Every Whisk Type You Could Possibly Need (And Yes, You Need More than One!)

When you think of a whisk, a balloon whisk is likely what comes to mind. This is an all-purpose whisk with a wide head.

Best for:
Whipping air into egg whites and heavy whipping cream.
Widely spaced tines make it great for pancake and cake batter.
Easier to clean than other whisks. (Just whisk warm, soapy water!)

If you bake a lot, a dough whisk is handy to have around. Its handle connects to a couple of looping thick, stainless steel wires.

Best for:
Kneading sticky batters and bread dough.
Cutting through thick batters easily.
Distributing mix-ins to cookie dough (faster than a spatula).

Tiny but mighty, a mini whisk is about half of the size of a balloon whisk.

Best for:
Perfect size for beating together a couple of eggs for a scramble, whisking a vinaigrette, mixing a sauce, or making hot cocoa.
Easy storage.

If you’re a dedicated nonstick cookware user, then you need a silicone, nonstick balloon whisk. A nonstick whisk is just a regular whisk, but its metal tines are coated in silicone.

Best for:
Cooking pan sauces, gravy, roux, and more.
Keeping nonstick cookware scratch-free.

A ball whisk has straight, flexible wires and tips that, instead of connecting at the base, have little silicone (or stainless steel) beads at the ends. That said, it is not ideal for thick, heavy batters.

Best for:
Splaying out and reaching the corners of pans or measuring cups thanks to its flexible wires.
Mixing dry ingredients.
Safe to use with nonstick cookware.

Another good all-around whisk, a French whisk is similar to a balloon whisk but more narrow. It has a tapered, slimmer profile. Not ideal for mixing batters, though, because its tighter tines are harder to clean than a balloon whisk.

Best for:
Reaching into the corners of pots and pans
Incorporating air into eggs for a fluffy omelet or beating whipping cream.

A flat whisk has flat tines that kind of look like an elongated “U.”

Best for:
Mixing sauces and custards.
Really shines with gravies or a roux.
Its curved end allows it to easily reach into the corners and sides of a pan or pot. (And, yes, they do make nonstick-safe flat whisks!)

SVP of Content, Faith Durand, advocated for a sauce whisk to be included in our list of Kitchn Essentials. “There are very few things you’ll make in the kitchen that will succeed or fail depending on the tool you use,” she says. “Sauce is one of those things!” A sauce whisk has wire tines in the shape of a coil, so it whisks side-to-side, as well as up and down.

Best for:
Fitting in tight containers and mixing (you guessed it) sauces, as well as hot cocoa, dressings, dips, and even eggs.
We also like this nonstick sauce whisk from IKEA (which is no longer available on IKEA, but is still on Amazon).