Samin Nosrat’s 10 Kitchen Essentials Every Home Cook Should Own

Are you part of a cookbook club? If you’re not, you should join ours! We just launched the Kitchn Cookbook Club, and every month we’re selecting a new cookbook and discussing it with members in our Kitchn Cookbook Club Facebook Group.

We’re kicking things off with Samin Nosrat’s best-selling sensation, Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat (it has its own Netflix series, in case you didn’t already know!), and since this is a cookbook club, we want members to not only read the book but also try making the recipes. Nosrat lists 27 kitchen essentials in the endpapers of her book, and we’re spotlighting pieces she has vouched for on her site and in a podcast interview with Forever35, plus a few of our own personal favorites.

All are available on Amazon, so pick up a few of her recs (and the book, of course), then try whipping up a new recipe or two, and let us know how it goes! Share your comments in our Facebook group, or post a photo of your dish on Instagram, with a short review of the recipe in the caption, and use our #kitchncookbookclub hashtag to be featured on our Cookbook Club hub page.

You know what they say … a quality chef should invest in a quality knife (okay, maybe that isn’t an official phrase, but we’re going with it!). As Nosrat told Forever35 earlier this year, “If you have a good knife that is sharp and can be sharpened, that can work. It doesn’t have to be expensive.” We can get on board with that piece of advice!

Buy: Victorinox Swiss Army Cutlery Rosewood Chef’s Knife, 8-Inch, $58

Finely grate cheese, lemon and lime peels, and much more with this useful tool that Nosrat featured on her site. It’s not only dishwasher-safe, but also rust-resistant.

Buy: Microplane 40020 Classic Zester/Grater, Black, $13

This handy mortar and pestle featured on Nosrat’s site will serve you well, whether you’re grinding spices or making pesto. Although a blender is much faster and easier for whipping up pesto, Nosrat admits in her cookbook that the pounded version tastes better.

Buy: Libertyware Stone Granite Mortar and Pestle 4 Cup Capacity, 8 Inch, Gray, starts at $32

This Japanese mandoline that Nosrat recommends on her site does the job of slicing fruits and veggies for so many of her recipes — and at a great price. It’s time to get chopping!

Buy: Benriner Vegetable Slicer, Green, $23

“You want to have bowls that are big enough; you want to have enough space,” Nosrat told Forever35. We recommend this set, because there’s nothing worse than contents slopping over onto the sides of a bowl or the counter.

Buy: Culinary Depot Mixing Bowls Stainless Steel (Set of 5) Polished Mirror Finish Nesting Bowls, $18

“With stock on hand, dinner is always within reach,” the author says in her book. And with this Nosrat-approved Granite Ware stock pot at the ready — plus some chicken bones, vegetables, and seasonings — you’re golden!

Buy: Granite Ware Stock Pot, 4 Quart, $21

Nosrat told Forever35 that she’s a fan of Lodge preseasoned skillets, which are affordable and durable, so they’ll stand the test of time. Choose from tons of different diameters or stock up on a few sizes for your various cooking needs.

Buy: Lodge Cast Iron Skillet, Pre-Seasoned and Ready for Stove Top or Oven Use, 10.25″, Black, $15

Le Creuset products don’t come cheap, but they’ll also last for years and years. “Use a Dutch oven, with its taller sides, to entrap steam and encourage tough foods to become tender,” Nosrat says in her book. “As it’s deep enough to keep oil from bubbling over, the Dutch oven is also great for deep-frying.”

Buy: Le Creuset Signature Enameled Cast-Iron 7-1/4-Quart Round French (Dutch) Oven, White, $385

Frying pans are extremely versatile and are preferred over a Dutch oven when “searing, sautéing, or any cooking method where the goal is to brown foods quickly,” Nosrat says in her book. She told Forever35 she prefers pans by Tramontina.

Buy: Tramontina 80114/516DS Professional Fusion Fry Pan, 10-Inch, $40

“A baking sheet lined with parchment paper is the ideal landing pad for blanched vegetables, browned meats, cooked grains, or anything else that needs to cool off quickly without overcooking,” Nosrat writes in Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat. “When roasting vegetables, croutons, or anything else, toss them together with oil and salt in a bowl to ensure even coverage, and then lay them out on a baking sheet.” We like this commercial-grade option.

Buy: Crestware SP1813 Half Sheet Pan, 18″ x 13″ x 1″, Silver, $14