Best Gift Ideas for Foodies, Cooks, Home Chefs
Presenting my handpicked selection of kitchen essentials and gadgets. From top-notch professional tools to whimsical finds, this gift guide is a treasure trove for food enthusiasts of all ages, ensuring to enhance their kitchen adventures with every stir, chop, and sizzle.
Over the years, I’ve spent more time than I can count in the kitchen, having been given the opportunity to try many gadgets, small kitchen appliances, and kitchen essentials, which I purchase myself. I want my readers to know that my recommendations are based on my own honest opinions, not as payback for receiving free products.
This list reflects some of my kitchen favorites. And just for fun, I’ve added a section for the youngest foodies on your gift list!
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- Gift Ideas Under $100
- Gift Ideas Under $50
- Gift Ideas Under $30
- Gift Ideas Under $15
- Slightly Pricier Gift Ideas
- Gift Ideas for Little Foodies, Chefs & Bakers
Gift Ideas Under $100
This set includes a 10 inch and a 12 inch Fry Pan ideal for browning, searing, and pan-frying foods like eggs, vegetables, and meats. Oven safe up to 500°F and compatible with any stovetop, including induction.
What a beautiful addition to any kitchen. Made of Acacia wood, this is a showpiece that is also practical to serve and store cakes, pies, muffins and other baked goods.
7 Qt is the perfect size for baking artisan bread. Lodge is the brand you can trust for its functionality and affordable price! I use this Dutch oven nearly every day for baking bread, oven pot roast, and casseroles, too! Love it.
This Harvest Foraging & Fruit Picker Bag is the perfect companion for home chefs with green thumbs or foodies who frequent the farmer's market. With adjustable straps and shoulder pads, this bag ensures comfort during all-day foraging adventures. Whether they're harvesting herbs from their backyard garden or browsing the stalls at the local farmer's market, this bag offers hands-free convenience and style. It's the perfect gift for those who appreciate the joy of cooking with fresh, locally sourced ingredients.
How did I get along in a kitchen without my Instant Pot? Maybe you've wondered that as well. What a perfect gift for that foodie on your list who has not yet discovered the joys of an Instant Pot! 7-in-1 is an Electric Pressure Cooker, Slow Cooker, Rice Cooker, Steamer, Sauté, Yogurt Maker, Warmer & Sterilizer.
Two brew styles—classic or rich, each brew is flavorful and never bitter with custom brew strengths. 14 cup carafe—perfect for entertaining. But also features small batch option for 1-4 cups! Programmable so you can set it, delay start and have your morning coffee hot and ready to go exactly when you want it. Check out the more than 18,000 5-star reviews! This is a great product and even better value.
Brews multiple cup sizes (6, 8, 10 oz.). Four color choices. At this price—a real bargain for this highly reviewed Keurig.
Gift Ideas Under $50
Chops vegetables like nobody's business and cleans up like a dream (provided you use the cleaning tool tht comes with it). Saves a busy cook so much time. And everything comes out uniformly, perfectly chopped. Comes with interchangeable blades and includes a spiralizer attachment.
Every kitchen needs a cast iron skillet, and this Lodge is definitely my brand of choice. I use my 10.25-inch skillet nearly every single day! And the 6-inch option (so cute) is always on the stovetop.
Hundreds of cookbooks are published each year. Some are good. Others are exceptional. A few are essential. This one is essential. The fabulous thing about this book—it teaches readers about cooking, how to employ various techniques, and how to grasp that any subtle variations in technique can have significant impacts upon our end results. It is possible to learn how to cook great food.
Delight the food enthusiast in your life with a taste of Iceland. Hand-harvested from the waters of the Westfjords, this collection features an array of unique salts: Arctic Thyme Salt, Birch Smoked Salt, Lava Salt, and Flaky Sea Salt. It's the perfect surprise for any foodie or home chef looking to elevate their culinary creations.
Effortless cleanup, even, controlled heat. Because it doubles as a warmer, you can take it right to the table, then when you're done with the meal, the plate goes straight into the dishwasher! Includes drip tray that catches oil and grease for easy disposal. 4 color choices.
