Your Kitchen Essentials Checklist for a Happy Holiday
The holidays can be quite stressful, especially if you’re responsible for the cooking: but a kitchen essentials checklist can better prepare you for all the culinary tasks ahead.
Whether you’re hosting or simply bringing a dish to the family gathering, you’ll want to make sure you have the best kitchen appliances and tools to tackle all the prepping and cooking. Not only will high-quality kitchen items result in better tasting dishes, but they’ll also save you time and energy, so you can spend more time making memories with your loved ones instead.
In this kitchen essentials checklist, we’ve listed out everything you’ll need to expertly handle the cooking and serving throughout the holiday season, including the best flatware and drinkware sets. The holidays will be here before you know it, so plan ahead and start preparing your own kitchen essentials checklist — it’s a great way to eliminate some of the holiday stress and start getting excited for the season of festivities!
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Best Christmas Kitchen Essentials
1. Zwilling 19x15” Cutting Board
Preparing the big Christmas meal requires a whole lot of chopping, prepping and slicing, making the Zwilling 19x15” Cutting Board one of the most important items to have on your kitchen essentials checklist. This beautiful board is made from hand-sanded North American birchwood and features stainless steel handles for easy manoeuvering and built-in grooves to collect juices and food scraps.
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Price: $129.95
2. Cuisinart Cutting Board With Colander
Cross off two items from your kitchen essentials checklist at once with the Cuisinart Cutting Board With Colander. This chef-grade plastic cutting board easily fits over the sink and features a built-in colander to help you save space and prep faster.
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Price: $40.95
3. Mrs. Anderson's 2/3 Baking Sheet Pan
With Mrs. Anderson's 2/3 Baking Sheet Pan, you’ll have no problem perfectly roasting vegetables or evenly baking cookies and bread up to temps of 480ºF. If you plan to do any sort of cooking or baking in the oven, you’ll want to make sure you have this type of baking pan on your kitchen essentials checklist — especially as it’s the largest size commercial-grade baking pan that will fit in a standard home oven!
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Price: $43.99
4. Cuisine::pro Damashiro Emperor 3-Piece Santoku Knife Set
No matter what might be on your holiday menu, this best knife set has you covered. There are very few tasks a santoku can't handle, from slicing meat to dicing vegetables. The Cuisine::pro Damshiro Emperor 3-Piece Santoku Knife Set comes with three lengths to cover all your holiday kitchen needs.
- Price: $149.95
5. Zwilling TWIN Signature 8” Bread Knife
Almost no holiday meal is complete without light and fluffy bread or dinner rolls, so you’ll need a high-quality bread knife o. your kitchen essentials checklist. The lightweight Zwilling TWIN Signature 8” Bread Knife has an extremely sharp and hard blade that will effortlessly glide through loaves to produce perfectly even slices for your Christmas dinner.
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Price: $62.95
6. Cuisinart Smart Stick 2-Speed Hand Blender
From whipping up fluffy mashed potatoes to puréeing butternut squash soup, the Cuisinart Smart Stick 2-Speed Hand Blender will save you time and energy when you’re prepping in the kitchen. With a 300-watt motor and two different speeds, this kitchen item is both powerful and easy to operate and is a must-have on any kitchen essentials checklist.
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Price: $71.99
7. Cuisinart Elemental 11-Cup Food Processor
What makes the Cuisinart Element 11-Cup Food Processor such a useful kitchen item to have on your Christmas kitchen essentials checklist is its large capacity and versatility. With an 11-cup bowl, stainless steel blade and both slicing and shredding discs, this handy small kitchen appliance makes it easy and fast to chop, purée, slice, mix and more in large quantities, which is especially important if you’re hosting the whole family for Christmas dinner.
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Price: $149.95
8. KitchenAid Enameled Cast Iron 6-Qt Dutch Oven
This cast iron dish is perfect for making stews, soups, casseroles and roasts ahead of time on the big day, as it keeps the food warm long after it’s removed from heat. The KitchenAid Enameled Cast Iron 6-Qt Dutch Oven truly is one of the most timeless cookware pieces to have on your kitchen essentials checklist, especially as the stunning blue or green enamel coating makes it an elegant serving dish, as well.
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Price: $199.95
9. Zwilling Sommelier Wine 4-Pc Tool Set
Although the food is important, don’t forget about the drinks! Be sure to include the Zwilling Sommelier Wine 4-Pc Tool Set on your kitchen essentials checklist for the holidays; it has everything you need to dive into the sophisticated world of wine during your holiday celebrations: a corkscrew, decanter, drop ring and foil cutter (all of which comes in a classy gift box).
