Minimalist Kitchen Essentials Actually Worth the Money

What kitchen equipment do you need if you live alone? What lis a list of kitchen essentials for a new home? These are questions that plagues everyone from bachelors to families who just moved into a new apartment and are wondering what kitchen stuff they need. Here's a quick breakdown of the three areas we would spend money, everything else can just be bought as you need it and investing a lot often won't matter much.

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Example of where not to spend in a new kitchen...

A new sharp $20 Knife is better than a dull $125 Chef's Knife. Sure if you buy a wet stone and learn to sharpen the $125 Chef's Knife it's a better investment over time but chances are you won't so buying five cheap knives makes more sense (or just keeping one cheap knife and learning to sharpen that like many chefs).

Is the best blender worth it?

Short answer, yes. Why is a high quality blender worth the money? It lasts forever, it is a fast lane to healthy eating and it will make you cook better. If you are too lazy to read further, the Vitamix is the only blender you need. Why?

Lasts Forever

A high quality blender will last decades, that’s years of use so at a price point of even $300-600 using it every day will begin costing cents every day very quick.  Compare this to something like a Kitchen-aid Mixer which unless you are a baker you’ll rarely use and it will take up a tonne of space. 

Note: If you want to get into baking a kitchen-aid mixer is worth it. Get this one.

Healthy Cooking

A blender that makes everything perfectly smooth like a vitamix or blendtec makes eating healthy so simple. Just throw handfuls of spinach and kale in with a banana, nut milk and peanut butter and it will taste like banana. You can easily blend vegetables that are too annoying to prepare on their own (or don’t taste good) but with your smoothie and hit your daily greens quota. You know those expensive $10 smoothies? You start making those at home and the blender pays for itself fast.

It Will Make You Cook Better (And Make Good Cocktails),

Whether it’s to purée a soup, make pesto or whip cream a blender makes better food come out of your kitchen. Non-Chunky margaritas and delicious frozen Gin & Tonics are at your fingertips because a good blender for cocktails is a game changer.

What cookware do i really need?

1 Good Pan And 1 Good Pot.

Many people will try and sell you a whole set of pots and pans. Start with a good non-stick, a good deep skillet or cast iron and a good heavy bottom sauce pot.

That Dutch oven? You can use the soup pot. Eggs every morning? Use the non-stick or skillet. That Rice Cooker? Use the pot. That Breakfast Skillet? Use your pan. 

If you want to avoid clutter. You want to avoid buying stuff that is one dimensional. Like Rice cookers, breakfast skillets, slow-cookers. Simple pots and pans and a bit of technique will do the trick.

Is an Espresso Machine worth it? 

Short answer, for coffee drinkers, yes.

The math on this is pretty simple.  If you crank out $5 coffees every morning you can payoff for a coffee machine very quick if you make coffee at home toe save.  We recommend this one.

Bonus: Kitchen Minimalist Kitchen Starter Pack:

Cheap Plastic Handle Chefs Knife (Winco or Victorinox makes a good one)

Metal Whisk

Silicone Spatula

Metal bowl

Frying Pan

Heavy Bottom Sauce Pot

Can Opener

Almost nothing else matters. It’s all just extra stuff.  Think 80/20 kitchen or the Pareto Principle in cooking tools form (80% of the use will come from 20% or items).