Sab’s Must Have Kitchen Essentials!
When it comes to cooking I am all about delicious, flavor packed and efficient recipes.
My key to flavor packed simple and efficient recipes is a small collection of small appliances, kitchen gadgets, and key pantry ingredients & spices that I always have on hand.
With these three things my kitchen is always ready for the next meal to be prepared!
I personally own and use weekly (if not daily!) all of the items listed below and they are truly my kitchen essentials.
Small Appliances
Cosori 5.8 Quart
Air Fryer
(Canadian Link)
I have had my Cosori for 2 years and LOVE it! It gets used multiple times a week. An essential for quick meals, appetizers and snacks. The capacity is great for 3-5 people. Check out my growing collection of simple Air Fryer recipes here
KitchenAid 3.5 Cup Mini Food Processor
A mini food processor saves counter space and cuts down on prep time. I find a 3.5 cup food processor is more than enough space for cooking for my family of 5. I use mine from dicing vegetables, to pureeing sauces, all the way to making dip (like my Feta Dip!)
An immersion blender provides convenient blending in the cooking vessel. When making soups or sauces the quantity is often to large for a blender or food processor. Instead you can use an immersion blender right in the pot!
InstantPot Duo 7-in-1 Electric Pressure Cooker
My pressure cooking journey began 2 years ago when I purchased my first InstantPot and it was an amazing experience. I started testing soups, stews, pulled meats, desserts, and more. The results were amazing and I was quickly hooked on pressure cooking.
Kitchen Gadgets
When I say I LOVE kitchen gadgets, I mean I REALLY, REALLY LOVE kitchen gadgets. A fun day off for me often includes wandering the aisles of kitchen supply stores looking for the newest gadget to try out. It was tough but I have dwindled my list down to my top 4 kitchen gadgets.
For me a good kitchen gadget needs to cut down on meal prep time and my top 4 below do just that!
Joie Stainless Steel Mini Grater
As you may have learned from my recipes, garlic is by far my favorite ingredient! Everyone is always looking for the quickest way to add garlic to a dish and this tiny but mighty grater is the way to go! I also use my grater for ginger, lemon and lime zest!
KitchenAid Citrus Squeezer/Press
I went through 6 different citrus presses before I found the perfect press. This KitchenAid press has been in my kitchen for 2 years without a single crack or dent. No matter how hard I squeeze or even when I squeeze 2 limes at a time (don’t do this), it still gets every last drop of juice out!
I can’t remember the last time I bought shredded cheese, and I am happy to say that! Store bought shredded cheese is coated in stabilizers so the cheese won’t condensate or stick together. I always shred my cheese at home and also use my box grater for carrots, cucumbers, onions and more!
With garlic being my favorite ingredient, a garlic press is essential. Instead of buying jarred minced garlic keep a garlic press on hand. Fresh garlic makes a huge impact on flavour compares to granulated garlic or jarred minced garlic.
Pantry Staple Ingredients
There are a few ingredients that are ALWAYS in my pantry with 1 pack open and 1 (or more) in the pantry for storage. These are my most commonly used ingredients so I always make sure I have a back up on hand!
The first 4 ingredients are ones that are sometimes hard to find in local grocery stores and I am asked the most about:
A staple in Asian cooking, you will find rice vinegar in a large number of recipes. It is a sweeter vinegar than regular white vinegar and adds the perfect amount of acidity to stir fry sauces and marinades.
I prefer cooking with low sodium soy sauce and Lee Kum Kee is my favorite! I purchase 1.9L bottles online for the best price and quality soy sauce! This has a long shelf life.
My favorite hot sauce is sriracha! Not only is this great for topping dishes for an extra bit of heat, I use this sauce in marinades, stir fry sauces, dipping sauces, and more. Check out my Bang Bang Shrimp Egg Rolls with sriracha mayo!
Hoisin sauce is a sweet and savory sauce. It is often used as a dipping sauce for Pho, added into marinades, stir fry sauces, and more. It is a very unique flavor. Check out my Spicy Crispy Chicken featuring hoisin sauce in the sauce.
Is a secret ingredient for thickening sauces, but also for making crispy fried meats. Try my Spicy Crispy Chicken recipe that is better than takeout or my Crispy Honey Garlic Beef. Both are coated in cornstarch for an extra crispy crunch.
Another one of my favorite hot sauces that is used not only as a toping on dishes but also used in marinades, stir fry sauces and more. If you have never tried this sauce I highly recommend it!
When it comes to chocolate chips I always buy in bulk and I love baking with semi sweet chocolate. I don’t have a big sweet tooth and I don’t like my desserts overly sweet so semi sweet chocolate is the way to go for me! Check out my Chocolate Salami recipe!
Sab’s Spice Cabinet
These are some of the more unique spices that I use in my recipes.
Disclosure: I only recommend products I would use myself and all opinions expressed here are my own. This post may contain affiliate links that at no additional cost to you, may earn me a small commission.