(Want an updated list of my kitchen essentials? Watch this YouTube video with a more detailed, updated collection!)

Ok friends, I get asked about this all the time and I’m finally throwing it all together for you: the 13 kitchen essentials I swear by! I truly do believe that half the fun of cooking is enjoying the process, and sometimes certain appliances and tools are just big and small ways to make you fall more in love with spending time in the kitchen. 

These are the 13 items I just can’t imagine my kitchen without. They save me time, they save me space, and they make cooking nourishing meals in my kitchen infinitely more enjoyable. 

01 // 02 // 03 // 04 // 05 // 06 // 07 // 08 // 09 // 10 // 11 // 12 // 13

01 // Reusable mason jar lids

Honestly, these have been a game-changer. I use mason jars daily. Mostly for meal prep – specifically the pint-size jars are the perfect size for servings of my Creamy Kickin’ Tomato Soup or Golden Crockpot Soup. And these lids make it freezer safe. 

02 // OXO Pop Containers

I have an addiction to these pantry containers. I’ve just been slowly adding to my collection over the last 8 years, and now I’ve got 30. #noshame And I still want more… because too many does not exist. They make pantry storage so much more organized, clean and visually appealing. But also I swear they reduce food waste because their airtight containers keep things fresher for longer. My nuts and seeds, all my flours, my powders, my snacks – they’re all in these containers. 

03 // Ninja Auto-IQ Blender System

This might be an unpopular opinion, but I actually prefer this $175 blender system over the holy grail Vitamix. I mean don’t get me wrong, the Vitamix does live up to its name in durability; my mom passed ours on to me and we’ve had it 12+ years. But the Ninja is a gamechanger for efficiency. The single-serve option is sooo much better than making a daily smoothie in the massive Vitamix blender and having to clean out that and the cup you pour it in. And I honestly am obsessed with the pre-set blending options on the Ninja, like the smoothie function. I swear it makes the best smoothies I’ve made. 

04 // Kitchenaid Hand Blender

This is by far some of the best $30 I’ve ever spent in my kitchen. I use this thing on the reg – for recipes like my Golden Crockpot Soup, or even for my famous Bulletproof Superfood Coffee Creamer. It is so convenient to be able to blend right in a pot or crockpot. 

05 // Handheld milk frother

And we know this beauty is a daily occurrence in our household. When I changed the game by creating my Bulletproof Superfood Coffee Creamer, I eliminated the need to actually blend a cup of coffee every morning. This beautiful little tool makes frothing up a steamy cup every morning a 15-second experience and it’s so easy to travel with. 

06 // Keurig K-Cafe Latte + Cappuccino Maker

Another daily item. We upgraded our basic Keurig to this beauty on Prime Day this past year and it’s been worth every penny. I love that I still have the convenience of a Keurig, but now also have the optionality to make a shot of espresso. And the milk frother built into this thing is top-notch. Which by itself would be $50+ so this whole system in one is such a steal. It’s so fun to experiment with new latte blends and I even use it just for hot chocolates or golden milks. 

07 // Royal Berkey Water Filter

This is definitely the largest investment piece on this list, but it’s undoubtedly one of the best larger ticket items I’ve ever purchased. It’s a 3.25-gallon gravity-fed water filter. It removes greater than 99.999% of viruses and greater than 99.9999% of pathogenic bacteria, while also removing or dramatically reducing protozoa (such as giardia and cryptosporidium), trihalomethanes, inorganic minerals, heavy metals (including arsenic, lead, mercury, chromium), pharmaceutical drugs (including caffeine, Acetaminophen, Ibuprofen, Progesterone, Triclosan). It’s beautiful, it’s sustainable, and it makes the cleanest, purest, best-tasting water. I love that you only have to replace the filters every 6,000 gallons, and it doesn’t require electricity or any kind of additional energy source. It’s a piece that we’ll take with us through moves to new homes and it’s, again, just really beautiful. It’s the best. 

08 // Spice Rack

Simple but so necessary. I knew I didn’t want a mess of indiscriminate spices in my cabinet, or a swirly spice rack taking up space on my counter, and this is just the perfect option. It’s perfect to place inside a cabinet with easy access. 

09 // Instant Pot

Basic, I know, but we really do love this thing. It’s just so easy to search “paleo instant pot recipe” on Pinterest and get some new inspiration for the week. And my favorite part? Whatever we make in it is the perfect kind of leftovers. Efficiency maximized. 

10 // Pizza crisper pan

I’m not joking when I say pizza is a necessity in our family. We love going out for some good gourmet stuff, but we’ve also fallen in love with our Friday night ritual of homemade Simple Mills paleo pizza crust and a movie on the couch. We used to use a pizza stone, but this crisper pan is actually a game-changer. It cooks the pizza so much more evenly and gives you some good crisp to the crust. 

11 // Airfryer

We actually use this air fryer even more than our Instant Pot. And actually less for veggies and potatoes than I thought and more for meats. But it’s just so much more convenient to fire this thing up on the counter than to heat the entire oven, which takes so much more energy and heats the whole house up when we don’t always want that in Texas. 

12 // Handheld Spiralizer + Peeler

Another favorite in our home is zoodles, and you can buy the big fancy spiralizers, but I didn’t want to have to store another big item in my kitchen and this $9 one does just the trick. I even use the peeler to shave parmesan for our weekly pizza night. 

13 // Tea bag organizer

And last but not least, this beautiful tea bag organizer. Tea is often a multiple-times daily thing in our household, so keeping our actual tea bags organized just makes the whole tea experience so much more enjoyable. I’ve got two because one just wasn’t enough.

I hope these are helpful! If you already use one of these items, or if you make a purchase to add to your stash, let me know below! Cheers to enjoying our time in the kitchen!