First-Home Essentials: Simple Kitchen Tools You’ll Need!

An unfurnished apartment or home is an exciting blank canvas for a new homeowner or resident. But to have a life lived artfully, you’re going to need some basic tools.

Today’s essentials deal with the kitchen tools and appliances for your first home. While they aren’t all big-ticket items, they can help you run a kitchen smoothly for the first few months in your new home.

A set of sharp knives or kitchen shears.

You don’t have to be a chef to get the best chef knives for your home. They’re investments that you’ll likely be using for majority of your food preparation and cooking at home.

You can get an affordable set so you can chop vegetables, peel fruit, fillet meat and fish, and cut through bread and cheese with ease. Just make sure to have them sharpened using a whetstone or by bringing your knives to a professional sharpening service.

For blending or mixing ingredients into sauces and stews, you might want to consider a nutribullet, as well. It will do a smoother job than just mincing ingredients with a knife.

A good saucepan, frying pan, and soup pot.

You’ll need a number of pots and pans depending on how many people eat at your house on a daily basis. And a lot depends on how elaborate or simple your typical menu is, as well.

For instance, if you do a lot of frying, you have several options for it. You can get a good frying pan with a nonstick coating for simple maintenance (and less oil or butter to cook with). 

Or you can give in to recent trends and get a good air fryer. It can yield crispy and crunchy fried food minus the grease often associated with them. 

For bigger households, a 3 to 6-quart saucepan or soup pot should be able to address most saucy dishes and stews. And if you do a lot of tenderizing, a pressure cooker is a must in your kitchen.

A sturdy microwave and stove.

A microwave oven might be considered as a fixture for college-age people or office pantries. But there’s no denying the convenience and ease with which these simple appliances can provide in kitchens.

Along with a microwave, an electric stove with burners that can accommodate the number and amount of meals you have at home is a huge help. But if you want a more streamlined look and feel to your kitchen, consider getting a cooker hob installed, instead.

Measuring, cooking, and other utensils.

There are other smaller-ticket items that are nevertheless considered kitchen essentials for homes big or small. These are especially important for precise cooking instructions like baking and those requiring particular measurements.

Kitchen scales, measuring cups and spoons, whisks, tongs, and oven mitts are good starts. Of course, spatulas, slotted spoons, colanders, stick blenders, and can openers will come in handy for just about any cooking or meal prep activity you might want to do.