Knowing the names of cooking utensils, kitchen tools, and kitchen appliences in French can be the difference between regularly hunting for French-language recipes on the Internet and never ever doing that. But you probably should, because trying French recipes will have some very tangible benefits for you: namely, you’ll be cooking delicious food and improving your French at the very same time. That’s an incontestable win!
It’s admittedly a lot more fun, too, if you don’t have to wonder whether casserole means “saucepan” or “pot” (the former), or whether torchon has anything to do with a torch (it doesn’t – it’s French for tea towel) while reading the instructions.
As always, you shouldn’t bite off more than you can chew: as this is a pretty comprehensive list of kitchen tools, you should first choose the words that seem the most useful to you. If you find all of it useful – thanks! – you can proceed to learn the remaining vocab at a later time.
No rush means no frustration, no cramming and more effective learning.
And if you’re looking for further food-related resources, take a look at our list of spices in French. I wouldn’t miss out on our collection of cooking and baking verbs, either. Or check out our article about the difference between gourmet and gourmand, so that you’ll never mix them up again. Ever.
Jump to
- Different types of pots and pans
- Kitchen tools & cooking utensils
- Containers & products for keeping food fresh
- Products for cleaning & tidying up the kitchen
- Kitchen appliances
- Different types of coffee makers/ coffee machines
- Plate types
- Cutlery: different types of forks, spoons, knives
- Glass types
1. Different types of pots and pans in French
la batterie de cuisine = cookware
la cocotte = casserole
la marmite = pot
la casserole = saucepan (Yes, it’s confusing! Casserole means “saucepan” in French, but a “casserole” in English is cocotte in French.)
la poêle/ poêle à frire = frying pan
la poêle antiadhésive = non-stick frying pan
le wok = wok
la plaque de cuisson/ la plaque = baking sheet
le moule à muffin = muffin pan/ muffin tin
2. Kitchen tools & cooking utensils in French
la louche = ladle
la cuillère en bois = wooden spoon
l’éplucheur (m) = peeler
la passoire = colander
le presse-purée = potato masher
la mandoline = slicer/ mandolin
le tamise = sieve
le fouet = whisk
la poche à douille = pastry bag
le rouleau à pâtisserie = rolling pin
l’emporte-pièce (m) = cookie cutter
(une paire de) ciseaux de cuisine = kitchen scissors
l’ouvre-boîte (m) = tin opener
une feuille de papier cuisson = a sheet of baking paper
les moules (m pl) en papier / caissettes (f pl) à muffins = muffin papers/ muffin liners
3. Containers & products for keeping food fresh in French
le bocal = jar, mason jar
le récipient alimentaire = food container
la boîte à lunch = lunch box
le sac congélation = freezer bag
le film étirable = saran wrap / plastic wrap / cling film
le papier aluminium = tinfoil / aluminium foil
la cloche = bell cover, plate cover
le plateau = tray
4. Products for cleaning and tidying up in French
le papier absorbant = paper towel (literally: absorbent paper)
le torchon = dish towel, tea towel
l’éponge (f) = sponge
le produit vaisselle, le liquide vaisselle = dish soap, washing-up liquid
tablettes (f pl) lave-vaisselle, pastilles (f pl) lave-vaisselle = diswasher tablets
le plan de travail = kitchen counter, countertop
5. Kitchen appliances in French
la bouilloire (électrique) = (electric) kettle
le batteur (électrique) = hand mixer, electric mixer
le micro-onde/ le four à micro-ondes = microvawe /microvawe oven
la friteuse = deep fryer
la friteuse à air chaud = air fryer
le cuiseur de riz = rice cooker
le robot ménager = food processor
le grille-pain / le toaster = toaster
la cocotte-minute (originally a brand name) = pressure cooker
la mijoteuse = slow cooker
le congélateur = freezer
réfrigérateur = fridge
le lave-vaisselle = dishwasher
6. Different types of coffee makers/ coffee machines in French
la cafetière = coffeemaker
la cafetière à dosettes = single-serve coffee maker/ pod coffee machine
la cafetière moka = stovetop coffeemaker
le machine à café = coffee machine
7. Plate types in French
le bol = bowl (deep bowl – e.g., for cereal)
l’assiette (f) creuse = soup plate (less deep than a bol)
l’assiette (f) plate = dinner plate
l‘assiette (f) à dessert = dessert plate
le saladier = salad bowl
8. Cutlery in French: different types of forks, spoons, knives
les couverts (m pl) = cutlery
les baguettes (f pl) = chopsticks
Different types of forks in French
la fourchette = fork
la fourchette à dessert = dessert fork
la fourchette à salade = salad fork
Different types of spoons in French
la cuillère = spoon
la cuillère à café = teaspoon (literally: coffee spoon)
la cuillère à thé = teaspoon
la petite cuillère = literally: small spoon, usually refers to a teaspoon
la cuillère à moka = moka spoon (the tiny kind: smaller than a teaspoon)
la cuillère à dessert = dessert spoon
la cuillère à soupe = tablespoon
Different types of knives in French
le couteau = knife
le couteau à beurre = butter knife, spread knife
le couteau à pain = bread knife
le couteau à poisson = fish knife
le couteau de chef = chef’s knife
le couteau d’office = paring knife
un couteau tranchant / un couteau bien aiguisé = a sharp knife / literally: a well-sharpened knife
9. Glass types in French
le verre = (drinking) glass
le verre à eau = water glass
le verre à vin = wine glass
la flûte, flûte à champagne = flute
le verre à cocktail = cocktail glass