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Price: $109.95
10. Staub 12x8” Roasting Pan
If you’re preparing any sort of a holiday roast, then you’ll want one of the best roasting pans on your kitchen essentials checklist. The Staub 12x8” Roasting Pan is handcrafted in France, this cast iron roasting pan will add a whole new level of depth and flavor to your roasts and recipes to make your holiday meal that much better.
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Price: $209.99
11. Staub 3-Pc Mixed Baking Dish Set
Complete with stone oval and rectangular baking dishes and a ceramic pie dish, the Staub 3-Pc Mixed Baking Dish Set will ensure that you’re able to cook up delectable entrées, side dishes and desserts for your holiday meal with exceptional taste and elegance. These beautiful dishes are microwave, freezer, oven and dishwasher-safe and designed to retain heat without absorbing moisture.
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Price: $99.95
12. Lock N Lock Purely Better Glass Assorted Rectangular Food Storage Container Set, 6-Pc
One of the final things you’ll need to include on your kitchen essentials checklist is containers to store all the leftovers! The Lock N Lock Purely Better Assorted Rectangular Food Storage Container Set comes with a small, medium and large BPA-free glass container, each with airtight locking lids so you can keep your food fresh to enjoy over the next few days.
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Price: $39.99
13. Zwilling Poultry Shears
For effortlessly breaking down whole chickens or turkey, the Zwilling Poultry Shears are a must. This kitchen essential comes with a specially designed serrated blade that allows for effortless cutting through fat, skin and bones. The comfortable shatter-proof handles are also easy to hold.
- Price: $48.95
Best Flatware
14. Zwilling Bellasera 45 Pc Polished Stainless Steel Flatware Set
If you’re looking for a simple, yet sleek, silverware set for your holiday dinner table, then look no further than the Zwilling Bellasera 45 Pc Polished Stainless Steel Flatware Set. This all-inclusive set comes with eight sets of five key serving pieces: dinner fork, salad fork, soup spoon, teaspoon and dinner knife, all coated in a stunning, corrosion-resistant silver-like finish. Not only will this set look incredible on your dining room table, but it will also make cleaning up afterward even easier, as the utensils are all dishwasher-safe.
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Price: $129.99
15. Zwilling Kingwood 42 Pc Stainless Steel Flatware Set
For silverware that has a more unique and distinctive design, you’ll want the Zwilling Kingwood 42 Pc Stainless Steel Flatware Set. Each of the five serving pieces features wood grain textured detailing at the base, which gradually transitions into the smooth polished mirror finish. These dishwasher-safe serving utensils add a subtle style to any dining occasion and will make your Christmas dinners feel special year after year. It’s one of those kitchen essentials checklist items that’s absolutely crucial if you’re hosting.
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Price: $106.99
Best Drinkware
16. Zwilling Prédicat 6 Pc Champagne Glass Set
The Zwilling Prédicat 6 Pc Champagne Glass Set will add that final touch of elegance and class to your holiday dinner. Each Champagne flute is made from high-quality crystalline glass and perfectly shaped to present your Champagne and sparkling wines in all their sparkling grandeur, while also preserving the delicate, bubbly taste. With this essential drinkware set in your home, you and your guests will be able to sip in sophistication through Christmas, New Year’s and beyond, so make sure it’s on your kitchen essentials checklist.
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Price: $89.95
17. Zwilling Sorrento Plus 4 Pc Coffee Glass Set
When it comes time to serve up coffee and tea after the big holiday meal, keep the elegance going with the Zwilling Sorrento Plus 4 Pc Coffee Glass Set. Designed by Italian artist Matteo Thun, these unique mouth-blown glass mugs are truly works of art, and with the double-wall design, they keep your beverages perfectly hot (or cold) without changing the outside temperature of the mug. It’s exactly the kind of drinkware you need to make sure your Christmas evenings end on a note of relaxation.
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Price: $69.99
Join 200,000+ Culinary Enthusiasts
Now that you know which items belong on your kitchen essentials checklist for the holidays, you’re ready to start collecting all your Christmas kitchen essentials. You’ll want to make sure your kitchen essentials checklist covers all aspects of cooking and dining, from food prep and cooking to slicing, serving and sharing drinks!
The holidays are most importantly about spending time with friends, family and loved ones, sharing new experiences and making memories together. Even though it might feel impossible, the holiday cooking doesn’t have to be stressful, and it won’t be with a kitchen essentials checklist to help you prepare. Now that you don’t have to worry so much about the cooking, you can start focusing on all the holiday fun and excitement coming up!
For even more ways to elevate your kitchen, check out more chef-recommended cookware in the Cozymeal Shop.
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