Pinch of Nom Gift Guide: Kitchen Gifts for Christmas
For anyone who loves to cook (or anyone whose New Year resolution is to cook more) there’s no better surprise than discovering a kitchen gift sitting under the tree on Christmas morning.
If you’re still ticking things off your Christmas shopping list and need a little bit of inspiration for foodie friends, or family on a health kick, this handy gift guide is here to help. Along with a few bits of kitchen kit that we love to use in the PON office, we asked the community on our Facebook page and Instagram recently what gadgets they can’t live without.
From bigger appliances that will change the way you cook and eat, to those little things that just make life easier, there’s something for every kitchen and every budget on this list! (And there are even more ideas over on our Amazon shop page…)
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Give the gift of PON
We have to start by mentioning that our very own cookbooks make excellent gifts! Our brand-new cookbook Pinch of Nom: Express is out NOW…just in time to be wrapped and tucked away under the tree for Christmas morning.
You can order a copy right here.
Don’t forget we have lots of other books and planners to pick from if you’re missing any from your PON collection! Perfect for a fresh start in the New Year, our Family Meal Planner is exactly what you need to get organised, set goals and note down your achievements.
Explore all of our cookbooks and planners here.
Kitchen appliances gift ideas
When we asked the PON community to tell us their favourite gadgets, there was one thing in particular that was mentioned the most – air fryers! If you’re buying a big present for someone who wants to cook healthy, tasty food, it’s well worth keeping an eye out for good deals on air fryers.
You’ll find that you can pick up these appliances at a range of prices, with this Tower T17021 Family Size Air Fryer with Rapid Air Circulation at the budget-friendly end of the scale. We love that it has a generous 4.3 litre capacity and a choice of functions to suit what you’re cooking.
It’ll make easy work of these Air Fryer Vegan Nuggets. They’re crispy and packed with vegetables, so they make for a healthy alternative to the fast food restaurant or drive-through.
The PON kitchen wouldn’t be complete without our Ninja Foodi MAX Health Grill and Air Fryer – it’s a kitchen gift idea we’ll recommend time and time again. It comes with 6 cooking functions, as well as a digital probe to help you cook meat to perfection.
We love to use it to make these juicy Air Fryer Parmesan Pork Skewers. They’re not shy of flavour, with a garlicky, herby Parmesan cheese coating that turns golden as they cook.
You can find lots more air fryer recipes and a handy conversion chart in this blog article.
Ranking not far behind air fryers on the ‘most-wanted’ list, slow cookers make great kitchen gifts for Christmas. Not only are they fairly affordable, they’ll treat whoever you buy one for, to low effort, big flavour meals day after day.
This Tower T16042MNB Cavaletto 3.5 Litre Slow Cooker has 3 heat settings, and plenty of room to let your ingredients bubble away. Imagine leaving your dinner to cook low and slow all day, so it’s ready to dish up when you walk through the door – there’s no better gift than that!
Our Slow Cooker Balsamic Beef Stew is a classic for a reason. A warming bowl of goodness, it’s just what you want on a chilly day, especially since it’s easy to make and just 383 calories per serving.
If you need a kitchen gift idea for someone who’s already got an air fryer and a slow cooker, how about a pressure cooker? Better yet, this Instant Pot Duo Crisp and Air Fryer 11-in-1 Multicooker does all of the above, so it’s perfect for anyone who wants to make the most of kitchen counter space.
The pressure cooker function is great for busy days when you want to serve up healthy, tasty meals in less time.
It might sound impossible to cook a whole chicken in 20 minutes, but that’s the magic of a pressure cooker! Just follow the steps of our 20 Minute Whole Chicken recipe, and you’ll be able to rustle up a roast dinner faster than you can say ‘pass the gravy’.
When it comes to slimming-friendly lunches, it’s hard to beat a tasty homemade soup. To make the job even easier, you could treat someone you love to a shiny new soup maker for Christmas this year.
This Morphy Richards Compact Soup Maker will have a batch of warming broth ready for you in under 20 minutes. It has 4 speed settings to help you blend your ingredients to the perfect consistency – whether you want it chunky, smooth, or somewhere in-between!
At just 128 calories per portion, this Spicy Tomato Soup deserves a spot on your weekly meal plan. It freezes and reheats like a dream, making it ideal for batch-cooking when you need to get organised for the week ahead.
Great gadget gift ideas
When it comes to handy gadgets, many members of the PON community told us they wouldn’t be without an omelette maker. If you’re looking for a smaller kitchen gift for Christmas, this Salter EK2716 Dual Omelette Maker will make breakfast time a breeze.
