How to Set Up a Homestead Kitchen – Essential Tools & More

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Setting up a homesteading kitchen can seem overwhelming if you try to do it all at once. Learn what you really need (and what’s just clutter) so you can do more for less. Here are my favorite kitchen tools, appliances, and equipment that we use regularly.

My husband and I live on a small suburban homestead in an HOA neighborhood in western Washington. Although we’ve always dreamed of living on acreage, that just hasn’t been in our budget yet. But that hasn’t stopped us from starting one bit.

We might not have chickens or livestock (although we used to), but we have a big, bustling garden and a busy kitchen, always working to prepare different meals and preserving the harvest.

After 10 years of gardening and canning, I have a few thoughts on which gadgets are worth the space in your kitchen (and the investment) and which ones aren’t. Ready?

My Homesteading Mindset

I’m all about real food, and that’s a key reason why I was drawn to homesteading in the first place. I wanted to focus on cooking from scratch with simple, whole food ingredients. My pantry is full of ingredients, not prepackaged foods you can eat right away.

Focusing on these minimally processed ingredients allows me to prioritize quality, and I don’t mind spending a little extra time making my own bread or crackers rather than grabbing some at the store.

Part of setting up a slow living homestead is knowing your limits and making compromises that align with your values. You don’t need to do everything from scratch to be successful. Everything in moderation, friend.

It’s also important to me to preserve the harvest, making sure the abundance of my own garden and local farms can be enjoyed throughout the year.

This aligns with my seasonal eating approach, too. We always try to eat in-season whenever possible, relying on our pantry and freezer for any out-of-season foods we may desire.

Need help finding local food on a budget? Learn my insider’s tips as a former farmer’s market manager!

Homesteading Kitchen Tools

I’ve already shared some of my favorite kitchen appliances here. They make it so much easier to cook from scratch every day (the air fryer, pressure cooker, blender, etc). However, homesteaders often need specific tools, particularly for preserving the harvest. 

Let’s start with the basics here. There are some supplies you’ll be using every single day as you prepare your homemade meals.

For these, it’s best to choose high-quality products that will withstand heavy use. Fortunately, that doesn’t mean you have to spend a small fortune. Some of the sturdiest, most reliable equipment is also the most affordable.

Cast Iron Cookware & More

Talk about heirloom quality equipment! Cast iron is a staple in every homesteading kitchen. I recommend having at least one large (8-9 inch) cast iron skillet, perfect for baking sourdough cornbread or searing steaks. 

Personally, we have 3 cast iron pans: a really large skillet, the 8-9 inch one I mentioned, and a much smaller egg pan.

We also have stainless steel pans, which are a great, long-lasting alternative. Although we have been working through a set of ceramic pans, they last much less than stainless steel and cast iron and often cost just as much or more.

You’ll get the most bang for your buck from a good set of stainless steel pans, so it’s worth saving up for a high-quality set.

Kitchen Knives

Every home cook needs a good set of knives. Although they are handy, I’m not a big fan of boxed knife sets. My husband went through a culinary program, and we both met working in kitchens. We have a lot of knives of various sizes —probably more than most people. 

This tends to be really helpful because there are plenty of knives on hand to chop onions, slice chicken breasts, or do whatever else we need. Aim for:

• 2-4 chef’s knives
• 1 long serrated knife (for slicing sourdough bread, fresh tomatoes, etc.)
• 1 granton edge knife (the BEST for cleanly slicing cakes, cured meats, and anything else)
• 3-4 paring knives (1-2 different sizes; great for slicing fruits or small amounts of fresh herbs)

If you are planning to fish, hunt, or raise animals for meat, you may also want a filet knife, butcher’s knife, and a bone knife.

Cutting Boards

Out of convenience, we usually use inexpensive plastic cutting boards, but I’m saving up to invest in dishwasher-safe wooden cutting boards to avoid microplastics. It helps to have 4-5 on hand for easy prep and to avoid cross-contamination.

We also have two large wooden cutting boards that we like to use for slicing bread, fresh foods, etc. They are handy but a little less convenient to clean!

Stock Pot and/or Dutch Oven

We use our Dutch Oven often to bake sourdough loaves, but it’s also a great tool for making soups and stews or braising meats in the oven. You don’t necessarily have to have a cast iron Dutch oven, as you can do a lot with a stainless steel option as well. However, the heavy weight of an enameled cast iron Dutch oven is ideal for big, crusty sourdough loaves. 

Canners will need a reliable stock pot or Dutch oven on hand to make jams, jellies, and more. We have several different options, including one really large one for making tomato sauce or giant batches of soup. 

Large Boxes or Baskets

This is more for gardeners or food preservers, so if you’re not there yet, it’s not necessary. But I have lots of baskets, vintage bowls, and enameled trays I use to store produce from the garden. 

