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Home » Kitchen Tips & Tricks » 25 Time Saving Kitchen Hacks, Tips, and Tricks
Favorite Kitchen Tips and Tricks from Food Bloggers
January 25, 2013

25 Time Saving Kitchen Hacks, Tips, and Tricks

From the Kitchen of Katie Kick

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I’m sharing my favorite 25 Time Saving Kitchen Hacks, Tips, and Tricks. You know the kind of kitchen tips and tricks that once you learned them you thought “why did no one tell me earlier?” or “I’ve been doing it all wrong this whole time!”? Come check them out!

I love kitchen tips! It is always great when I figure out (or learn from someone else) a way to do something faster, easier, or less messy in the kitchen.

If you’re reading this, today I want to hear from YOU. What are your favorite kitchen tips and tricks? I hope you’ll chime in in the comments. I’ll start by sharing a few of my most favorite kitchen tips.

25 Time Saving Kitchen Hacks, Tips, and Tricks

25 Time Saving Kitchen Hacks, Tips, and Tricks

Who doesn’t love a good kitchen tip? Here are a few of my favorite time saving kitchen tricks.

From How to Freeze and Reheat Pancakes and Waffles, How to Decrystalize Honey to baking the perfect baked potatoes or homemade buttermilk substitutes you’ll find plenty of creative ways to save a few minutes in the kitchen.

You can find more of my favorite tips in the Kitchen Tips and Tricks Archives. Don't forget to, follow me on Pinterest and check out my Kitchen Tips and Trick Pin Board where I'll be saving all of the great kitchen tips and tricks that I find.

How to Open a Jar with a Tight Lid

Have you ever found yourself trying to open a particularly stubborn jar? Here are 5 proven tips to help you open a tight lid.

Kitchen Tip: Trick for Cutting Butter into Flour

One of my all time favorite kitchen tips is this trick for cutting butter into flour! Do you have trouble making tender, flaky, biscuits, pie crusts, or scones? You know when a recipe, particularly something like a biscuit or scone recipe, tells you to cut the butter into the flour mixture?

There are several ways you can go about doing this, but I have my own favorite. I almost never cut butter into flour for biscuits or scones in the traditional way since I started using this easy method. Maybe it looks like cheating, but I just think it is smart.

How to Make Buttermilk (6 Buttermilk Substitutes)

We’ve all been there. Mid-recipe you realize that the ingredients call for buttermilk and you’re hoping that you can still salvaged your already started recipe. No one wants to make a special trip to the grocery store for just one item, so occasionally you have to make do with a buttermilk replacement.

For those type of situations it is nice to have this kitchen tip for how to make buttermilk up your sleeve. With common ingredients, you can easily make homemade buttermilk to use in your recipes.

How to Measure Partial Eggs

One of my favorite kitchen tips is how to measure partial eggs because it comes in handy when you're making adjustments to recipes.

Quick Tips for Deodorizing your Kitchen

Our fridge stunk something bad a couple weeks out and we never really did figure out why, but I was able to quickly get rid of the smell with these tips on deodorizing in your kitchen.

How to Freeze Grapes for Snacks and Smoothies

Can you freeze grape might not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think about grapes. But, the good news is that you can! Frozen grapes make a great addition to smoothies as well as a healthy, cold snack during summer.

Easy Peel Hard Boiled Eggs

Follow these simple instructions for hard boiled eggs that turn out perfectly every time.

Lining Pans with Parchment

Parchment is a baker’s best friend! It has so many great uses, but I thought I’d show you one of my favorites here: How to line a baking pan with parchment. Now, you might be thinking…why would I want to do that? It makes clean up a breeze and you can easily lift the brownies out of the pan and cut them into nice even squares. 

High Altitude Baking Tips for Cupcakes

There have been a lot of cupcake failures in our home, from horrible textures to implosions in my oven, until I learned a thing or two about baking cupcakes at high altitude.

This post has lots of great tips and trick to adapt recipes for high altitude as well as baking tips so you can get the fluffiest, moist crumb possible for your cupcakes.

Kitchen Tip: How To Clean Leeks

I love substituting leeks for onions in certain recipes. If you haven’t ever tasted a leek before, they are related to the onion and garlic. Leeks look like giant green onions and have a mild onion flavor.

