Best Kitchen Appliances in 2020 (May Reviews)
If you’ve been looking to upgrade your kitchen, we’ve got you covered with our list of the best kitchen appliances you can buy this year. To achieve this we looked for the best rated kitchen appliances, including picks from the best brands, such as LG and Whirlpool. Kitchen appliances were also selected based on value, quality and design. For the best small kitchen appliances like air fryers and mixers we looked for easy set up, intuitive controls and top rated reliability. We also considered large kitchen appliances (such as refrigerators) and looked at which products made the best kitchen appliance packages when put together.
Our top pick, the Ninja FD401 Foodi 8-qt. 9-in-1 Deluxe XL Cooker & Air Fryer, is a great value and has 9 functions to upgrade your home cooking. Read on for more of our picks among the best kitchen appliances.
Top 7 Best Kitchen Appliances
#1 Ninja FD401 Foodi 8-qt. 9-in-1 Deluxe XL Cooker & Air Fryer
Award: TOP PICK
WHY WE LIKE IT: This combination air fryer and pressure cooker uses tender crisp cooking technology and convection to achieve convenient, versatile home cooking with sear, sauté, bake, broil, steam and slow cook functions.
- Air fryer & slow cooker in one
- Dehydrates, thaws and helps in food prep
- Reversible rack
- Rack requires cleaning
- More expensive than some air fryers on the market
This deluxe air fryer and slow cooker is one of the best kitchen appliance choices if you’re looking for a versatile all-in-one cooking upgrade. It has an 8-qt capacity but doesn’t take up much counter space. It’s great for cooking rice, quickly thawing frozen meals, crisping French fries and fish fillets, and sautéing vegetables, too. It also has a traditional bake and broil function.
Along with the air frying, it has 8 other modes including slow cook and pressure cooker, and you can use this Ninja Foodi to prepare yogurt, too. Powerful at 1760 Watts, it’s made of long lasting stainless steel and has a non-stick ceramic coating to make it easy to clean. It also comes with a handy reversible rack. It has simple, intuitive push button controls and a small LCD screen that shows you what mode it’s in. The best coffee maker is another great kitchen accessory we all need.
#2 Instant Pot Duo 7-in-1
Award: HONORABLE MENTION
WHY WE LIKE IT: This multi-cooker combines the functions of seven kitchen appliances in one, plus an included iOS/ Android app makes it a smart kitchen appliance.
- 14 smart cooking programs
- Steam, sauté, pressure cook and rice functions
- Large enough capacity for family meals
- Somewhat more bulky than other small kitchen appliances
- Lacks the EasySeal lid on some Instant Pot Hot Pot devices
If you’re looking for a versatile cooker that practically replaces a whole kitchen appliance package, this smart pressure cooker from Instant Pot is a good place to start. It pairs with an included smart device app to let you remotely set timers and monitor cooking progress, plus it comes with 14 built-in programmed auto-pilot cooking modes. And to match that there are a plethora of free recipes curated specifically for Instant Pots.
With 7 different functions, the Instant Pot Duo takes over the roles of slow cooker, pressure cooker, rice cooker, sauté pan and more. It’s made from corrosion resistant long lasting stainless steel and has a generous 6-liter capacity, great for making chili. Lastly, this is the best selling model and for good reason; it eliminates many unnecessary appliances in your kitchen, freeing up counter space. Plus it connects to your smartphone. It does a lot, but you still need the best toaster for toast.
#3 Dash DEC005BK black Rapid 6 Capacity Electric Cooker
Award: BEST EGG COOKER
WHY WE LIKE IT: This rapid egg cooker is a great time saver and one of the best rated kitchen appliances when it comes to value for the money.
- Healthiest way to cook eggs
- One touch egg cooking with built in timer
- Compact and weighs only 1 lb
- Less versatile than other small kitchen appliances
- Pin and cup have to be washed between uses
- Doesn’t replace a frying pan for other uses
While it may not replace a whole set of kitchen appliances, the handy Dash egg cooker is a time saver when it comes to breakfast. It’s also one of the most inexpensive among our picks and comes from one of the best rated kitchen appliances brands. It cooks up to 6 eggs at a time, and you can set it for different styles.
