Essential Cookware & Appliances for a Vegan Kitchen

When it comes to vegan cooking, the right kitchenware opens up all sorts of possibilities. Here are the most useful pieces of cookware for a vegan kitchen.

Small Appliances

Instant Pot

When you are pressed for time, an Instant Pot can be a game-changer. Instant Pots are basically a pressure cooker combined with a digital controller. Not only can you cook beans in no time, Instant Pots are also excellent for cooking rice, steaming vegetables, making soup, reheating foods, and even making vegan yogurt! Buy a three-quart model for small families or a six-quart to eight-quart model for large ones.

Several excellent vegan cookbooks are devoted entirely to Instant Pot recipes. Check out Nisha Vora’s The Vegan Instant Pot Cookbook and Kathy Hester’s The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook for Your Instant Pot.

Slot Toasters

Many sandwiches (really all of them) are better when you toast the bread. And to do the job right, you want a slot toaster. Both cheap and expensive slot toasters will do a great job, so only go upscale if you really want something that looks fancy. Buy a four-slot toaster if you often make sandwiches for two or more people. Here’s Amazon’s assortment of slot toasters.

Blenders

A blender is one of the cheapest and most versatile kitchen devices. They’re worth getting just for making fruit smoothies. Hamilton Beach makes a good cheap unit with a glass jar.

Blendtec Blenders (Very pricey but highly recommended.)

A Blendtec may look like a regular blender, but its motor is several times more powerful. So not only will it blend your food faster and more completely, it can do all sorts of things a regular blender can’t. For instance, it can liquefy vegetables and herbs into a delicious soup, while gently warming it thanks to the substantial friction its blades generate. It can also process thick sauces and nut cheeses that would choke up a regular blender. If you’re wondering whether a Blendtec is powerful enough to process a given food, the answer is always yes. Sure, they may cost more than all your other kitchen appliances combined, but for many Blendtec owners their only regret is not buying one years sooner.

Blendtec models range from expensive to super expensive. Their least expensive models are quite capable, so buy one of those unless you have money to burn. Try to get one that comes with a Wildside jar, as those use a newer design.

Food Processors

Food processors can do so much that I’ve created a page all about them. They’re the quickest way to shred, chop, or grate any sort of food. A staggering number of models are available, but it’s hard to go wrong with this full-featured KitchenAid unit.

Toaster Ovens

Despite their name, toaster ovens are lousy at making toast (use a slot toaster instead, since they toast both sides of the bread). That caveat aside, toaster ovens are perfect for baking small meals for one, especially frozen foods. Their small size means they’ll heat up much more quickly than a regular oven while using only a fraction of the energy. If you’re baking a handful of tater tots or a single-serving frozen pizza, it’s wasteful to heat up a conventional kitchen oven. Here is Amazon’s assortment of toaster oven models.

Rice Cookers

In Asia, most middle and upper class families own a rice cooker. The current generation of upscale fuzzy-logic rice cookers does a perfect job cooking rice. This is a major convenience when cooking, since it gives you one less thing to keep track of when cooking a meal. Avoid super cheap rice cookers that are merely repurposed vegetable steamers, since they deliver poor results and won’t add much in the way of convenience. Here’s an excellent and inexpensive full-featured rice cooker.

Microwave Ovens

A microwave oven is often the best way to reheat food, and they can be indispensable for frozen dinners. Make sure you buy one equipped with a built-in carousel, since they provide more even heating. Here’s Amazon’s selection of microwaves. You might as well pick up a splatter cover while you’re at it.

If you have the money to spare, I recommend paying more for a Panasonic microwave that features “inverter technology.” This style of microwave heats food much more evenly, which eliminates those dreaded cold spots in a hot dish.

This delightful fifteen minute video makes a powerful case that a 1997 Sharp model was the best microwave ever made. Watch it and you’ll learn a great deal about all the ways you can put your microwave to use, no matter which model you ultimately purchase.

Air Fryers

Air fryers offer a remarkably healthful way to prepare vegetables in a manner that still tastes indulgent. If you love fried foods like French fries or tempura, an air fryer will deliver that same delightful crunch with a fraction of the cooking oil. Here’s a small and inexpensive but highly-rated unit. And here’s a fancy, digital model that’s large enough to feed a family.

Mixers

Serious chefs couldn’t live without a mixer. The classic stand mixer is made by KitchenAid. For lesser mixing needs you may get by with a hand mixer, blender, food processor, or cheap immersion blender (mixing stick). Immersion blenders are one of the handiest appliances you can own, since they can be whipped out at any moment for tasks like blending soups, sauces, and baby food.

Bread Machines

You can have freshly-baked bread anytime you want, without having to knead dough, heat up an oven, or clean up a sticky mess. If your household is just one or two people, choose a model that makes one pound loaves. Amazon.com offers a fantastic assortment of bread machines.

Electric Grills

An indoor electric grill offers one of the most delicious ways to cook vegetables. Vegans should opt for a large model since veggies shrink down substantially when grilled. Make sure the model you buy has removable plates for easy cleaning. These foldable grills are also great for use as a panini press. The Cuisinart GR-4N is a superb choice, but George Foreman grills are also excellent and much cheaper.

