having essential cooking tools in your home will make your life so much easier you don t need to buy every trendy glamorous and exciting new appliance to cook the most basic and simple tools are all you need to start preparing your favorite meals read through the following basic kitchen essentials to start cooking just about anything without spending a fortune to fill your cupboards with appliances you will barely use 1 non stick frying pan every household needs a non stick pan to take their breakfast to the next level it is also a super versatile pan that can be used for searing meats sauteing vegetables and making sauces 2 saucepan when cooking using liquids such as boiling pasta vegetables or simmering the perfect cookware to use is a saucepan a 4 quart saucepan is easy to move around to handle and it is great whether you are cooking for yourself or preparing family meals 3 sheet pan give your pans a lot of action by roasting vegetables baking meats toasting nuts and of course baking cookies these sheet pans also make for an easy clean up on days you don t feel like being on your feet for too long 4 glass baking dish glass baking dishes are perfect for baking things like casseroles and enchiladas in the oven it is the best utensil in your cupboard when you want to cook your vegetables and your stove and oven are occupied these dishes are microwave safe easy to use and easy to wash these are great options to be used if you are looking to replace non stick bakeware 5 knives there s no kitchen without a knife you re going to be using a knife for almost anything and everything if you re on a tight budget that restricts you from buying different knives and you do not have enough space in your cupboard get a chef s knife you will use it most of the time during your cooking period apart from the chef s knife that can help you in your cooking preparations it s better to get a serrated knife and a paring knife for their different roles and usage serrated knives let you slice through tomatoes and bread with ease and paring knives are great for smaller more delicate jobs when a big knife just doesn t cut it cheap steel will cut through almost anything 6 wooden spoons wooden spoons are not abrasive on your cooking surfaces and they will last longer if not forever avoid putting wooden spoons in the dishwasher for variety purposes choose a set with a variety of wooden spoons you can use it for different kinds of cooking 7 peeler when setting up your kitchen with essentials make sure you have a good sharp peeler it should be able to remove the peels of vegetables fruits and shave off cheese 8 cutting board to help you prep various ingredients and prevent cross contamination a gripping cutting board will protect your fingers during all your cooking two cutting boards are ideal one for raw proteins and one for cooked foods and produce to avoid cross contamination during food preps a plastic cutting board can be placed in the dishwasher for full disinfecting for raw proteins use a dishwasher safe plastic cutting board 9 can opener a can opener is something you do not want to forget canned beans and vegetables make for quick cooking and are great pantry staples but a bunch of things also come in cans that require a can opener such as coconut milk curry paste fruits crushed tomatoes etc 10 colander every kitchen needs a colander for draining out boiled pasta and vegetables a colander can also be used to drain canned beans and to wash vegetables 11 bowls a set of stainless steel mixing bowls that fit inside one another can save you space in the cupboard bowls are inexpensive versatile and will last a lifetime 12 blender having a blender on hand is great for making smoothies or salad dressings use this kitchen appliance to make sauces dips spreads soup beverages desserts and burgers depending on your needs and budget you can choose between a high speed blender and a standard one