I was late to this game, but have now conceded. Big time. It's not a fad, not a come-on for late-night-TV viewers. For starters, a spiralizer is a great way to get kids to eat veggies (zoodles are just spiralized zucchini). But so much more. The Ultimate Spiralizer 7 comes with an extra blade caddy and Recipe Ebooks with so many awesome ideas and directives. This is it, my fellow foodies!
Finally, a pizza stone that is not so fragile I have to worry about it cracking under extreme conditions (I must be super hard on pizza stones because I have broken more than a couple).
First, it is extra thick at 3/4-inch. And heavy (thank you, Prime shipping). But here is the most amazing thing—guaranteed to withstand up to a whopping 1000 F. degrees! Culinary Couture Pizza Stone for Grill and Oven will not crack.
This storage container set from Chef's Path includes 7 clear plastic containers of varying sizes with lids and 10 reusable chalkboard labels—packaged for gift-giving. Lids lock to create 100 percent airtightness. And if that's not enough, these are space-saving containers that are compact to make judicious use of cabinet space. BPA-free.
This is quality food storage—glass containers, with airtight non-toxic plastic lids. An indispensable addition to handle storage and organizing needs.
Treat the baking enthusiast in your life to a taste of France with this exquisite set. Featuring perforated tart rings that ensure perfect frames and ventilation for delicate mini tart shells, Home bakers can effortlessly craft stunning desserts reminiscent of a Parisian bakery.
Gift Ideas Under $30
Two words to describe this home chef favorite: Fast and accurate.
ThisCooking thermometer features 3.9 inches food grade stainless steel probe and a high precision sensor which displays the internal temp within 3-4 seconds. Accurate to ±0.9 ℉, too.
If this OXO Good Grips Precision Batter Dispenser isn't just about the best thing on earth, I don't know what is! It precisely dispenses batter for pancakes, cupcakes, crepes, and more—with no mess because it has a shut-off valve. Lid doubles as drip tray between squeezes. And with the wide opening and precise measurements on the side, this is your mixing bowl and measuring cups all in one.
This luxury gift set contains three best-selling truffle oils; TruffleHunter black truffle oil, white truffle oil, and English truffle oil, presented beautifully in a gift box. Perfect gift for your favorite Foodie.
This beautiful cordless electric wine bottle opener removes the cork in seconds. This wine opener features a Stainless Steel housing with a transparent shell surrounding the corkscrew mechanism. No guesswork required. Built-in rechargeable battery, opens up to 30 bottles on a single the secure cordless electric wine bottle opener removes the cork in seconds. Such a great gift!
Talk about a space-saver, this set of measuring beakers includes all the likely sizes any cook might ever need—including 1-teaspoon! All of the beakers nest for compact storage, have flat stable bases and easy-to-read markings. OXO Good Grips 7-Piece Nesting Measuring Beaker Set is dishwasher safe, too.
Calling all bread bakers—whether you're into 5-Minute Artisan Bread or something that takes much more time. This is the knife you want handy when you cut into those beautiful loaves. This Mercer Culinary Millennia 10-inch Wide Bread Knife will not tear fresh bread apart even if it is still warm (who can wait until it has cooled for at least two hours?!).
This countertop airtight container has a snap-on lid, making it so much better than wrapping quick breads or loaf cakes in layers of plastic wrap—and having to replace all of that after removing a slice or too Such a pretty color, too.
Bring outdoor fun indoors with this S'mores Maker. Roast marshmallows to perfection over the tabletop electric flameless heater. What a great gift for the whole family!
I have just one complaint about the typical mortar and pestle. Stone. I can't stand to touch the rough, unfriendly surface of a typical mortar and pestle. That's why I love the Bekith Mortar and Pestle Set—it's made of brushed stainless steel—perfect for grinding spices, bruising herbs, and all other small crushing needs that come up in the kitchen. A great gift!
A great knife at a decent price is not easy to find. But found this Mercer Culinary Millennia Chef's Knife has been! At a fraction of the price of anything comparable in terms of quality and usefulness, this knife gets hundreds of 5-star reviews.
