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These are our favorite small kitchen workhorses that have consistently outperformed their competitors. Smart Air Conditioner
Small appliances come in many forms and offer even more functions — they can bake, roast, blend, chop, and boil, to name a few. The most useful small appliances are usually multitaskers or appliances that make one part of your kitchen routine much smoother, like egg cookers or waffle makers. The best small kitchen appliances are also easy to store and less expensive.
We’ve dedicated countless hours in our lab and at home to test the best appliances for home cooks. If you’re looking to replace a few essential kitchen tools or fit your space for the first time, a few small-but-mighty must-haves work for any kitchen space. These are some of our favorite small appliances for making your time in the kitchen more efficient.
This air fryer produced tasty results again and again during our rigorous testing.
It may not be suited for a large family that requires more cooking capacity.
Air fryers may be the biggest rage in kitchen appliances and they're a chef-favorite countertop appliance, but there’s reason for that. And we think this Instant Pot air fryer deserves space in your kitchen. Its basket is an excellent size that prevents overcrowding but is still compact enough not to be overwhelming or cumbersome on your counter or cabinet. During testing, the results were some of the tastiest of all the testing, including coconut shrimp, roasted potatoes, and Brussels sprouts. Plus, its nonstick coating makes cleanup easy.
Food & Wine / Russell Kilgore
Food & Wine / Russell Kilgore
Food & Wine / Russell Kilgore
Food & Wine / Russell Kilgore
Food & Wine / Will Dickey
Food & Wine / Will Dickey
Food & Wine / Will Dickey
This reliable, high-performing toaster left bread perfectly toasted during testing.
It’s prone to fingerprints, so you will need to wipe it down often.
This toaster from Zwilling impressed during testing, evenly toasting bread, waffles, and bagels. We love that its slots are wide enough to accommodate different thickness levels, like a hand-cut piece of sourdough or a bagel slice. During our tests of the best toasters, we didn’t notice any signs of patchy toasting like the other ones we tested. This toaster will look sleek on any countertop with its clean lines and no-fuss controls.
Food & Wine / Fred Hardy
Food & Wine / Fred Hardy
Food & Wine / Fred Hardy
This energy-efficient microwave excelled in testing and offered even heating in each test.
Its exterior isn’t the most exciting to look at.
For a microwave that leaves no soggy middles or over-crisped edges, we turn to this model from Panasonic. The brand’s "Cyclonic Wave Inverter” technology is the key to evenly cooked food: It has an inverter circuit that delivers a constant stream of power at the desired level for the entire cooking time. Inverted wave microwaves, in addition to offering superior cooking, are also more energy-efficient. Not only did it heat evenly, but it also heated food faster than any other microwave we tested. Like most microwaves, it comes with pre-sets, like Popcorn, Quick 30, and Coffee/Milk.
Food & Wine / Russell Kilgore
Food & Wine / Russell Kilgore
We loved the thoughtful design and luxurious features of this kettle.
This model is pricey compared to similar kettles.
When we tested this electric kettle, we loved the double-walled design that keeps this kettle from feeling too hot on the outside — a great safety feature. It has six temperature settings for precision, plus the added "keep warm" button that ensures you won't have to reboil your water if you lose track of time. It comes in silver, pink, black, and gold, and we think its sleek exterior will look great in any kitchen setting.
Food & Wine / Fred Hardy
Food & Wine / Jennifer Causey
This oven hits all the marks on power and extra features, especially for its compact design.
The start/stop button juts out when the oven is flipped up, which can be a hazard if accidentally pressed.
If you don’t want a separate air fryer from your toaster, then we recommend an air fryer toaster oven. And if you’ve ever been prepping on the counter and wished you could flip your appliances up against the wall to give yourself more space, this Ninja air fryer toaster oven is your dream come true. Not only does it do double duty with both air frying and toaster oven capabilities, but it folds flat when not in use.
We were pleasantly surprised by this compact air fryer toaster oven's power. It has a workhorse heating element that excels at browning and broiling. You can even use it to bake cookies or dehydrate fruit.
Food & Wine / Will Dickey
Food & Wine / Will Dickey
Food & Wine / Will Dickey
Beginner-friendly and incredibly versatile, it performs well even when handling the most delicate of foods.
Too much liquid in the bag can make moist sealing difficult.
Sleek and compact, a vacuum sealer is one small appliance that offers a big reward. Use it to preserve an ingredient about to go bad or for sous vide cooking. During our tests, this model proved to be superior, especially in delicate tests. We found it incredibly easy to use and think it’s perfect for a chef of any level.
