Over the first decade after college, living on my own, and cooking for myself, I found there are some items in my kitchen that I cannot live without and I am here to pass on my at least personal knowledge and experience. Below, are the most basic kitchen essentials I feel are needed to prepare meals–you know breakfast, lunch, and dinner. There are also some kitchen items that I’ve found are required to pull-off a basic holiday meal for a small group or my family.

If you are monetarily able to stock your new kitchen (or help a new graduate or couple out with a gift from this list), or are trying to figure out what is really needed when combining two previously single-peoples’ households as newlyweds, I feel these are not-to-be-missed items that will make your cooking experiences faster, easier, and less worrisome. Please see my post on Registry Essentials (and things to skip) for help on buying a newly engaged or married couple the best gifts.

Everyday Cooking Adventures:

Recommended Basic Kitchen Essentials

Top 5 Pots & Pans Essentials:
1. Large & Small Saucepan (I highly recommend non-stick such as Calphalon or Anolon)

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2. Dutch oven (Needed for stews, soups, braising large cuts of meat)

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3. Set of Mixing Bowls (Large & Small…or at least one or the other)

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4. Large & Small Frying Pan (No one wants to make pancakes one at a time in a tiny frying pan)

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5. Steamer Insert (metal or silicone)
Top 5 Cooking Utensil Essentials:
1. Wooden Spoon (If you only buy one make it a long handled one and hand-wash it or it falls apart  too quickly)
2. Silicone-Head Spatula (Great for baking, scrambled eggs and scraping liquid off pan sides)

©EverydayCookingAdventure 2013

3. Tongs (Helpful for turning meat or plating pasta without burning your fingers or dropping your food on the ground)

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4. Large Serving Spoon or Ladle (Good for sauces or soup serving)

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5. Flat Whisk (I love this! Great for making sauces and not letting things clump up!)

©EverydayCookingAdventure 2013

Top 5 Prep Essentials:
1. Microplane Grater (Cheese, spices, ginger, garlic, lemon & lime all easily grated right over your bowl)

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2. Plastic Cutting Boards (1 prep size & 1 normal size–I love dishwasher-safe Oxo brand for prep)
3. Good Knives (carving, 2 pairing knives, chef’s knife)

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4. Hand Peeler (Peeling veggies quickly)
5. Can Opener (self-explanatory)

Top 5 Serving Essentials: (6 will help you if both sets of parents for example stop by unannounced or friends at some point dine at your home)
1. Set of 6 matching Dinner Plates (of course matching isn’t essential)
2. Set of 6 matching Salad or Appetizer-Size Plates (I use these just as often as dinner size because a sandwich doesn’t need such a big plate, right?)
3. Set of 6 Bowls (I use mine for cereal mostly so I like a little shorter bowl than a deep soup bowl but that’s up to you)
4. 6 Glasses (tall or short)
5. 6 Forks, 6 Spoons, 6 Basic knives (you don’t need sterling silver unless you want to be super fancy, as stainless steel & dishwasher-safe is all that’s really needed)

Top 5 Baking Essentials:
1. Oven Mitts (One for each hand–Some dishes are heavier than one hand can handle)
2. Glass Baking Dishes (an 8″x8″ square & a 9″x13″ rectangle)
3. Baking Sheets (Small & Large) & Muffin Pan (used for muffins and cupcakes)
4. Rolling Pin (French, Wood-style is great because dough doesn’t get stuck in the handles)
5. Measuring Glass & Measuring Spoons (Pyrex Measuring glass for liquid measurements, 1 set of Tablespoon/teaspoon measuring spoons, and if possible a measuring cup set used for dry-good measurements)

Top 5 Entertaining/Holiday Essentials:
1. Steak Knives (Serated edges are very helpful when eating meat!)

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2. Meat Thermometer (Good for grilling and baking if you’re not vegetarian)
3. Large Wooden Cutting Board with Trough (for slicing a large turkey or ham etc.)
4. Large Covered Casserole Dish (such as a Le Creuset baker for when you don’t want your side dishes to get ice-cold as people take too long to get to the dinner table or waiting for people to take seconds)

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5. Large Roaster Pan with Rack (for turkey, whole roasted chicken, roast beef and more large meat cuts so they don’t sit and get mushy in their own juices while cooking)

Top 5 Various Very Helpful Items :
1. Colander/Sieve (You need something with small enough holes that pasta doesn’t slip through in to the sink)

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2. Avocado Peeler (If you live in CA for example this is actually essential to make scooping out avocado so much simpler and making sure you remove the whole thing from the peel)
3. Silpat (I use this almost every day! I don’t have to waste foil or spray everything with cooking spray when warming rolls or roasting veggies or potatoes and it’s dishwasher-safe)

©EverydayCookingAdventure 2013

4. Tea Kettle (Heating water for tea, instant coffee, and some food recipes happen much faster with this)
5. Toaster (A 4-slicer is most helpful)