Food Network’s Best of the Best Awards 2026: The 25 Absolute Best Products Food Network's Shopping Experts Tested This Year

A KitchenAid mixer has been a gold standard for home cooks and professionals for decades, and for good reason. For the first time since 1955, the classic tilt-head stand mixer got an upgrade, so our tester put the KitchenAid Artisan Plus to the test to find out if it really improves upon the original. We found that the new Artisan Plus made cooking tasks noticeably better, with more precise control, more dishwasher-safe parts and exceptional performance. We recommend it over the original for first-time buyers. It’s the classic KitchenAid, made even better.

We’ve tested a lot of air fryers at Food Network, and the Ninja Crispi Glass Air Fryer was one of the best and most innovative we’ve tested to date. Its unique glass container design lets you see your food while it cooks and streamlines food prep, letting you go directly from air frying to storing leftovers in the fridge. We found that it delivers fast, consistent, crisp results without added oil. With easy cleanup, too, it’s a practical pick that improves on many other models we’ve tried.

We love a hot lunch, and of the 12 electric lunchboxes we tested this year, the Travelisimo Electric Heated Lunchbox was our favorite. Whether you’re heating a bowl of chili or leftover mac and cheese, it makes a warm lunch easier to enjoy away from home. It has a stainless-steel food container and heated the fastest of all the lunchboxes we tested.

When testing the best tools for making soup this year, this KitchenAid was our favorite immersion blender. It blends soups to a smooth consistency without splattering or splashing, and its ergonomic design makes it comfortable to hold and easy to operate with one hand. It also comes with a blending cup and lid.

The Magnifique Clay Multicooker is an upgrade to a traditional slow cooker. There’s no need to sear or sauté in a separate pan before slow cooking; you can do it all in this multicooker. When we tested it by braising beef for enchiladas, baking mac and cheese and slow-cooking chicken paprikash, it excelled at delivering tender, evenly cooked results. The clay insert helped retain moisture, and we found it easy to use, too.

The Yonanas Soft Serve Maker works a little differently than most traditional soft serve machines, because it only works with fruit, and that was part of its charm for us. It capitalizes on the creaminess of bananas to turn frozen bananas and other fruits into creamy soft serve. We found it easy to use, and the results were delicious. Working only with fruit makes it a little limited, but for those looking for a fruit-based dessert alternative, we highly recommend it.

Our best overall pick for making soup this year, the Instant Pot Duo is our favorite electric pressure cooker for the job. It cooks proteins until perfectly tender and heats uniformly, with functions including pressure cooking, slow cooking, sautéing and yogurt making. It really is a workhorse for the kitchen. While it was our favorite for making soups, it’s a great pick for all kinds of cooking at home.

Steaming is an easy way to cook vegetables without added oil. We spent weeks testing vegetable steamers, cooking vegetables and frozen dumplings in everything from electric machines to bamboo trays and microwave models. This collapsible colander and steamer was our favorite, delivering tender but not mushy broccoli in just three minutes. We love that it collapses flat for storage and fits a wide range of pots, making it an easy pick for our best vegetable steamer.

When we asked our test kitchen which tools they couldn’t live without, these Canary kitchen scissors were one of the top picks. You’d be surprised how many tasks a good pair of kitchen shears can help with, from snipping herbs directly into a pot to trimming meat and cutting up bacon. Moreover, this pair has a metal tab to help open cans and packages and can crack seafood shells and nuts. It’s a little tool that makes working in the kitchen so much easier.

A stockpot is an essential piece of kitchenware, and we put 17 models to the test this year, boiling, browning and searing to find the best. The Cuisinart Chef’s Classic came out on top. One of its best features is that its handles stayed cool to the touch even on the stove. Its ergonomic design makes it easy to maneuver in the kitchen, and compared with other models, we found that it delivered great value for the price.

You may be wondering why you need an olive oil dispenser, but when you’re investing in good olive oil, it’s worth protecting. Our top pick, the Kitchendao Precision Pour Glass Oil Dispenser, locks closed to help protect against oxidation and has a great spout for drizzling with precision.

