Wedding registry ideas for the cooking-challenged: The must-have kitchen items

Written by Megan Finley Horowitz

◆ At a Glance ◆

We recently had long-term house sitters who found our kitchen very much lacking in basic amenities. So I asked them what our kitchen needed. They turned around and said… basically, everything. If you are also cooking-challenged, and want to use your newly married lives as an excuse to start learning how to use your kitchen, here are the things that a newbie should register for…

Wedding registry ideas for the cooking-challenged: The must-have kitchen items — This is a pretty accurate photo of what we have for our kitchen… nothing but a Le Crueset pan and a small dog.

My fiancé Mike and I don’t cook. Like not. At all. But we’d like to change that! But how?

Luckily, we recently had long-term house sitters who found our kitchen very much lacking in basic amenities. So I asked them what our kitchen needed. They turned around and said… basically, everything.

If you are also cooking-challenged, and want to use your newly married lives as an excuse to start learning how to use your kitchen, here are the things that a newbie should register for:

Blender/food processor/juicer

Apparently a Vitamix does it all, right? I love one-stop registering.

Toaster oven

How cool is this easy-reach toaster oven, from Hamilton Beach!?

Update your pots and pans

All Clad pans — All-Clad 8-Inch and 10-Inch Fry Pan Cookware Set

I call this pan set “the wedding registry special.” It’s been on my registry once before, and on all of my friend’s registries as well. Ten years later, I’m registering for these bad boys again.

Splatter screen

When my house sitter friends suggested a “splatter screen” for our registry, I had to ask wtf that was. They responded, “It’s a screen you put over a frying pan. They have totally changed my feelings about pan-frying things from ‘makes a mess of kitchen and clothes and isn’t worth it’ to ‘the best way to cook most stuff.’” Okay! Splatter screen added.

Garlic press

I’m more of a “squeeze-y garlic from a tube” kind of gal. But this one seems cheap and easy to clean, so I’ll give it a whirl.

Citrus press

Okay, I know we do in fact need one of these, if only to make awesome cocktails. 😉

Aprons

Every newbie cook DEFINITELY needs an apron. Because learning how to cook gets messy AF.

Slow cooker

A slow cooker as cute as this one just might convince me to, well, use a slow cooker! You have to click through to see the other color options too.

Le Creuset ANYTHING

Le Creuset Signature Enameled Cast Iron dutch oven — Le Creuset Signature Enameled Cast-Iron dutch oven

Okay, I have one of these Le Creuset dutch ovens and I’ve used it for making so many things. PLUS it’s a really convenient way to bring something yummy to a party. On top of that, picking your Le Crueset color is a time-honored wedding registry tradition in my family. I’m very much a Flame girl.

A fancy set of knives

Nuvita 6 Piece Stainless Knife Set — Nuvita 6-Piece Stainless Knife Set

If you’re not cooking a lot, you don’t need a 12 piece knife set. I was drawn to this simple and affordable, yet unique, knife set to start off with.

Drying rack for pots and pans

Saganizer Collapsible Compact dish drying rack

Finally, now that you’ll be cooking more, you’ll have more dishes. So get a dish dryer that you don’t mind having out on the counter.

Ready to add these things to YOUR registry?

Almost everything on this page came from Amazon, because their wedding registries are super easy for everyone to use, and even include a universal registry option — so you can register for stuff from ANYWHERE online, using Amazon.

Want to kick off YOUR Amazon registry by adding all these things?

Setup your wedding registry today

Help me out, what else am I missing? What kind of must have kitchen items are you adding to your registries?

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