Rather than forming a bulb, like an onion, the leek resembles a stalk or stem. They are composed of many delicate layers that are often full of dirt and sand, so you have to clean them before use.

How to Stuff Pasta – The Easy Way!

Have you ever wondered how to stuff pasta shells? I have a super quick tip that makes the task easier than ever!

How to Shred Chicken + 8 Must Try Chicken Recipes

If how to shred chicken is at the top of your learn-to-do list, this post is for you. Shredded chicken can fill everything from tacos to soups, making dinner a snap

Kitchen Tip: Caring for Cast Iron Cookware

Caring for cast iron cookware might seem like a chore, but it’s a chore that doesn’t take as much time as you’d think and is honestly completely worth the time. The first step in caring for a new cast iron pan is seasoning.

Cast iron pans don’t come with that wonderful smooth, dark surface (unless you purchase a pre-seasoned pan) that skillets handed down over generations have. In fact, before seasoning they can be rather rough. Achieving the beautiful patina that your great-grandmother’s pan has can be achieved over time without much work.

How to Freeze and Reheat Pancakes & Waffles

We love to make huge batches of waffles and pancakes to store in the freezer for later use. It is great for busy mornings when we don’t want cereal and making one big batch in a month means only one mess to clean up. Next time you make pancakes or waffles, make some extra and follow this quick and easy tutorial for How to Freeze and Reheat Pancakes and Waffles.

Perfect Homemade Bacon Bits

Perfect Homemade Bacon Bits are super easy to make at home, and way better tasting than store-bought!

How to Freeze Cookie Dough

Cookie dough freezes extremely well and is the perfect sweet treat to keep stashed in your freezer to instantly satisfy those sweet tooth cravings.

How To Squeeze the Most Juice from Limes

Limes are often really hard to juice. It can be pretty disappointing to be mid guacamole preparation and barely get a few drops out of the limes you purchased for your recipe. Using these steps, you'll be amazed at how much more juice you can squeeze from your fresh limes.

Perfect Baked Potato

Follow these simple tips to learn how to bake a potato, whether you are short on time or have plenty of time. There are two fool-proof methods that answer the question of how to bake a potato: a traditional baked potato in oven or a time saving method where you microwave potatoes before baking, then follow up with the oven.

How to Decrystallize Honey

Have you every opened your pantry to find your delicious, liquid gold honey suddenly completely crystallized?

It's a bummer, but the good news is there is no need to toss it out.

It hasn’t gone bad at all, thanks to the antibacterial properties of honey it can actually last for several years. Learn how easy it is to decrystallize honey so you don't have to throw it away!

How to Pipe Two Tone Frosting for Cupcakes

The two tone technique for decorating cupcakes is really a lot easier than you might think and it is so fun. Besides looking pretty, you can flavor the frosting differently to add so much flavor to the recipe. Think cream cheese and blueberry buttercream. Or Lemon and Vanilla buttercream. Raspberry Buttercream with Chocolate.

Simple Solution for Pouring Real Maple Syrup

Real maple syrup has a much thinner consistency than the fake stuff, making it so easy to pour way too much way too fast if you aren't prepared for how quickly it comes gushing out. This great tip slows down the pouring so you get just the right amount.

How to Make Cake Flour

Learning how to make cake flour is so easy! Here's how to make homemade cake flour, plus my favorite ways to use it.

How to Bake Bacon 

Bacon is one of the quintessential Saturday morning foods, but cooking bacon is messy and time consuming. I love to bake my bacon in the oven to free my hands up for other tasks and save my stovetop from all the grease splatters.

Learn how baking bacon will yield perfectly crispy, mess-free bacon with your Saturday morning breakfast.

How to Make Non-Stick Foil at Home

This is really an incredibly simple kitchen hack that only takes a few steps.
I've detailed it out so you're sure to know what to do in the event that you decide to give it a try at home.

How to Roast Peppers

There are several methods that can be used to roast peppers, but I have a favorite to add to that list. And it is so easy. As long as you have a gas stove, there are no special tools required, or incredible hot ovens.

What are your favorite kitchen tips and tricks? Do you have a special way of making an ordinary task easier, faster, or less messy?

Stay Inspired in the Kitchen!

