I Stirred, Scraped, and Scooped to Test 13 Wooden Spoons

A wooden spoon is an unassuming kitchen utensil. It’s inexpensive, most of them look similar, and because wood is so durable, it’s a tool that can last decades without being replaced. And yet, whenever there’s a stew to stir, fond to scrape, or grits to scoop, it’s just the tool to have on hand. 

To find the best wooden spoons, I selected a variety of styles, shapes, and types of wood. I used each to scrape, stir, and scoop—evaluating their performance, usability, and durability. 

The Tests

• Sausage Test: I followed the first steps of this recipe for Orecchiette con Salsiccia e Cime di Rapa, using each wooden spoon to break up sausage, stir it in the pan, and scoop it out into a bowl.
• Oatmeal Test: Using rolled oats, I cooked batches of oatmeal and left them untouched to begin to solidify. I then tested how well each wooden spoon could scrape, stir, and serve the oatmeal.
• Durability Test: To mimic consistent wear and tear with each spoon, I set them all in a pot of boiling water for 10 minutes and then evaluated the finish on the wood. I also tested each spoon for flexibility by pressing them against and tapping each spoon on the counter 20 times to look for dings or dents.
• Usability Tests: Throughout my testing, I evaluated the usability of each spoon, noting things like handle size, head shape, and weight to make sure each spoon was more than just functional.

What We Learned

Most Spoons Performed Just Fine

While I ended up with clear preferences after my testing, most wooden spoons tackled every test with a passing grade. The only wooden spoon that failed wasn’t even a wooden spoon at all. The Earlywood Large Flat Saute had difficulty scooping and serving, but its design was great for breaking up sausage and scraping up fond, and can even be used as a turner or a bench scraper. While it might not have been suited for this round of testing, I still really liked its design.

Flat Edges Were Better for Scraping and Scooping

It’s not a surprise that spoons with a flat edge were better at scraping up fond from the bottom of a stainless steel skillet and clearing the corners of a straight-sided saucepan, but what surprised me was how much better flat-sided spoons were at scooping up the sausage once browned. The thin edges of the Le Creuset Revolution Scraping Spoon and of the Jonathan’s Spoons Spootle were able to swiftly slide under each sausage piece without bumping them around the pan the way the rounder spoons did. 

Rounded Spoons with Deep Bowls Were More Efficient at Stirring and Serving

A deeper bowl on a wooden spoon moved more oatmeal around the pot with each stir, making it extremely efficient. It also sped up serving time dramatically, since more oatmeal could be safely lifted out of the pot without the threat of spilling off the side of the spoon. I particularly liked the deep bowls of the FAAY Teak Cooking Spoon and Sabatier All Purpose Spoon.

Tilted Heads Created More Leverage

Most spoons curve slightly upward toward the tip of the bowl, which gives them more leverage with stirring and scraping. My top pick, the Jonathan’s Spoons Spootle, had an aggressive curved tilt that I loved. On every stir, it pulled the food towards you, and when scraping fond, it angled sharply against the bottom of the pan. The flat, paddle-like spoon head of Material’s The Wood Spoon felt awkward when stirring and required me to hold the handle almost vertically to get into the corners properly. 

Thin Lips Were More Versatile

Whether the spoon head was flat, oval, or circular, a thin lip at the edge of the bowl was a must. It allowed for more precision when breaking up food or scraping, and it helped get under things when scooping. Made In’s The Wooden Spoon had a fairly blunt lip, so even though it had the deepest bowl out of all the spoons, it was clunky and pushed food around more, rather than scooping.

What's the Best Wooden Spoon Material?

The type of wood a spoon was made out of impacted its durability as much as its aesthetics. The Earlywood Large Flat Saute was maple, and even though maple is classified as water-resistant, it showed a lot of wear and tear in my durability tests. Same with the walnut of Material’s The Wood Spoon and the jatoba in Earlywood’s Long Server. While these spoons might have performed better if they were better seasoned with mineral oil, my three winners (made from cherrywood, teak, and olivewood) were water-resistant and durable out of the box, remaining smooth to the touch and resistant to dings and scratches.

Thicker, Round Handles Were the Most Comfortable 

Flatter handles, like on the OXO Good Grips Large Wooden Spoon, were harder to find a comfortable grip with. Round handles were easier to switch from a pencil grip to a knife grip and were more comfortable in both positions. If the handle was too thin, however, like on Material’s The Wood Spoon, it might roll sideways during a forceful stir or scrape. The most comfortable handles were around an inch in diameter and were thick enough to give you a firm grip without feeling awkward.

The Criteria: What to Look for In a Wooden Spoon

The best wooden spoons have an angled head with a thin lip, are made from water-resistant and durable wood, and have a thicker, rounded handle. They also have a deep bowl for stirring and serving, allowing the user to easily mix food and get it on the plate in fewer movements.

Our Favorite Wooden Spoons

The Best Wooden Spoon

Jonathan’s Spoons Spootle

View on Woodspoon.com

What we liked: The angled, flat edge of the Jonathan’s Spoons Spootle was excellent at scraping up fond and breaking up sausage, but also great at scooping. It could get under food better than any round-headed spoon, and the backset bowl on the spoon head held it in place once scooped. I loved the aggressively titled head, which gave extra leverage when stirring and scraping. It’s also made from water-resistant cherrywood, which held up well in my durability test. The spoon’s flat edge is angled to one side, though, so left-handed users will need to order the left-handed version. 

What we didn’t like: While the handle was comfortable, it was shorter compared to my other winners. It didn’t affect the performance of the spoon much, but it did make it slightly less comfortable to hold when stirring in a deeper pot. I also wish the bowl was slightly deeper to make it more efficient while scooping. It was one of the pricier spoons I tested.

