The 10 Best Kitchen Gifts They Won’t Regift

Sometimes, you get a gift so functional and beautiful that it stays with you through every life transition, from one home to another, and even across generations. As gearheads who spend every day testing kitchen equipment, from air fryers to toaster ovens, we have a few opinions on kitchen gifts that won’t just wow your loved one, but serve them well through years of use. Whether you want to get a family member their first Le Creuset Dutch oven or a super sharp and stunning utility knife they’ll use every day, we’ve rounded up some of the best kitchen gifts we could think of that will last a long time and be a pleasure to use.

Best Kitchen Gifts They Won’t Regift

Le Creuset 5.5-Quart Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven

We’re believers that a Dutch oven deserves a place in every kitchen, and Le Creuset makes one of the best ones. Le Creuset’s 5.5-quart enameled cast iron Dutch oven sears meats to a golden brown just as easily as it can gently cook stews and braises. It truly is the gift that keeps on giving, and it’s $110 off right now.

Lodge 10-Inch Cast Iron Skillet

For only $20, you could give the gift of cast iron, and what’s better than that? This Lodge cast iron skillet has been our favorite for years thanks to how well it heats up and evenly cooks foods. For everything from cornbread to fried eggs, the Lodge skillet is a piece of cookware that will last through the decades.

Breville Smart Oven Pro Toaster Oven

I’ve seen many Breville toaster ovens that have been unwrapped with pure glee and  gone on to feature prominently on people’s counters for years. We’ve found that this appliance churns out evenly browned toast, sizzling grilled cheeses, piping hot reheated pizza, and more. This is the kind of gift that goes on to be an integral part of anyone’s kitchen.

Yeti Hopper Flip 18 Soft Cooler

For the adventurous person in your life, our favorite cooler, the Yeti Hopper Flip 18, will be a welcome gift. It has incredible cold retention and is comfortable to carry. During our tests, it kept contents cool for up to 40 hours and survived a push out of the back of a car.

New West Knifeworks 6-Inch Petty Knife

Every kitchen needs a conversation-starter knife. This six-inch petty knife from New West Knifeworks fits the bill perfectly with its colorful wooden handle—available in nine shades—that is visually striking and comfortable to hold. The blade is also something to write home about, as it’s incredibly sharp and agile, making quick work of chopping onions and cutting cauliflower florets.

Le Creuset Stoneware Pasta Bowls Set

Versatile and practical, pasta bowls make for thoughtful gifts that your loved one will reach for daily. These shallow bowls are ideal for serving salad, rice, soup, pasta, and more. Our favorite, the Le Creuset pasta bowl set, comes in a variety of colorful glazes and is even on sale for 20% off. The bowls keep foods warm and contained thanks to their gently sloped walls, which also make it easy to pick up spaghetti or fried rice.

Hestan Nanobond Titanium Skillet

Coined the “frying pan from the future” in our stainless steel skillet review, this pan is coated in nano layers of titanium molecules that help it heat up quickly to cook and brown foods with ease. It’s a beautiful pan that we enjoyed using to sear pork chops and fry eggs, and while it’s at a steep price for a stainless steel pan, it may be worth the splurge for a holiday gift if you have a particularly design-minded cook in your life.

ThermoWorks ThermaPen ONE

With lightning fast readings and an easy-to-adjust probe, the Thermapen ONE is the best instant-read thermometer we’ve ever tested. It also has a 360-degree auto-rotating screen so you can get an accurate temperature reading from any angle. My own Thermapen ONE was a holiday gift years ago and it’s one of my most-used kitchen tools.

Bernal Cutlery Hinoki Cutting Board with Stand

If you know someone whose kitchen knife collection is their pride and joy, you can help them keep their blades sharp with this wooden cutting board that’s made of hinoki wood. The soft cypress wood is gentle on knife edges and the natural oils in the wood help resist odors. As someone who’s been testing this cutting board for months, I can vouch that it’s easy on blades and I especially like the built-in stand that slides out to keep the board upright to dry after washing.

Tatung Electric Rice Cooker and Steamer

If a rice cooker could feel like an heirloom, it would be this one. The pea green Tatung rice cooker from Yun Hai isn’t just a nostalgic machine that happens to make incredibly fluffy rice; it’s a cornerstone of Taiwanese cooking and can steam vegetables, braise meat, and, yes, steam tender breads and cakes. It can even be used to gently reheat leftovers.

Why We’re the Experts

• An Uong is a commerce writer for Serious Eats and Food & Wine.
• An has been testing kitchen equipment for Serious Eats for two years and loves to give kitchen gear during the holidays.