These Kitchen Tools For Kids are perfect for introducing children to the kitchen. Let them get creative, have fun and develop healthy eating habits from a young age!
*Originally published 11/2017. Updated 6/2021*
Hi friends!
Today I’m sharing my favorite kids cooking utensils! As most of you know, spending time in the kitchen with my kids is one of my favorite things to do. I started bringing both my kids into the kitchen with me at a very young age. They were both up on their learning tower helping me from about 14 months on.
Lots of you ask me what tools I use in the kitchen with my kids so I thought I’d put together a guide with some kids cooking tools that are nice to have on hand for your little helpers! Some of these are brands I love while others are just general ideas and many brands make similar products.
Teaching Kids to Cook
Once you have the tools, the next step is checking out my Ultimate Guide to Teaching Kids to Cook! I have a huge list of kitchen tasks for toddlers, everything from dumping and stirring to using the salad spinner! Don’t underestimate how much kids can do in the kitchen from a young age. Every chance to practice builds their confidence and soon they’ll be cooking full meals like my six-year-old does!
What To Bake With Kids
If you’re not sure what to make, I’ve got you covered there too! Here are some of my favorite Kid-Friendly Baking Recipes. Most of them use a food processor which is easy for kids to use and they’re all healthy muffins and bars that will help your kids make nutritious snacks they love!
Kids Cooking Tools
All of the links in this post are Amazon affiliate links. That means if you choose to purchase something by clicking my link, I get to keep a small portion of the sale at no additional cost to you. Thanks for supporting The Lean Green Bean!
Learning Tower
Once kids can stand comfortably for a while, a learning tower is great to have! They can stand right at the counter to help but are a bit more secure than being on just a chair or barstool. Just watch the younger ones closely though because if they sit or fall down they can definitely fall out through the sides or back. You can buy add-ons as well. We bought the easel to add to the back of ours. It not only makes the back solid, it also adds a magnetic dry erase board and a felt board. Little Partners also makes activity boards for the back!
- Little Partners Learning Tower
- Learning Tower Easel
- Explore and Store Learning Tower (smaller option)
Knives
I get asked all the time about what knives my kids use. We have used three different types and liked all of them. I start all my kids with Curious Chef. Next, we moved to the smaller serrated ones. I love Foost. It’s basically like a pumpkin carving knife and is smaller and I think it’s easier for them to handle as they start to cut firmer fruits and vegetables. The last one we use is Opinel. It’s basically a real chef knife but the right size for kid hands. Around this same time, I also started letting my oldest use paring knives and some of our normal kitchen knives.
Kitchen Gift Set
If they’re really excited about cooking and you’re looking to get several tools all at once, a gift set might be a great solution.
Peeler
My son started out using a regular peeler and never had any issues but some people like the palm peeler better because it fits better in little hands. It’s up to you!
Measuring Cups
There are lots of fun sets out there, stainless steel or plastic, at a variety of price points but my kids have always enjoyed having their own measuring cups and spoons! Fun colors are an added bonus.
Cookie Scoop
Definitely one of our most used tools. Cookie baking is a great way to introduce kids to the kitchen. This tool also helps them work on their coordination and grip strength. You can also use it to scoop batter into muffin tins.
Mixing Bowls with Non-Slip Base
Having bowls with a non-slip bottom is crucial! This set actually has accompanying lids which is nice because some kitchen projects may need to get put on hold for tantrums, naps, etc. I actually prefer a glass mixing bowl but it took me a while to work up the courage to trust my kids with my favorite. However once they’re a little older, a glass mixing bowl with a handle it my favorite!
Mixing Utensils
Things like stirring, whisking and brushing are perfect beginner kitchen tasks.
Spiralizer
A spiralizer is a fun way to get kids exciting about veggies! Let them pick the veggie and choose what thickness to cut them. The Inspiralzer brand is my favorite because it suctions really well to the counter so the kiddos can focus on spinning the handle. However I don’t think it’s being made anymore so you could try this OXO one!
Grater
These are fairly sharp so watch kids closely when using them. Ones like this with a built-in box can help minimize the mess. It also has non-slip feet which is nice!
Small Non-Slip Cutting Board
Are you sensing a theme here with the non-slip idea? Get them their own small cutting board so they can chop right alongside you!
Veggie Scrubber
Another great tool for simple kitchen task that even young toddlers can handle!
Salad Spinner
Making salads is a great task for kids. They can tear the lettuce, spin it dry, and peel and chop some veggies all by themselves
Cookie Cutters
Cookie cutters make baking more fun and are good to have on hand for rainy days, holiday baking, etc!
Salad dressing shaker
If you like to make your own sauces or dressings, these are handy to have! Let the kids help add all the ingredients and then have fun shaking them up!
Ziploc Bag Holder
If you make freezer meals, especially chop and dump style meals to stock your freezer for the slow cooker, these are handy. They hold a ziploc bag upright and open so kids can help add stuff to the bag.
Silpat
These are great for baking but can also be great to use on the counter when rolling out various doughs, kneading bread dough etc.
Mini Rolling Pin
Full-size rolling pins can be tough for kids to manage. Get them a mini one and give them their own section of dough to work with.
Crinkle Cutter
Anything to make veggies more fun! Let kids cut veggies like potatoes, zucchini, cucumbers and carrots into fun crinkle strips.
Silicone Muffin Tins
I also love these silicone muffin tins for easy, no-stick baking!
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That’s all for now! I’m sure there are some things I forgot.
Any of these would make a great gift! Want more gift ideas? Check out my Gift Guide for Toddlers (Ages 1-3).
Let’s chat!
Do you cook with your kids? What are your favorite tools?
Enjoy!
–Lindsay–
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I love all of these ideas !!! Such great ones. Annabelle loves helping me in the kitchen! She always says “stool, stool” when she sees me doing anything.
haha squish says “my help? my help?”
Thank you Thank you! Love this! My guy has been loving being in the kitchen!
This is great! Thanks Lindsay! I have been having a my 19mo help me in the kitchen and it’s amazing what he can already do! I also teach cooking classes to young kids and love the Chef’n kid safe garlic mincer. It looks like a car so they love using it
awesome! i’ll check it out!
Love these tools! They all look kid-friendly and fun to use.