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In our house, we have had an interesting perspective shift when it comes to kitchen gadgets and appliances. Alex has always loved cooking and her skill far surpasses mine at her age. As a result, she has always had a thing for ALL the kitchen gadgets. I would try to resist the urge to acquire all the fancy gadgets. I didn’t like spending the money if I thought we could make do with what we had. We also didn’t like the bulging kitchen drawers and cupboards that come with the endless collection of gadgets. Then Alex began her study of minimalism and Hallelujah! We had a meeting of the minds! She still likes kitchen appliances, but now she thoughtfully researches each one and lobbies for the items that actually reduce clutter by performing multiple tasks. I can get behind this. She has made some incredible minimalist finds and they are truly some of my favorite appliances now too. So without further ado, here is our list of Top 5 favorite appliances for minimalists!
Please know that we own each of these products we recommend. As food bloggers and meal preppers, I can say they get a ton of use. We recommend them because they work well for us, stand the test of time and heavy use, and improve our efficiency in the kitchen. As you can tell from the pictures we use these appliances on a daily basis, so please excuse the well loved appearance of our appliances!
Top 5 Favorite Appliances for Minimalists
Black & Decker Combo Toaster Oven and Air Fryer.
We chose this appliance when we had to replace our air fryer. Our old airfryer had limited capacity and when we needed to replace it, a priority was finding one that could make larger batches in one go. We used to have an air fryer and a toaster. We wanted a toaster oven too but couldn’t justify the space or the expense.
Now we have all three in one appliance. We use this appliance many times in the course of a day. It’s used as a toaster to make avocado egg toast in the morning. We make homemade air fryer french fries or sweet potato fries. We use it to warm leftovers, like reheating meal prep burritos, pancakes or waffles. It’s also used as extra oven space when cooking big family holiday meals.
We researched all of the models. This one was both well reviewed and economically priced. We have not been disappointed. Gone are the days of cooking multiple batches of fries!
Ninja Blender Professional 1100W.
We used to have a full size blender, a Magic Bullet mini blender, and a food processor. We kept buying cheap full size kitchen blenders and burning them out. Eventually we burned out a food processor too making homemade granola bars. It couldn’t handle processing the dates into the paste we needed. We also went through several Magic Bullets. We used these daily for after workout protein shakes. I liked having the smaller blender for ease of clean up and preferred not having to haul the full size one out all the time. But it couldn’t stand up to the frequency of use.
Finally, we clued in and invested in a Ninja Professional Blender. It has stood up to years of daily use. The full size blender attachment makes the date paste for granola bars with ease. We use it like a food processor to make things like hummus. It comes out just as smooth as it did in the processor. We make margaritas in it. It crushes ice quickly and efficiently. It has a second small attachment to make smoothies and comes with two cups and two lids.
I really appreciate that I can make my smoothie in the morning, pop the lid on and head to the gym. When I get home, I throw the cup and lid in the dishwasher. I love how easy it makes my life!
Again, we reviewed all the high end pro blenders. This one does it all and has held up well. It’s also more reasonably priced than many other pro blenders.
Instant Pot.
We had wanted one of these for years. There were so many fun recipes we wanted to try on Pinterest but we felt we couldn’t justify the cost. Also where would we put it? When Alex dug in and started researching them, she realized we could use it as not only an instant pot, but also as a rice cooker, slow cooker and yogurt maker.
I was sold. We found good homes for our rice cooker and slow cooker and we purchased the large capacity Instant Pot. We absolutely love it. Now we can make all those amazingly easy instant pot recipes. We also use it to make rice and quinoa. The instant pot has been used as a slow cooker and had great results. We go through a ton of yogurt every month so we plan to try the yogurt making function soon.
After much research and daily use we can say with confidence that we have been thrilled with the quality of this model.
Waffle Maker/Panini Press.
Years ago I purchased this waffle maker. When I was replacing my old one, my priority was to get a model with removable plates. I hated cleaning my waffle maker because it was time consuming and obviously couldn’t be submerged in water. Back then it wasn’t easy to find a model with removable plates.
The one we use often has stood the test of time so well that it’s no longer in production! This one is a different brand than ours, but we love our other Black and Decker appliances. It is well reviewed and has the removable plates. I love that I can make waffles with the waffle plates. I make cream cheese and fruit stuffed panini breakfast sandwiches with the panini plates. We experiment with all kinds of gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches. My favorite is stuffed with artichokes, basil pesto and smoked cheddar, yum!
Stainless Steel Coffee Press.
I know, this last item is not truly a kitchen appliance. It made the list because it actually replaced a bulky kitchen appliance in our home. Anyone who knows us knows we LOVE great coffee. Over the years, we have had several coffee makers. More recently, we tried a pod style coffee brewer. We can say without a doubt our favorite coffee is made with a french press. We do not feel we compromised by any means!
Unfortunately, we went through several glass presses, then Alex got fed up and did some research. We knew we needed a stainless steel model. We also wanted one that was a larger capacity. When we had our first french press, we were sold on the quality of coffee it made but we had to make individual servings which was time consuming. After some diligent searching we came across this one and it is absolutely perfect! Pro tip: There are a few secrets to making Nirvana Girl approved coffee, check our post here for the details.
Spending as much time in the kitchen as we do, it was challenging to apply a minimalist perspective to our kitchen purge and decluttering. Thankfully our top 5 favorite appliances for minimalists came to the rescue. I can say that after much thought, research, trial and error, we have achieved a kitchen space that is the picture of minimalist efficiency and inspired creativity.