10 Best Play Kitchens to Get for Your Child – A Mom’s Guide & Review
Are you interested in providing your child with good opportunities for pretend play? Would you like to encourage imagination and healthy development? The best play kitchen can do this and more!
Play kitchens are a wonderful tool for your child to help encourage good imagination and pretend play. These are important things for your child to experience for healthy development. Play kitchens also provide an opportunity to practice real-life skills since everyone needs to know how to cook and clean up!
My son was so thrilled when he got a play kitchen for Christmas last year! He plays with it daily and now that his sister is big enough, she does too! They love pretending to cook and wash dishes! My son often brings me his creations to try some of and he is so proud of himself, too. I love watching his face light up when I “take a bite”!
| Play Kitchen | Size | Material | Accessories Included | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Step2 Elegant Edge | Large | Plastic | Yes | $$$ |
| Melissa & Doug Wooden Chef’s Kitchen | Medium | Wood | No | $$ |
| Step2 Grand Walk-in | Large | Plastic | Yes | $$ |
| Little Tikes Super Chef | Small | Plastic | Yes | $ |
| KidKraft Ultimate Corner Play Kitchen | Large | Wood | No | $$$ |
| Little Tikes Cook ‘n Learn | Medium | Plastic | Yes | $ |
| Step2 Best Chef’s Toy Kitchen | Medium | Plastic | Yes | $ |
| KidKraft Little Cook’s Work Station | Small | Wood | No | $ |
| KidKraft Vintage | Small | Wood | No | $ |
| Step2 Fun with Friends | Medium | Plastic | Yes | $$ |
How does a play kitchen help a child’s development?
Pretend play is extremely important and vital to proper and healthy development in children. The great thing about a play kitchen is that it provides an excellent opportunity for easy pretend play. Almost all children love to copy things they see adults doing, which is also very beneficial to development. A play kitchen provides great pretending opportunities as well as helps prepare children for an important real-life skill, which is cooking and cleaning up!
What age are play kitchens for?
The age recommendations for different play kitchens tend to vary. Many options have a starting age of 36 months or 3 years and there are lots of play kitchens for 2 year olds.
However, most 18-month-old and 2-year-old can really still benefit from and enjoy a play kitchen even if they aren’t using it as efficiently as slightly older kids.
You’ll usually find those play kitchens last a long time as even children 10-years-old and sometimes older can really enjoy them and benefit from the play involved. Lots of play kitchens design for 6-year-old toddlers.
Choosing the Best Play Kitchen for Your Child
Play kitchens are one children’s product that has nearly endless variations! There is a lot to take in and consider when it comes to choosing the right play kitchen for your child and your family. To help you make the best choice possible, we will go over some of the basics of what to look for and consider to make sure you get the play kitchen that fits your needs best!
Size
The first thing that you will probably want to think about when deciding on the right play kitchen for you is the size of it. The sizes of different play kitchens varies wildly. It is important to consider how much space that you will actually have available based off of where you intend to keep your child’s play kitchen.
Once you figure out how much space you have to work with, you can decide how large you would like your child’s kitchen to be. Bigger kitchens are especially great options for multiple children while small kitchens are still great if you are limited on space.
Materials
Next up, think about what type of materials you want your kitchen to be made from. Most play kitchens are either made from wood or plastic, so you don’t have a ton to think about here. Wood tends to be more durable, safe, and environmentally friendly. However, plastic is often cheaper and more versatile. Either can be great options depending on your personal preferences.
Features
You’ll, of course, want to think about what features are included in each toy kitchen you consider! The most basic things you will want to think about are which appliances are included. Common appliances to look for and consider include:
- Fridge
- Stove
- Oven
- Freezer
- Sink
There are also extras on many kitchens that you might also want to look for. Some kitchens include coffee pots, storage areas, cutting blocks, and more! You will even find some more unique options on certain kitchen sets like a washer or recycling bin! Beyond appliances, other features can be things like interactive lights and sounds that you may want to look for in your ideal play kitchen.
Accessories
With play kitchens, accessories are almost a necessity. Without dishes, utensils, and food, it is a lot more challenging and less interesting to effectively pretend play in the toy kitchen. Your child will benefit greatly from kitchen accessories like play food.
