Top 10 Must-Have Small Appliances for Your Kitchen in 2022

It’s said that the kitchen is the heart of a home. It’s where meals are prepared, where friends and families gather for a quick chat, and it’s the place that holds many memories of your parents or grandparents cooking your favorite meal.

And part of what makes the kitchen so important is the tools you use there. Whether it’s a sprawling open-concept kitchen or a small countertop, the appliances you use in your kitchen are often the key to ensuring that your kitchen will work for you.

Small kitchen appliances offer efficiency, convenience, and space-saving benefits. These countertop appliances are workhorses that can make your mornings and baking projects so much more manageable and significantly less stressful. From coffee makers to air fryers to oven toasters and ovens, here are 10 must-have small appliances you need to invest in.

Top 10 Must-Have Small Appliances for Your Kitchen

#1. Coffee Maker or Espresso Machine

If you, like us, love your morning cup of Jo, the first and foremost thing on this list will naturally be a coffee maker or a mini espresso machine.

This is a great appliance that will give you that freshly brewed cup to start your day right, not to mention the savings it will provide you since you will no longer need to stop at the nearest Starbucks for your fresh cuppa.

You can even look for coffee makers that come with a built-in timer that you can program to make your coffee in advance every morning with a simple click of a button — wake up to the heady scent of fresh coffee every day!

There are also fancier espresso machines with special features including a built-in milk frother wand that will give you that coffee shop-quality cup every morning. Depending on the type of mornings (or nights!) you have, there are various coffee makers and espresso machines you can look into. Not to mention their sleek design that will add to your kitchen countertop!

#2. Toaster Ovens

Nifty, convenient, and versatile to boot, toaster ovens are an extremely practical appliance that you can use for a variety of purposes. It is leaps and bounds better than a regular microwave in terms of features as well as the quality of food you can get out of it.

Gone are the days when toaster ovens were only used for quickly warming up bagels or toasting bread in the morning; today, you can roast a chicken in one if you wanted to! Compared to the standard oven, toaster ovens are not only space-saving but are also energy efficient.

Besides, reheating food in a toaster oven is also better than in the microwave. For example, reheating pizza in a microwave can turn it soggy real quick, but using a toaster oven can give you a crisp crust on your one-day-old pizza; perfect for breakfast!

If you are a college student or a young professional, a toaster oven can be an excellent introductory appliance before buying a conventional oven. Use it to bake, defrost, reheat, or roast — your options are endless!

#3. Food Processor

For any budding home chef who’s keen on an appliance that can help with meal prep, a food processor should be a must-have on your list.

With a food processor, you can quickly slice, grind, chop, shred, and puree almost any ingredient you can think of, from peanuts to cauliflowers. They can also be a great thing to have in the kitchen for all home bakers since many food processors can beat cake batter as well as knead the dough for all your homemade bread experiments.

A typical food processor will have a number of blades of varying sizes that can aid in cutting all ingredients according to your requirements. You can easily whip up sauces and dips like salsas and guacamole within minutes.

So, with a food processor, meal prep becomes an absolute breeze!

#4. Electric Grill

A much better, healthier, and tastier alternative to frying your food is grilling it. But, not all apartment buildings allow grilling, even on the balcony. This is where an indoor electric grill comes in!

We all have those days when we’re tired of the fried foods and are craving some grilled chicken or asparagus. An electric grill gives you the option to cook a multitude of dishes, from veggies to meat, to charred perfection. You can even up your sandwich game by a mile!

Another benefit of electric grills is that, unlike conventional grills and grill pans, they have the option of controlling their temperature. Their temperature will max at 450 degrees Fahrenheit, which will mean far fewer risks of triggering the smoke alarm in your apartment. An electric grill is excellent for every meal, whether you are looking to eat a grilled cheese sandwich for a snack or want to grill some fish for dinner.

Grilling is also a much healthier option for cooking your proteins as this form of cooking requires less oil and any excess grease from the meat will drip off.

#5. Slow Cooker and Multicookers

From sumptuous stews to pasta cooked in a variety of sauces to tender pork dinners — what if you could cook all of these dishes in one pot! Enter slow cookers or multicookers.

A multicooker is as versatile as a small kitchen appliance can get. You can use it to steam, simmer, saute, cook up desserts, broth, rice, and so much more! The best part is you won’t have to keep hovering around the pot to prevent your food from burning — a few clicks of buttons and the multicooker does its magic. It’s the perfect appliance for any busy chef!

A multicooker or slow cooker also offers a lot of efficiency when it comes to cleaning. No more utensils piling up in your sink to make your spaghetti bolognese! With a multicooker, all you will clean right after cooking up your favorite meals is an all-in-one pot, and you don’t even have to wipe the stovetop!

From mac n cheese to creamy ragus to chicken broths, you will be able to prep and cook delicious dishes with ease in a multicooker.

