We hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving. The holidays are officially ON. The fun has begun! And so has shopping for gifts. Gift guides to the rescue! I love to give and get kitchen gifts, so I’ve put together a list of our favorites for you.
Are you looking for great kitchen gifts for both new and seasoned cooks?
I love to give and receive kitchen gifts. Many of these items were actually given to me as gifts over the years, so I can attest they make great gifts!
Cuisinart Convection Oven Air Fryer
This is a kitchen gift I bought myself. Get yourself one or add it to your list now! I’d been holding off on buying an air fryer because I thought it would end up sitting on a shelf in the basement only to be dug out for sporadic use. (I do love my Instant Pot, especially for cooking dried beans). I decided on the Cuisinart air fryer because it’s also a toaster oven, so I knew we’d use it almost every day even if I ended up not using the air fryer function. This particular air fryer also has a basket that holds more than most others. Turns out, I’m using it regularly! I use the air fryer function to roast diced potatoes if I don’t mind that we won’t have leftovers. I also use to it roast broccoli and reheat leftover roast veggies. My air fryer is still new to me. I’ll report back when I have a longer list of uses for it.
If you like to keep butter at room temperature and don’t go through it quickly, this little French butter dish is the answer! Fill the bottom of the dish about ⅓ full with cold water and your butter will stay soft and at room temperature. No more having to microwave your butter to soften it. This holds 1 stick of butter.
Stainless Steel Cookie Spatula
I love this stainless steel cookie spatula. It’s great for baking. And it’s great for young kids to use because it’s easy for small hands to manage.
This paring knife makes just the right gift. While I was at my mom’s a few years ago over Thanksgiving, I used her ceramic paring knife. I loved it! Guess what she gave me for Christmas last year?! It’s my go-to paring knife.
I use them for so many tasks. They’re great for making peeling shrimp easier, cutting herbs, and opening bags and boxes of food – like those beans that come in boxes. I can’t open those without scissors despite the perforated top!
I’m not sure what I used before I owned this! I have two of these. One I use for grating parmesan cheese and the other I use for zesting citrus peel.
This peeler rocks! It is by far the best peeler I’ve owned. You want this in your kitchen! You can even peel butternut squash with it.
A friend gave me this many years ago and it’s one of my most used utensils. It can reach the bottom edges of pans, so when you’re cooking and whisking (like making mac and cheese) bits don’t get stuck in the pan.
Le Creuset spatulas are nice to have in a number of sizes. The small one is great for scraping out the last of the peanut butter from the jar. The benefit of silicone spatulas is that they can withstand heat, and you can cook with them.
Le Creuset silicone pastry brushes are nice because they’re easy to clean and they don’t shed bristles. It’s nice to have these in a variety of sizes.
Use this when you’re cooking fish on your stovetop and need to turn it over before moving it to the oven. It’s a very thin spatula so it’s easy to get underneath the fish.
A cherry pitter isn’t essential, but you’ll have fun pitting cherries. Kids will especially enjoy using this tool!
A really good pepper mill makes such a nice gift. Chad’s aunt gave us one similar to this one a few years ago and we love it! Add a jar of whole peppercorns to the package to complete the gift.
Silicone Microwave Safe Dish Covers
These silicone covers come in a variety of sizes and fun designs. I use these when I reheat food in the microwave or to keep bowls covered in the refrigerator. No waste! I also love the bottle stoppers they make.
Anna’s husband Dan has a cutting board similar to this one that Anna’s sister gave him. I love these animal-shaped cutting boards. There’s a cow, a pig, and a rooster-shaped board too. In addition to being a cutting board, these work well for small cheese or charcuterie boards. I’m going to put this chicken-shaped board on my list this year. Maybe one of my family members will get it for me?!
If you also love to give books as gifts, we’ve got you covered.
Here are all our gift guides with our favorite cookbooks and more of the best books for supporting healthy relationships with food and body image.
Are you looking for tips for navigating the holidays?
We’ve got a number of blog posts and podcast episodes to help you during the holidays. We can get so busy, we forget to make time to do the things that help us manage stress! How do you manage stress this time of year?