The Best Utensil Set Is No Utensil Set

It’s the one you make yourself. Here’s why we recommend building a utensil set à la carte.

Serious Eats / Riddley Gemperlein-Schirm

Manufacturers love making sets. They package up a bunch of stuff and sell it to you for a discounted rate. However, you’re still likely paying way more than you would for just one or two items from the brand. And think about it: if you own a cookware or knife block set, how often do you pull out every single item in said set? Likely, one or two (maybe three) things make it into your most-used rotation while the rest languish in a drawer, cabinet, or in the block. 

Actual utility versus price is one of the reasons we generally don’t recommend sets. Instead, it’s a much better use of your money to select things that’ll best suit your needs. Plus, there’s the matter of performance. As our reviews show, not every brand makes the best of everything.

The Best Kitchen Utensil CrocksWilliams Sonoma Pantry Porcelain Utensil Holder

Williams Sonoma

Buy at Williams-sonoma.com

So, if you’re looking to invest in a kitchen utensil set, your best bet is to first buy a utensil crock you like (there are a ton out there with various finishes to match your kitchen/style and with different features, like dividers). We’re partial to this simple, classic offering from Williams Sonoma—in our tests, it held a whopping 33 utensils (!!) and was the perfect height—there was no danger of it toppling over. We also liked this sturdy, compact pick from OXO.

Serious Eats / Irvin Lin

Once you've got a crock you love, it’s time to choose the utensils you’ll use the most. There are some things (like a pair of tongs and a fish spatula) we recommend every home cook has, but other items depend on the kind of cook you are. Bake a lot? Get two spatulas. Make a ton of smash burgers? An offset turner is a must-have. A fan of making over-easy in a nonstick skillet for breakfast? Then you’ll probably need a nonstick-safe turner. 

Here’s what you should put in your utensil crock (divided by must-haves and nice-to-haves), with links to our full reviews so you can see how we tested and read more about why we chose our winners.

Must-Have Kitchen UtensilsA Pair of Kitchen Tongs: OXO Good Grips 12-Inch Tongs

Amazon

Buy at Amazon.com

Buy at Walmart.com

Finding a great pair of kitchen tongs is way, way more difficult than you might think. Seriously, we tested more than 40 pairs to land on three models we recommend. The scallop edges on the OXO securely grasp a range of foods, and they can be opened (but not closed) with one hand by turning them upside down and pushing the handle lock back into the tongs. If you cook with a lot of nonstick (which we don’t recommend) or scratch-prone enameled cast iron, OXO’s silicone-tipped model is a good bet.

Read More: We Tested 40-plus Pairs of Kitchen Tongs to Find the Three Best for Gripping and Flipping

Serious Eats / Ashlee Redger

The Best Fish Spatula: Wusthof Fish Spatula

Amazon

Buy at Amazon.com

Buy at Walmart.com

The Best Left-Handed Fish Spatula: Lamson Flexible Slotted Spatula (Fish Turner) for Lefties

Amazon

Buy at Amazon.com

Buy at Walmart.com

Our favorite fish spatula is pricey, but so incredibly nimble and has a solid, smooth, grippy handle. The blade-like edge easily fits under food—deftly flipping delicate fish fillets and fragile pancakes. For a left-handed option, we recommend the one from Lamson. We prefer the one with the synthetic handle, rather than the walnut option, which can't be tossed in the dishwasher.

Read More: I Tested 12 Fish Spatulas to Find the Best for Flipping Fish, Burgers, and More

Serious Eats / Grace Kelly

A Versatile Spatula: Tovolo Flex-Core All Silicone Spatula Turner

Amazon

Buy at Amazon.com

Buy at Walmart.com

A Spatula Available in a Number of Sizes: GIR Ultimate Spatula

Amazon

Buy at Amazon.com

Buy at Gir.co

For scraping batters out of bowls, scrambling eggs in a skillet, and getting the last bit of smoothie out of a blender, you need a silicone spatula. You’ll probably find getting more than one spatula is better than having to just keep a sole model constantly clean. In that case, we like spatulas from Tovolo and GIR. The latter is available in a number of sizes.

