5 Kitchen Gadgets No One Really Needs (and 5 Everyone Does), According to Kitchen Experts

I recently bought a strawberry huller. Sure, my paring knife does just fine lopping off the stems of fresh strawberries, but this was just too cute for me to pass up (it looks like a strawberry itself!). So now it’s taking up space in my drawer alongside other one-use items that I, er, haven’t used in quite some time. And while I do plan to make good use of my new gadget this summer, it won’t see much action when strawberry season is over. So it appears I’ve broken a cardinal rule of kitchen organization. 

“When it comes to kitchen tools, the goal is to prioritize the items that earn their spot by doing more than one job and actually getting used regularly,” says Shantae Duckworth, professional organizer and founder of Shantaeize Your Space. “Don’t buy into the trends, as often you can do the same job with the tools you already have in the kitchen.”

I know this to be true, but here I am, the proud owner of an adorable strawberry huller. And as that kitchen drawer gets harder to open and close these days, along with some kitchen cabinets that are full of items I barely touch, I realize it’s time to get rid of a few things. Before I go on a complete decluttering spree, I asked Duckworth and a few other food and home experts for advice on streamlining my kitchen tools — here’s what they said needs to go and should always have a home in my kitchen.

These gadgets are truly awesome for what they can do, but since they can’t do much else, they’re probably not worth it (for everyone). 

I love quesadillas. My husband makes a mean one at home, but I honestly didn’t even know something like that existed. Chef Dennis Littley, chef and recipe expert at Ask Chef Dennis, says we shouldn’t bother buying one, though. “It’s basically a glorified pan with ridges, and it does the exact same thing you could do in a regular skillet,” he says. “But it takes up triple the space and lives in the back of your cupboard after two uses.”

There’s a steady enough supply of avocados from Trader Joe’s in our house to warrant an avocado slicer, but Littley advises saving my money to buy more avocados instead. “It seems handy, but honestly, a spoon and a sharp knife do the job better, and you can use those for 100 other things, too,” he says. More often than not, it will struggle or even break if it’s used on anything but a perfectly ripe avocado, he adds. 

I use a butter knife to slice bananas into my protein shakes all the time, but I’ve had my eye on one of those cute banana-shaped slicers. Duckworth says that banana slicers are “cute in theory, but most people can slice a banana in about 10 seconds with a butter knife.” (I haven’t timed myself, but I agree with her.)

Chef Dennis was even more blunt — much like the butter knife I’ll continue to use to slice my bananas. “If your knife can’t handle a banana, it might be time to reassess your knife game, not invest in a plastic gadget,” he says.

Taryn Yudaken, food blogger at Cook & Crumbs, regrets purchasing her 14-cup Cuisinart food processor (an editor-favorite). She means no shade on the brand, but the size of the appliance doesn’t make sense for her. “It’s a well-designed, great product, but it’s often way too big when I just need to whip up a quick sauce for dinner or something small,” she says. “Something like 9- or 10-cups may have been a better idea.”

I actually prefer hot dogs to hamburgers when grilling at home — but I don’t like toasting my bun, so I won’t ever need a hot dog toaster. Duckworth says I’m not missing a thing. “Unless you’re running a concession stand in your kitchen, it’s just not pulling its weight,” she says. “It’s just going to take up room, and it’s simply not necessary.” 

“Another kitchen item I don’t need is my Santoku knife,” Yudaken says. “One good chef’s knife and one good paring knife is all I ever really need!” I feel sort of attacked by this one because one of my earliest splurges in my late 20s —  when I lived alone and was learning from Giada De Laurentiis how to cook for myself — was a Santoku knife. I loved the look of the curved blade, which seemed far less intimidating than a regular butcher knife. 

But Yudaken has a good point about paring down on knives (pardon the pun). I have a knife block in my kitchen, and I find that I only reach for one or two knives most of the time, neither of which is the Santoku.

Of course, this is not to say that all single-purpose kitchen gadgets are a total waste. In fact, there are quite a few seemingly one-hit wonders that are more talented than they let on.

Angelique Kreller, an interior designer at Yabby, has worked on numerous kitchen remodels and knows how to maximize space effectively. She votes for keeping that ice cream scoop, which is more useful than most people think. “Yes, you can use it for serving ice cream, but it can also be used for scooping muffin batter and cookie dough, or even portioning out small amounts of rice or mashed potatoes or other veggies,” she explains.

Pastry brushes are certainly useful enough on their own to apply egg wash, butter, or glaze to baked goods. But even non-bakers can find reasons to use it, Kreller says. She recommends using it to brush oil on vegetables and sauces on meats. (Home chefs might want to keep a pair on hand for separate uses.)

A citrus reamer isn’t just good for juicing fruits, Littley says. It’s also great for muddling herbs and — my favorite new hack — breaking up clumps of packed brown sugar! 

A spiralizer is another tool that can do more than you think. “It’s advertised for making zucchini noodles, but it’s also great for making curly fries that your kids will love, apple spirals for garnish on your baking, sweet potato noodles for salads, and many more ideas like that,” Kreller says. 

A bench scraper is another multiuse tool worthy of a spot in your kitchen. Chef Littley says that he uses his not only for dividing dough, but also for transferring chopped veggies, sweeping flour from the counter, and leveling dry ingredients in a measuring cup. 

How useful a kitchen gadget is will ultimately be up to your own personal preference and cooking or baking style. However, be honest about how often you will use something, especially if storage space is at a premium. ”I’m all for tools that pull their weight, but if something’s taking up valuable drawer space and only does one very specific task you do once a year, it’s probably time to donate it and get back some of your kitchen space,” Littley says. Once you do that, then someone who uses it every single day can put it to good use!

Do you have any of these gadgets? Why or why not? Let us know in the comments below!