Here it is—a complete Sushi making kit that includes everything you need to make Sushi at home! This kit has been so well designed, it kicks the guesswork to the curb. Everyone can make a sushi roll the very first time. Instructions so easy to understand, your giftee (or is that you?) will find success on his, her, or your first try!
Loaded with enough tips and tricks to make your meals the talk of the town, it's an apron that protects your clothes and reputation. Decorated with cooking times, preparation guides, and recipes, it's a gift guaranteed to transform even the most amateur of cooks into a pro. Such a fun gift! Choose from three sizes: Baking Apron, Classic and Full Length Apron.
Weighing ingredients makes such a difference in any baking recipe. This one can weigh up to 22 pounds (for the record I have never weighed out 22 pounds of flour, but just in case I know I can). This scale is so versatile and super accurate. Weighing ingredients saves time, and is more accurate than measuring cups.
The guy is amazing—part sleuth, part scientist, the rest comedian. I'm a fan, not only for Todd's entertainment value but because every copycat recipe of his that I have ever tried has come out spot on—a dead-ringer for the real deal.
This is my favorite of Todd's books (there are many), as evidenced by all the food splatters and dog-eared corners!
Ok, so who really needs to spend money on something so frivolous as a hot dog slicing tool? You do—for that person in your life who is a hot dog aficionado! Sure, you can cut a hot dog lengthwise and set it flat on the grill, but this is better. This gizmo scores the surface into diamond-shapes and for some reason, that lets that dog cook inside with just a hint of char—not burned! Oh my. This is fun—great gift.
I love this dish rack so much for its quality, durability, and size—but mostly because it is collapsible. The tray and the rack fit neatly under the sink to be out of the way while not needed. Love, love this setup!
There must be a thousand Instant Pot cookbooks out there. I have not personally reviewed every single one, however. That's because I've gone straight to the best—the number one Instant Pot how-to, step-by-step recipes. With photos. I have followed its author, Jeffrey Eisner for years before this book was published. I credit him with everything I know about using my Instant Pots (yes, I have two—3- and 6-qt) with nearly 100% success.
This 6-or 8-qt electric pressure cooker accessories set includes 1pc springform buckle pan, 1pc loophole steamer basket, 1pc silicone egg bites molds, 1pc stainless steel egg steam trivet, 1pc stainless steel kitchen tong, 2pcs of silicone cooking pot mitts, 1pc bowl clip, 1pc cooking book, 3pcs Magnetic Cheat Sheets, with pot accessory gift package.
Gift Ideas Under $15
This recipe book comes with tips and tricks to help anyone become a better cook but is largely blank so you can fill it with your family’s favorite recipes. It’s a great excuse to start a new tradition: plan a time to cook together once per week, then detail your favorite recipes in this book to create a family keepsake for years to come.
It has sections with blank pages (2 per recipe) for appetizers, soups/salads, sides, entrees, desserts, beverages, and “other” recipes, each with its own write-in index page. It is very high quality, a hardback with nice thick pages. Look toward passing down treasured family recipes in this book.
Made from razor-sharp Japanese stainless steel, the blade of this product is built to endure a lifetime of use. Its swivel design reduces waste, and the blade can be safely washed in a dishwasher without any risk of rusting. (I won't risk putting my in the dishwasher, but the manufacturer clearly states that it is dishwasher safe.)
Designed with a clever handle profile, this product offers maximum control for left- and right-handed users. The handle also includes ample drainage channels to facilitate easy cleaning and drying. Such an amazing little gadget, and the perfect gift for any home cook!
Read more about this amazing gadget
This $10 Self-Sharpening Gadget is Best Thing Ever to Speed Meal Prep
Also from those clever people at Dreamfarm—Chopula! This spatula's unique head shape lets you chop food in a hot pan while keeping your hand up and away from heat. It's so flexible, easily slides under food for a clean lift and flip that keeps even the most delicate food in one piece. Perfect for separating eggs and flipping pancakes.
These days, I find myself reaching for my little red Chopula , more than just about any other utensil in the drawer! Comes in a bunch of fun colors, also full-size Chopula. Safe on non-stick cookware and goes right into the dishwasher, too.