Ready to cook 2 omelettes at once, the handy bit of kit is nice and easy to clean, and more versatile than you might think – you can use it to heat up pastries and cakes, as well as cook your eggs.
No one said omelettes need to be savoury, so we love to whip up this Strawberry Souffle Omelette for a treat on a weekend. Super light and fluffy, it’s quick to make and just 218 calories.
When you want to save time on chopping, but don’t want to use up counter space with a bulky kitchen gadget, a mini chopper is priceless. We love this Kenwood Mini Chopper and we reckon it’s a great kitchen gift idea!
Slice and dice in seconds, and chuck the blades and jug into the dishwasher for easy clean-up too.
A food processor or chopper will come in especially handy when you’re making our Salsa Salad. Finely chopped tomatoes, onion, peppers, avocado and chilli all mix together for a fiery flavour punch!
A set of kitchen scales might not be the most traditional kitchen gift, but it’s a present that anyone would be grateful for (according to our lovely community!). An essential bit of kit if you’re often following recipes, an accurate set of scales will make sure you get just the right amount of each ingredient.
This Salter 1066 WHDR15 Digital Kitchen Scale will do the job nicely, with an easy-to-read digital display.
Accurate measurements are never more important than when you’re baking sweet treats. Carefully weigh out the ingredients for these Biscoff Lava Cakes, and we guarantee you’ll love the results.
Pans and cookware gift ideas
For anyone who wants to take cooking a step further in the year ahead, a nice new set of pans from Santa would feel like such a treat. Even if you only pick one item of cookware to gift on Christmas morning, a good-quality pan is never a bad idea.
We’d recommend a large wok or frying pan with a lid, since these come in useful for so many different kinds of recipes. For a long-lasting bit of kit, this Ninja ZEROSTICK Premium Cookware 28cm Wok with Glass Lid is worth the investment.
It’s suitable for use on any kind of hob, including induction, and it’s oven-safe too.
A wok is perfect for speedy dinners like our Broccoli and Mushroom Stir-Fry. Easy-peasy to make, our recipe builds up loads of flavour in very little time – exactly what you need for a midweek meal.
Buying someone kitchen knives as a Christmas present might seem a little out of the ordinary, but they’re an essential bit of kit that can often be overlooked. This Tower T81532RD Kitchen Knife Set with Acrylic Knife Blockis a stylish choice, with sharp stainless steel knives in a range of sizes.
Sharper knives are actually much safer to use than blunt ones, since there’s less chance of them slipping off the surface of the ingredient you’re chopping!
They’ll make light work of slicing and dicing the vegetables to cook Campfire Stew – which is all the more reason to add it into your rotation of weekly dinner recipes!
Kitchen stocking filler ideas
If all the big presents are already taken care of, you might only need to add a couple of kitchen-themed stocking fillers to your Christmas gifting list.
These Magnetic Measuring Spoons are perfect for beginner cooks, who might still be getting the hang of using lots of different herbs and spices. The double-sided spoons take the guesswork out of measurements (because nobody wants to get confused between a teaspoon or a tablespoon of hot chilli powder!).
Measuring spoons are most useful when you’re making a homemade blend of spices to season your cooking. We always like to make our own seasoning for Chicken Fajitas – give it a try and let us know if you agree it’s tastier than a shop-bought packet!
Last but not least on our list of Christmas kitchen gift ideas is this colourful set of Silicone Spatulas. Another brilliant suggestion from the Pinch of Nom community, the heat-resistant tools are great for moving ingredients around the pan, stirring food together, and scraping every last bit out of mixing bowls.
When you make our Chocolate Brownies you won’t want a single drop of batter to escape the baking tray! A silicone spatula will scrape the bowl clean, so you get the most out of every batch.
What’s on your kitchen gift list?
We’d love to know what Santa is bringing you or your friends and family this year! Swing on by our Facebook group or tag us in your story on Instagram (@pinchofnom) and tell us what you’re hoping to find under the tree.
Don’t forget, if you’re hungry for more recipes, taking a look through our Gallery is a great way to find out what everyone else is cooking at the minute. You’ll want to sign up to a free website account to upload and share your photos (it’s really easy, and we’ve got a step-by-step guide you can follow!).
If you liked this article, there’s more where that came from. Explore our blog to browse for recipe ideas, kitchen equipment recommendations, money-saving tips and more.