Best Cheese Graters, Tested by Food Network Kitchen

Our Top Cheese Graters

• Best Overall: OXO Box Grater with Storage
• Best Budget: Utopia Kitchen Cheese Grater

When a knife simply won’t do, and you don’t feel like struggling with your food processor, cheese graters are a necessary kitchen tool for breaking down copious amounts of dairy. And while you’ll find electric slicers, rotary shredders and hand-held zesters on the market, we’re partial to good old box graters, which provide excellent leverage, affordability and, generally, multiple options, for creating coarse, fine and specialty cheese cuts. But not all graters are created equal, which is why we tested seven similar-seeming options, to see which models emerged at the top of the cheese-shaving pack!

How We Tested

While none of the graters came with actual manuals, we checked the packaging to see if there were any specific instructions on care and use. We made notes of what materials the graters were composed of — stainless steel, plastic, silicone — as well as how high the sides were, how weighty they were, how many grating options they came with, and how much space they’d require in a kitchen cabinet. We also checked to see if the brands made any special claims, such as “The Best of Its Kind!” or “Can Process Large Amounts of Food Quickly!” to determine if they stood up during testing.

For our active evaluations, we processed blocks of sturdy Parmesan, medium-hard Cheddar and soft mozzarella, seeing how they performed on all sides of each grater, and how long it took to shred (or zest or ribbon) a cup of each. We assessed how comfortable each grater was to use, how easy (or not) it was to clean them with soap and water, and then, provided they were dishwasher safe, ran each grater for a cycle.

This article has been reviewed since its original publish date for accuracy, pricing and availability. We stand by our list of top cheese grater picks.