Still Looking to Ditch that Plastic Spatula? We Have Plenty of Alternatives.

I use my enamel spoon for mixing and tossing, but I especially love that it’s cute enough to be used as a serving utensil when I have guests over.

It’s nice to have a slotted spoon in your collection, which can be used for any food you want to grab while leaving liquid behind: a tester piece of pasta, blanched vegetables if you’re doing multiple rounds and want to preserve your simmering water, boiled and poached eggs, and more.

The only other style youneedis a fish spatula, thinner and more angled than the GIR Flip above, so it can really get under anything. The heads on these are always made from stainless steel (which is great, since that’s the part touching food). Stick to a stainless-steel or wood handle, and you’ll be fully plastic-free. Plus, those materials both look nicer than plastic. You can find great and affordable fish spatulas all over the internet, but this is one piece where you can’t go wrong grabbing it from a restaurant-supply store.

Needs aside, I’d like to give a shoutout to the spoonula — a hybrid spatula and spoon. Several brands make them (including the aforementionedGIR), but my favorite I’ve ever used is from Hedley & Bennett. This style has finer edges than a regular spatula, and a flexible head to help with movement around the edges of a skillet. You can scoop with it, and I find it to be the very best tool for making perfect scrambled eggs, whether you prefer beautiful wide ribbons or smaller curds.

[Editor’s note: This piece is currently out of stock, but the brand says it’s coming back very soon. In the meantime, sign up up to be notified when it does.]

This spoon-and-spatula hybrid is a favorite of Strategist senior editorWinnie Yang(she has a right-angled model for herself, and a left-angled one for her daughter). Unlike the spoonula above, it’s made from firm wood, and instead of tapering outward, it features a rounded divot right in the center. “It’s finely made and feels really nice in my hand,” Yang says. “The angled edge makes it easy to get into the corners and recesses of pots, and the bowl holds just enough for a taste.”

Finally, I love this offset spatula, also from Gestura. It’s larger than a typical one, like thisclassic from Ateco. Still, it works to release cakes from the sides of tins and to spread batter and fillings. But the surface area is much larger, which means it can also flip ingredients in a skillet, like pancakes or a filet of fish.

Most pairs of stainless-steel tongs by reputable brands will work totally fine. But I happened to buy these KitchenAid ones for myself about a year ago, and they’re great. The lock mechanism works well and doesn’t stick in place; the grabby part holds onto food tightly (this actually isn’t always the case with other tongs); and I can clean them in the dishwasher. Plus, they come in four different sizes: 4, 7, 12, and 14 inches.

These tweezer tongs are a tool halfway between cooking chopsticks and traditional tongs. They’re especially useful for grabbing and flipping delicate foods, like individual roasted vegetables. But they’re still sturdy and have a firm-enough grip to maneuver heavier items like chicken thighs, too. More often than you might expect, they come in handy for random tasks like nabbing a piece of fallen food from the bottom of your burner or grabbing that one slippery noodle left in your pasta water.

These tongs come recommended to us by Strategist contributorMargaret Eby, who influenced Yang to get a pair, too. “I cook pasta and noodles a fair amount and prefer to scoop them out of the pot and directly into sauce or broth,” Yang says, “rather than dumping them into a colander to drain.” Using these, she can grab and move a bunch of strands without them slipping back into the pot (or onto the stovetop), and without smashing them.

OXO’s whisk comes in three sizes: 7.25 inches, 9 inches, and 11 inches. I have the middle and use it every day — for scrambled eggs, salad dressings, marinades, and sauces. While this model does have a plastic handle, it never touches food (and I rarely even hold it close to a heat source), so it doesn’t bother me. In fact, it’s one utensil where I appreciate a softer surface for my hand. With something like a spatula, I’m just holding it. With a whisk, I’m often truly gripping — sometimes for extended periods, like if I’m making whipped cream.

If you do care, the brand does make an all stainless-steel version, which still has a slightly indented handle for a comfortable hold.

I’ve recently started using Earlywood’s flat sautés, a lightweight, thin, and flat tool that tapers from the slightly curved top into a more rounded bottom — basically a hybrid wooden spoon and spatula. I primarily grab one for the same tasks I would turn to either of those tools for: mixing, stirring, and flipping. But it has some particular assets, too, like getting in the corners of straight-sided pans and breaking up ground meat. The tool comes in three sizes — 13, 11.25, and 9.5 inches — each one available in an array of gorgeous wood varieties. And you can buy them individually, too.

Long-handledcooking chopsticksallow you to grab and flip with even more precision and dexterity than a pair of tongs — and keep you a safer distance away from oil splatters. This particular set is a favorite of one expert who says she likes that they’re not too tapered and that there’s no coating.

TheMicroplane zesteryou likely see most often has a plastic handle. It’s comfortable to grip, and because the plastic part doesn’t touch your food, it’s not the end of the world. But the branddoesmake this wood-handled version and awider all-stainless-steel option, too.

Use a skimmer to efficiently pick up foods out of boiling water while leaving the liquid behind, like when you have to transfer noodles but you want to save your salty pasta water.

Cake testers can be used for more than the name implies. Fish, meat, and vegetables alike can be checked for their cook or texture. This particular one, with a heavyweight base and all stainless-steel body, is yet another made by Gestura. I have one in my own collection, but it’s also afavorite of pro chefs.