Gifts for Under $20 for the Chef or Foodie on Your Holiday List

Is there a chef or wannabe chef on your holiday gift list? Or maybe you need a last-minute stocking stuffer or Secret Santa surprise? Kitchen gadgets make great gifts, and Consumer Reports’ experts tried and tested loads of them–the good and the bad–to make sure the cooks on your list get a quality gift for $20 or less!

You don’t need to spend lots of money to make a great meal. The same goes for prepping a one, says Consumer Reports’ resident chef.

Consumer Reports tested tons of kitchen gadgets this year that are great gift options for the foodies on your list. Best of all, they can all be had for 20 dollars or less.

You can’t go wrong with a digital meat thermometer. Consumer Reports recommends the AcuRite Digital 00295 for $15.

Another way to make your chef happy this season is by keeping their knives happy. A sharp knife is not only safer, it just works better. It makes meal prep easier, and you don’t have to spend a lot of money to get a great knife sharpener.

For around $10, the manual KitchenIQ Deluxe Diamond Edge Grip 2-Stage Knife Sharpener works fast.

A mandolin slicer is another great gift, especially when consistency and presentation are key and there’s lots of food to slice. 

Consumer Reports’ testers liked the simplicity of the handheld Kyocera Ceramic Mandoline. It evenly slices hard and medium foods and costs $20.

For under $10, you can throw in the Carrollar Flexible Plastic Cutting Board Mats, which come in a set of four, and you’ve got a kitchen gift basket. They’re flexible, which makes them especially useful for chopping herbs, garlic, and other produce and folding them right into your dish or pan.  

If you have a baker on your list, the Greater Goods Digital Kitchen Scale is the perfect gift and costs about $10. 

Measuring cups aren’t always as accurate as you might think. A kitchen scale is really the best way to measure ingredients like flour and sugar so you know exactly what’s going into your recipe. And if you’re on the recipient’s cookie list, you just might reap the benefits of a kitchen scale, too.

Consumer Reports says if you’ve got an eco-conscious chef on your list, they’ll appreciate the sustainability of reusable food storage bags. Consumer Reports checked out several and says the stand-up mini bags from Stasher allow you to pack, freeze, and reheat foods all in the same bag. Or if you want to splurge, consider giving your chef the night off with a gift certificate to their favorite restaurant or a cooking class so they can master more culinary skills!