8 Best Cutting Boards, Tested by Food Network Kitchen

Made from paper composite, this board is technically neither plastic nor wood. The manufacturer describes the material as a preferred cutting surface in commercial kitchens and is the same material used on skateboard ramps, watercraft components and home siding. We found the material to be as durable as advertised, which helped earn this board top marks across all categories, especially surface, stain-resistance and smell-resistance. The smooth surface made it easy to chop parsley, there were no beet stains and there was only a faint smell of garlic after handwashing, which disappeared after a run through the dishwasher. We noticed that the board slid around a little bit while dicing but was fully stabilized with a wet paper towel underneath. We tested the 8-inch by 6-inch sizes, which were very easy to hand wash and store (there’s a thumb hole to hang it from a hook). We think this board offers great value for the $12.99 price tag. If you’re looking for a little bit larger surface area, the manufacturer also offers a 9-by-11.5-inch board that retails for $21.99. It’s also worth noting that we tested the "nutmeg" colored board (it comes in other, lighter finishes as well, so we can’t vouch for stain resistance on those). The board also claimed to be heat-resistant up to 350 degrees, which held up when we rested a 350-degree cast iron skillet on top for 30 minutes. Afterward, the board was warm to the touch without markings or warping, making this board a great utility board, too.

This board won out overall among the plastic boards we tested by scoring high marks for size, stability and stain removal. It’s also a great value. We felt its size — 12 inches by 18 inches by 3/8 inches — offered ample cutting surface area even with a juice groove around the edge (which also caught a few errant pieces of parsley during chopping). Compared to the other plastic boards we tested, this one slid around minimally while dicing a potato and it was completely stabilized with a wet paper towel underneath. The sleek surface made chopping parsley a cinch and made washing it by hand easy. The board’s non-porous surface means we didn’t see any staining after chopping beets. We did notice a moderate smell of parsley and garlic after hand-washing the board, but the odors were completely gone after the board took a spin through the dishwasher. While plastic boards aren’t typically renowned for their aesthetic — it’s a piece of plastic after all — we found this one to have a simple, clean design. Its slim profile also makes it easy to find storage in a large kitchen drawer or stash it propped up in a cupboard.

This lightweight yet sturdy board offers ample cutting surface and solid performance while being easy on your wallet. Its thoughtful design includes a double-sided construction, with a solid side for produce and a grooved side for meat with a drip catcher with easy-pour corners, plus tapered handles for ease of lifting and transporting. Although the manufacturer claims that it has non-slip edges, we found that we still needed to stabilize the board with a damp paper towel underneath. Other than that, it proved to be sturdy, slip-proof and durable throughout testing. We appreciated that the non-porous surface was stain-resistant to the beets and parsley we chopped, though there was a faint smell of garlic after making a garlic paste, but the smell had dissipated by the next day. The board is easy to handwash but is also dishwasher safe. Overall, if you’re in the market for a workhorse plastic cutting board that won’t break the bank, this is your best bet.

These plastic cutting mats are made from food-grade plastic and come in a set of four, color-coded for various uses: vegetables, poultry, fish and beef. Although the manufacturer claims that the waffle edge makes it secure, we found we needed to stabilize the mats with a damp paper towel to prevent them from slipping around while cutting. It made clean cuts without making grooves in the material and proved to be stain-resistant during the beet test. We also like that the mats’ flexibility makes them easy to fold for transferring chopped ingredients to bowls or stovetops. The mats wash up easily but are dishwasher safe too, which is helpful for eliminating residual odors from ingredients such as garlic. The mats stack easily in a kitchen drawer or in a cupboard. Overall, the modest price tag makes these boards a great value for money.

We love this wood cutting board for its clean design and durable construction. The non-slip silicone feet kept the board in place (even without a paper towel underneath for stabilization), which made it easy and safe for chopping. The CupBoard Pro also comes with a detachable tray for prepped ingredients, making it easy to transfer cut-up veggies from board to stovetop. The tray also collapses for easy storage. The non-porous wood fiber ensured that no unwanted smells were absorbed, making it well-suited for chopping aromatics such as onions, garlic and shallots. It was also resistant to stains, which is a boon for chopping produce such as beets, carrots, sweet potatoes or herbs such as parsley or basil. The board and tray wash up easily with soap and water but are also dishwasher-safe.

This board is a bit of an investment, but it’s a well-made, functional piece that’s built to last and beautiful enough to leave out on the counter (if you have room). It has two sides, one with a grooved side, ideal for cutting watermelon or carving steak, and one with a smooth side, ideal for chopping veggies or using as a serving board. We found the board to be very stable; we did not experience any shifting around while chopping vegetables and herbs. The board was resistant to stains, but we did find that it retained some garlic and parsley smells after completing those tests. The board is hand-wash only. Though the board has heft, it isn’t so heavy and large that it’s unwieldy to wash in the sink and it washed up beautifully after each test. The board comes with a bottle of wood oil, which the manufacturer recommends applying regularly to extend its life and add luster. It comes in walnut or ebonized white oak.

This bamboo cutting board by the folks at Food52 hits all the marks: it passed our stability test when dicing so we didn’t need to add a wet paper towel to stabilize it; it aced the smell test; and though the chopped beets left a trace stain, it was the least noticeable of the light-colored wooden boards. It’s made of bamboo, a durable, eco-friendly (read: sustainable) material that offers a smooth surface that our knives glided across when chopping parsley. The board measures 18 inches by 13 inches and is 1 inch thick, so you’ve got plenty of surface area to work with, but not so much that it’s impossible to find storage for it. But the design, equal parts beautiful and functional, means you just might want to leave it out on your counter anyway. The board clocks in at 5.5 pounds so it’s got some heft, but the tapered edges made it easier to pick up and maneuver to wash in the sink or transport to the table for serving. This dual-sided board also boasts notable design features: on one side there’s a groove to prop up your smartphone for reading recipes or adjusting your kitchen soundtrack, and on the other, an extra-deep juice groove for carving roasts or slicing juicy citrus. Wooden boards tend to be more expensive and while this one has a $29 starting price tag, we feel it offers great value for the size, stability, durability and design. It was shipped with protective cardboard corners and inside a plastic sleeve, which indicated that we had something worth protecting on our hands. Protect your investment further by following the manufacturer’s recommendation to apply mineral oil after every few washes, especially to start with or when the wood feels dry.

If you’re in the market for a butcher block, the Made In Butcher Block wins out. You’ve probably seen a lot of legacy butcher block brands that tend to run more expensive, but we found that this more budget-friendly board (it retails for $129), works just as well, if not better. Because of its size — it measures 12 inches by 18 inches and is 1.5 inches tall — it offered plenty of surface area along with a generous juice groove. But its not-too-huge size, plus convenient carrying handles, also means it’s easier to clean and easier to transport and maneuver when hand washing. Wooden boards tend to stain easily, and we liked that this brand acknowledged that up front, giving us a helpful remedy for using baking soda to clean and remove stains. (Though the stain removal tip was helpful, we wouldn’t recommend chopping beets on this block.) And with its beautiful finish and design, we can totally envision using it to serve a centerpiece-worthy roast or party-ready charcuterie board. Plus, if you’re going to leave it out on your counter, it better be nice to look at, right?