Juicers

For most home users, a low-speed masticating juicer is the way to go. They make a much higher grade of juice than cheaper centrifugal models. When making juice, for your health’s sake stick with vegetable juice, minimize carrots, and include some greens. Fruit juice and carrot juice will spike your blood sugar levels, since both are full of sugar and have had their fiber removed.

Knives & Cutlery

You only need three knives: a chef’s knife, a paring knife, and a bread knife (which, despite its name, is also ideal for slicing tomatoes). While this guide is dedicated to getting you excellent stuff at low cost, kitchen knives are the one category where you just can’t cut corners.

I highly recommend either buying this Victorinox 5-piece knife set with Fibrox handles, or ordering each of the following knives:

10 inch Fibrox chef’s knife (Victorinox)
4 inch paring knife (Victorinox)
10.25 inch bread knife (Victorinox)

Vegan Cookware & Bakeware

Let’s now review the essential cookware required for a well-equipped vegan kitchen. The items recommended below will enable you to make an incredible assortment of vegan dishes.

Saucepans

You’ll use these for heating up sauces, cooking rice, and for heating up cans of soup or beans. A stainless steel saucepan with a glass lid is a terrific choice. This stainless steel one-quart Cuisinart with a glass lid is one you’ll use all the time. Also pick up this Cook N Home two-quart model if you want a greater range of options. Both of these pans will work on induction stovetops.

Skillets

It makes sense to avoid Teflon pans for a number of reasons, but you’ll still appreciate nonstick properties in a skillet. So a skillet with a ceramic surface is a great compromise. It may not be as slick as Teflon but it’s far more durable while avoiding the danger of off-gassing if overheated. Teflon will inevitably scratch or crack, and when it does it’ll contaminate your meals with microplastic particles.

Since skillets typically receive heavy use, it’s worth spending a bit extra to get a good one. This Stone Fry Pan from Mueller is the perfect choice. It’s compatible with induction stovetops.

Many recipes don’t benefit from nonstick cookware, since they include plenty of oil. In these cases, I love to break out a stainless steel pan. Models featuring an aluminum core give you good heat distribution without the worry of aluminum touching your food. Copper core skillets are even better, but more costly. This large Pennsylvania-made All-Clad skillet is pricey but it’s a superb long-term investment, and it carries a lifetime warranty. Even if you use it every day, it will still look great in twenty years.

Woks

Stir-frying is one of the most healthful and delicious ways to prepare vegetables. If you’re going to stir-fry often, you should own a wok, since it delivers better results than a skillet. There’s no need to choose a nonstick surface here, since the oil in your stir-fry will be sufficient to prevent sticking. You’ll love this 13-inch wok with a stainless steel lid. It’s durable, beautiful, and easy to keep sparkling clean. And, like the other pans featured here, it works on induction stove-tops.

Bakeware & Casserole Dishes

You’ll want at least one oblong glass dish for making lasagna. Stoneware casserole dishes with lids are also useful, especially if they inspire you to make baked macaroni with vegan cheese more often.

Baking Sheets

Needed for cookies, pastries, roasted vegetables and a hundred other uses. A heavy-duty aluminum model is a good choice, since it’s strong, even-heating, and lightweight. To keep your baking sheets clean, and to keep your food from contacting aluminum, either use parchment paper or pick up a nonstick silicone baking mat.

Other Essential Kitchenware

Cutting Boards

Every kitchen needs a mid-size bamboo cutting board. Bamboo grows quickly, so its environmental footprint is minimal—plus, it’ll spare you the microplastics that a plastic cutting board can create. For chopping onions and garlic, a polypropylene cutting board is perfect since it won’t absorb odors. Thirteen Chefs makes an affordable plastic cutting board.

Mixing Bowls

Mixing bowls are indispensable for all sorts of recipes. Premium plastic bowls will do the job perfectly. Stainless steel bowls cost more but look nicer. Pyrex mixing bowls are heavy, can shatter, and make no sense at all.

Coffee, Tea, & Espresso

A fancy espresso machine and a high-end coffee grinder can set you back over $1000. But you can make excellent coffee on the cheap. Get an inexpensive burr grinder (or a fancier model if your budget permits). If this keeps you from buying coffeehouse coffee every day, you’ll recoup your investment within weeks. Under no circumstances should you buy a cheap blade grinder though, since the uneven grind makes terrible coffee.

An Aeropress is the cheapest way to brew superb coffee, with the results comparable to what an espresso machine can deliver.

A French press makes good tea, or strong and bitter coffee. Buy a small-capacity one if you’re making coffee or tea just for yourself.

Food Storage Containers

These come in glass or plastic. Useful both for leftovers, for making salads in advance, and for bringing food to work or school. They can also keep foods like pretzels, potato chips, and nuts fresh after you’ve opened the bag.

You can also save some money by soaking the labels off of salsa jars and using them to store soups, hummus, and leftovers.