Want more delicious recipes, kitchen tips, and meal inspiration? Sign up for the Good Life Eats Newsletter and get:

✔ Tried-and-true recipes—from quick weeknight meals to special occasion favorites.
✔ Seasonal meal ideas—helping you make the most of fresh, in-season ingredients.
✔ Time-saving kitchen tips—boosting your confidence and creativity in the kitchen.


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Meet Katie Kick

My lifelong interest in cooking has shown me that part of the goodness in life is enjoying delicious food with friends and family. I love trying new foods, discovering new places & things that help my family live the good life.

More About Katie
Updated: January 27, 2025

Reader Interactions

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  1. Pauline says

    January 28, 2013 at 9:31 PM

    This is an extremely useful post! I will have to reference this continually as I bake and cook throughout my life.
    I can’t think of a novel tip right now, other than that whisking egg whites with a fork lets you get in exercise while baking so you don’t have to go to the gym after making and eating a decadent cake!

    Reply
  2. Melanie says

    January 28, 2013 at 9:14 AM

    I never realized I had a neat trick until I watched my aunt struggle with slicing an avocado. Just cut it in half and take out the seed. Then run your knife from end to end making slices but not all the way through the skin. Run a spoon between the skin and fruit and it pops right out, already sliced.

    Reply
  3. Alyssa says

    January 28, 2013 at 7:41 AM

    To keep celery stored in foil. It lasts forever (okay, maybe not forever, but a long time) like that!

    Reply
  4. Alley @ Alley's Recipe Book says

    January 27, 2013 at 3:40 PM

    I don’t eat bacon often, but I am going to have to try baking it next time! My favorite tip is freezing cream in ice cube trays to get 1 tablespoon servings for creamy soups (since I can never get through the entire carton of cream from my local dairy). Also using a cup to hold your piping bag to fill, I wish I had known about that one years ago!

    Reply
  5. Jane Maynard says

    January 27, 2013 at 10:19 AM

    great collection of tips – love it! that shredding frozen butter tip…awesome!

    Reply
  6. Whitney @ The Newlywed Chefs says

    January 26, 2013 at 1:55 PM

    Hey Katie! Love these tips! I rarely remember to use my food processor to shred cheese, but wow if you need a whole block of cheese shredded, it takes only 5 seconds! I need to use it way more often than I do!

    Reply
  7. Allison says

    January 25, 2013 at 7:37 PM

    These are so useful! I knew about some of them, but others are all new to me – can’t wait to try.

    Reply
  8. Anna says

    January 25, 2013 at 1:02 PM

    These are great tips! I am a total disaster in the kitchen so I dont’ really have any useful tips… I am more the type that searches for good advice on how to keep the kitchen in somewhat of a decent shape, so this article was a great help for me! Thanks!!

    Reply
  9. Irene says

    January 25, 2013 at 9:07 AM

    great ones.. I want to share one for cutting broccoli that I saw on Kalyn’s Kitchen “To avoid the mess from trimming broccoli, cut through the stem part, then pull flowerets apart. I don’t remember where I learned this trick, but it really works!”
    http://www.kalynskitchen.com/2008/11/recipe-for-roasted-broccoli-with-lemon.html

    I prefer the Alton Brown method for bacon using the drying racks for cakes.. put bacon in cold oven, set to 400 and the time for 20 minutes.

    Reply
  10. Gina Rau says

    January 25, 2013 at 9:04 AM

    Wow, these are some seriously helpful tips…and many new to me! We cook bacon in the oven but I have to credit my husband for that splatterred-stove saving idea. We’re into making big batches of things like pancakes or waffles, and even casseroles, meatloaves, soups, etc. and freezing them. When I have some extra time, I leverage that for those days that I don’t.

    This list is brilliant! Thanks for sharing – it’s being bookmarked.

    Reply
  11. Aimee @ Simple Bites says

    January 25, 2013 at 6:53 AM

    These are GREAT tips, Katie! Thanks for including mine.

    Reply

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Katie Kick from Good Life Eats in her kitchen

Meet Katie Kick

Hi, I’m Katie! Thank you so much for visiting my corner of the internet. I am passionate about cooking delicious and beautiful, yet accessible, food for my family and friends. I love tasting new foods, discovering new places and things that help my family live that good life.

More about Katie
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