I highly recommend storing fresh fruits and tomatoes in leakproof containers instead of on the counter, as they can go bad and make a mess. I’m telling you—a little stash of vintage enamelware has been great for storing tomatoes, zucchini, homegrown potatoes, and more!

Mixing Bowls

I’ll admit that the number of mixing bowls in my kitchen is a little excessive. I collect antique stoneware bowls and use them on a regular basis. 

We also have 2 stacking 3-bowl sets and a few stainless steel bowls. 

Whether you prefer ceramic or metal, I recommend having at least one metal bowl to use as a double boiler for making Swiss meringue buttercream or lemon curd. I also have one I only use for melting beeswax and oils for homemade lip balm, candles, and lotions. Beeswax is a pain to clean, so it’s worth it to grab one secondhand somewhere.

Mesh Strainers

Get a nice set of metal fine mesh strainers to strain out any infusions, homemade syrups, and more. Mine get used daily!

Food Processor

This is one appliance worth spending a little extra on. Either shop secondhand or plan to spend $100-200 on a high-quality food processor. It’s not just about the convenience of blending homemade hummus or pulsing herbs or nuts, but the attachment blades are a shoulder saver! 

We love using the food processor to shred cabbage, carrots, and cheese. The slicing blade can also be used to slice red onions or cucumbers for pickling.

Kitchen Scale

Although our great-great grandmas probably didn’t rely on kitchen scales to measure flour, I sure do. Kitchen scales make cooking and baking so much easier and more consistent. I use mine every few days to measure out my sourdough starter or to prepare cookies or bread dough for baking.

You can also use the scale to weigh out your harvest to keep tabs on how much you grow. 

After burning through a couple of options, I currently use a postal mail scale with a wider base and a higher weight limit. This is ideal for holding my largest stoneware mixing bowl and anything I add inside. We keep it in a kitchen drawer for easy storage.

Instant Read Thermometer

This is the easiest way to monitor the safety of your food. I temp meats, loaves of bread, water for making doughs, and so much more. It’s worth spending a little extra to get a good one.

Electric Pressure Cooker

The Instant Pot has been a game-changer for us and is one of our most frequently used tools. It saves so much time and makes clean-up way easier!

We love to use it to make stocks and broths, cook dried beans quickly, throw together quick soups, and more. It’s also the best way to cook tough cuts of meat quickly. We also have a 6-quart slow cooker we use to cook down apple butter, soups, stocks, and more.

If you want to do some fermenting, get an option with the yogurt setting. It’s the ideal way to keep the culture at the right temperature.

Essentials for Cooking from Scratch

10-inch cast iron skillet

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air fryer

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baking tray

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food processor

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dutch oven

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large stockpot

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Grain Mill & Wheat Berries

For years, I thought milling your own flour was over the top, but once I got a grain mill, I was hooked! The flour is so fresh and it contains all parts of the wheat berry, including the germ.

I find it to be more filling than regular flour and it doesn’t mess with my blood sugar in the same way, either!

Milling flour at home is also quite simple. You just need a grain mill and some wheat berries. The rest of the supplies are already on this list!

I’ve mapped out the best supplies for home milling here to make it easy.

P.S. My mill is from Nutrimill, and they offer $20 off to my readers with code MILKGLASSHOME!

Food Preservation Equipment

If your goal is to preserve the harvest, you’ll need some special supplies. Fortunately, many of these can be used for other purposes as well!

Canning Tools

Want to make your own marionberry jam or pickled cherries? Here’s what you need to get started.

Mason Jars

Most homesteaders have a jar full of mason jars that they use for canning, storage, drinking, and anything in between. They’re endlessly useful and certainly not a trend. However, you can easily overspend on them at the beginning.

I highly recommend checking Facebook Marketplace for anyone clearing out their canning stash. This is the easiest way to get lots of jars, a water bath canner, and other equipment for less. Just be aware that older, used jars may have microcracks or chips that may lead to breakage when canning. Examine your jars carefully before processing.

After 10 years of canning, I’m picky about quality. I only use Ball or Kerr jars, although I’m about to try the new jars from Azure Standard.

Plan to spend $10-15 per dozen for brand-new jars. If you’re new to canning, you may not know that you can reuse the canning rings, but you need to use new lids every time. For a reusable option, invest in some Tattler lids.

Read: Canning Equipment List for Beginners

Water Bath Canner

If you’re a new homesteader or canner, this is a must. Water bath canning is one of the easiest food preservation methods and a great way to preserve high-acid foods like pickles, jams, jellies, and more. 

There are lots of different options out there for canners, but you can be successful with a $20 Graniteware pot from Walmart or splurge on a $75-100 water bath canner online. In the beginning, I used an ordinary stockpot that I already had on hand. 

