Most of our program alums report that their Whole30 empowered them in the kitchen, helping them feel confident in preparing and cooking delicious meals at home. But one pro tip we’ll share upfront is that the right kitchen tools, equipment, and gadgets can help you be an even more successful cook. And the array of essential kitchen gadgets will help you whether you’re preparing for the program, doing the Whole30, or working on your Food Freedom plan.
Here are our essential Whole30 kitchen tools and gadgets that will make prepping, flavoring, and cooking your Whole30 meals faster, easier, and more joyful.
Note: This blog assumes you already have general kitchen basics like measuring cups, mixing bowls, wooden spoons, and spatulas. If you don’t already have those, start your kitchen tool search there!
Top Kitchen Tools for Food Prep
Eating more whole foods means chopping and preparing more vegetables, fruit, and herbs.
These three essential kitchen gadgets can make preparing these ingredients faster, easier, and safer.
Knives
The knife world can be overwhelming. But you can get away with just two: a chef’s knife and a paring knife. The chef’s knife is incredibly versatile and often the most-used kitchen tool you have. It’s great for slicing and chopping firmer vegetables and fruits, mincing herbs, chopping nuts, smashing garlic, or cutting through meat.
A paring knife is much smaller and great for precision or gentler cutting, like:
- working with small or tender fruit or vegetables
- peeling apples or potatoes
- coring tomatoes
- dealing with awkwardly-shaped foods (like deveining shrimp)
A knife with a stainless steel blade is the most cost-effective and easiest to maintain. And keep your knives sharp, whether you do it at home or take them to an expert.
If you’re looking for a recommendation, we love this paring knife, and this chef’s knife, as well.
Kitchen shears
Though kitchen shears look similar to standard scissors, they are designed specifically for food preparation. They are a great multipurpose tool to snip herbs, open food packaging, and even break down a chicken. We like kitchen shears that can separate for easy cleaning, like these. Check out this blog post to learn more about more clever ways to use kitchen shears.
Spiralizer
A spiralizer is a fun kitchen gadget that easily transforms all sorts of vegetables into a “noodle” shape. No alternative-flour pasta recreations are allowed on Whole30 (per the Pancake Rule). But single-ingredient spiralized vegetables are a delicious and nutritious noodle swap. The “zoodle” (spiralized zucchini noodles) is probably the most popular, but we also love spiralized potatoes, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, cucumber, and carrots. We love the functionality and ease of a countertop spiralizer, but you can use a hand-held tool, as well.
Here are two great options: one for a great table-top spiralizer, and one for the handheld version I love.
Three Kitchen Gadgets to Amp Up Flavor
Simple kitchen tools (like those below) can rev up the flavor of your whole food-based meals without much extra work. Use these (plus a great Whole30-compatible dressing or sauce), and your taste buds will dance with joy!
Garlic press
Fresh garlic can bump up the flavor of any dish. But it can be a real pain to peel and chop. Cut your prep time by 90% with a garlic press, which gets the tedious job done in seconds. You don’t even need to peel it first—just put the garlic clove into a press like this one, squeeze hard, and enjoy as much minced garlic as your dishes can handle. Learn more about how to use a garlic press here.
Microplane
Even if you don’t recognize the name, you have probably seen a chef on television using one of these essential kitchen tools. A microplane is a long, thin, metal tool with a serrated edge used for zesting and grating. You can use it to zest citrus skin (like lemon, lime, or orange), grate whole spices and ginger, shred chilies or peppers, rice potatoes, and more. Citrus zest is one of the fastest and most effective ways to add brightness and flavor to any dish, and this helpful kitchen gadget saves your knives and your knuckles. Learn how to use a microplane here.
And, if you want to add some zest to your dishes, try our favorite microplane.
Citrus Juicer
This hand-held juicer is an easy and cost-effective way to get all the juice from your lemons, limes, and oranges for sauces and seasonings. Cut the citrus in half and put the cut side down into the juicer, then squeeze the two handles together over a bowl, your cooking pan, or the finished meal. Juicers work way better than your hands for extracting as much juice as possible, and it’s less messy too.
This is the one we recommend grabbing.
It’s Time to Cook with These Useful Kitchen Gadgets
Now that you’ve prepped and seasoned your food, let’s get cooking! Here are four fun kitchen gadgets we recommend to make your weeknight dinners and Sunday brunches a breeze.
Meat masher
This is the kitchen tool you probably didn’t know existed—but everyone who cooks meat needs one. It’s simple, inexpensive, and makes working with ground meat so much easier. You can use it while preparing meatballs or meatloaf to mix seasoning into ground meat or right in the pan when you are cooking. This tool breaks apart the ground meat like a dream to create even crumbles without scratching your cookware.
Our favorite meat masher is right here.
Immersion blender
An immersion blender (also known as a “stick blender”) is a handheld kitchen tool perfect for emulsifying mayo or salad dressings, pureeing fruit or veggies, blending a soup, or mixing a smoothie. Making your own Whole30 Mayo or Ranch is easy and budget-friendly, and an immersion blender is key to helping it blend smoothly. You can also use this kitchen gadget to make mashed cauliflower, whip coconut cream, or do other small jobs when you don’t want to pull out (or clean!) your big blender.
This Cuisinart version is our favorite option to add to your kitchen gadgets shopping list.
Oil sprayer
Spray oils can be a convenient way to grease a pan for eggs or keep your chicken sausage or sweet potato from sticking. But the ingredients in commercial oil spray are not always just oil—and convenience sprays can be expensive. Using a refillable oil sprayer is better for your budget and the planet. It also allows you to use the oils you choose (and just the oils, with no extra additives) in your cooking.
Add this oil sprayer to your kitchen toolbox.
Cooking pans
Because you can’t grill or roast everything (just most things), quality pans are key to kitchen success. We recommend a few basics in this essential category:
- a non-stick or cast iron skillet saute pan
- a medium pot for boiling everything from eggs to veggies or making sauces
- a large pot for making soups
They might seem too basic to mention, but having this array of high-quality pans will make your life in the kitchen much easier. You’ll be able to cook more evenly and clean up more easily.
Check out the cast iron skillet we love cooking with.
Start Building Your Collection of Kitchen Tools
Having the right kitchen tools can help you feel empowered and be successful in the kitchen. You’ll be able to make your cooking life easier, your dishes more flavorful, and cleanup a snap. But you don’t have to build up your kitchen toolbox overnight.
Take time to identify the kitchen gadgets above that will enhance your approach to meal prep and cooking the most. And start there. You can grab a few more as you find new recipes and learn new techniques. But we hope you found some new favorite kitchen tools and must-have gadgets on the list!
Disclaimer: This page contains affiliate links. We earn a small commission when you purchase through these links.
