8 Must-Have Kitchen Essentials From Home Depot That Customers Love

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When shoppers head to Home Depot, they're usually looking to buy products to help them with DIY projects — think paint, lumber, and gardening supplies. But situated among the aisles of power drills and step ladders is a surprisingly well-stocked kitchenware section that houses a variety of useful tools any home cook could use, including some items employed in actual restaurant kitchens. From high-quality tools to investment pieces that could make your life easier while cooking, you shouldn't sleep on Home Depot when it comes to stocking your kitchen.

The best kitchenware isn't always the newest, flashiest gadget (although Home Depot does carry some of those, too). Reliability and consistency are the most important factors. You want durable items that you can reach for day after day, knowing they're going to do the job and last for awhile. Things like a solid knife set, a high-quality meat thermometer, a mixer that you can pass down to your children because it lasts so long — these are the must-have kitchen essentials you'll find at your local Home Depot.

If you've been collecting pots and pans as hand-me-downs and find that you've got a nonsensical set cluttering your kitchen, it might be time for an upgrade. A cohesive set of cookware can help you feel more confident in your kitchen, not to mention more organized. Caraway is one of the largest brands carried at Home Depot, particularly in their kitchenware section. This pot and pan set includes a small pot, a soup pot, a large saucepan, and a smaller frying pan.

Customers praise the pans for their nonstick feature, which makes for incredibly simple cleanup. Caraway cookware is also nontoxic, which is a perk in the world of Teflon and other chemical sprays used on pans to make them nonstick. The set is most commonly praised, though, for its durability, lasting customers for several years.

The price may feel jarring at first — it's $445 for the set — but individual pots and pans from the range are priced anywhere between $125-$175, so you're getting a bargain by buying the bundle. Perfect for someone moving into a new apartment or looking to upgrade their scuffed, worn-down cookware, this product boasts tens of thousands of reviews that are overwhelmingly positive.

A food thermometer is a staple for any home cook, with myriad uses that make it worth keeping on hand. The TempPro Waterproof Meat Thermometer checks all the boxes, so there's no surprise that it's the highest-rated thermometer sold at Home Depot.

Of course, you can use this thermometer for meat — it's in the name, after all, and it's a necessity when grilling or cooking any cut. But its utility hardly stops there — customers attest to using the TempPro for making candy, tempering chocolate, and, since it's waterproof, checking the temperature of oil for deep-frying.

Learning to properly use a meat thermometer can be one of the most crucial skills in the kitchen, as meat that's cooked incorrectly can be incredibly unsafe. If something goes wrong with the product, customers have noted that TempPro offers excellent customer service and will gladly replace a broken part or the whole device if necessary. A small, inexpensive product like this (it's listed at $16.99) can really come in handy, and it's got plenty of positivity to back it up.

With thousands of reviews on the Home Depot website, Henckels's 20-Piece Self-Sharpening Knife Set is wildly popular. Many home chefs spend years collecting random knives from different places, buying one at a time until they have a ragtag collection that they then spend time hand-sharpening. If you're ready for a better way, this set may be calling your name. Henckels sells other smaller knife sets in 13-, 14-, and 15-count sets, but the 20-piece set is highly praised and includes every type of knife you could ever need at home. Its biggest selling point, however, is that the knife block is self-sharpening. This means you can spend less time with a whetstone and more time actually cooking.

The set is priced at $174, which feels like a steal for the sheer amount you're getting. Henckels and its sister company, Zwilling, carry some of the most affordable knife options available. Customers who reviewed the product mention they love how sleek the design is and how seamlessly it fits into their kitchens. The knives are sturdy and sharp, with a majority of reviews mentioning the quality of the materials. Henckels knife sets in any size would make a great gift for the home chef in your life.

Not everyone uses a food scale at home, but it's a fun upgrade if you're looking to boost your kitchen skills a bit. For only $25, the Escali Primo Food Scale is a small, sleek option that's great for weighing out baking ingredients, meal portioning, and perfecting recipes like pizza dough. Escali scales are commonly used in restaurant kitchens, so you know this brand is going to deliver. Some users even claim that they've had this particular scale for five years or longer, and others state that the warranty process was simple if they ever did need a replacement.