#6. Rice Cooker

Rice is a staple in many households, especially Asian. Many Asian families will have rice up to three times a day, even for their breakfast. It is among the most widely consumed grains globally. A steaming bowl of rice is a big part of the spread, typically seen in Indian, Chinese, or Korean cuisines.

If you want perfectly light, fluffy, and soft rice, one small kitchen appliance you absolutely need is a reliable rice cooker. All you have to do is soak and wash the rice, figure out the grain to water ratio for your desired consistency, and let the rice cooker do the work — you will get your perfect rice in minutes!

Aside from cooking perfect rice each time, you can also use a rice cooker to steam veggies, dumplings, and even fish! Rice cookers are also easy to clean since all you need to clean is the stainless-steel pan inside!

It’s another versatile kitchen gadget to prepare healthy meals for your family.

#7. Air Fryer

If you are one of the many people who discovered a newfound love for cooking during the quarantine, you might be a little familiar with the air fryer craze that went on for weeks.

An air fryer is a valuable piece of kitchen appliance that provides many benefits, including health and convenience. Perhaps the greatest highlight of this simple appliance is how easy it makes for you to prepare healthy food. An air fryer uses as little oil as possible, making it an excellent device for people looking to eat healthier. You also get to have perfectly fried tater tots or French fries even without having to deal with the greasy mess of a deep fryer!

The convenience of an air fryer is also a great plus. When you can cook a complete meal in under 20 minutes and simply have to prepare the ingredients, season, and program the air fryer, cooking delicious meals for lunch or dinner no longer feels like a chore!

#8. Electric Kettle

If you want a more precise, safer, and quicker water heating option other than a stovetop kettle, an electric kettle is what you’re looking for. This piece of appliance is essential in any kitchen to make everything, from your early morning coffee to boil water for some Ramen to your nightly tea.

It can make your cooking easier, especially when cooking pasta in much less time, or when you want to add hot water to your soups without having to wait for the water to boil. It can also help you make instant breakfasts quickly, be it oatmeal or protein drinks, especially for parents who’re always battling for time in the morning.

An electric kettle also reduces the risk of boiling water spilling and causing accidents. It will also have safety features like a rubberized handle or a mouth that needs a button to open, making it easier and safer for everyone, including kids, to use the kettle.

#9. Stand Mixer

For all the budding home bakers out there who’re looking for smaller kitchen countertop appliances to make baking more manageable, a stand mixer is a no-brainer investment. From mixing dry and wet ingredients to whipping frosting to an ideal consistency, a stand mixer can be your best friend.

Not only will your shoulders and arms thank you for a break from having to struggle over large bowls of dough and other ingredients, but the efficiency of a stand mixer is also mess-free and super easy to clean.

Stand mixers have a deep bowl, which helps avoid spillage during mixing. It also helps ensure you get the perfect mixing and whipping consistency since it is easy to control the mixing power with just a push of a button.

These mixers also come with various attachments, so you can get the right texture if you need to simply whip your meringue or knead the dough for bread.

#10. Immersion Blender

Think of a handheld immersion blender as a less expensive and more convenient alternative to a countertop blender. Immersion blenders are absolute workhorses — they’re convenient, cheap, and versatile and can do everything a countertop blender can.

An immersion blender will take away the hassle of making room for your countertop when all you want is to puree something for your meal. It will reduce the cleanup involved with your typical countertop mixture.

An immersion blender can blend anything from dips to sauces to baby foods. It can also help make whipped cream if you don’t have a stand mixer. If you are fond of making smoothie bowls and other pureed drinks and desserts, this is a great tool to have handy.

Budding baristas or bartenders can also make tasty, icy, and refreshing drinks with an immersion blender!

Bonus: Pressure Cooker

Here is a bonus on our list of must-have small appliances for your kitchen — an ever-reliable pressure cooker!

If you’ve never used a pressure cooker, you’re truly missing out! A pressure cooker offers a lot of advantages — from less time in preparing meals to consuming less energy or gas to a significantly reduced waiting time for the meat to tenderize.

Similar to a multicooker, a pressure cooker offers the option of one-pot cooking for many recipes, which is an added bonus when you don’t want to deal with multiple pots and pans to clean up. It also means that you use fewer burners to cook a dish, which will help you consume less gas or electricity in the long run.

Probably the best feature of a pressure cooker is it cuts the cooking time significantly and cooks the meal a lot faster than when you use any other pots or pans, making it possible for you to whip up delectable meals no matter the time constraints.

Because of the less time involved in cooking, you also get the most out of each ingredient since less time to cook equals healthier and tastier dishes.

Final Thoughts

There you have it, our list of small appliances that everyone should have in their kitchen. These appliances will make your cooking experience so much easier and more convenient. It can also inspire you to cook more at home, which is always a huge bonus to your health as well as your budget!

Tell us what you think

How many of our top 10 small appliances are on your kitchen counter? What kitchen appliances are a must have that you think we should have listed? Did we have any appliances listed that left you scratching your head? Leave a comment and share with us. We love reading feedback and we look forward to reading yours. Thank you in advance from Terrific Deals.