My most-used vegan kitchen equipment

High-powered blender

I couldn’t live without a good blender or a even high-speed blender at that.

So many blenders claim to be high-speed and powerful, yet they are incapable of making a smoothie ‘smooth’. I was gifted a Vitamix blender at graduation and I never looked back.

These things are real machines. They can be used for anything that needs blending, blitzing, cooking whilst blending, you name it.

They are quite pricey, but so worth it. I recommend any of the smart models, I’ve used them all at work and at home, and love them all!

With a high-powered blender, you can make vegan cheeses, plant-based milk, sauces, soups, pastes, smoothies, and much much more.

Air fryer

Never in my life did I imagine that I would become a regular user of an air fryer, but here we are. This Ninja Air Fryer really changed my cooking habits, for the better.

Find out more about why I love this air fryer in my Ninja Air Fryer review.

I love frying food, and second to this, I love roasting food in loads of oil in the oven. So, being able to achieve similar results with a lot less oil is something of a game-changer for me.

I have found the air fryer to produce great-tasting crispy food and I am definitely using a lot less oil than before. The best bit, you can also use this particular model (which I believe is one of the best air fryers you can buy) to dehydrate food, like fruit and vegetables, as well as to bake vegan cakes, roast vegetables, and reheat leftovers. Making it a pretty nifty piece of equipment that may result in you using your oven a lot less often.

Vegan food wraps

If you are vegan, then bets are you are also conscious of using too much plastic.

Cling film has been with us for yonks. I’d often reach for it without even thinking about what it is. It is plastic, and it is horrible.

Now I solely rely on vegan food wraps, which are reusable wraps that you can place on top of bowls/plates of leftover food, and Tupperware (I even bring it with me on my travels and to restaurants).

These vegan food wraps help to keep your food fresh as well as helping to keep your bin free from masses of single-use plastic wraps.

An eco frying pan

I won’t be surprised if you’ve never thought of a frying pan as not being eco-friendly before, but neither had I until I discovered these eco pans from Prestige.

Their eco range uses recycled materials with a plant-based coating. Oh and you can even recycle it when you are done with it.

So now you know that eco frying pans exist and that they are worth buying for the environment, are they actually any good? Yes, yes they are. The non-stick works perfectly and they clean easily. I recommend these frying pans as they make vegan cooking that bit easier. Whether you are crisping up tofu or sautéing veg.

An eco water bottle

For when you want to bring the delights of your kitchen with you on the go, you need this eco friendly water bottle from S’wheat. Ever since receiving this I have been using it every day, for taking water to the gym and for keeping my hot drinks hot whilst out and about.

It is made using bamboo and I was told that they source this from farmers who would otherwise discard of it. I didn’t know I could love a water bottle this much, but now I do!

It keeps your drinks hot or cold, so you can take your favourite vegan beverage, like this tasty vegan hot chocolate, with you on the go. Or if its nice and sunny outside, you could sneak in a few glasses of chilled white wine to take to the park 😉

Get £5 off your S’wheat eco water bottle using this code at the checkout: EDIBLEETHICS5

Tofu press

Pressing tofu is essential for a lot of vegan firm tofu recipes. It helps to get rid of the unnecessary liquid that you’ll find swimming around in your tofu.

This helps with the cooking process and also helps improve the texture of the tofu, making it almost chicken-like.

You can press the liquid out by placing the tofu inside a linen towel and then balancing a heavy saucepan or book on top, but this can be quite precarious. This tofu press makes life just that bit simpler.

You can make the most of your tofu press in my silken tofu and firm tofu recipes.

Vegan cleaning products

Okay, you won’t be (and really shouldn’t be) cooking with this one, but it is essential for any kitchen to maintain cleanliness. The cleaner your kitchen, the better your cooking will be. Trust me! I’ve worked in a few kitchens in my time and the dirtier ones produce dirtier food.

Luckily for us vegans, there are vegan cleaning brands like Homethings (read my Homethings review). They are 100% vegan and eco-friendly to boot. They send you a starter kit of reusable bottles and then you top them up with these handy tabs that you mix with water.

The products work really well and you’ll be throwing away a lot less single-use plastic in your kitchen.

A good chef’s knife

A good knife is essential. If you have blunt poor quality knives then you’ll find chopping your food to be a real chore. With a good quality chef’s knife, you’ll be able to chop through veg, tofu, and vegan meats, and more, like a pro.

I would recommend a Japanese chef’s knife. These are great all-rounders and they are really high quality, meaning they’ll last you for life. The size of the blade is perfect for anything vegan. 

And yes, you may find you slice your fingers a few times but the sharper the knife, the cleaner the cut. Just make sure to buy a Whetstone to maintain the sharpness. Some of the worst cuts I’ve seen in kitchens were when people used blunt knives with such force that they’d do real damage to themselves when it would slip out of their control.

Mortar and pestle

These are perfect for crushing spices and making pastes, which really help to add flavour to your vegan dishes. It is particularly useful for making authentic dishes like my vegan Thai green curry.

If you are lazy, a spice blender works well also – and it doubles up as a coffee grinder too.