By now, you know that we’re all about saving you space, time, and money. But we also like to have fun and, well, sometimes we can resist a good — or funny — kitchen gadget. Hey, if it doesn’t cost too much, doesn’t take up too much room, and can be put to good use or give us a good laugh, even if just occasionally, then we’re in. Because you can’t always be practical. That’s just no fun.
Here are 10 kitchen gadgets you can get on Amazon Prime for under $20 that we’re totally here for.
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– Updated for 2021 –
Related: 15 fabulous Mother’s Day gifts for the kitchen under $25 — that will look like you splurged!
If don’t have the best knife skills, but are trying to speed up (a skill worth working on, as it significantly speeds up dinner prep), a stainless steel finger guard (pack of 2, $4.97) is in order. These babies are practical and can be shared with kids who are learning knife skills too (which also speeds up dinner prep — heh!).
Save paper and bake with these silicone baking cups (pack of 12, $7.99). I also use these as prep “bowls,” to create compartments in my younger son’s bento box, to serve up vitamins in the morning, and for a plethora of other random kitchen and serving tasks.
We featured this OXO silicone steamer ($14.99) in our round up of must-have Instant Pot accessories, but it is useful far beyond that. A flexible steamer is where it’s at. Trust us. You need this.
Related: Unbreakable outdoor dishes that are perfect for all your summer entertaining
Perhaps it’s silly, but if you’ve ever wondered how much pasta to make when you’re cooking just for the kids before heading out on date night or when hosting a dinner party, you may be happy to own this Jospeh Joseph Spaghetti Measure ($12.99). No more guessing.
2021 Update: This product is no longer available, but we’ve found a lovely stainless steel spaghetti measure for just $6.99.
Yea, yea, we know that peeling garlic is not brain surgery, but it’s sticky and annoying and this Oxo Silicone Garlic Peeler ($6.99) makes it easier. The stay-clean case is probably overkill, but for seven bucks, we’ll take the whole package.
Worst kitchen task ever? Straining food into a full-sized, stainless-steel colander, transferring it back into the pot, and then having to clean two big pot thingies (and, yes, I mean thingies). So. Much. Work. Enter the Kitchen Gizmo Snap ‘N Strain Strainer ($15.99). Snap it on to your pot, strain, leave food where it is, and be done. Oh, except for the loading into the dishwasher part.
We actually fell in love with the 3 blade version of this tool while experimenting with kitchen tools that make cooking with kids more fun, but it’s more than $20 — ha! — so go ahead and grab the OXO Handheld Spiralizer ($13.70) instead. You’ll still get great functionality and spiralized veggies that the kids will enjoy making and (hopefully!) eating. Also: You won’t find a more space efficient spiralizer.
Ridiculous? Maybe, but if you have kids, you probably eat a lot of tacos like we do. And, honestly, both filling and trying to plate hard-shelled tacos can be really annoying. This 9-piece Taco Holder ($8.99) solves all that and is a great price considering it’ll cover a family of about four eaters at your next DIY taco bar night.
Related: How this Instant Pot-phobe finally became an Instant Pot convert
This won’t be of interest if you don’t eat tons of avocados, but we do, and so this Silicone Avocado Saver by Food Huggers ($11.29) is worth every dime. Anything to keep the brown away — and yes they really really do work!
We haven’t yet tried this Watermelon Slicer ($9.99), but have been intrigued since last summer. And with so many positive reviews (in the real world; we know Amazon reviews can be sketchy) we have to be honest: this is totally on our list for the minute watermelon season hits again this year. Can’t wait!
