Meal Kit Tools: What You Need to Prep Dinner from Home Chef or Hello Fresh

For people short on time to plan dinners or trying to cook more than they order in, meal kits can provide a real service. Companies like Blue Apron, Hello Fresh, and Home Chef make it easy to just click on some pretty pictures and have at least some of your meal planning done for the week. And while meal kits are handy for providing you all the ingredients you’ll need for a complete dinner, what they don’t provide are the cooking tools you need to prepare it.

Most meal kits companies rely on their customers already owning a few essential items before they start their mail-order cooking journey. How do I know? I have tested dozens of meals from multiple services and kept a running list of what I pulled out of my cabinets most often. Below, you’ll find that list of must-haves as well as some “nice-to-haves” that will make your experience with meal kits easier and the food better. (And almost every product recommended below is something our editors and writers have tested and reviewed, too.) So before you accept that promotional meal kit offer from the oversized postcard in your mailbox, take a look below at the kitchen tools you should invest in first.

Meal Kit Must-Haves

Nonstick Skillet

Oxo Professional Ceramic Nonstick Pan (12-inch)

Oxo Professional Nonstick Pan Set (8-inch, 10-inch)

I’m not exaggerating when I say almost every meal kit recipe I have ever cooked called specifically for a nonstick skillet. Often, the instructions ask you to wipe out and reuse a pan during a single recipe. Even if they don’t, you’ll want a pan that cleans up easily because there’s a good chance you’ll need it again the next night. In general, we prefer the durability of cast iron and carbon steel, but they come with a certain amount of upkeep, and if you’re a beginner investing in new pans for the sake of starting to cook more meals at home (many meal kit users are and that’s OK), a great budget option is the Oxo Ceramic Professional Nonstick Pan. If you’re just buying one, a 12-inch skillet will probably serve you best for searing steaks, frying fish, or toasting tree nuts. It also comes in a set of smaller sizes, so you can choose the right pan for the job.

Sheet Pan

Any meal kit recipe that requires turning on the oven will typically also require a sheet pan. We think the Nordic Ware Natural Aluminum Half-Sheet pans are not only durable with efficient heat conduction, they’re also pretty inexpensive at just $14 each. Pair it with some heavy duty aluminum foil or parchment paper for easier cleanup and to help your pans last even longer.

Saucepan or Large Pot and Strainer

There’s a good chance you’ll need to cook some pasta, rice, quinoa, or perhaps heat up some soup. But since most meal kits are two or four servings, you don’t need a giant stockpot. A three-quart sauce pan will cover almost all your needs, and the All-Clad D3 is real #buyitforlife sort of purchase. I’d also recommend getting a large, fine mesh strainer, which will not only serve to drain the pasta, but as something you can rinse your rice in before cooking and, in your non-meal kit work, for straining sauces. If you’re even shorter on space, you might get away with a spider strainer for scooping pasta or boiled vegetables from the pot.

Chef’s Knife

While some meal kits come with almost everything pre-cut and cubed, others require some basic knife skills. A reliable and affordable chef’s knife will cover most of what you will have to do. Our favorite chef’s knife from Mac is relatively inexpensive, but if you’re even more budget conscious the Mercer Culinary Renaissance chef’s knife can often be found for under $50 and performs like a blade that costs twice as much.

Cutting Boards

That plural “boards” is intentional. Meal kits tend to come together quickly and, while prepping your ingredients before you begin is preferable in our book, many of these recipes actually suggest you chop as you go. And if the recipes happen to include raw meat or seafood, you’ll want to make sure you have a separate cutting board each for your produce and your proteins. We liked the plastic reBoard from Material in our tests, and you can snag it in a two-pack for under $60.

Cooking Spoons and Spatulas

Especially if you’re using nonstick pans, you’ll want tools that aren’t prone to scratching their surfaces, which means wood or silicone. GIR makes a great silicone spatula and has a tool set that includes spoons and ladles that can handle most cooking tasks.

Mixing Bowls

You’ll need several mixing bowls for tossing proteins or produce in spice blends, mixing a salad, or whisking a vinaigrette. When I was tearing through meal kit testing, I used just about every big bowl in my kitchen. Having a set of mixing bowls (rather than just one or two) is going to make your meal kit life a lot easier. We like this affordable, nesting stainless steel set with lids from Cuisinart for basic prep work and storage.

Meat Thermometer

Unless you’re cooking a plant-based meal kit, the instructions for cooking meat, poultry, and fish will usually give a recommended internal temperature for proteins, and having a good meat thermometer is the best way to ensure you’re getting it right. Those temperatures typically match food safety standards from the USDA, but a meat thermometer will also make it easier to cook your meat on the rarer side if that’s what you like. Our favorite is the ThermoWorks Thermapen One, but a less-expensive model like the Lavatools Javelin Pro will do you just fine.

Zester or Grater

Fresh citrus zest features in a lot of meal kit recipes, and, if you have a zester already, there’s a good chance it needs to be replaced. A handheld zester will work just fine, but I’m a big fan of my Microplane box grater which is super sharp, dishwasher safe, and has a removable panel to make the inside super easy to clean. It also has coarse and fine blades that let you shred cheese as well as zest lemons.

Meal Kit Nice-to-Haves

Prep Bowls

Even though meal kit recipes often skip over prep, it’s a good idea, and you’ll be less stressed if you aren’t chopping your onions at the same time your chicken is in a hot pan. Having a set of prep bowls to hold all of your chopped, sliced, and diced ingredients will go a long way to helping you get organized before you actually begin cooking. You could use your cereal bowls or storage container lids or just scootch everything to the corners of your cutting board, but I found a set of little bowls was the best way to keep myself organized and ready as I ran through meal kits recipes step by step. Stainless steel is durable and easy to clean, however consider glass for tasks like melting butter in the microwave.

Tongs

You could get by with just a spatula, but tongs are a good buy for any kitchen. They offer an added level of grip when turning hot chicken thighs or steaks, and make plating your food easier (and neater), too. If you’re using a nonstick pan, choose tongs that have silicone or nylon heads, like this Oxo pair, to avoid any scratches.

Kosher Salt

If you have never paid attention to the salt you buy at the store, you should. Diamond Crystal kosher salt is the standard for BA recipe development, and because it has larger grains, it will be easier to use than a cylinder of table salt. Iodized table salt is so fine you can easily end up oversalting your dish. It also contains anti-caking additives, which can affect taste.

Peppermill

Do not limit yourself to that pre-ground black pepper in the little rectangular tin. Freshly ground pepper will always bring more flavor. A simple, manual peppermill stocked with whole peppercorns is a simple way to pack more punch.