53 Gifts Under $50, Perfect for People Who Love Food

Yes, it’s nearly that time of year again, but gift-giving is not exclusive to the holiday season. There are birthdays, special occasions, just-because surprises, and dinner parties where you prefer not to show up empty-handed. And because you shouldn’t have to empty your bank account in pursuit of a thoughtful gesture, we’re pleased to present the latest version of our most budget-friendly gift guide, updated for 2024. [Insert “dramatic flourish” sounds here.]

Here are 53 gifts under $50 for your favorite food (and drink) enthusiasts, sourced from our thoroughly tested reviews and staff faves—and nearly all of them are suitable for year-round gift-giving. Bookmark this gift guide for all your stocking stuffer, grand gesture, and “thanks for feeding my cat last week” needs.

Kitchen Essentials

We crowned the Mercer Genesis as one of the best Western-style chef’s knives under $50 in our chef’s knife review—and, just saying, we tested 34 knives to make our selections. A good chef’s knife is a staple of any kitchen and makes for an impressively sharp gift. This one from  Mercer has a grippy handle that inspires immediate confidence.

A digital scale may not seem very exciting, but anybody who uses one can vouch for how much easier the measuring process is. No need for cups and spoons: Just pour flour (or oil, or diced onion, or whatever else) directly into your bowl and move on with your recipe. It’s a much more accurate way of baking, too. The Escali Primo is our favorite budget scale for its straightforward use and accuracy.

Weight and volume aren’t the only measurable considerations when it comes to cooking—temperature is also often a key factor. The ThermoPop is a longtime Serious Eats favorite thanks to its big, easy-to-read face and reliable performance. It also comes in lots of different colors, so you can have fun being the one who brings a bright orange thermometer to your office’s white elephant gift exchange this year.

Whether for dinner leftovers or afternoon snacks, food storage containers are a household must. Reusable bags are a fun—and practical—alternative to the conventional container, and Re(zip) ticks all the boxes for multipurpose portability. It stands up on its own, has no hard-to-clean grooves or tight corners, and the seal is leak-tight. Gift a couple of these to your outdoorsy friend who’s always packing a day’s worth of snacks for a long hike.

A wok can make a terrific gift—and it doesn’t have to be expensive to be great. This carbon steel one from Joyce Chen aced our wok testing, and the flat bottom means it’ll work on any cooktop without fuss. You can do lots with a wok, so it’s one of those gifts that keeps giving.

Okay, so maybe a two-pack of plastic cutting boards isn’t as luxurious a gift as a wooden carving board, but we’re aiming for affordable functionality here. Plus, we’re fans of OXO’s durability. These cutting boards are gentle on knives, easy to clean, and thoughtfully designed with rubber strips that keep them in place. A perfectly sensible gift.

We’ve long been fans of Lodge cast iron pans. They’re affordable, they look nice, and they last forever. A pre-seasoned skillet makes a great gift, especially if your recipient is new to the pleasures of cooking with cast iron.

Gift for Bakers

A lovely gift for the bread baker in your life, Breadtopia’s lame is one of our top picks. The straightforward design makes scoring dough a snap. Because it comes with a petite storage box, it’ll stay sharp in your drawer when not in use.

Proofing baskets provide structure for dough as it ferments and rises, which gives it shape and sometimes a fun pattern. This one, with its flat bottom and moisture-absorbing wood pulp construction, is our very favorite.

Bundt pans help create head-turning cakes, and this one from Nordic Ware—which took the top spot in our recent tests, btw—has a deliciously dramatic form. Fun fact: Nordic Ware invented the Bundt pan! Its Anniversary pan baked our test cakes evenly and they released from the pan without sticking.

Half-sheet baking trays are so practical for every use. Why pull out an unwieldy full-size baking sheet just to roast a handful of vegetables when you could use a half-sheet and still have room on your countertop to chop it all up? (Full-size sheets don’t even fit in most home ovens!) This is one of those items people don’t realize they need until they have it. Our favorite half-sheets from Nordic Ware refuse to warp, no matter how much you put them through their paces.

Perfect for bread bakers, Danish dough whisks make stirring flour and water a pleasure instead of a sticky chore. There’s lots of space for the dough to move through, which means it’s also great for mixing batters—we’re thinking pancakes, muffins, cakes—and even folding in egg whites.

Speaking of muffins, we like this tin from USA Pan. It bakes each muffin evenly and they pop right out with no sticking, which means the pan is also super easy to clean. Give it as a gift and make a fun little joke about how you’ll be happy to sample the fruits of your recipient’s labor.

Tart pans are great for picture-perfect desserts thanks to their removable bottoms and fluted sides. Crusts—even press-in ones with no rolling needed—conform willingly and emerge looking like you know what you’re doing. Our editor Rochelle Bilow swears her pan helped heal her pie crust anxiety.

For Coffee & Tea Lovers

To impress a tea aficionado, you’ll want to choose loose leaf over pre-bagged. This tin of warming masala chai tastes as pretty as it looks. Gifting to a black tea or herbal lover? We have tons more picks here.