One stand-out feature of this scale is its automatic shut-off, which saves battery life if you forget to turn it off after using. The buttons and switches are sealed, so spillover won't affect the inner workings of the scale. The Escali Primo has nearly flawless ratings, with customers gushing about how simple it is to use for cooks of every level. Sometimes the best tools are the ones that are the easiest to understand and use, and this is no exception.

Gone are the days of shoving half-empty rice bags back into your pantry. Groceries are getting more expensive by the day, and no one can afford to deal with spoiled flour or have other perishables go to waste because they aren't stored properly. OXO Good Grips POP Airtight Food Storage Containers come in several set options, including sets with varying sizes. The three-piece set of uniform storage containers is great for storing pantry staples like rice, cereal, pasta, and sugar.

Priced at $30.99 for the entire set, you're not just paying for the container itself, but also the long-term investment of saving yourself from groceries spoiling due to infestation or moisture. Customers rave that the airtight lids keep all signs of moisture out, and can fit large quantities of food, keeping them fresh for months. Customers also use masking tape or a label maker to mark the date the product was stored, often shocked at how long the food keeps. Home Depot sells several solutions for kitchen storage, helping you keep the room clean and efficient. 

A KitchenAid Stand Mixer is one of the original kitchen luxuries-turned-necessities. When it comes to mixers, this brand has stood the test of time, and there are few other brands that compete. If you've been wistfully eyeing one in any of the signature colors, you have to look no further than your local Home Depot to pick one up. With all the available attachments that are compatible with the KitchenAid, you can make bread, pasta, and any baked good you can possibly think of.

The classic KitchenAid 5-Quart Stand Mixer thousands of rave reviews, as one might imagine for an appliance this iconic. The high praise comes primarily from the durability of the stand mixer, with customers raving that their KitchenAids last for well over a decade. It's made of heavy-duty metal, so it won't shake around while it's operating. Additionally, the mixer is easy to clean, and the attachments are simple and straightforward to use. 

As you can see, the OXO Angled Measuring Cups don't look like regular measuring cups; they're tilted on the inside so you can read them by simply looking straight down into the cup. While it may seem like a small inconvenience to bring yourself to eye level with an ordinary measuring cup, this upgrade makes a common kitchen activity just a bit easier. The cups also have a no-slip grip handle, making it easier to use them with wet hands.

With an countless glowing reviews, customers report that the cups are easy to read (naturally!) and reliable, lasting them for several years after purchasing. Measuring cups are used frequently in many home kitchen, and if yours have worn out or have faded measuring labels, these angled measuring cups are a sturdy choice for a replacement. The text on the cups is raised, so even if the ink wears off, you'll still be able to see the markings. Customers use them not only for cooking, but also for measuring out drinks in their home bar setups.

Home Depot sells some smaller sets and individual items of Circulon baking tools, but the entire 10-piece set is sold for around $111 and comes with everything you'd need for baking pretty much anything. Individual Circulon items are sold at upwards of $20 each, so you're getting a great deal by buying the set together. Any home baker will tell you they want bakeware that lasts, and the multitude of positive reviews online prove that this brand delivers.

The most prominent praise this Circulon bakeware set receives is from customers raving about how nonstick the pans are, even after months of use. Customers who frequently bake at home state they wish they had gotten them sooner due to their ease of use and durability. There are plenty of ways to take care of your nonstick cookware to ensure it lasts, and these are proven kitchen necessities if cared for properly.

To create this list, I sourced products from the Kitchenware section of Home Depot's website and sorted them so I could see the highest reviewed items first. I selected items based on both the number of reviews on the Home Depot site as well as how positive the reviews were — only those with the highest ratings made the cut. I then cross-referenced positive reviews to help establish and build consensus with reviews on other online platforms.