Kitchen Vocabulary in English: Learn 50 Words and 13 Verbs

Have you ever tried cooking a recipe in English? If not, it’s the perfect way to check your knowledge about vocabulary used in the kitchen, which is the heart of the home! Even if you know a lot of cooking verbs in English or words about food and drink, many students realize they don’t have a lot of knowledge about words related to appliances, cooking, or utensils. This post aims to teach you kitchen vocabulary in English.  

Vocabulary for kitchen layout and furniture 

There are different kitchen layouts: some kitchens are what we call a galley kitchen, some have islands, and some are U-shaped (the layout resembles the letter U) or L-shaped (the layout resembles the letter L). Regardless of the type of kitchen that you have at home, let’s learn some words to talk about kitchen furniture. Quick grammar tip: furniture is what we call an uncountable noun, which means it doesn’t have a plural form.

Take a look at the table below: 

Word	Example sentence	Which preposition of place should you use?
cabinet(s)	Tom put the glass in the kitchen cabinet.	in
cupboard(s)	I put the clean plates back in the cupboard	in
shelf (plural: shelves)	I like to keep the tea bags on the middle shelf.	on
sink(s)	Can you do the dishes? I put everything in the sink.	in
counter (s)	The cutting board is on the counter. Can you chop up the veggies?	on

Now look at the image below and try to identify all the furniture.

Kitchen appliance names in English

Whether you have a small or a large kitchen in your house, it is very likely you own most of the appliances we will talk about in this section. Appliances are machines that help us with household functions, such as cooking and cleaning, for instance. The table below contains 26 kitchen appliances: 

Word	Example sentence
fridge	We use the fridge to keep some types of food fresh, like cheese and yoghurt.
freezer	Remember to take the chicken out of the freezer so we can make it for lunch tomorrow.
microwave	You can warm up your leftovers in the microwave.
blender	I use my blender every day to make green smoothies.
juicer	My mom uses the juicer to make orange juice every morning.
coffee machine	She poured a cup of coffee from the coffee machine.
hand-mixer	You can make cookie dough using a hand-mixer.
stand-mixer	A stand-mixer is necessary if you want to make chocolate brownies.
slow cooker (also known as crock pot)	Throw some ingredients in the slow cooker in the morning and you’ll have a delicious meal in the evening.
stove (gas or electric)	My mom prefers cooking on a gas stove.
cooker (British word for a stove)	The water is boiling on the cooker.
oven	Place the pizza on the middle rack of the oven.
sandwich maker	A good sandwich toaster should be quick to heat up.
toaster	We use a toaster to toast bread.
waffle maker	I bought a waffle maker to make perfect waffles at home.
dishwasher	I hate doing the dishes. Maybe I should get a dishwasher…

Kitchen objects in English

When cooking or baking, you will need some of these items. They are also needed for you to eat. Let’s have a look at some of the most common kitchen objects: 

Word	Example sentence
bowl	I use a bowl to eat cereal.
cup	I drink tea in a cup.
fork	I use a fork to eat a piece of cake.
knife	I need a knife to cut a steak.
spoon	I need a spoon to eat ice cream.
frying pan	I make eggs in a frying pan.
glass	I drink soda in a glass.
kettle	The kettle is used to boil water.
kitchen scale	We use the kitchen scale to measure the weight of ingredients.
mug	I drink coffee in a mug.
plate	We use plates to serve food.
bin	We throw trash in a bin.
cutting board	I use the cutting board to chop vegetables.
pot	I use a pot to make rice.
ladle	We use a ladle to serve beans, sauces, and stews.
measuring cup	I use the measuring cup to measure liquids.
dish rack	The dish rack is used to air dry the dishes.

Cleaning product vocabulary

The kitchen needs to be cleaned on a daily basis, especially if you cook every day. In order to do the dishes and clean your counter and floors, you need to have some cleaning products. Here are the most important ones. Use them and make your kitchen sparkle! 

Word	Example sentence
dish soap	We need dish soap to do the dishes.
sponge	Add a few drops of dish soap to the sponge to start washing the plates.
dishwasher cleaner	You need a dishwasher cleaner if you want to use the dishwasher.
dishwasher rinse aid	The dishwasher rinse aid will help you get the best results from your machine.
microfiber towels	Microfiber towels are great for cleaning your counters.
paper towel	I always have a paper towel roll in my kitchen. It helps me clean the counter and it can also be used as a napkin.
broom	We use a broom to sweep the floors.
mop	We use a mop to wipe the floors.
vacuum cleaner	A vacuum cleaner uses suction to collect dust and small particles from the floor.
duster	A duster is a piece of cloth used to remove dust from surfaces.

Cooking verbs in English

If you have ever tried following a recipe in English, you have seen some of these verbs below. This table will help you use the cooking verbs correctly, so take a look: 

Verb	Example with meaning
melt	I need to melt the butter before adding it to the mix.
break (irregular verb: broke/broken)	Can you break two eggs into the frying pan, please?
spread (irregular verb: spread/spread)	I use a knife to spread peanut butter on my toast.
fry	I like to use oil to fry eggs.
mix	Can you mix the flour, sugar, and butter together in a bow?
whip	If you whip heavy cream you will get whipped cream.
sauté	Most people saute vegetables like mushrooms or onions in a pan on the stove with a small amount of fat.
taste	Would you like to taste the sauce?
cut (irregular verb: cut/cut)	Do you need help cutting the meat?
chop	I need you to chop the spring onions.
slice	Can I slice the onions?
grate	I will grate the Parmesan cheese.
boil	The water needs to boil before you add the pasta.

All this kitchen vocabulary in English can be very helpful when you need to talk about the kitchen or when you want to follow a recipe in English. Check out these tips for learning kitchen vocabulary with YouTube videos. We hope you take the best out of this guide! Happy cooking!