You probably know lots of people who drink coffee on the daily, so why not shake up someone’s morning brew with a gift subscription? Crema’s subscription boxes can be ordered with a “set and forget” auto-option, or à la carte. Start by taking a fun quiz about your giftee’s coffee preferences, including light, medium, or dark roast and ground or whole beans, and you’re off.

Fancy coffee shop drinks at home are closer than you think. A drizzle of perfectly sweet vanilla syrup turns a regular cuppa into an experience, and this bottle is luxe. Our associate editorial director Riddley Gemperlein-Schirm likes Sonoma Syrup Co. because it has flecks of real vanilla bean. There are other fun flavors to choose from, including lavender and peppermint.

Give the gift of fresh coffee with a proper vessel for storing beans or grounds. We like this vacuum-sealed one from Fellow Atmos, both because it looks cool and actually keeps coffee fresher for longer than leaving it in the bag.

We’re big fans of this French press—so much so we named it our best budget pick in our  French presses review. Its layered stainless steel construction keeps coffee nice and toasty while the dual filter keeps grit to a minimum. Not for nothing: The little gator logo is cute.

The AeroPress is a fab gift for the hiker, camper, or traveler in your life. It works well to brew a single serving of coffee on the go that tastes amazing. It’s lightweight, so it’s highly portable, and it gives “I take my coffee seriously” vibes. (We’ve known and been people who pop their Aeropress in a suitcase for a weekend getaway.)

Fun Gadgets and Goodies

It looks like a cutting board, but it’s a cookbook stand. For as many great recipes as there are across the interwebs, sometimes it’s nice to crack open a cookbook and not have to faff with technology. This wooden stand holds your page in place as you cook.

Don’t be fooled by the diminutive proportions of this food processor—it holds its own against the big boys and can slice, dice, chop, and blitz with the best of ‘em. Hot take: It’s so much more useful than those food choppers getting lots of love on social media. This mini food pro is great for your salad-obsessed bestie.

We can be critical of unitasker tools—kitchen space is limited, after all—but a reliable garlic press is worth keeping around for those weeknights where chopping 40 cloves of garlic sounds about as fun as eating them all raw.

You wouldn’t think ice cubes could be exciting, but when we tested ice cube trays, this one from PHINOX was described as “a thrill to use.” Removing the cubes is like popping bubble wrap, except you’re left with useful ice instead of disappointment. The PHINOX tray includes a storage bin, so you can make loads of ice at once.

Vacuum sealers are handy for keeping food fresh and sous vide cooking, but some of them—like chamber sealers—are enormous and pricey. Not so this palm-sized gadget from Anova, which not only works really well but is small enough to be stowed away in a drawer between uses. A unique and practical gift.

A mortar and pestle is one of those excellent kitchen items that manages to be functional while still looking cool on the counter. They can be quite large, however—which is why a mini one makes such a great gift. Everyone loves receiving a weighty gift (with heft comes promise), and what better way to alleviate holiday stress than by smashing some spices? This petite set is very reasonably priced and it aced our tests.

Yeti makes loads of different mugs and tumblers so feel free to deviate from this handle-and-straw contraption, but there’s no denying that insulated beverage vessels are having a moment. As long as you don’t choose a color your recipient hates, you can’t go wrong by giving one as a gift.

Single-use plastic bags are less than ideal, and paper ones tear easily or accumulate in a cabinet somewhere until we’ve forgotten what else is in there. This reusable grocery bag is fun because it looks like a classic paper bag but is actually made of beeswaxed organic cotton. Sneaky!

These colorful pinch pots are not only adorable, they're also practical. If you're like us and set up your mise en place before you get cooking, having small bowls for spices or minced garlic is a boon. Plus, they stack neatly for storage.

Bar & Tableware

Assuming you know someone’s decor tastes well enough to feel comfortable giving them an item meant to be on display, a nice wine rack can make a lovely gift. This one has a nifty hexagonal pattern and holds 11 bottles—and politely maxes out our under-$50 budget.

Great-looking rocks glasses (with a generous 13-ounce capacity) from one of the leading names in the drinkware game? Enough said.

For the cocktail enthusiast in your life, a bar spoon that doubles as a muddler is nothing less than thoughtful and practical. This one is about $15 and looks fantastic on a bar cart.

An ideal item to pair with the aforementioned bar spoon, a cocktail shaker is a must for any home bar. This cobbler shaker from OXO seals tightly and can hold two cocktails. We think it strikes the right balance between handsome and affordable.

Keep it on the table, keep it on the counter, keep it on the bar cart—wherever you put this useful little salt cellar, it’s going to look great, and ensure your flaky salt is always at the ready. This salt cellar has a 16-ounce capacity and comes in a bunch of nice colors.

Gifting water glasses doesn’t sound very exciting, but we enjoyed these ones from Duralex so much, we want everyone to have a set. From the flared rim to the elegantly grippy sides, they’re a pleasure to use. They’re also resilient against drops and aggressive dishwasher-loading.

