I’ve Reviewed Hundreds of Kitchen Items—Here Are 14 October Prime Day Deals I Think Are Worth It

When I started reviewing gear professionally more than five years ago, I thought: A career that combines my cooking experience, love of shopping, and enjoyment of repetitive tasks? Sign me up! It takes a special person to fry 50 eggs back-to-back to test a pan’s nonstick properties. And that’s me!

Over the past five years, I’ve tested hundreds and hundreds of kitchen items. And I’m now a notoriously picky person. This means even if something’s deeply discounted if it’s not good, I don’t want it (and you shouldn’t either).

In this spirit, I went through the Prime Big Deal Days (also called October Prime Day) sales to find the discounted items I thought were worth the cash. (Today is day two of the sale so it's your last chance to shop.)

The Best Kitchen Towels: Zeppoli Classic Dish Towels

Kitchen towels may not be the most exciting purchase, but they’re undeniably useful. These ones are cheap (a little over $1 a pop) and have an extremely high absorption rate (141%!).

The Best Coffee Grinder for Most People: OXO Brew Conical Burr Coffee Grinder

I've used this coffee grinder for many years and it's our top pick for most people. It's consistent and has a plethora of easy-to-adjust settings (just twist the top to do so). It's also rarely on sale, so this $20 discount is pretty exciting.

The Easiest-to-Use Espresso Machine: Breville Barista Express Impress Espresso Machine

As soon as we reviewed the Breville Barista Express Impress, I knew I had to have it. It streamlines the parts I found trickier about making espresso, including the grinding and tamping. I also love the green smiley face that illuminates when you reach the correct amount of grounds. (See? Easy!) It's 20% off at the moment.

The Best Dish Rack: KitchenAid Stainless Steel Compact Dish Rack

There are so-so dish racks, and there are great ones. The great ones not only hold a ton of dishes without wobbling but look good doing it. (Stainless steel!) Right now this one from KitchenAid is 43% off.

The Best Blender: Vitamix 5200 Professional-Grade Blender

You can't do better than this blender—and it's been our favorite since Kenji first tested it all the way back in 2014. Its tapered blending jar created a super-effective vortex and it has straightforward controls and numerous power settings.

The Best Sheet Pans: Nordic Ware Half-Sheet Pans

You may think you have enough half-sheet pans, but you don’t. In every test kitchen I’ve worked in, there are literal stacks upon stacks of them—and for good reason. They’re infinitely useful for roasting, baking, toasting, and food prep. The best ones are undoubtedly from Nordic Ware. Be sure to clip the coupon for the full savings!

The Most Powerful Immersion Blender: Vitamix Immersion Blender

The most powerful immersion blender award goes to this model from Vitamix. It blitzes! It purees! It pulverizes! It also has a non-slip grip and multiple speeds, which you can toggle between using just your thumb.

The Best Sous Vide Machine with an On-Board Display: Anova Precision Cooker 

Sous vide is one of the easiest ways to avoid overcooking meat and seafood—and it’s really as simple as setting up a water bath with an immersion circulator. This one from Anova has an onboard display and is app-compatible, so you monitor it from afar or just forgo the smart stuff for fear of your WiFi connection cutting out and ruining dinner.

The Best Stand Mixer for Many Bakers: KitchenAid Artisan Stand Mixer

The KitchenAid Artisan was one of our favorite stand mixers after reviewing 11 of them and it's available in a lot of colors and is $70 off at the moment. If you really want to make an impression, my mom bought me a stand mixer when I first got into cooking and it's been one of my most-used gifts. Each color is priced slightly different, with Porcelain being the most discounted currently.

The Best Cast Iron Skillet: Lodge Cast Iron Skillet

A cast iron skillet is one of my favorite things to give someone. It’s literally the gift that keeps on giving and only gets better with time. You can sear a steak, bake a pan of cornbread, and even shallow-fry in one. Our favorite cast iron skillet from Lodge is a steal, too, at just $25.

The Best Bread Knife: Tojiro Bread Knife

The most agile, sharpest bread knife is 8% off right now. It easily slices tomatoes, cuts through the crustiest and softest bread with ease, and can even peel butternut squash (that’s nimbleness for you!). 

The Best Compact Vaccum Sealer: Anova Precision Vaccum Sealer

For sous vide or food storage, a vacuum sealer is the kind of purchase you might not use all of the time, but you’ll be mighty grateful when you do need it. I own this model from Anova. It features a pulse setting and no refractory period (that’s the time between sealings).

The Best Air Fryer Toaster Oven: Calphalon Air Fryer Oven

Handsome and capable of air-frying, toasting, baking, broiling, roasting, and more, this all-in-one appliance is, in a word, excellent. It aced our tests and is worth its full price. Lucky for you, though, it's nearly half off for October Prime Day.

One of the Best Woks: Souped Up Recipes Carbon Steel Wok

A good wok is one of the most versatile pieces of cookware out there. You can stir fry, deep-fry, steam, braise, and smoke with one. This Souped Up Recipes wok comes with a lid and spatula and is currently 35% off.

FAQs

When are Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days? 

According to Amazon, the sale will be on October 10 and 11, 2023.