Best Of: Cooking Tools for Kids | Part 1

When kids are part of the cooking process, they may be more likely to try new foods.

The best way to enhance the experience for young chefs is to have cooking tools and equipment that are comfortable and safe for them to use, with supervision, of course.

Here are some of our top kid-friendly kitchen tools for cooking with kids:

Curious Chef Nylon Knives  These Curious Chef knives have been our go-to since we opened in 2012.  They are a great beginner knife for young kids interested in helping out in the kitchen.  These kid-safe, serrated-edge knives are great for chopping through soft fruits, veggies, lettuce and more.  They come in 3 different sizes - small, medium and large. In the studio, we teach the “bear claw” method to keep kids fingers safe (although they cannot cut through skin) and we teach the “tunnel” and “saw” techniques for cutting through tougher produce like apples, carrots and potatoes. We also love the Curious Chef pizza cutter, pastry wheel, silicone pastry brush and hand mixer. Runner up: Playful Chef: Safety Knife Set

The Smabit Knife from Ikea  We use these with our kid chefs who have graduated from the Curious Chef knives.  Designed especially for safer and easier use for children, so that the whole family can help out in the kitchen.  The knife has a rounded tip to avoid injuries and a steady and secure grip, thanks to the rounded edge at the end of the handle that prevents your fingers from slipping underneath the blade when using.  Bonus: the knife also comes packaged with a vegetable peeler, it’s one of our favorites! We also love this kid-friendly knife from Opinel and this set from TruChef Kitchen

KitchenAid 3.5 Cup Food Chopper  Why we love it:  It’s great for creating all types of sauces, purees, dressing, even banana ice cream!  And it’s lightweight, small and easy to clean.

Zoie & Chloe Silicone Rolling Pins  Why we love it:  it’s not only good for rolling out all kinds of dough, which kids love to help with, but great to keep the kids busy in the kitchen helping you smash up pretzels for pretzel crusted chicken, graham crackers for a nice cream topping, crushing up nuts for banana-walnut pancakes and more.  Because it’s silicone its non-stick and dishwasher safe.

Curious Chef Hand Mixer Why we love it: we just recently discovered this new tool here in our kitchen, our teachers and students love it!  It’s the perfect size for small hands to help with mixing up batters, dressings, homemade whipped cream, whipping eggs and more.  Plus it’s hand-powered, so totally cord-free (no electricity needed)!

Oxo Salad Spinner Why we love it: throw some rinsed greens and/or herbs in the salad spinner and let your kid spin away, they love to watch it go round and round and it will keep them busy while you prepare the rest of the meal.

Yoobi Blunt Tip Scissors  Why we love it: a kid-sized pair of scissors in the kitchen can help kids with many kitchen tasks like cutting up herbs, scallions, tender greens, lettuces, string beans, seaweed and more.  Be sure to dedicate a pair of scissors for kitchen use only and hand wash and dry immediately after use. Always supervise kids when using scissors. Bonus: for every Yoobi item purchased they donate to a classroom in need.

Joie Wavy Cutter Why we love it: this handheld crinkle/wavy cutter is perfect for small hands and the corrugated blade leaves a fun wavy pattern on everything you cut.  Totally makes eating potatoes, carrots, cucumbers, zucchini, apples, etc. way more fun!

Crate & Barrel Flour Sifter Why we love it: this nostalgic looking flour sifter gives kids a fun way to measure and mix dry baking ingredients.  It’s lightweight and fun to use in partner baking activities

Note about kitchen safety: children should always be supervised by a grown up when using any tools in the kitchen.

What would you add? What are the kitchen tools your family swears by?

P.S. Other kitchen tools we love and A few of our favorite pizza cookbooks for kids.