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Equipment for Vegan Cooking

The vegan diet is more about ingredients than it is about equipment, but there are some tools that will make preparing plant-based meals easier and more convenient. Here's a handful of them, most of which have been tested by our intrepid Tasting and Testing team, who put household equipment to the test to determine the best product that will save you time and money.

Ingredient Prep

Winning Products

The Best Chef's Knife Victorinox Swiss Army Fibrox Pro 8" Chef's Knife

A good chef's knife is important for any type of cooking, not just vegan cooking. This comfortable knife's super-sharp blade is silent and smooth and glides through everything from silky tofu to tough squash.

The Best Paring Knife Victorinox Swiss Army Fibrox Pro 3 1/4" Spear Point Paring Knife

This knife was “superadept”; its sharp, flexible blade nimbly hugged curves, so we could surgically remove peels or cores without plunging too deeply.

 

The Best Food Processor Cuisinart Custom 14 Food Processor

Whether you're making your own vegan cheese (like cashew ricotta), vegetable broth base, or sauce packed with umami-packed ingredients, this food processor has a powerful, quiet motor and outshines pricier, more feature-filled products.

 

The Best Spiralizer Paderno World Cuisine Tri-Blade Plastic Spiral Vegetable Slicer

Simple, intuitive, inexpensive, and stable, this product easily spiralized a variety of fruits and vegetables with relatively little waste. Better yet, it was able to turn almost all of the produce into even, consistent noodles and ribbons.

 

Tofu Mold

Looking to make your own tofu? A tofu mold gives your homemade tofu shape, so you can get those tight corners and smooth surface.

 

The Best Stand Mixer KitchenAid Classic Plus Stand Mixer

This mixer aced every test we put it through, and it easily whips aquafaba—that is, the liquid left over in a can of chickpeas—to stiff peaks for use in baked goods. While not as powerful as our winning expensive stand mixer from KitchenAid, this mixer is a great value.

 

The Best Electric Spice Grinder Krups Fast-Touch Coffee Mill

Spices are the key to punching up flavor in vegan recipes. This grinder is the best on the market and grinds all spices exceptionally fine.

 

The Best Manual Nut Chopper Prepworks from Progressive Nut Chopper with Non-Skid Base

Nuts add richness and crunch to vegan meals. If you’re going to be chopping lots of them, we recommend this product. It chops nuts into mostly even-size pieceswith minimal dust, and it disassembles easily to clean by hand or dishwasher.

 

The Best Mandoline Swissmar Börner Original V-Slicer Plus Mandoline

This simple device made cuts effortlessly with stunningly precise results. Its hat-shaped guard protects well; cleanup and storage is a breeze, thanks to its compact vertical caddy. Even with just four cuts, all this adds up to a slicer that we’ll use every day.

 

The Best Blender KitchenAid 5-Speed Diamond Blender

The least-expensive model in our lineup, this blender had a narrow jar that combined food well. It also had a smaller footprint and was easy to move and store.

 

Cookware

Winning Products

OXO Good Grips Non-Stick 12-inch Open Frypan

This pan came slick and stayed that way, so tempeh, tofu, and vegetables brown well and then easily remove from the pan. Its grippy stay-cool handle was flawless and its cooking surface vast.

The Best Cast-Iron Skillet Lodge Classic Cast Iron Skillet, 12"

This pan arrived with a slick, preseasoned interior and only got better. An excellent pan, at an excellent price, that you’ll never have to replace.

 

The Best Carbon-Steel Skillet Matfer Bourgeat Black Steel Round Frying Pan, 11 7/8"

This affordable pan had it all: thick, solid construction; a smooth interior with no handle rivets to bump the spatula or trap food; an ergonomically angled handle; and sides flared just right for easy access but high enough to contain splashes.

 

The Best Rimmed Baking Sheet Nordic Ware Baker’s Half Sheet

Everything prepared in this sturdy, warp-resistant sheet cooked appropriately and evenly. Best of all, it costs just around $15.