Below you will see all of the cooking equipment we use to make the recipes on this website. We tried many different brands over the years and those are, currently, our top choices. Note: We don't have any affiliations with, or profit from, any of the brands we mention here. 

Chopping & Cutting

We use two chopping boards. We use the larger one for all-purpose cutting and chopping and a small one for things that can stain or pass on the odor, like garlic and turmeric. We use 3 knife types: a chef knife for almost everything, a carving knife for things like garlic, fresh ginger etc, and a bread knife - for cutting all types of bread and pizza.

Mixing & Turning

We use two types of whisks: a medium whisk for large quantities of food and a small one for when we are working with small saucepans. We use a stainless steel spatula for when we need extra edge to scrape or flip things over and we use a silicone spatula for mixing and tossing. A silicone spatula is also great for getting all the sauce when transferring food from non-stick pans to plates. We use a black nylon ladle for pouring soups - it’s just easier to keep clean.

1. Mini Whisk,  18 cm ~ 7 inch  |  Oxo Good Grips
2. Whisk,  23 cm ~ 9 inch  |  Oxo Good Grips
3. Stainless Steel Spatula, 32 cm ~ 13 inch  |  Oxo Good Grips
4. Nylon Ladle, 28 cm ~11 inch  | Eva Trio
5. Silicone Spatula, 29 cm ~ 9 inch  |  U-Taste

Tools For Sauces & Dressings:

We make lots of sauces and dressings here at DAREBEETS and the best tool for making these is an electric mini milk frother or a mini whisk - we have and use both. You will also need a small jar with a lid.  Add the ingredients to the jar and use the whisk or the frother to whisk everything together until smooth. If you have any sauce or dressing leftover just close the lid and store extras in the fridge. Once you are done, add a bit of dishwashing liquid  and water to the jar, close the lid and shake. Rinse and you are done. It's easy to use, easy to clean and store and this method produces the best results. 

Grating & Peeling

We use two types of graters: a large one and a small one. They are flat so they are easy to clean and store. We use a Y-shaped peeler for peeling everything - you only need one. And of course, we have a classic garlic press. We tried many different types of garlic grinders and choppers but in the end, the classic one is the best. It does the job and it’s the easiest one to clean afterwards. Anything else is more trouble than it’s worth. 

1. Very Coarse Grater  |  Microplane
2. Coarse Grater  |  Microplane
3. Garlic Press  |  OXO Good Grips
4. Y-shaped Peeler   |  OXO Good Grips

Rinsing & Juicing

We have two types of sieves: a large one and a tiny one. We use the large one to rinse rice, quinoa, lentils etc. We use the tiny sieve for smaller jobs. When we need to squeeze just a tablespoon of juice out of a lemon and we don’t want any seeds falling into the food, it’s our go to. When we need large quantities of lemon or orange juice, we use a manual juice press you see below. 

Salad Spinner

Always wash your greens, even if they come washed and pre-chopped. Scratch that, never buy pre-cut! Cut greens start breeding bacteria at an accelerated rate. Always buy your greens whole and do your own washing and chopping. A salad spinner is an invaluable tool to not just wash your greens and keep them safe for consumption, it can also be used for storage. We wash our greens, dry them using the spinner and then keep them inside the spinner in the fridge (top shelf). IKEA sells one but we prefer OXO Good Grips with a push-button (see below).

The moment you bring your greens home, add them to the spinner basket, generously drizzle with vinegar (any type) and cover with water. Let them soak for 10 minutes, drain and dry. This will a) rehydrate them b) kill all of the bacteria that grew on them so far. Greens will last much longer in your fridge this way.

Peppermill & Oil Spray

A freshly ground pepper is completely different from the pepper that you buy already ground. It adds aroma and a greater visual appeal. How food smells and looks is just as important for our digestion as how it tastes. So we highly recommend that you invest in a pepper mill. Save your wrists, though, and get an electric one that uses AA batteries, see below.

Another invaluable piece of equipment is a refillable oil spray bottle. It doesn’t just better control the oil quantity that you use but it also evenly distributes it when you roast vegetables. You don’t need to drown your food in oil for it to taste great, it just needs to be better distributed. Make sure you buy one with a glass container, not plastic. 

Measuring

We use two types of measuring equipment: kitchen scales for precision and cups and spoons for when precision is not a requirement. Always buy scales with USB charger or AAA batteries. Old-style batteries are a nightmare to replace and the scales tend to run out of charge in the most inopportune moments. Kitchen scales are a must in any kitchen especially if you do a lot of baking. 

We use black plastic measuring cups because they are easy to keep clean. The measuring spoons we have are stainless steel and are magnetic so they are easy to keep all together and store. They have clear labels and are double sided for those small spice jars. 

Pots & Pans

Here is the list of all the pots we have: 

Stainless Steel Pots:
small-size saucepan (18 cm ~ 7 inch)
medium-size saucepan (20 cm ~ 8 inch)
large-size saucepan (22 cm ~ 9 inch)
wide cooking pot (28 cm ~ 11 inch)

Three saucepans we have are nested to save space. They have a detachable handle. We use these saucepans as mixing bowls as well. They are extremely handy when you mix something and then you need to heat it up. The large pot we use primarily for boiling food and making pasta and spaghetti dishes.