Choosing a play kitchen with accessories is definitely beneficial and adds value to your purchase but it isn’t necessary. Just keep in mind that if you choose a kitchen without accessories included that you will probably want to make an additional purchase for some good accessories for your child.
Budget
Last, but certainly not least, price is a very important consideration with a product like a play kitchen. Even the super affordable options are a substantial enough purchase that you want to carefully consider your budget and the value you are getting from your purchase. Since the price varies so greatly, you will want to make sure to balance what you want to pay with what you hope to get from your play kitchen.
Read More: Best Baby Play Mats To Boost Sensory Play.
Our Picks: 10 Best Play Kitchen
1Step2 Elegant Edge – Best Play Kitchen Overall
Step2 Elegant Edge – Best Play Kitchen Overall
- Working lights
- 78-piece accessory set
- Over 6 feet long
- Tile backsplash appearance
- Farmhouse sink
- Multiple storage areas
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This kitchen set is the top of the top. It is massive, well-built, and looks amazing. This is the Elegant Edge Kitchen from Step2. Step2 has managed to make it into our recommendations multiple times because they make so many different incredible play kitchen sets! The Elegant Edge is our pick for the #1 play kitchen overall as the best plastic play kitchens!
The little details really help to bring the whole thing together. This play kitchen has a really nice, modern look to it. The farmhouse sink, tile backsplashes, stacked stone backdrop, and more all come together wonderfully for a really elegant and classy kitchen look. Working lights and realistic accessories add even more fun to your child’s play time!
It’s no surprise that this is the most expensive play kitchen of all those that we have reviewed. It costs well over 3 times the price of the most affordable options on our list. Of course, it is priced accordingly to what you get. As in, even though it is expensive, it is very nice and full of amazing realistic features! This is the most extravagant play kitchen that we came across. The price is pretty high up there, but it isn’t too bad when you consider how much you are actually getting from your purchase! This is no-doubt an amazing option that your child will be totally thrilled with. It’s even perfect for multiple kids to play with together due to the larger size! Check Pricing and Availability
If you prefer to stick to wooden toys for their known safety, novelty, and quality, this is definitely the best wooden play kitchen you can buy. This is Melissa & Doug’s Wooden Chef’s Kitchen and it is sure to be a hit with the little ones! The little details of this wooden kitchen set really bring the whole thing together. The “tile” backsplash adds a lot to the overall look of the kitchen while small hooks and handles provide the perfect place to store utensils and washcloths. There is even a clip next to the fridge that holds a little grocery list for your child’s pretend shopping trips!
This is one of the play kitchen options that we reviewed that does not come with extra accessories. This isn’t a huge deal as you can easily get some separately, but it does mean an additional purchase. Melissa and Doug sells a really cute and high-quality set of accessories to go perfectly with this kitchen if you do choose it! This is such a sweet wooden play kitchen option! Your child is almost guaranteed to love this high-quality kitchen with its adorable details and working ice dispenser! Melissa and Doug is a very nice brand that creates high-end products without losing affordability. Check Pricing and Availability
Another huge play kitchen option from Step2 is their Grand Walk-in kitchen. This play kitchen is the only walk-in option on our list of recommendations, which helped it to win the title of the best large play kitchen! This amazing play kitchen also comes with a 103-piece set of accessories to make roleplaying even more fun! The attached dining area provides the perfect place for your little ones to enjoy pretending to eat their play meals! To top it all off, there are even plenty of storage places perfect for all the accessories and anything extra you’d like to add to your child’s kitchen set!
Due to the walk-in design of this play kitchen, it can be more difficult to assemble than some of our other options. Although, most parents agree it is still well worth the purchase. The extra time it takes assembling this play kitchen is well worth the many hours of play your child will get out of it. This play kitchen may be a bit harder to put together, but it is incredibly valuable. For the size of it and all of the accessories, the price is impossible to beat. It is high-quality and very well-designed with unique features! Check Pricing and Availability
This adorable Super Chef Kitchen from Little Tikes has the smallest footprint of all of those we included in our recommendations. This definitely makes it the best small toy kitchen since they’ve packed so much value into such a compact little toy kitchen! Some of the cool features of this kitchen are things you won’t even find on larger options. The towel bar and cutting board block add a lot to the kitchen for increased value and more play opportunities. The stove also features fun sounds to add even more to your child’s play experience!
