my cookies, so I went back to my tried and true metal pans.

Cast Iron Dishes are so versatile

Heavy cast iron dishes have changed my life in the kitchen.  For years I just used regular bakeware, but since I started using my enameled cast iron casserole dishes, I just can’t go back.  They cook so evenly and everything comes out perfect.  I use them for so many of my recipes like pulled pork, to roasted chicken, chili and soups.

Breakfast Sandwich Makers are such a time saver!

Now don’t laugh, but I had to include this breakfast sandwich maker because it’s the #1 most used appliance in my kitchen…by my husband and oldest son!  Egg sandwiches for breakfast almost every day.  Too funny.

Pantry Organization

I try really hard to keep my fridge and pantry organized so I invested in some fridge organizers to help me with this, and I love them.  Pop cans, soup cans and snacks all have a place…now I just have to get everyone here to use them…but that’s another post.

Bread Makers make bread making SO easy!

I haven’t mastered the art of bread making yet, but I can make a delicious loaf with my bread maker!  Bread Makers are the BEST!  I’ve been using an Oster Bread Maker that I got for our wedding over 20 years ago and I love it.

I love these Bag Clips from IKEA

Have you ever used these little gadgets? I picked up this package of bag clips from Ikea on a whim one day, and I use them all the time!  Perfect for bags of chips, chocolate chips, everything.  They’re cheap and so useful!

Every Kitchen needs Pan Scrapers

These pan scrapers from Pampered Chef are the best! Such a simple & practical little tool…they get into the corners of cake pans and lasagna dishes when you are cleaning them.  I’ve even used them to scrape off paint.  So great. 

Glass Batter Bowls

I have 2 of these glass batter bowls from Pampered Chef, and I love them! I love their large volumes (4 cups and 8 cups), which make them great for storing soups, batters, chilis.

Every Kitchen Needs a Griddle

This griddle is at the heart of all of our Saturday morning breakfasts cooking perfect pancakes!  It also comes with attachments for waffles and paninis.  Another kitchen fave!

Cooling Racks for Baking are Essential!

I love my Pampered Chef cooling racks.  They get a workout almost everyday with some sort of baking…it practically lives on my counter. I’m realizing I have a thing for Pampered Chef…and honestly I’ve only ever been to 2 parties haha.  Seriously though, these are great.

There are so many great gadgets I use every day in my kitchen, but these are my favourites and most used!