Cynical Parent
We’ve already written quite a bit about the best wooden play kitchen for kids, but once you have a good play kitchen, the fun has just begun. Imaginary play is MUCH more fun when you have the right accessories. So what are the best play kitchen accessories?
We’re not going to lie, there is a LOT out there. Some of it is garbage quality. Some of it is high end – almost as good as the real stuff.
We decided to look at all varieties, because even if you don’t go with the best (which is typically more expensive), your kids can still have just as much fun with the less expensive, budget quality accessories.
Let’s take a look at what we found.
(Note: This post contains affiliate links. See affiliate disclaimer at the bottom of the page.)
Best Play Kitchen Accessories for Kids
Before we get into the different categories, we just want to point out that just because a certain set of accessories is more expensive, it doesn’t mean it’ll be better for your kids. Our kids have played with some of the cheapest stuff on the market and they’ve had just as much fun.
However, the higher quality stuff that won’t break easily and will go best with your fancy play kitchen will often be a bit more expensive. 🙂
Best Play Kitchen Accessories: The Most Complete Set
First up is what we consider to be the most complete set of play kitchen accessories: the Cute Stone Kitchen and Cookware playset.
This set comes with almost everything you can think of, and given the price, it’s a pretty great deal. Here’s what you can expect with this set:
- Pressure cooker pot
- Pan
- Induction cooktop
- Kettle
- Utensils and utensil holder
- Cookware
- Knife block
- Toy kitchen knives & cutlery
- Play food
- Shopping basket
- Other toy kitchen accessories
Some interesting things to note about this accessory set that you might not realize at first:
- The pretend pressure cooker gives off real steam.
- The pretend fruits and vegetables can be “cut” and peeled, allowing for great imaginary play.
- The hot plate lights up and makes boiling sounds.
Click here to read more about the Cute Stone Kitchen and Cookware playset.
Best Play Kitchen Accessories: No Food Included
If you don’t need play food or are buying it separately (see our recommendation later in this post), this is a great set that has everything you need with a fun variety of colors: the Battat 71-piece Pretend Play Set.
We’re not going to name all 71 pieces but you can see from the picture above that there’s a lot here.
Reviewers of this set found it to be exceptional for the following reasons:
- Super durable – the plastic used is very thick; none of the pieces are thin and flimsy like you might find with other sets.
- Fantastic price given how many pieces it includes
- Pieces are larger than you might expect; pictures make them look tiny, but they are large enough to seem realistic.
Click here to read more about the Battat 71-piece Pretend Play Set.
Best Play Kitchen Accessories: Most Realistic
I’m always a fan of Melissa and Doug brand toys. They make some pretty high quality stuff, and these are no exception. For “most realistic” we’re calling out two different products that go well together: the pots and pans and the cooking utensils.
Both of these are perfect for any play kitchen, and they look and feel like the real thing. The pots and pans come as an 8-piece set: a colander, pot with lid, 2 pans, 2 wooden utensils, and a rack.
The utensils have 7 pieces: a whisk, ladle, spatula, slotted spoon, spaghetti server, wooden spoon, and the open container to hold everything.
We have both of these in our house and I’ll say that, aside from the play food, our kids use these more than anything else as part of the play kitchen. (And if you have a dog that likes to chew up toys – we do – these work well because they are made of metal and can’t really be chewed.)
Read more about the Melissa and Doug pots and pans or the cooking utensils.
If you only need play food…
If you’re looking to stock up on play food, this is the only set you’ll need: the JaxoJoy 122-piece assortment.
Whether your child wants to pretend they are grocery shopping, cooking, or having a picnic, this variety of food from a single set cannot be beat.
You can see from the picture above but here is the types of pretend food you’ll find in this assortment:
- Fruits and vegetables
- Meat
- Fish
- Eggs
- Milk
- Juice
- Sandwiches
- Pizza
- Burger and fries
- Bread
- Cake
- Donuts
- Cookies
- Ice cream
- And more…
Reviewers say that the quality of pretend food is good given the price and variety, but note that this is not recommended for children under 3 due to the size of some pieces (i.e. choking hazard).
Also, be prepared to find these pieces all over your house. 🙂 One suggestion is to not put all 122 pieces out at once – put some away in a container and rotate the food so that your child is only playing with 15-20 at a time.
Not only will this keep your house from getting too messy, but each time you rotate the food, it’ll feel new for your child and will reenergize their interest in the play kitchen.
Click here to read more about this 122-piece assortment of play food.
It’s play time.
Once you’ve got your play kitchen and all of the accessories you need, your kids will be ready to play. Seriously, the play kitchen is the greatest thing we’ve ever purchased for our kids – they use it on a DAILY basis.
While the play kitchen is important, it’s the accessories that really make it shine.
We’ll leave you with one final tip (which we kind of already mentioned above with the 122-piece food set, but it’s worth stating again): if you’ve purchased a huge accessory set, you don’t need to use it all at once. Put half away and save it for later.
Once your child appears to be getting bored of what’s out there, you can swap in some of the play food and other accessories that you stored away, and just like that, it’ll be a new experience all over again.
Let us know in the comments how your kids enjoy the play kitchen and what accessories you’ve found to be the best!