It uses 360W of electricity and is super compact, weighing just 1 lb. You can set it easily beside the toaster or in other convenient places, making it an easy choice for breakfast food fans when picking out the best kitchen appliance package. And there are a variety of different colors. You can also read about the best pasta maker.
#4 Hamilton Beach Dual Breakfast Sandwich Maker
Award: BEST SANDWICH MAKER
WHY WE LIKE IT: This electric sandwich maker and egg cooker lets you cook two panini style breakfast sandwiches at once negating pans, toaster ovens and more.
- Great gift
- Dual sandwich panini press
- Easy to clean with dishwasher safe egg holder
- Sandwich size is limited
- More complicated than a panini press
This automatic breakfast sandwich maker takes much of the difficulty out of making egg sandwiches, combining the bread and egg cooking into one easy small kitchen appliance. It also lets you make two sandwiches at once.
While the bread size you can use is limited by the size of the press, this breakfast sandwich maker does have some flexibility where the egg is concerned. You can adjust the cooking time and make modifications to the process, for example by adding cheese after the egg has cooked. For your juicing needs, the best centrifugal juicer will have you covered.
#5 Presto 03430 Pizzazz Plus Rotating Oven
Award: BEST PIZZA OVEN
WHY WE LIKE IT: This home pizza oven from one of the top rated small kitchen appliance brands saves energy while ensuring even cooking with its two-sided heating element and innovative rotating tray.
- Great gift
- Dual sandwich panini press
- Great for frozen foods; cooks from top and bottom
- Less capacity than a conventional oven
- Not as fast cooking as a convection oven
With its unique rotating tray and dual heating elements–top and bottom, this compact home pizza oven is a more efficient way to cook frozen foods like fish fillets, pizzas, burritos, empanadas and more. It’s also great for making your own pizza from scratch, and it saves up to 60 % of the energy involved in a conventional oven.
The top and bottom heating elements are separately controlled, and there is an automatic timer function that turns off the heat when the timer is up. The pizza pan is 13.25 inches in diameter and can be removed for cleaning and storage. Now, when it comes to making smoothies, the best personal blenders are what you need.
#6 KitchenAid KHM512GU Ultra Power 5-Speed Hand Mixer
Award: BEST MIXER
WHY WE LIKE IT: 5 speeds and a classic design make this versatile mixer a must have for baking, mashed potatoes, whipped cream and more.
- Heavy duty hand mixer
- 5 speed options
- Dishwasher safe beaters
- Ships with lighter duty beaters, heavy “Turbo II” beaters optional
- Not as powerful as stand-mounted KitchenAid mixers
This hand mixer gives you the convenience of a lightweight mixer that you can comfortably hold above a bowl of cookie dough or whipping cream, plus the adjustability to slowly churn or quickly whip and mix. It comes with a dishwasher, removable safe stainless steel beaters and includes five different adjustable speed levels.
Among mixers, KitchenAid scores with consistently best rated kitchen appliance designs, and this hand mixer is no exception with its classic, 1950’s lines. For convenience it features a one-button beater ejector. The only thing missing: a built-in LED light. This item is as necessary as the best temperature controlled mug.
#7 Amazon Basics Works with Alexa Microwave
Award: BEST BUDGET
WHY WE LIKE IT: Simple and bargain priced, this smart 700W Microwave oven is one of the least expensive kitchen appliances that you can remote control with Alexa.
- Works with Echo for voice controls
- Smart presets
- Child lock for safety
- Only .7 cu ft capacity
- Plain styling
- Some features require you to have wifi and an echo device
This budget microwave does everything a microwave oven is supposed to do, plus if you happen to have an Echo device and 2.4GHz wifi it can add a few smart features as well. It’s Alexa compatible for voice commands and smart presets, so you can tell it to microwave some popcorn or reheat a cup of coffee.
Its Alexa integration is well done and comes with some thoughtful safety features. It won’t turn on if the door hasn’t been opened recently enough, and it has a safeguard against running for unreasonable lengths of time. It also has a child lock on the door.
How We Decided
In order to select the best kitchen appliances in a variety of categories, we looked at the top rated brands and picked innovative, efficient and value packed choices that work well as part of kitchen appliance packages.
