10 Kitchen Tools We Swear By, All Under $15 at Amazon

Beyond the essential kitchen tools, like a chef’s knife and roasting pan, there are dozens of culinary items that can make you more efficient in the kitchen. If you’re a newer cook, having the right tools can also allow you to properly (and safely) hone your techniques. Stocking your kitchen with cookware, tools, and appliances can easily cost thousands of dollars. No matter how long you’ve been cooking, however, not every kitchen purchase needs to be a splurge. That’s where these top picks that are all under $15 come in.

Testing thousands of products over the years, we’ve found the best, most essential kitchen tools that combine performance with serious value. We use these kitchen tools under $15 in our home kitchens and recommend them for yours, too. Not to mention, Mother’s Day is just a couple of weeks away, and these tools make great gifts.

Food & Wine Faves $15 and Under at Amazon

• Longzon 4-in-1 Knife Sharpener, $13
• KitchenAid Bamboo Handle Scraper Spatula, $10
• Microplane Premium Zester, $15
• Zulay Kitchen 3-in-1 Manual Citrus Juicer Reamer Cup, $13
• OXO Good Grips Silicone Flexible Omelet Turner, $12 (originally $15)
• Winco Fish Spatula, $8
• FAAY Teak Cooking Spoon, $12
• OXO Good Grips Meat Tenderizer, $12
• Sumo Ice Cream Scoop, $13
• ElitaPro Ultra-High Speed Double Whisk Handheld Milk Frother, $9

Longzon 4-in-1 Knife Sharpener

Professional cooks know that keeping knives well-honed is essential for functionality and safety in the kitchen. This affordable knife sharpener from Longzon lets you tend to dull knives whenever you need to, with multiple grit settings to get the perfect edge. We liked the sturdiness and effectiveness of this sharpener, which required only five to 10 pulls to notice an improvement to our blade (we noticed an even better edge after 10 to 20 pulls). We also like that it can sharpen scissors too, adding even more value to this already well-priced model. 

KitchenAid Bamboo Handle Scraper Spatula

For avid bakers, a silicone spatula is essential — its flexible head can mix, scrape, and fold with ease. Silicone’s heat-resistant properties also make it ideal for cooking on the stove without scraping the surface of your favorite pots and pans. During testing, this attractive KitchenAid spatula scraped ingredients out of bowls with ease, felt nicely lightweight, and was easy to clean with a quick hand wash. While its curved head struggled to get into corners, we found it versatile and an overall great value. 

Microplane Premium Zester

Microplane makes the gold standard for handheld zesters and graters. We’ve used the lightweight tool to zest citrus fast, producing more than a tablespoon of zest per orange without bruising the fruit. It also works wonderfully on hard cheese, producing fine, fluffy shreds that melt into risotto or pasta. It lasts a long time (take the example of one editor who’s used hers for a decade and counting), but for the sake of longevity, it comes with a plastic cover to protect its sharp teeth when it’s stored in a drawer. 

Zulay Kitchen 3-in-1 Manual Citrus Juicer Reamer Cup

While you could easily spend more on a citrus juicer, you don’t have to. This model from Zulay pulls double duty with two reamers: a 12-tooth reamer for lemons and limes and a three-tooth reamer for oranges, grapefruits, and other large citrus. We tested this with a few different citrus varieties and were able to produce copious amounts of clear, flavorful juice with some pulp, collecting it in the 17-ounce capacity cup below. It’s a fantastic choice for small juicing jobs like making cocktails or ceviche, with essentially no mess to clean up after.

OXO Good Grips Silicone Flexible Omelet Turner

The spatula you use to flip and roll eggs into the ideal shape matters, especially when it comes to omelets. This flexible egg turner from OXO has a silicone blade with an extra-thin, slightly flexible edge that lets you slide right underneath your omelet without compromising its surface. It allowed us to achieve a perfect fold when we tested the best spatulas for eggs, so we dubbed it the Best for Omelets. It’s also a great shape for flipping fish fillets. With a high heat resistance (up to 600°F), it can withstand the dishwasher and more.

Winco Fish Spatula

While a fish spatula may seem too specific for the average home cook, this comfortable turner is a convenient tool to have — even if you don’t use it for fish. Testing fish spatulas, we liked how the Winco’s 3.25-inch wide blade provided enough area to easily flip burgers and pancakes, while its thinness gave it the ability to slide seamlessly under delicate fish fillets without breaking them apart. Even though the handle is made of wood, the spatula is dishwasher-safe for easy cleanup. 

FAAY Teak Cooking Spoon

A wooden spoon comes in handy for sautéing, stirring sauces, scraping up fond while deglazing a pan, and more. We love this teak spoon because it’s super durable and water resistant, making it a utensil that will last for quite a while in the average kitchen. During testing, we were easily able to break up ground sausage and stir oatmeal, and the deeper bowl of this spoon allowed us to use it as a serving spoon too. It was easy to clean by hand, followed by air drying. The manufacturer recommends oiling it occasionally to prevent cracking. 

OXO Good Grips Meat Tenderizer

A meat tenderizer comes in handy for making veal scaloppini or schnitzel, and this one from OXO topped our tests as our Best Overall. It has a smooth surface on one side for flattening meat and a toothed surface on the other for tenderizing, with a slight angle to the head. In our tests, it made quick work of flattening pork cutlets and chicken breasts, though it’s easy to go overboard and tear through meat if you use too much force. We were also able to turn graham crackers into crumbs in a matter of a few swings. The non-slip grip keeps it from flying out of your hand, and it’s dishwasher-safe for hassle-free cleanup. 

Sumo Ice Cream Scoop

A sturdy scoop is a must-have for households that love ice cream and sorbet, especially when warm weather hits and you dig into frozen desserts more often. We ranked this ice cream scoop above others for its durable stainless steel construction and a pointed tip that allows you to get every last bit out of the tub. The only downside we found during our tests: super-cold ice cream tended to stick to the metal, which means you might have to nudge it off the scooper. 

ElitaPro Ultra-High Speed Double Whisk Handheld Milk Frother

You can’t craft lattes and cappuccinos at home without foamed milk. ElitaPro’s battery-powered, handheld milk frother has a double whisk head and comfortable silicone grip. In our tests, it produced a thick foam with whole milk and a silky foam with oat milk. It also excelled at mixing matcha and hot chocolate. Cleaning it only requires a spin in soapy water, a quick rinse, and another spin to dry. It comes with an additional whisk attachment for eggs and a stainless steel stand for storage.