While cooking healthy and nutritious food at home is something we all aspire to do, not everyone has the time or energy to go grocery shopping, prep ingredients, cook, and keep the kitchen tidy every day. We barely even have time to sleep nowadays. The good news? You don’t have to continue struggling in your kitchen. No one’s giving you points for that. With the right time-saving kitchen appliances, you can speed up the process and even ensure warm food whenever you’re hungry.
The key is buying smarter appliances that take the most tedious work off your hands, from slicing and dicing ingredients to cleaning up after dinner. I’ve rounded up 10 time-saving kitchen appliances worth considering, along with specific product links and the features that make them useful for busy homes.
1. Dishwasher
Ask people their least favorite thing to do in the kitchen, and you can bet one of the top three answers will include washing dishes. No one ever volunteers to wash the dishes. While everyone is out there thinking about how they can cook faster, they are forgetting that less cleanup time deserves serious consideration, too.
If you have a large household or love to cook and entertain, the dishwasher is your best friend. I couldn’t agree more with the Reddit commenter who said, “Dishwashers save marriages.” While the upfront cost and installation requirements can be expensive, you can’t put a price on the comfort and convenience it offers.
An excellent investment is the GE 24-inch Slate Top Control Built-in Tall Tub Dishwasher. It boasts five wash cycles, including AutoSense and Heavy Wash for optimal cleaning. This quiet and energy-saving appliance can easily hold up to 16 plate settings.
Check price at Amazon2. Bread maker
If you want freshly baked bread with ingredients you actually recognize, a bread maker is worth considering, especially if you have a busy schedule. You won’t have to spend as much time and effort kneading dough and managing proofing stages because all you need to do is select the cycle, add the ingredients, and let the machine take it from there. That’s a convenience I am willing to pay for.
With the variety of traditional loaves, specialty items, and sweet pastries you can whip up, you’ll never get stuck eating the same kind of bread every day for breakfast.
The Zojirushi Home Baker Virtuoso Plus Breadmaker is a little on the expensive side, but it comes with dual heaters on the bottom and lid so you can make a whole loaf of white or whole wheat bread in as little as 2.5 hours. What I love most about this is that you can wake up to freshly baked bread every morning by delaying the end of the baking cycle by up to 13 hours!
Check price at Amazon3. Multicooker or Electric Pressure Cooker
If you’ve ever prepared pot roasts and briskets, you know how tedious they can be, so whoever invented the multicooker deserves a Nobel Prize. It can pressure-cook meats, beans, stews, soups, and other dishes quickly and without constant monitoring. Select models can also cook rice, steam, sauté, and slow cook, replacing other appliances.
When choosing a multicooker, pick one that suits the size and needs of your household. It also pays to ensure that parts are easy to remove, clean, and put back. Remember to only pay for cooking modes you will actually use.
The Instant Pot Pro 6 Qt 10-in-1 Electric Pressure Cooker can pressure cook, bake, slow cook, sous vide, sauté, sterilize, steam, cook yogurt, and simply keep the food warm when someone is running late. The large capacity is perfect for families who love to meal prep or batch cook to save time.
Check price at Amazon4. Air fryer
If you want to cook crispy food with less oil than traditional frying, prepare quick meals for yourself or for the whole family, or just want more time on your hands, the air fryer is something you should definitely consider. With air fryers, you’re guaranteed crispy and textured food that is tender on the inside. Most also feature non-stick surfaces and components that can be put in the dishwasher for quick cleanup.
Keep in mind that sizes vary and some models only have a single basket. So, if you have a large family or want to cook two dishes in one go, check the features and the size carefully.
One of the most highly rated air fryers today is the Ninja Prestige Smart XL 10-in-1 Air Fryer Toaster Oven. It makes cooking for the whole family a breeze with its 2-level even cooking and can easily fit two 9×9 baking trays and up to a 12 lb. turkey.
Check price at Amazon5. Rice cooker
While Asians have the unfair advantage of the knuckle method, and another chunk of the population seems to have ancestors who tap them on the shoulder and whisper, “That’s enough water, my child,” the rest of us are left guessing when it comes to cooking rice. With the rice cooker’s built-in inner pot lines, you’ll know exactly how much water you need. Additionally, the automatic temperature control eliminates the horrors of eating undercooked or burnt rice.
Some advanced models can even steam vegetables, cook porridge, and prepare many types of grains. If you have money to spare and want something with healthy cooking options and a multi-menu function, you’ll never go wrong with the Zojirushi NW-QAC10 5.5-Cup Induction Rice Cooker.
Check price at Amazon6. Food processor
If you could reduce the time spent slicing, dicing, and grating ingredients, wouldn’t you? Why spend an hour in the kitchen when 30 minutes could give you even better results? That’s where a food processor comes in. With this powerful gadget, grating, dicing, shredding, and slicing need not be a chore.
Before spending good money on a food processor, check the motor power, capacity, and attachments. Usually, the greater the variety of discs and blades, the more a food processor can do. Remember to also pick one with parts that are dishwasher-safe because why handwash when you can let the dishwasher take care of cleaning?
The Breville BFP810 Sous Chef 16 Cup Food Processor is highly recommended because it has a heavy-duty motor with a 30-year warranty and a 3-in-1 feed chute that’s a lifesaver for those who batch cook.