This KitchenAid set of small bowls is perfect for prepping and storing vegetables, herbs and other ingredients before you begin cooking. This set of four prep bowls includes 1-, 2-, 3- and 4-cup sizes—these are not cereal bowls or mixing bowls.. These bowls feature clear plastic covers to easily identify contents. Constructed of durable, lightweight plastic, these bowls nest together for storage when not in use. Bowls are dishwasher safe for fast and easy cleanup, but I recommend not putting the lids in the dishwasher. One year hassle-free replacement and lifetime limited. Super useful and quite adorable.
What a great idea, really. While these are non-stick, I still use a cooking spray (just to make sure nothing sticks!) These Egg Rings are perfect for pancakes, too and anything else you want to come out round! Also available in a heart-shaped option.
This adorable egg container keeps a precious hard-boiled egg safe until ready to eat. It even has a spot for the mini salt shaker!
Made from beautiful acacia wood, this beautiful salt cellar gives any foodie instant access to any kind of salt. It swivels open conveniently. Closed, it protects contents for freshness. And so charming, Ironwood Gourmet Appalachian Salt Cellar looks great when left out on the stove or counter.
Little Starfrit is lightweight, smooth, and easy to pick up and use. It's mostly plastic—only the blade and its housing are metal. Operating Starfrit is effortless—it's one smooth operator. Starfrit is Everyday Cheapskate pick for Best Inexpensive can opener. One of our EC readers says she has had her Little Starfrit for 30 years—and it's working as well as it did on Day 1. Another feature of note: For seniors who struggle with arthritis, this gem is a perfect solution. So easy to use, requires so little effort. There is no better manual can opener out there. Available in both white and black.
Sure, we know how to cook fresh corn on the cob, but not everyone enjoys eating it from the cob. Or how about when a recipe calls for kernel corn, and you, the kitchen gourmand, want that to be the best—fresh off the cob. Try cutting the kernels from the cob with a chef's knife, but you're setting yourself up for a trip to the ER. Here's the solution: a corn peeler.
It looks weird, I know, but it's not. I got this in my Christmas stocking a few years ago (I have the most creative hubs in the world!), and I continue to be shocked by how well it works. It gets the kernels off easily, without grabbing even the tiniest bit of cob (oh, I used to hate it when that happened).
What a great gift for your friends and relatives—especially those who live in areas with honest-to-goodness cornfields.
The meat masher with 5-inch wide beveled pinwheel blades easily chops and crumbles food. Ergonomic handle design can perfectly fit your hand curve and increase grip and relieves hand fatigue. I use this mostly to break up ground beef, and love it!
Cleaning kitchen blades and knives is not child play! This scrub brush is designed to clean knives in a flash and lets me keep all my fingers! A wonderful safety measure for every kitchen! And just wait for the first person to mention it looks like dentures. It'll happen!.
I take dips seriously. And not only chips and dip ... but a side of ketchup, Ranch dressing, teriyaki sauce, or queso. Know what I mean? That's why these dip clips are so awesome. Just take a look at how cute they are and how they clip to the side of a plate! A set of 8 makes for a fun and useful gift!
This garlic peeling gadget puts the fun in functional. This garlic peeler made of silicone makes prepping fresh garlic fun, easy, and speedy! Just drop the peeled cloves into the tub, rock it back and forth, and ta-da—perfectly peeled garlic! Fun gift. Perfect stocking stuffer..
No one wants to wash their dishes with a sponge, scrubbing brush or dish rag that has been sitting in a pool of stale water and no one wants a sink caddy that moves around. Avoid this undesirable kitchen sink circumstance with this clever sling sink caddy! Three color choices.
Tired of trying to drain off the liquid from a can of tuna or any canned product without sending half the contents into the garbage disposal? You can dry your tears because that is never going to happen again once you have this handy can colander in your utensil drawer—right there with the things you use all most often! Such a cool gadget!