This year, we had the pleasure of testing 13 maple syrups to crown the best. That included taste tests and the fun task of pouring syrup on dozens of pancakes to test its viscosity. Our favorite for pancakes was Runamok Sugarmaker’s Cut Organic Maple Syrup. Its medium-thick texture paired beautifully with our pancakes, and its balanced notes of vanilla, brown butter and butterscotch enhanced every bite.

We tested three DIY cooking kits this year and loved the Farm Steady Semolina Pasta Making Kit. It’s geared toward beginners and makes the seemingly daunting task of making pasta for the first time feel approachable. We had fun making three different pasta shapes and were pretty proud of our final results. It’s one of our favorite food gifts of the year.

Our editors made the trip to the Summer Fancy Food Show this year, where we taste-tested hundreds of new food products. One of our favorites was Keyas Snacks Bombay Spice Potato Chips. With flavors like Bombay Spice, Black Salt and Golden Ranch, the brand brings something new to a chip category that can feel a little played out. We were surprised by how much flavor they packed into a bite and loved their bold, layered seasoning.

When we first spotted Honey Department’s Thick Honey, its packaging was a little deceptive; it looked more like a skincare product. Inside, though, was some of the smoothest, creamiest squeezable honey we’ve ever had. Its consistency sets it apart from traditional honey, and we loved pairing it with other snacks. We even tried it with potato chips, and it was delicious. It makes a great gift for someone who loves honey or tea.

You can eat your caffeine with these Moka Caramel Cappuccino Coffee Bean Bars. They have the caffeine boost of coffee and the decadence of chocolate. We loved their creamy texture and rich coffee flavor, making them a yummy pick-me-up for that afternoon slump. They’re both fun and functional.

Canned cocktails have become a summer staple, and Surfside Iced Tea and Lemonade + Vodka was one of our favorites. It brings familiar iced tea and lemonade flavors to a spiked summer drink without packing in a ton of sugar. We found it refreshing without being overly sweet.

This kitchen spray wipes away greasy splatters and loosens dried residue with ease. Its eco-friendly formula and light, clean citrus scent helped make it our favorite all-around kitchen cleaner. It left the surfaces we tested with a streak-free, film-free shine.

Our resident sourdough and pizza makers rejoiced when we discovered Dough Dissolve. One of the most innovative products we tested this year, it breaks down dough stuck to mixing bowls and turns it into liquid that washes away easily. It makes the annoying task of scrubbing dough off dishes a whole lot easier, even when they’ve been sitting overnight.

This little vacuum fits right in among your other kitchen tools and makes it easy to pick up crumbs from nooks and crannies. It’s compact enough to tuck into a drawer, so it’s handy for the little messes that come with everyday cooking. Its convenient design and reliable crumb pickup made it one of our favorite kitchen finds from this year.

This hard cooler takes much of the bulk out of a traditional design by collapsing to half its height for easy storage. It fits neatly in a trunk, garage or closet without taking up much space, but it doesn’t compromise on cold retention. During testing, we found that it kept drinks cold for nearly 48 hours, even in the summer heat.

A home pizza oven setup has become a backyard wish-list item in recent years, so we put a selection of top outdoor pizza ovens to the test. We used an infrared thermometer to check temperatures and, of course, fired up some delicious pizzas. The Solo Stove Pi Prime Pizza Oven came out on top, offering the best value in our testing pool. It’s approachable for beginners without compromising on performance, cooking pizzas quickly and evenly.

You don’t need an outdoor setup to have a pizza oven. This year, we tested 13 indoor pizza ovens to find which ones could turn out a professional-quality pie. Our favorite was the Ooni Volt 2. It has a range of features for different pizza styles, including a temperature setting for proofing dough. The pizzas we cooked in it took only four minutes and were comparable to brick-oven pizzas.

If you want classic smoky grill flavor, you need a charcoal grill. This year, we flipped dozens of burgers across 15 models to find the best. Our top pick, the Weber Master-Touch Charcoal Kettle Grill, seared evenly and performed just as you’d want a charcoal grill to. Its smart design includes a warming rack, a charcoal organization system, vents and a tuck-away lid holder.

For those who value convenience, an electric grill can make grilling more approachable without the need for propane or charcoal. The GrillPro stood out for its compact, easy-to-maneuver design, simple controls and lid thermometer. One of its strongest features was its heat retention, which we found comparable to a traditional outdoor grill.