Check price at Amazon7. Vacuum sealer
If you believe in batch cooking and meal prepping, you’ll be happy to know that a vacuum sealer can significantly extend the shelf life of your food and help you save on food costs. Additionally, vacuum sealing helps reduce unsightly freezer burn and package portions properly so nothing goes to waste.
When getting a vacuum sealer, consider the availability and cost of compatible bags, sealer type, and wet-food handling. Chamber sealers are more costly and heavier than external sealers, but they are ideal for soups and marinades. External sealers, on the other hand, are compact and affordable and are best for meats and dry goods.
The Nesco Deluxe Food VS-12 Vacuum Sealer has a powerful 130-watt double vacuum pump and double heat seal technology that keeps sauces, marinades, and other liquids safe and secure. It also has dry and moist seal modes that enable you to customize pressure based on the type of food you are sealing.
Check price at Amazon8. Immersion blender
With an immersion blender, you need not transfer food into another container before blending. You can blend directly in the pot, so you have fewer things to clean up. I’d especially recommend this nifty device to those who have babies. Instead of getting a dedicated baby food maker, you can use the stick blender to puree fruits and vegetables directly in the saucepan or pot. That’s why many parents swear by this kitchen tool.
The Breville BSB510XL Control Grip Immersion Blender has a unique anti-suction technology that gives you greater control and stability, so food stays in the bowl, while the tall container allows you to blend larger quantities with ease.
Check price at Amazon9. Microwave oven
While most people think of the microwave oven as a device for reheating leftover food, it does so much more. Available in various designs and sizes, most microwave ovens today can cook vegetables, defrost meats, and even boil rice or pasta. Specialized models even come with convection baking capabilities and grilling elements.
When buying a microwave oven, it pays to know the available types and their differences, as well as power, capacity, heating categories, and clearance space. A high-end convection microwave oven has many cooking functions but is considerably more expensive.
The Toshiba Countertop Microwave Oven is a highly-rated kitchen essential that boasts Smart Sensor Technology, ensuring perfectly cooked food all the time by automatically adjusting cooking time and power based on food humidity.
Check price at Amazon10. Hand mixer
If your baking repertoire is limited to whisking egg whites, whipping cream, or mixing cake batter, and you have precious real estate in your kitchen, a hand mixer will make a valuable addition. You can forget about the physical strain and time it takes to mix ingredients by hand and efficiently incorporate air vital for frostings and meringues.
Important features to look for in a hand mixer are motor power, attachments, and speed settings. They usually come with wire beaters, and many also include dough and whisk hooks. For most hand mixers, low, medium, and high speeds are more than enough for mixing wet and dry ingredients thoroughly.
The Breville BHM800SIL Handy Mixer is an intuitive hand mixer that automatically adjusts and recalibrates speed according to the attachment you’re using, while its scraper beaters ensure all ingredients are thoroughly mixed by maximizing contact with the bowl.
Check price at AmazonWhich Appliance Should You Buy First
As much as we’d love to buy everything on this list in one go, not everyone has deep pockets, or a rich spouse, for that matter. If you don’t have the funds for everything yet, start with the item that addresses your most pressing kitchen frustration right now. If prepping ingredients takes up most of your time, get the food processor. If clean-up is something you’d rather have someone else do, the dishwasher makes the most sense.
For households that regularly prepare meals for the whole week, the vacuum sealer can help organize portions for storage. On the other hand, money spent on a bread maker is worthwhile for a family that regularly consumes homemade bread, while the immersion blender is a necessity for parents who want to conveniently make baby food at home. Before buying anything, always consider how often you’ll use the product, what features you need most, and how much space you have.
Make Your Kitchen Work For You
You don’t need every gadget and appliance on the market to make your kitchen a less stressful place. Start with the one thing that solves a recurring problem, whether it’s prepping ingredients, getting dinner on the table fast, or cleaning up effortlessly. Get the most value for your money by choosing something that fits your budget, habits, and space.
Sources and further reading
- GE 24-inch Slate Top Control Built-in Tall Tub Dishwasher (GDT670SMVES), Amazon, third rack, bottle jets, noise level
- Zojirushi Home Baker Virtuoso Plus Breadmaker (BB-PDC20BA), Amazon, loaf size, course settings, heaters
- Instant Pot Pro 6 Qt 10-in-1 Electric Pressure Cooker, Amazon, cooking programs, capacity
- Ninja Prestige Smart XL 10-in-1 Air Fryer Toaster Oven (DT501), Amazon, cooking functions, capacity, smart thermometer
- Zojirushi NW-QAC10 5.5-Cup Induction Rice Cooker, Black, Amazon, induction heating, menu settings, steam function, water lines
- Breville BFP810 Sous Chef 16 Cup Food Processor, Damson Blue, Amazon, bowl size, discs, attachments
- Nesco Deluxe Food VS-12 Vacuum Sealer, Amazon, sealing settings, bag storage, cutter
- Breville BSB510XL Control Grip Immersion Blender, Amazon, blade guard, attachments, speeds
- Toshiba Countertop Microwave Oven, 1.2 Cu. Ft., Black, Amazon, capacity, power, presets
- Breville BHM800SIL Handy Mixer, Silver, Amazon, speed settings, beaters, attachments
Changelog
- Rice cooker pick changed to the Zojirushi NW-QAC10 (the NP-HCC10XH listing is no longer on Amazon); hand mixer link and name corrected to the Silver BHM800SIL shown in the photo.
- Written.
What we could not test
- We haven’t tested these products; details come from the makers’ Amazon listings.