We loved the power this small blender brought and its clever design.
This blender only has an on/off setting without any specialized buttons.
The ubiquitous NutriBullet is one of the best personal blender brands on the market for a reason. It works — and it works well. Like the 900W model, this NutriBullet 600W is a lifesaver in any kitchen. It has a surprisingly large carafe, so there is no need to waste space on a full-sized blender. This model can easily handle your extra-large morning smoothie.
When testing, we also loved its unique design; the carafe’s lid is the blade that locks right into the base, making storage super easy. We also love how straightforward this blender is. There are no buttons; you just snap in and go. That said, it’s not well-suited for more nuanced tasks where you might want varying power and blend controls. But if you’re looking for a no-frills, reliable blender, this is your model.
Food & Wine / Russell Kilgore
This machine has every possible setting and accessory you could want from an espresso machine and is half the space you’d expect.
It can be complicated to use and isn’t beginner-friendly.
If you want that coffee shop experience at home but don’t have the space for a large, decked-out espresso machine, this is the model for you. When testing the best espresso machines, we fell in love with this machine because even though it’s incredibly compact, it includes a quality burr grinder, milk frother, pitcher, filter, and built-in tamper. Plus, it has all the expert settings and controls for filtering, grinding, and cleaning to customize each cup to your specifications.
Food & Wine / Russell Kilgore
Food & Wine / fRussell Kilgore
Food & Wine / Russell Kilgore
We loved this food processor's powerful motor and pour spout.
Interchanging the attachments can be difficult.
We love this food processor for many reasons, including its straightforward design. With just an on/off and pulse setting, there is little room for error. The sizable bowl holds up to 14 cups, making it a great investment for creations — dips, batters, sauces, pestos — you name it. It received top marks across the board during testing, never wavering during our rigorous tests.
Food & Wine / Russell Kilgore
Food & Wine / Russell Kilgore
It produced the best rice in all of our testing, and its several functions are a bonus.
Dishwashing may affect the interior pot.
Make the best rice of your life with this editor-loved rice maker. But with eight pre-sets, this is more than just a rice maker. Make your favorite type of grain, or whip up a stew, chili, or soup. Even a cake is possible with this appliance. But when rice is on the menu, a “quick-rice” function will yield fluffy, perfect results. We loved it during testing, and we think it deserves a permanent spot in your kitchen.
Food & Wine / Nick Simpson
Food & Wine / Nick Simpson
Food & Wine / Nick Simpson
We loved the built-in scrapers and smart storage solution.
The rubber scrapes on the beaters don’t have the same longevity as the metal portion.
When we tested dozens of hand mixers, this one easily emerged as the top performer. It offers an impressive nine speeds, a convenient digital display, and a built-in timer and light. The best feature of this hand mixer is the built-in rubber scrapers on the beaters; they ensure every last bit of batter and dough gets evenly mixed.
It’s perfect for smaller kitchens because the mixer's base sits on a plastic storage case for all the attachments, plus the cord coils and tucks away. In our tests, this mixer outranked the others for efficiency, functionality, and versatility. We also love its additional accessories: dough hooks, balloon whisks, and a snap-on case to keep things organized.
Food & Wine / Ashley Craiger
Food & Wine / Ashley Craiger
Food & Wine / Ashley Craiger
It’s a powerful, convenient appliance that doesn’t take up loads of cupboard space but offers many use cases.
This is not the quietest appliance out there.
If you don’t have room for a full-sized blender, an immersion blender may be the answer. These handheld blenders can whip, blend, and emulsify in one convenient appliance. When we tested immersion blenders, we liked the Breville Control Grip Immersion Blender for its powerful performance and no-mess operation.
We found its textured grip easy to handle during testing, and our arms never fatigued. It has a 15-speed dial to choose from, and its shallow head minimized suction, which prevented food from getting stuck. All in all, this is a convenient, easy-to-use appliance that any kitchen would benefit from.
Food & Wine / Kevin Norris
It's easy to use with onboard controls and suitable for any sous vide cooking experience level.
It can be loud when in use.
Sous vide cooking is an excellent way to ensure just-right temperatures in almost any dish by bringing water to a set temperature and maintaining it. We liked a few different models from Anova when testing sous vide cookers. This one particularly stood out to us for a few reasons, including its accuracy, easy setup, and Wi-Fi capabilities to connect to an app for recipes and tutorials. We also like that it can attach to a pot with its adjustable clamp for hands-free use.
Pets Appliances Food & Wine / Lindsay Boyers