Cast Iron Pots:

medium-size cooking pot (20 cm ~ 8 inch)
large-size cooking pot (26 cm ~ 10 inch)

We use two types of cast iron pots. When we recommend using a cast iron pot at DAREBEETS, we usually use the medium-sized one. We use it primarily for cooking grains and making curries. It’s the best pot to use for cooking rice, lentils and quinoa. We use the large cast iron pot for larger portions especially if we need to saute high volumes of vegetables like cabbage or butternut squash. 

Pans:

We use two types of pans: stainless steel non-stick frying pan with ceramic coating and a cast iron pan:

1. Stainless Steel, Ceramic Coating, Non-Stick (28 cm ~ 11 inch)
2. Cast Iron (26 cm ~ 10 inch)

We use a non-stick frying pan for pretty much all types of frying especially with food that burns and stick easily e.g., pancakes, tofu and mushrooms. To make sure the non-stick coating lasts, we only use a silicone spatula to stir or flip anything in it. 

We use the cast iron pan for baking and oven roasting the same way you would use a casserole dish. 

Baking

We do a lot of baking at DAREBEETS. Here are the baking forms we use:

1. Tart Form with removable bottom | 20 cm ~ 8 inch | Master Class
2. Cake Spring Form | 15 cm ~ 6 inch | Master Class
3. Silicone Cupcake Tray | 6 portions |  24 x 16 cm ~ 9 x 6 inch | Selecto Bake
4. Carbon Steel Cupcake Tray | 6 portions | 27 x 18 cm ~ 10 x 7 inch | Master Class
5. Baking Loaf Form | 21 x 11 cm ~ 8 x 4 inch | Master Class

We tried to pick the most popular bakeware sizes for our baking forms and tins that you are most likely to already own. We also kept in mind food portions sizes since we often cook with smaller quantities enough for 2-4 people. We use a smaller tin for cakes since cakes are harder to keep fresh and making smaller cakes is generally a wiser move. If you are making tarts often enough, we recommend getting a tin with a removable bottom. You can just lift the tart out after baking and it’ll look perfect.

We have one large tart mold (20 cm ~ 8 inch) and 4 mini molds (12 cm ~ 5 inch). You can use either in the recipes. 

We have two types of cupcake trays. One is made from silicone and we use it for no-bake recipes. And the other one is made from carbon steel and we use it for primarily baking muffins. We use the cupcake tray to make muffins. This way we can have smaller portions and bake in half the time. 

We use a small plastic rolling pin for all our rolling needs - we found that it’s enough for the quantities we are working with and it’s much easier to clean and store. If you are working with yeast type dough on a regular basis, a plastic dough scraper can help a lot during the kneading process. And a small silicone brush is a must for burger buns and cookies that need glaze. These are small but are often invaluable tools to have. We also have a selection of cookie cutters and piping nozzles for when we are being fancy. 

Blender

We use a small extraction blender for almost all our blending needs. It’s small enough to store, it’s powerful and it’s much easier to clean than a standard full size blender. We use two blender cups on a regular basis: 400 ml and 800 ml. The first one came with a blender, the second one we ordered separately (it doesn’t come with the blender but it is made for it). It’s the best type of blender for sauces. The best brands for this type of blender are NutriBullet and Ninja. We own a Ninja (see below). P.S. you can get a cord bundler for it online like we did (see below). 

Mini Food Processor

When we need food to still have texture, we use a mini food processor (aka mini chopper). They are extremely popular and are quite affordable to get. They don’t do a great job blending sauces but will make good brownies, falafel and any type of veggie bites. A mini food processor chops and grinds but if you need to blend something, see the blender above. It’s good to have both for different dishes.

Grinder

Technically, it’s a coffee grinder but we don’t actually use it to grind coffee. It’s absolutely perfect for grinding spices and making nut-based parmesan. You can get one for about $15-20 and it’s worth its weight in gold if you like cheesy toppings. Ours is from Bosch, stainless steel 2-blade model. 

Immersion Blender

When you are working with hot liquids and large quantities of food, an immersion blender is also a handy tool to have. You never put hot soup in a blender! It’ll blow up or crack your blender whereas an immersion blender is safe. It also gives you a lot of control over how much something is blended. It’s perfect for soups and vegetable mashes. It’s also small enough to store in a small kitchen and it’s easier to clean than a full-size blender.

Pressure Cooker

A pressure cooker is not necessary to make recipes from this website but it does make your life a lot easier. We use it for all of our soups (it also keeps them warm!), for cooking beans and steaming vegetables. We have a steaming basket that we bought separately and we often use it to steam sweet potatoes. 

Other Optional Equipment 

We don’t have a full size stove top so we use a single induction stove that can be stored away. We use it for boiling and frying food. Ours is from IKEA.

Another optional piece of equipment we use is an air-fryer with a paddle. It’s perfect for making tofu bites and mushrooms. In our experience, it’s the easiest method for cooking both that produces the best results. 

Consumables

To make cooking, cleanup and food storage easier, we always have baking paper, cling film and food-grade disposable gloves on hand. We buy two rolls of baking paper so we are never out. Once one roll runs out, we buy another one. We often double-line out baking trays. It helps with any extra juices from soaking through during roasting and cut down on tray cleaning. Anyone who ever cleaned an oven tray understands. Disposable gloves help with mixing, tossing and food transfer (primarily for hygiene reasons)  especially if you are working with something oily. For example, use gloves when you need to evenly coat vegetables in oil before roasting. 

Misc

We have several pot pads made from fabric and silicone, and a couple of silicone pads for handling hot oven trays. Kitchen gloves are great, but if speed is a priority for you, silicone pads are faster to grab.