If you’ve been searching for a gift that will give you a good reason to say “rise and grind” as your lucky giftee unwraps their loot, well, here you go. A nice pepper mill will bring a level of sophistication to your terrific jokes.

Gourmet Treats

A literal bucket of Maldon salt has graced many a Serious Eats gift guide. It’s the perfect gift—everyone needs salt, but not everyone is going to spring for the fancy stuff. Go big or go home with a three-plus-pound tub.

Savory, spicy, salty, and crunchy, Fly By Jing’s collection of Sichuan sauces is the one of best ways to spice up any pantry. This trio includes the brand’s classic Sichuan Chili Crisp, Zhong Sauce, and Chengdu Crunch—but buyer beware because this set of sauces is just a gateway to more Fly By Jing (which also makes noodles).

We included this orange-flavored olive oil in our review of extra virgin olive oils , and it belongs here too because nice olive oil makes a terrific gift. The Partanna oil is made using the agrumato method of infusion, in which the oranges are crushed with the olives. It makes for extra flavorful oil that’s amazing on everything—even yogurt and fruit

Like olive oil, maple syrup creates an interesting and memorable gift opportunity. When you buy the good stuff—like this one from Barred Woods, nestled in a corner of northern Vermont. You can choose from lighter Amber Rich or deeper, more intense Dark Robust. They’re both fantastic.

Craft chocolate seems to be everywhere these days, so we tested oodles of boxes to find the best. (You’re welcome.) This 12-piece box is gorgeous inside and out, and we swooned over the unique flavors, like rosemary-infused caramel with mushroom salt.

Nut butter fanatics (they exist!) will appreciate this truly luxurious jar. It’s sweet and salty at the same time and tastes freshly ground. The jar is pretty enough to pop in a stocking unwrapped. This stuff is amazing in coffee smoothies.

La Tourangelle makes lots of specialty oils, so choose one as you please—our former pastry editor is a fan of the pistachio oil. A nice nutty oil can elevate a salad, lend a delicate flavor to meats, or just add a little flair alongside the pre-dinner bread basket. It’s a fab gift for a dinner party host—or yourself.

If your giftee frequently cracks a tin of smoked mussels or lemony trout as a party appetizer, then consider indulging their tinned fish inclinations. This set of seafood delights from Siesta Co. includes white clams in brine, mussels in pickle oil, and white tuna in olive oil, all imported from Spain. They'd make a great stocking stuffer, too.

For Cookbook Collectors

Just in time for the holidays, Sift, by pastry chef Nicola Lamb, releases in November 2024. It’s a comprehensive book all about the hows and whys of baking, which makes it a fab gift for your favorite baker. Serious Eats’ resident pastry expert Genevieve Yam highly recommends it.

Our editor Grace Kelly recently waxed poetic about this four-decade-old cookbook, citing its stellar pancake recipe, comforting casseroles, and quirky Squiggled Eggs as just a few reasons to love it. For the cookbook collector who has everything, well, there’s a solid chance they might not have L.L. Bean’s.

Written by journalist and Serious Eats contributor Clarissa Wei with Ivy Chen, Made in Taiwan is more than just a recipe book. It documents Taiwan’s important history and culture, tying everything together through food. It’s also gorgeously photographed and makes a lovely, transportive gift. It made our list of truly essential cookbooks.

This title graced our roundup of 2023’s best cookbooks. It’s part cookbook, part ecological deep dive, and part coffee table book that is a great grab for your brunch friend who’s always trying to order oysters “for the table” and eats most themselves. (Or anyone who is into nature and learning more about where their food comes from. Or anyone who just likes interesting books.)

This one made our list of best baking cookbooks and is a real favorite among sourdough bakers. Whether someone is just getting started in sourdough or has been baking bread for years, there’s always something to learn from Tartine Bread.

Making pasta from scratch seems way more daunting than it actually is, and this book is one of our current favorites to reach for when we get a hankering for fresh fettuccine. Gift it to anyone who loves a cooking project and doesn’t mind giving their hands a workout.

The hummus tahina in Mike Solomonov's seminal cookbook Zahav is so good, that Kenji referenced it when he developed Serious Eats' hummus recipe. Beyond that (which alone makes this cookbook worth buying), Solomonov provides instruction for Middle Eastern basics, like airy pita and quenching chopped salad, and nods to the mix of cultures and flavors in the region with recipes like Yemeni beef soup. Any cookbook aficionado will be happy to have this in their collection.

FAQs

What are the best cheap gifts for cooks?

When it comes to budget-friendly gifts for people who love to cook, it’s hard to go wrong with an edible gift. Fancy salt or a nice finishing oil both tick the “thoughtful” box without contributing to kitchen clutter. Teas and coffees are also easy wins.

Why We’re the Experts

• Summer Rylander is a writer who’s been contributing to Serious Eats since 2022. She has also written about kitchen gear for the likes of Food & Wine, Allrecipes, and The Kitchn, and she’s long been a fan of giving and receiving food-centric gifts. 
• The items in this review have been tested, used, and endorsed by Serious Eats editors.