10 Favorite Small Kitchen Appliances

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Here’s the list, my ride-or-die small kitchen appliances, the ones that spend more time out on the counter than put away in cabinets. Full confession: I did not include my completely indispensable coffee maker because I don’t technically cook with it.

1. High Speed Blender

This is my number one small kitchen appliance. Obviously, unmatched for blending smoothies and soups – the vortex created by a blender’s tall thin shape is designed for mixing liquids. But I use my Vitamix in slightly unexpected ways, too: blending thinnish batters for baked goods, like Pink Pancakes, pureeing the sweet potatoes for Sweet Potato Muffins, grinding oats into oat flour and even for making Avocado Ice Cream.

Vitamix Smart Blender’s easy picture touchpad with five blending modes makes it super user friendly.

2. Food Processor

My family recipe for authentic Lebanese Hummus is the dish I make most often in my Cuisinart. It comes out perfect every time. In the small kitchen appliance wars, processors win over the Vitamix for larger jobs involving drier ingredients like cauliflower for Cauliflower Rice or the makings for Pistachio Butter Cups or Protein Bars

I love that the Cuisinart Elite Food Processor has a really powerful motor, two different-sized bowls, two slicing discs, and two blades – one for chopping and one for dough.

3. Immersion Blender

It is technically ranked number three, but when I need to blend a soup but cannot bear the idea of dirtying one more vessel, my immersion blender instantly becomes my favorite kitchen appliance. It gets used every time I make Sweet Potato Soup, Cauliflower Soup, Five-Ingredient Tomato Soup or Carrot Ginger Soup. It’s also great for making a quick salsa!

I’ve had the Cuisinart Smart Stick and Blender for more than 10 years. It has two speeds and a cup attachment which is handy for quickly chopping small amounts of herbs. The whisk is great for salad dressing.

4. Electric Toaster Oven

My kids love toast. Who doesn’t for a quick lunch of peanut butter and bananas on toast or avocado toast? But I also use this versatile small kitchen appliance for reheating leftovers, especially things I want to stay crisp like oven fries and french toast.

A plus: the Breville Countertop Electric Toaster Oven accommodates small baking jobs, too, like a 12-inch pizza, a few baking potatoes, or a small loaf pan.

5. Water Kettle

I like the safety and convenience of a plug-in kettle that boils water quickly with no danger of boiling dry on the stove. I use this small appliance to make Whipped Coffee or when I need hot water for any cooking task, whether it is adding water to soup or to cook grains.

The Breville Electric Water Heater & Tea Kettle is easy and safe to use so even my kids can use it to add hot water to their quick oats in the morning.

6. Fountain Juicer

Buying a lot of pricey juice drinks at the health food store adds up fast, but making them at home is economical once you have a juicer. It also lets me customize my drinks depending on what I have in the house or what I feel my body needs. I’ve previously shared a favorite, Celery Juice with apple, but the combinations are endless.

I like the entry-level price of my Breville Juicer. This small appliance allows me to juice at home without investing in an expensive machine.

7. Citrus Juicer

Fresh-squeezed orange or grapefruit juice is the best. It captures all of the fruit’s nutrients and loads of fiber. I also use my citrus juicer for juicing lemons and limes. So many of my Lebanese recipes require a lot of lemon juice, so I often juice an entire bag of lemons at the beginning of the week to use in recipes, salad dressings or with warm water.

This Cuisinart Citrus Juicer is the one we use, and it’s easy enough for my kids to use it.

8. Air Fryer

A relative newcomer to my kitchen, I love this small appliance! With it, I am able to turn out what I used to think of as restaurant food – crispy dishes like Fish & Chips and Brussel Sprouts without the added fat or mess of pan frying.

I love the Instant Vortex Air Fryer. It comes with dishwasher-safe removable parts and easy pre-set buttons for popular foods like fries and chicken wings.

9. Panini Press

From the number of paninis I post, you may have figured out I love them. This non-stick machine helps me cut down on using fat to brown them on the stove. The cooking plates have one smooth side and one grooved side. The machine folds over to press paninis or opens flat to use as a griddle.

Cuisinart 5-in-1 Griddler/Panini Press can also be outfitted with waffle plates so this serves as my waffle iron. The cooking surfaces are removable dishwasher-able, which avoids the yucky built-up gunk of other waffle irons.

10. Stand Mixer

Bakers everywhere love to love their KitchenAids and I am no exception. The mixing and whipping power is a game changer for baking, whether I making cookies like Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies or Cream Cheese Vanilla Cupcakes.

My Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer is the gray Artisan model but it’s available in more than 40 absolutely cute colors!

For more kitchen resources:

• Favorite Kitchen Gadgets & Tools
• How to Stock your Pantry
• How to Stock a Freezer
• Food Storage Tips
• How to Make Your Kitchen More Efficient

If you found this list for my Top Kitchen Appliances useful, we’d love to hear from you! And if you snapped some shots of any of these tips and tricks, please share it with us on Instagram so we can repost on my stories!