Ten Top Tools of the Frugal Cook

So, you want to live more frugally and you are willing to start in the kitchen. Great! There are a few cheap tools that can aid you in your journey and efforts.

1. Slow cooker. The frugal cook uses their slow cooker, year round, nearly every day. I use mine for a lot more than just pulling together meals. Granted, the slow cooker is great for dump and go meals and for slow braising cheap meats but I also use mine for poaching and bone cleaning. I make my frugal bread pudding in my slow cooker. I use mine every day and you should too. You can find gently used slow cookers at your local thrift store for next to nothing.
2. A veggie chopper. I bought mine on Amazon for under $18 you can find them nearly anywhere. My was advertised as an onion chopper but I use it for making neat, precise cuts on most veggies quickly and efficiently. A valuable time saver and it helps if you don’t have mad knife skills or the time to chop a bounty of cheaply bought produce.
3. A small selection of knives to suit your individual needs.
4. Blender. Mine has been around for a really long time and when a mechanical part broke, I frugally replaced the part for $8 rather than buy a whole new blender. I use mine for quickly blending everything from smoothies to herbal oils.
5. Hand mixer. I bought mine for $3 at a thrift shop and have been using it for more than a decade now. Mixes leftovers into batters and doughs easily.
6. Freezer containers. Mine all come from the local dollar store and work great.
7. Kitchen stand mixer. Granted they are pricy, north of $200, but mine has been around for decades. I use it for everything from kneading doughs to spiraling vegetables (a friend gifted me the spiral attachment).
8. Food processor. Great for batch work, everything from grating large amounts of veggies and cheese to mixing up simple pie dough. Versatile.
9. Good pots and pans. Don’t skimp here. I stalked Costco ads until the set I had been eying went on sale. Best investment ever.
10. Freezer. The frugal cook needs ample freezer space. I have an old freezer in my garage that stores everything and saves me a ton of money. I faithfully defrost it every few months to keep it in tip top shape.