I love to eat healthy, whole-food meals because they feel so much better for my body. But can I be honest with you? I HATE spending a lot of time in the kitchen! Why waste tons of time in the kitchen when you don’t have to? There are plenty of simple recipes that allow you to minimize your time in the kitchen. And some tools can help! I wanted to share three kitchen gadgets that I use regularly that make cooking SO much easier!
One big bonus for all three of my favorite gadgets is that you can cook frozen food! I’ll admit that I sometimes forget to take out a chicken breast to let it thaw. Then realize my mistake and had to make an alternate plan for dinner. But with these gadgets, I don’t have to worry about that!
The Slow Cooker
A slow cooker is an oldie, but a goodie! I still regularly use my slow cooker. It is still my absolute favorite kitchen gadget. It is perfect for those days when I want to be able to throw in all of the ingredients, turn it on, and let it cook all day! And I have plenty of throw-and-go recipes on the site that take very little time for prep and that allow you to have a healthy, delicious meal without hours in the kitchen! And now there are so many different types of slow cookers that you can find one with the features you need.
I am single again, and my most used slow cooker is a small 2-quart slow cooker. That size is PERFECT to create 1-2 serving meals for me! But you can also get a slow cooker that contains enough to feed a large family, too! And you certainly can’t beat how amazing slow cooking a meal will make your house smell!
Out of the three gadgets on this list, this can be the least expensive one. You can find high-quality slow cookers for under $50. In fact, my little 2-qt cost less than $15!
The Pressure Cooker
This is my next favorite kitchen gadget! The pressure cooker cooks things much more quickly than cooking them in the oven. And you can cook food from frozen, too! I have two Instant Pot pressure cookers! I have a 3-qt cooker, which is my favorite! I find that it is the perfect size for me to cook meals in. And I have a 6-qt that I use when I need to cook more food. The number one thing I cook in my pressure cooker is eggs! It is awesome for cooking hard-boiled eggs!
I use the pressure cooker when I need to make dinner, but I haven’t thawed anything from the freezer! I will grab out a frozen, boneless chicken breast and throw it in the pressure cooker. I allow that to cook while I whip up a side dish.
Pressure cookers start at about $80. Prices increase according to size, brand, and functionality. Many models do far more than just pressure cook. Some also double as rice cookers or slow cookers. And others allow you to make things like homemade yogurt.
The Air Fryer
Out of my favorite kitchen gadgets, the air fryer is the newest kid on the block. You can also cook frozen meat in an air fryer. And you can bake without turning on your oven and heating the whole house! Like the pressure cooker, the air fryer cuts down on overall cooking time.
There are so many things that you can cook and bake in your air fryer that I couldn’t list them all here. But the air fryer is also the master of reheating! Reheated foods like pizza can taste freshly baked when reheated in the air fryer.
I personally am just learning how to use my air fryer. I got a small air fryer made by the same company that makes the Instant Pot. It’s a great size for me.
Air fryers start at around $60 and go up to around $200.
If you’re looking for kitchen gadgets that can help make life easier in the kitchen, any of these three is a great investment! Then can significantly cut down your time cooking and allow you to eat healthy, simple meals that taste amazing too!