Key Specs

• Material: Cherrywood
• Weight: 1.7 ounces
• Total length: 12.75 inches
• Handle length: 8 inches
• Spoon head width: 2.5 inches
• Care instructions: Handwash
  

The Best Oval Wooden Spoon

FAAY Teak Cooking Spoon

$12 at Amazon

What we liked: With an oval-shaped head, a deep bowl, and a thin lip, the FAAY Teak Cooking Spoon was able to stir and serve like a champ. It was also great at breaking up food and was surprisingly lightweight for the thickness of its handle. The elongated head was great for getting into the corners of straight-sided pots (like Dutch ovens and saucepans), and its teak wood was the most durable and water-resistant wood I tested. 

What we didn’t like: Because the oval head comes to a smaller point at the spoonhead’s tip, this model wasn’t able to cover much ground when scraping up food from a pan. It still did a good job, but just took three times as many swipes as flatter spoons. 

Key Specs

• Material: Teak
• Weight: 2.4 ounces
• Total length: 14 inches
• Handle length: 10 inches
• Spoon head width: 2.75 inches
• Care instructions: Handwash

The Best Rounded Wooden Spoon

Sabatier All-Purpose Spoon

$25 $19 at Amazon $25 at Wayfair

What we liked: A more circular head was better for stirring and scraping the edges of a sauté pan than an oval or straight-sided spoon, and this olivewood spoon from Sabatier cleared those corners beautifully. We really loved how beautiful the olivewood grain was, and it held up great in our durability tests. This spoon, like our top oval pick, also features a thin lip and a deep bowl, but its rounded head was better at scraping with its wider surface contact.

What we didn’t like: While a rounded head works great on sauté pans, it struggled to clear the corners on a straight-sided pot. And while it scraped up fond better than the FAAY spoon, it still wasn’t as good as the Jonathan’s Spoons Spootle. 

Key Specs

• Material: Olivewood
• Weight: 2.8 ounces
• Total length: 13.75 inches
• Handle length: 9.5 inches
• Spoon head width: 2.75 inches
• Care instructions: Handwash

The Competition

• Le Creuset Revolution Scraping Spoon: I really liked this spoon, but it was the most expensive model I tested. Its narrow bowl wasn’t as great at serving either. However, it's still worth buying.
• Earlywood Large Flat Saute: I liked the versatility of this sauté paddle, but it just didn’t measure up as a spoon.
• OXO Good Grips Large Wooden Spoon: Thick, heavy, and blunt, this spoon was hard to maneuver and clunky. 
• OXO Good Grips Corner Spoon: The angled version performed better than its oval-shaped sibling, but it still couldn’t change how heavy and large this spoon was.
• Epicurean Chef Series: Its richlite material was seemingly indestructible, but the spoon head was too small and shallow to be effective at scraping and scooping. 
• Earlywood Long Server: As a serving spoon, the handle was too short and the spoon head was too large for cooking applications (though it was a beautiful serving piece). 
• Made In The Wooden Spoon: With a blunt lip, an aggressively angled head, and a deep bowl, this spoon was just too awkward for most tasks. 
• Material The Wood Spoon: The flat, paddle-style head of this spoon was difficult to stir and serve with, and the maple it was made from showed a lot of wear and tear. 
• Five Two Wooden Spoons The Mix Master: This spoon head was just too narrow and small to be effective. It's been discontinued.
• KitchenAid Universal Bamboo Basting Spoon: There were no major flaws with this spoon, it just wasn’t as comfortable to hold as our top picks and didn’t have as deep of a bowl. 

FAQs

What wood is best for wooden spoons?

Most hardwoods will be water-resistant and dent-proof, but in our testing, teak was the most durable wood. (It's commonly used in outdoor furniture for its durability and natural water-resistance.) Other woods, like cherrywood and olivewood, performed well, too.

What's better: wooden or bamboo spoons?

Bamboo spoons perform similarly to wooden spoons. Wooden spoons are more likely to dry out, while bamboo may splinter over time. As for sustainability, it's debatable which material is better. Bamboo grows quickly and requires less water than hardwoods. But bamboo is often grown in monocultures, then shipped overseas. In that case, it's difficult to define a more environmentally friendly option. The most sustainable option is taking care of your wooden spoon and using it for years.

Do you have to oil wooden spoons?

While a wooden spoon might last for years without ever being oiled, applying a small amount of olive oil or mineral oil to your spoons on a regular basis will help them keep their finish and add to their water-resistant qualities, similar to seasoning a wooden cutting board.

How do you clean wooden spoons?

Like wooden cutting boards, wooden spoons should be hand-washed in warm, soapy water. The heat during a drying cycle in a dishwasher can cause them to crack, and leaving them to soak in water can damage the finish and cause them to warp.

What cooking tasks can you use a wooden spoon for?

A wooden spoon is one of the most versatile kitchen utensils there is. You can use it to scrape meat as it browns, stir sauces as they simmer, serve oatmeal and risotto, and more.

How long does a wooden spoon last?

While there is no cut-and-dry answer, five years seems to be the commonly stated lifespan. However, that depends on how well you take care of your spoon. If you're letting it soak in water frequently, it might get moldy/split/kick the bucket sooner than that. To ensure a long lifespan, dry your wooden spoon thoroughly after washing and give it a rub with food-grade wood butter or mineral oil.

Why We're the Experts

• Jesse Raub was Serious Eats' commerce writer and spent over 15 years working in the specialty coffee industry. While he was our in-house coffee expert, he was also an avid home cook. He reviewed garlic presses, sauté pans, and more.
• He spent 14 hours over four days testing these wooden spoons in multiple cooking and durability tests, as well as putting the top three winners into daily use in his kitchen for over six months of long-term testing.