Read More: I Tested 7 Silicone Spatulas to Find the Best Ones for Scraping, Stirring, and Mixing

Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

A Handy Rasp-Style Grater: Microplane Premium Classic Series Zester/Grater

Amazon

Buy at Amazon.com

Buy at Williams-sonoma.com

A rasp-style grater is helpful for zesting citrus, grating hard cheeses like Parmesan, grating fresh nutmeg, and manufacturing garlic and ginger. Our top pick is from Microplane and has a comfortable handle that’s available in an array of colors and prints. For storing, please, please put the case on it. You’ll save your Microplane’s blade, keep it from nicking other utensils, and prevent any accidental finger scrapes.

Read More: We Tested 12 Rasp-Style Graters—Here Are the Best Ones

Serious Eats / Irvin Lin

A Scoop-it-Up Ladle: Cuisinart Stainless Steel Ladle

Amazon

Buy at Amazon.com

Buy at Jcpenney.com

A ladle might not be your most-used utensil, but when you need one (for soups, stews, sauces) there’s nothing like it. We like this one from Cuisinart, which has an extremely curved handle that allows you to swoop into a variety of vessels with ease. For a non-metal ladle, this one from Le Creuset fits the bill.

Read More: We Tested 9 Ladles—Three Scooped the Winning Title

Serious Eats / Grace Kelly

A Do-it-All Wooden Spoon: Jonathan’s Spoons Spootle

Jonathan’s Spoons

Buy at Woodspoon.com

FAAY Teak Cooking Spoon

Amazon

Buy at Amazon.com

A good wooden spoon is great for scraping, stirring, and tasting. When we tested wooden spoons, we came away with a few favorites, including the Jonathan’s Spoons Spootle and FAAY 13.5" Teak Cooking Spoon, Both are great—and come at two different price points (the former pricier, the latter inexpensive). And, hey, if simply cooking with a wooden spoon doesn’t convince you of its utility, maybe this list of 11.5 things you can do with one will.

Read More: I Stirred, Scraped, and Scooped to Test 13 Wooden Spoons

Serious Eats / Jesse Raub

A Better Balloon Whisk: GIR Premium Stainless Steel Whisk

Amazon

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Buy at Target.com

This all-purpose balloon whisk was our favorite after testing and we found it to be particularly good at aeration thanks to its wires that varied in height. Its diamond-patterned, silicone handle was comfortable to hold, too. What do you use a balloon whisk for? Here’s a primer on the various styles of whisks out there and what they’re good at.

Read More: We Tested 11 Balloon Whisks—Two Whisked Their Way to Victory

Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

A Straining Spider: Hiware Solid Stainless Steel Spider Strainer

Amazon

Buy at Amazon.com

While we don’t have an official review on these, commerce editor Grace Kelly loves using her spider strainer for blanching foods, deep-frying, and wok cooking. All stainless steel models are easy to clean and can be thrown into the dishwasher (unlike ones with wooden handles), but whatever handle material you prefer will work.

Serious Eats / Grace Kelly

Sharp Kitchen Shears: Shun Multi-Purpose Kitchen Shears

Amazon

Buy at Amazon.com

Buy at Williams-sonoma.com

Kitchen shears often find themselves on a kitchen essentials list. And while they are sometimes included in knife block sets and can be stored on a magnetic knife strip, we still think it’s worth mentioning that you definitely need a good pair of kitchen shears. They’re as useful for cutting out a chicken’s backbone as they are for snipping chives.

Read More: We Tested 12 Kitchen Shears—Three Were a Cut Above the Competition

Serious Eats / Jesse Raub

Bonus features like a bone notch, bottle opener, nut cracker, and screwdriver tipsâ€were the icing on the cake of a good set of shears.Nice-to-Have Kitchen UtensilsA Slotted Spoon: Cuisinart Stainless Steel Slotted Spoon

Amazon

Buy at Amazon.com

Buy at Walmart.com

This is another item we haven’t formally tested (yet), but that’s still worth your consideration. For draining fresh mozzarella curds, fishing a soft-boiled egg out of a pot, or making poached eggs, a slotted spoon makes easy work of any precision “lift and drain” tasks.

Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

A Smashing Offset Turner: MANNKITCHEN Professional Grade Stainless Steel Spatula

Amazon

Buy at Amazon.com

Buy at Walmart.com

For making smash burgers, flipping giant portions of hashbrowns, or serving lasagna, an offset turner is helpful. We like the one from MÄNNKITCHEN best: it’s super-angled, precise, and just the perfect size (not too big, nor too small).

