Kitchen Gadgets That Actually Save Time (And Which to Skip)
Kitchen stores and online ads want you to believe that the right gadget will transform your cooking. Some of them actually will. Most won't — they'll sit in a drawer until you move apartments and throw them away.
Here's an honest breakdown, based on how often you'll actually reach for something on a regular Tuesday night.
Worth every penny
Immersion blender. This is the most underrated kitchen tool. It turns a pot of cooked vegetables into soup without transferring anything to a blender. It makes smoothies in the cup you'll drink from. It emulsifies dressings in seconds. A decent immersion blender ([Amazon link]) costs about the same as two takeout orders and lasts for years.
Digital kitchen scale. If you bake at all, a scale is non-negotiable — measuring cups are wildly inconsistent for flour. But even for everyday cooking, weighing portions of pasta or rice means consistent results every time. A good digital scale ([Amazon link]) is small, cheap, and surprisingly useful.
A good peeler. Not the one that came free with a knife set. A sharp Y-peeler glides through carrots, potatoes, and squash. Dull peelers make you press harder, which is slower and more likely to slip. Replace your peeler every year or two — they're inexpensive and the difference is immediate.
Silicone spatula set. Silicone spatulas scrape bowls clean, stir sauces without scratching pans, and handle heat without melting. A set of three ([Amazon link]) — small, medium, large — covers every situation. You'll use at least one every single time you cook.
A half-sheet pan. The workhorse of weeknight dinners. Toss vegetables and protein on a sheet pan with oil and seasoning, roast at 425°F for 20–25 minutes, done. One pan, one dish, minimal cleanup. Get a heavy-gauge one that won't warp.
Skip these
Avocado slicer. A knife and a spoon do this job faster, with no extra thing to wash. The slicer also only works on perfectly ripe avocados — on a firm one, it's useless.
Egg separator. Crack the egg, pass the yolk between the shell halves. Done. The dedicated tool is slower than the technique it replaces, which is the worst possible quality in a time-saving gadget.
Banana cutter. A knife. Use a knife.
Electric can opener. Unless you have limited hand mobility (in which case, absolutely get one), a manual can opener is faster to use and infinitely easier to store and clean.
Single-purpose appliances. Quesadilla makers, egg cookers, hot dog toasters. If a device does one thing that a pan or pot already does, it's not saving time — it's adding clutter and cleanup.
The principle behind it
The best kitchen tools share three qualities:
- You use them often — at least a few times a week.
- They replace a slower manual process — not a process that was already quick.
- They're easy to clean — because a tool you dread washing is a tool you'll stop using.
Before buying any gadget, ask yourself: "What am I doing now, and how much time will this actually save per use?" If the answer is "a few seconds," your drawer space is worth more.
Invest in the five tools listed above, skip the novelty gadgets, and your kitchen will be both faster and less cluttered. That's a genuine win.