This is absolutely the best hand citrus juicer. Fits lemons, oranges with a smaller compartment for limes. Now in a variety of colors, too! NOTE: For me, this turned out to not be dishwasher compatible. Hand-washing is not a problem at all given all its positives.
The hubs and I bought a teeny tiny ... RV! How tiny? Well, I have one drawer in the kitchen, a term I use loosely. Ha! One cabinet with a tiny sink, a small built-in fridge, and one tiny drawer. This organizer is so unique and well-designed to hold basic cutlery that it gives me the equivalent of at least two drawers! Love it.
Keep counters clean and utensils organized with this Utensil Rest! Keep drips and mess corraled in this perfect-size cleanup helper! Dishwasher safe and just plain awesome!
Slightly Pricier Gift Ideas
With its durable end-grain construction and professional-grade quality, this heirloom-quality cutting board provides a smooth, knife-friendly surface for serious chefs and cooking enthusiasts alike. Handmade with care in Margaree, Nova Scotia, Canada, by skilled artisans, it's a timeless addition to any kitchen, perfect for both home cooks and professional chefs seeking functionality and style.
Santoku knives are top of the line. They were developed in Japan as a more versatile alternative to vegetable cleavers and quickly became the country’s most popular kitchen knives.
With a short, thin, rounded blade that measures 7 inches in length, the smaller size of a santoku makes it easier to handle than many chef’s knives. This one from Zwilling is more than impressive, with its comfortable handle and its ability to slice through food without resistance. It’s a versatile, durable knife that chops, slices, and dices with ease.
Various speeds to mix every recipe to the desired consistency; mix from a slow stir to a high whip. Comes with accessories and your choice of 5 colors.
This compact toaster oven was among the best at evenly toasting bread, baking cookies, and bringing frozen foods to life. This super handy oven performs as well as or better than other options that cost significantly more. Highly recommended! Color choices: silver, black, white.
This 4-quart cocotte is the cast-iron workhorse of the kitchen. Perfect for cooking a full one-pot meal for a family of four, it is so versatile it may never leave the stovetop.
Use the cocotte to braise meat, poultry, or vegetables. Whip up cooling summer soups or warming winter stews. You can even bake bread in the cocotte. The hot, humid environment created in a covered cocotte builds steam, creating a sublimely crispy crust, highlighted by a pillowy soft interior. Available in a multitude of colors, prices vary.
Gift Ideas for Little Foodies, Chefs & Bakers
Written and designed to empower kids in the kitchen. It includes step-by-step photos of tips and techniques to help kids learn how to cook like a pro, no matter their age. Readers will also hear directly from the young chefs who cooked alongside America’s Test Kitchen test cooks—they provide product reviews and testimonials that will encourage other kids as they learn.
If you’re looking for a way to bond with your 4 to 7-year-old grandchild, Grandma & Me: In the Kitchen is the perfect activity! Lots of great stuff in one adorable box.
Utensils, apron, baker's hat, measuring cups, measuring spoons—34 pcs total including kid-friendly recipe cards. Plus an adorable case to store all of it.
This adorable wooden knife is designed for kids age for 2 to 5, but my experience is older kids love this, too. (Shhh—I used these knives myself, even when the kids were not around. They actually do a great job!) The child's strength can be completely applied to the blade, which is safe and labor-saving. These kids' knives are non-toxic, BPA-free materials, safe to use, and exquisite workmanship, not easy to break, to provide an early and successful kitchen experience.
Of course, adult supervision is necessary here, but what fun to prep, cook, with the kiddos and then watch them enjoy the delicious results—because they did it themselves! Comes with small safety gloves—always a good idea, even for the adults.
Personalized Aprons
This is adorable-ness on overload! Order early as personalized gifts typically require extra shipping time. These aprons run small, so read reviews then react accordingly.
ETSY $31.74 Free Shipping on 2 items
Personalized Wood Utensils
Cutest ever food-safe utensils for that little baker in your life! Make sweet memories while baking yummy cookies together with Mom or maybe Grandma. Imagine the sparkling eyes and cute giggles that melt your heart as she plays. Make her feel like she’s big like Mom with her own play kitchen accessories!
ETSY $28.51
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