Read More: We Tested 9 Offset Turners—These Are Our Favorites

Serious Eats / Eric King

A Nonstick Turner for, Well, Nonstick: OXO Good Grips Silicone Flexible Turner

Amazon

Buy at Amazon.com

Buy at Target.com

While nonstick isn’t our preferred cooking material for 99.9% of things, there are some applications (eggs, crepes) where its super-smooth, stick-free surface is an asset. For these times (and if you’re an electric griddle fan), use a nonstick-safe turner to keep your nonstick pan in tip-top shape for as long as possible. We like this one from OXO that has a razor-thin head and have a few other top picks here.

Read More: We Tested 11 Spatulas (Turners) for Nonstick Pans—Here Are Our Favorites

Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

Nimble Kitchen Tweezers: Küchenprofi 12-Inch Tweezers

Amazon

Buy at Amazon.com

Ah, kitchen tweezers: useful for removing bits of eggshell, serving pasta, flipping a steak, and more. If you’re going to have just one size, the 12-inch ones are a good investment, though a smaller pair is worth considering, too.

Read More: Yes, You Need a Pair of Kitchen Tweezers. Here's Why.

Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

A Whisk Just for Doughs: Zulay Kitchen Danish Dough Whisk Large Hand Mixer

Amazon

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Buy at Walmart.com

If you bake bread, a Danish dough whisk may be a worthwhile addition to your utensil crock. As we explained here, “Because a dough whisk is made from rigid wire only a few millimeters in diameter, its limited surface area means that thick doughs cannot gain much purchase on it, so they pass right through the loops.” It works with everything from high-hydration doughs to thicker, super-stiff ones.

Read More: Why a Danish Dough Whisk Is My Go-To Baking Tool

Serious Eats / Andrew Janjigian

A Sauce Spoon for Plating: Mercer Culinary 18-8 Stainless Steel Plating Spoon with Solid Bow

Amazon

Buy at Amazon.com

This is no ordinary spoon. Say you want to create a beautiful swirl of ricotta to put under a plate of roasted vegetables or drizzle a portion of steak with au poivre sauce—this is where the sauce spoon shines. Its wide, shallow bowl and slightly offset handle give you control and finesse. While we haven't formally tested sauce spoons, commerce editor Grace has had this option from Mercer for years and loves its wide bowl and ridged grips on the handle.

Read More: Baste, Serve, Spread, Sauce, Scoop—What Can’t a Sauce Spoon Do?

Serious Eats / Grace Kelly

Sauce spoons, as their name implies, are great for spreading sauces on platters or drizzling them on ingredients.A Teeny, Tiny Whisk: Kuhn Rikon 6-Inch Balloon Wire Whisk

Amazon

Buy at Amazon.com

Buy at Walmart.com

Okay, okay, we really like whisks, alright? We have balloon whisks and bread whisks, but your utensil crock wouldn't be *truly* complete without a mini whisk. These tiny wire options are perfect for mixing up a spot of salad dressing, whisking an egg or two, or blending a small amount of spices for a rub.

Read More: We Tested 8 Mini Whisks and Came Away with Three Favorites

Serious Eats / Jesse Raub

A Portion Scoop: Winco No.40 Ice Cream Disher with Plastic Handle

Amazon

Buy at Amazon.com

Buy at Walmart.com

While not a necessity, portion scoops are pretty darn helpful to have on hand. They come in a variety of sizes and excel at scooping cookie dough, portioning perfect meatballs, and can evenly scoop ice cream in a pinch.

Read More: I Love Portion Scoops So Much, I Have 6 of Them

Serious Eats / Eric King

FAQsWhat’s the best kitchen utensil set? 

We recommend assembling the set yourself—you’ll get the most for your money and can select the best, highest-performing products in each category. 

Which brand is best for kitchen utensils? 

There is no one brand that makes the best of every single kitchen utensil out there. As you can see from our recommendations above, we have utensil suggestions that span a variety of brands—including OXO, GIR, Le Creuset, Cuisinart, and more.

Why We're the ExpertsRiddley Gemperlein-Schirm is the associate commerce editorial director for Serious Eats. She's worked at the company for about three years and has reviewed kitchen equipment professionally for the past five years.She's written many reviews for the site, including on Ooni pizza ovens and air fryers.As a site, we've extensively reviewed many kitchen utensils over the years—landing on the best in each category (from fish spatulas to ladles).

Read More: Kitchen Storage and Organization Essentials That Make Us Better Cooks

We independently evaluate all recommended products and services. If you click on links we provide, we may receive compensation.

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