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See why.The Best Pepper Mills
We were looking for a mill that was easy to fill with peppercorns, had well-marked grind settings, and produced accurate grind sizes. And we found it.
We tested two new models. The OXO Good Grips Contoured Mess-Free Pepper Grinder is our new Best Buy. It’s easy to load the mill and adjust the grind settings, and because the pepper comes from the top of the mill instead of the bottom, it doesn’t leave peppercorn dust on the countertop when it’s stored upright. We also liked the sleek and ultrafast Männkitchen Pepper Cannon. But unless you regularly grind a lot of pepper and have an affinity for powerful, expensive gadgets, you’re better off buying a more traditional, affordable pepper mill.
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What You Need To Know
We typically use pepper mills for only a few seconds at a time, but a poorly designed mill can make a few seconds feel like a lifetime. And if you take on a pepper-heavy recipe such as steak au poivre, which calls for a whole tablespoon of crushed peppercorns, any design flaws become even more apparent. Whether you use a mill for big jobs or small, a good one should be easy to load (no one wants peppercorns rolling all over the kitchen), have accurate grind sizes that don’t require guesswork to adjust, and be easy to operate.
Since the last time we tested pepper mills, our winning mill has been redesigned and we’ve noticed new models on the market. So we selected seven models, priced from about $25 to about $50, including the updated version of our previous winner, and got grinding. We examined how easy it was to load peppercorns into each mill, measured their capacities, and used each mill to produce fine-, medium-, and coarse-ground pepper. We also recruited colleagues to try the mills and give feedback, and we checked durability, too. One mill topped the rest, thanks to its user-friendly design and accurate output.
Top-Loading Mills Were Easier to Fill
Before using the mills, we needed to fill them. Some mills came prefilled with peppercorns, but we emptied those and used the same peppercorns in all mills to keep our results consistent. We loaded each mill to capacity and then weighed the peppercorns inside. Capacities ranged from 21 grams to 71 grams, but because most people use only small amounts of pepper at a time, we didn’t think it was a major drawback if a mill had a smaller capacity. Ease of loading mattered a lot more.
All the mills we tested had openings for loading peppercorns, and the sizes and locations of these openings affected how easy it was to fill the mills. The width of the openings ranged from 1 inch to nearly 2 inches, and the bigger the opening, the easier it was to fill the mill. While the openings of most of the mills were located beneath their removable tops, the opening of one mill was located on its bottom end and the opening for another was on its side. The model with the bottom opening was pretty easy to fill, as we could stand the mill upside down and unscrew the bottom to expose the opening. The side-loading model was frustrating to fill. We had to lay the cylindrical mill on its side, secure it in place so it didn’t roll away, and then, because the opening was just an inch wide, use a funnel to add peppercorns. And while gravity helped guide the peppercorns when filling models that sat vertically, we had to continually adjust the peppercorns in this side-loading model to make space fo...
Everything We Tested
Highly Recommended
- Ease of Use: 3 stars out of 3.
- Grind Quality: 3 stars out of 3.
- Grind Settings: 3 stars out of 3.
- Ease of Use: 3 stars out of 3.
- Grind Quality: 3 stars out of 3.
- Grind Settings: 3 stars out of 3.
Adjusting this compact mill is easy: You simply slide a big plastic tab along a row of clearly marked grind sizes. It’s also a breeze to fill, thanks to a wide opening that’s about 2 inches across. We love that the pepper comes out of the top, because that keeps your countertop free of the peppercorn debris and dust that can fall out of other models. Thanks to the mill’s clear body, you can tell at a glance when it’s time to refill it.
Recommended
- Ease of Use: 3 stars out of 3.
- Grind Quality: 3 stars out of 3.
- Grind Settings: 2.5 stars out of 3.
- Ease of Use: 3 stars out of 3.
- Grind Quality: 3 stars out of 3.
- Grind Settings: 2 stars out of 3.
- Ease of Use: 2.5 stars out of 3.
- Grind Quality: 3 stars out of 3.
- Grind Settings: 2 stars out of 3.
The fastest pepper mill we’ve ever tested, this model cranks out a tablespoon of finely ground pepper in just 60 seconds, while other models take more than 2 minutes. But the adjustment dial is a pain to use. It’s on the underside of the mill, and it has 40 unmarked settings. Not only is that more settings than most people need, but it also requires several complete rotations of the dial to go through the entire spectrum of fine to coarse, and it’s impossible to know at a glance which setting you’re on. The mill is also heavy, weighing more than 1 pound and 3 ounces when full—nearly half a pound more than our winner. If you regularly make cacio e pepe or other pepper-heavy foods and enjoy specialty gadgets, you’ll love this pepper mill. If you don’t, you’ll likely find its speed, price, and heft to be overkill.
Recommended with reservations
- Ease of Use: 3 stars out of 3.
- Grind Quality: 2 stars out of 3.
- Grind Settings: 2 stars out of 3.
This mill didn’t have clearly marked grind sizes, and we also noticed that the pepper output skewed toward the finer side. As one tester noted, “coarse wasn't that coarse.” The mill still operated easily, though, and we appreciated its top-loading design.
- Ease of Use: 3 stars out of 3.
- Grind Quality: 1 stars out of 3.
- Grind Settings: 3 stars out of 3.
We really appreciated this mill’s clearly marked grind settings, but we took issue with its accuracy. “Fine is not very fine,” said one tester, and another said that “Coarse is very coarse, almost like the peppercorns are cracked in half instead of in pieces.” The grinds were noticeably coarser than those of the other models, though we found the mill very easy to use. Even loading it was pretty easy: Despite needing to flip it upside down to fill it through an opening in the bottom, it had the widest opening in the lineup at nearly 2 inches across, so it was a cinch to aim into. We also appreciated that its clear body allowed us to easily assess how much pepper was in the mill at any given time.
- Ease of Use: 2 stars out of 3.
- Grind Quality: 3 stars out of 3.
- Grind Settings: 1.5 stars out of 3.
Another model with an adjustable knob, another round of complaints. One tester tried adjusting the mill to coarse and unintentionally unscrewed the knob entirely because it’s “tough to know how far to take it” before you need to stop. Another tester had the same lament, saying “I didn’t know how much to loosen it before the top popped off.” We also didn’t think it was the easiest model to operate, as it made a clicking noise when we rotated the top knob, making us wonder if we were damaging it.
- Ease of Use: 1.5 stars out of 3.
- Grind Quality: 3 stars out of 3.
- Grind Settings: 2 stars out of 3.
Reviews you can trust
The mission of America’s Test Kitchen Reviews is to find the best equipment and ingredients for the home cook through rigorous, hands-on testing.
Kate Shannon
Kate is a deputy editor for ATK Reviews. She's a culinary school graduate and former line cook and cheesemonger.
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