If you have a stovetop pressure canner, you can use that to water bath instead! No extra equipment necessary.

You’ll also need some basic canning supplies, like a jar lifter, a headspace tool, and more. Those are easy to get in a set, although I recommend getting a metal canning funnel if possible.

If you do a lot of canning, it can also help to invest in a food mill, steam canner, and steam juicer. I also recommend having a hand-crank apple slicer, a jelly strainer, and a food mill to remove seeds and peels from tomatoes, etc. During cherry season, my cherry pitter gets a good workout!

Pressure Canner

A pressure canner is required for preserving low-acid foods like green beans, dried beans, stews, and more. 

This is a very popular tool for homesteaders who are dreaming of shelves and shelves of homegrown food, and fortunately, the electric pressure canner makes it foolproof.

Personally, I’ve only just started pressure canning using an electric pressure canner. It took me 10 years to start pressure canning since I could preserve so much with water bath canning, freezing, or dehydrating!

I purchased the Presto Digital Pressure Canner, which can also be used to water bath can foods. Once you start, it will alert you of every step of the process, and you won’t need to spend time monitoring the pressure or temperature. It’s so easy!

My main motivation for buying a digital pressure canner was to avoid damaging my new glass stovetop. It also removed my intimidation about pressure canning in general since it tells you what to do every step of the way. Mine makes smaller batches than an old-school pressure canner and takes longer to cool down, but it’s been well worth it!

Get a free canning inventory list to keep track of all your creations!

Canning Supplies

electric pressure canner

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water bath canner

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pint mason jars

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4 oz mason jars

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regular mouth lids

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wide mouth lids

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Ball Real Fruit Pectin

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Pomona Universal Pectin

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canning funnel

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jar lifter

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cherry pitter

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Food Dehydrator

For years, I got by drying foods in my oven, which works well. But the food dehydrator is so much more effective! In the summer, ours is going all the time. It’s like a quiet hum in the background of our life.

Again, there is a range of quality and prices. I really wanted an Excalibur dehydrator based on the great reviews, and we found a secondhand 5-shelf option a year or two ago on Facebook Marketplace for much less than the new ones. 

It’s been a great purchase, and I especially love being able to control the temperature and drying time. 

To make dehydrated herb salts like this dill salt or fruit leather, grab some silicone mats, too.

The freeze dryer is also a great option, but the $2,000+ price range isn’t affordable for many people. We’d love to try one in the future, but it’s not a priority at this time (unless a freeze-drying company wants to have us test one out)!

Learn all about the differences between freeze drying and dehydrating here.

Fermenting Equipment

I love to make sauerkraut, water kefir, and other fermented foods. Although you can use regular glass jars, it’s much easier to use a Fido jar. They have a rubber gasket, which allows gas to escape without allowing any new air to enter. They’re just the easiest tool for fermenting, and I have several in different sizes.

It’s also helpful to have glass fermenting weights to weigh down kraut and other ferments. 

Food Storage

Food Storage Containers

We rely on mason jars for a lot of food storage, but we also like glass food storage containers like Pyrex or Ello for our leftovers.

Flour Bins

If you buy flour or grains in bulk, you’ll need a safe way to store them. I don’t have a root cellar or lots of extra space in my freezer, so we store everything in the pantry. 

We used OXO pop containers for years, but this year, I invested in rolling containers to store my oats, all-purpose flour, wheat flour, and bread flour. They aren’t the very best option, but they work great for us!

For longer storage, consider using food-safe 5-gallon buckets and gamma lids. 

Vacuum Sealer

If you have a deep freezer, a vacuum sealer is a worthwhile investment. Regular freezer bags will keep your frozen raspberries or jalapenos for six months to a year, but vacuum sealing can extend that towards two years or longer.

Check for these at garage sales or estate sales. We use ours minimally to reduce our plastic usage, but they’re indispensable when freezing produce for a long time.

Dealing with Food Waste

All of us will have some food waste to consider, whether it’s moldy apples from our own trees or veggie scraps from making a big pot of soup.

Minimizing food waste is very important as it will help us make the most of the food we’ve grown and the money we’ve spent at the store or market.

Lots of food scraps can be repurposed. I like to keep a stock bag in the freezer for veggie peels and skins. You can do the same with half-bitten apples, browning bananas, and even strawberry tops. Use the leftover fruit to add to smoothies or to bake into breakfast muffins.

It can also help to use a compost bin to turn those food scraps into new food. We have a composting tumbler, but we also put lots of scraps and waste into the green bin from our local waste company.

For more tips to reduce food waste, try these low waste frugal food hacks and learn about my baking essentials for beginners.

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