First, we only chose models that had demonstrated safety and efficiency. UL certification and energy star endorsements were a plus, and for heating appliances like pizza ovens and microwaves, we required child safety locks and automatic shut off for fire prevention.
We gave preference to small kitchen appliances that performed a unique function with more efficiency than just using a generic all purpose appliance. The Presto rotating pizza oven (our #5 pick) uses 60% less energy than cooking a pizza in a conventional gas oven, for example.
We also limited our search to the best rated kitchen appliance choices in each category.
Best Kitchen Appliances Buyer’s Guide
Features to Consider
- Size
When looking for the best kitchen appliances you can buy, make sure you keep in mind how much space you have, and plan accordingly. - Cleaning
While many kitchen appliances promise extra convenience and to save time on cooking, make sure they are also easy to clean, with features like dishwasher safe racks and mixer blades. Any surface that comes into contact with uncooked food should be easy to access and either remove to set in a dishwasher or clean with soap and water. - Electricity use
Energy efficient kitchen appliances can greatly reduce your utility bills as well as help reduce air pollution and climate instability. The best kitchen appliance packages when it comes to saving energy typically allow you to use a small appliance in place of a larger one. Thus our #5 pick, the Presto Pizza oven, uses much less energy than heating up a conventional oven. - Smart Appliance Features
Some of the best kitchen appliances allow you to program functions via smart home devices such as the Amazon Echo. Our #7 pick, the Amazon Basics Microwave, is Alexa compatible for voice integration.
We feature the kitchen gadgets you need, whether it is the best coffee maker, the best pasta maker or the best toaster, we make sure your kitchen is operational.
Kitchen Appliances FAQs
What is the best brand for kitchen appliances?
While ratings vary based on appliance type and what you’re looking for, a few brands consistently rank near the top of their class for kitchen appliances including countertop cooking devices, mixers and more. Whirlpool kitchen appliances and LG kitchen appliances are both reviewed highly when it comes to best rated larger kitchen appliances, while among the best small kitchen appliances, multifunctional devices from Instant Pot and Ninja Foodi are consistent favorites.What is the best kitchen appliance package?
When choosing the best kitchen appliance packages to buy, consider the space you’re working with, your cooking tastes and needs, and how much you’d like to spend. For smaller kitchens, a multi functional appliance like the Ninja Foodi 9-in-1 may replace a whole package of cooking appliances.What is the best month to buy kitchen appliances?
Typically manufacturers release their new models in the late summer to fall, meaning that during these months current models are most likely to be discounted and you’ll get the best buy for your money on package deals.Are high end kitchen appliances worth it?
Depending on your budget, needs and taste, some high end kitchen appliances are a good investment, and a multi functional device like the Instant Pot 7-in-1 (our # 2 pick) might actually save money.Browse Our Kitchen Appliance Buyer's Guides
Latest Kitchen Appliance Reviews & Buyer's Guides
Gadget Review kitchen appliance reviews are the best online reviews. In our attempt to provide accurate reviews, we have put in hours of research in order to determine the best kitchen appliances. From blenders, coffee makers, microwaves and the best pressure cooker, to large appliances like french door refrigerators, wall ovens, gas ranges and the best washing machine or electric range, we have covered all our bases. The pricing on this blog reflects the most accurate pricing at time. If there is a special note about pricing, such as options that include time sensitive rebates, we have also indicated this in our reviews.
Gadget Review will also inform you about companies that aim to create a compelling environment and the best retail experience anywhere, for customers and employees alike. Our experience in this space has taught us that reputable companies such as Jenn Air offer better quality assurance than others. A compelling environment for customers is essential especially when buying kitchen appliances to help you make better selections that you will be happy about in the long run. We have specialized guides such as our yale appliance buying guide that will help you make even wiser decisions when it comes to buying such appliances. Our studies show that for people have read a yale guide and then have chosen the right appliances and accessories that comes almost naturally and they are much happier with their choices.
Similarly, if you have been searching for bar accessories or beer accessories, our guides and reviews have you covered on that front, too!
Your kitchen is in good hands with us. Start your day making fresh juice with the best centrifugal juicer and make a smoothie with the best personal blenders or enjoy a cup of coffee in the best temperature controlled mug.