Of course, the downside to fitting so many unique features and appliances into such a compact toy kitchen is that all of the features and appliances are rather small. Things like the sink, microwave, and fridge of this toy kitchen are a lot smaller than the options on most of our play kitchen choices. This is an amazing, very affordable, super compact play kitchen! It is very impressive the amount of individual features that Little Tikes fit into this kitchen without making it take up too much space for those needing a small play kitchen option! Check Pricing and Availability
For a much larger corner play kitchen option, check out this Ultimate Corner Play Kitchen from KidKraft! This is actually my personal favorite! In fact, it is a strong contender for our kids for Christmas this year! This is our pick for the best corner play kitchen due to its size, quality, and value. Speaking of realistic, this play kitchen does feature realistic lights and sounds for both the 2-burner stove top as well as the cute ice dispenser built into the door of the fridge. A dishwasher next to the oven provides an additional fun feature that most play kitchens end up leaving out!
This is a very high-value play kitchen! We love how it fits neatly into the corner and still provides lots of play options including a dishwasher and washer! Simple details like a clear oven door and backsplash really help bring it to life! Check Pricing and Availability
Here is another really cool play kitchen from Little Tikes! This is the Cook ‘n Learn kitchen and is our pick for the best interactive play kitchen! It has a similar set-up to the previously mentioned Little Tikes kitchen but is a little bigger and much more high-tech! The Cook ‘n Learn kitchen comes with 46 different accessories including dishes, utensils, and food! Another cool interactive feature is the rushing water sounds that play when your child turns on the sink and the way the stove sizzles when your child cooks! One of my favorite things is that there is a small built-in garden area where your child can “harvest” fruits and veggies for their different recipes!
The unfortunate part that comes a long with a lot of different smart toys is that sometimes connectivity can be inconsistent. A common complaint from parents that own this toy kitchen is that it is difficult to get their device connected quickly. This is a really cool and unique option of play kitchen. Your child will enjoy how interactive this kitchen is and the smart device compatibility provides greater opportunity for learning! Yet another great choice from Step2 is the Best Chef’s Toy Kitchen! This is a really wonderful option if you are looking for something more affordable. The low price, high quality, and tons of features make this the best budget play kitchen! A pass-through kitchen window adds a fun element to this kitchen with a little extra space on the window sill for whatever your child would like to place there. Multiple storage locations allow plenty of room for putting things away. This kitchen also includes a 25-piece accessory set!
Of course, with being a bit smaller and much cheaper, this kitchen does lack a little compared to other options. There are less appliances and features here with the most notable being that this kitchen doesn’t include a fridge. If you’re looking for a toy kitchen that won’t break the bank, this affordable option from Step2 is perfect! It costs a lot less than most of our recommendations but still has some really nice features and a high-quality and durable design! If you’re into more minimalistic toys as many parents are these days, the best simple play kitchen may very well be for you! This option from KidKraft is the Little Cook’s Work Station. It’s simple, yet high-quality design makes it a worthwhile choice perfect for any play area. The other nice thing is that the features on this kitchen are all very realistic for a more in-depth play experience. The oven features a see-through door that lets your child look in at their food just like in a real oven. The burners on the stove look like real gas burners and the faucet on the sink has a “stainless steel” spring neck!
Just like with the super affordable Step2 option, this is a kitchen that has less features overall. There is no fridge or microwave on this kitchen. However, the features it does have are of the highest quality that your child is sure to appreciate. Of course, it also doesn’t come with accessories – so, you’ll probably want to buy some separately. This is definitely a really nice option of play kitchen. It is very well-made and durable while still remaining quite affordable. The features are super realistic, but the kitchen itself is nice and simple with plenty of room for imagination and creativity! Check Pricing and Availability
One more awesome KidKraft kitchen is this Vintage Toy Kitchen! This super cute and fun kitchen set is actually our pick for the best toddler kitchen set due to durability and smaller size! The other thing that really makes this a great toddler kitchen set is the size of it. It isn’t just small in a sense of being more compact, but it is actually shorter than most options and has smaller features. This is ideal for toddlers since they are still very little. A toddler can easily reach all parts of this kitchen for the most fun experience possible!
Obviously, the downfall to the smaller size and height of this kitchen is that it won’t last as long for easy and comfortable play. A lot of toy kitchens are great for even older kiddos, but this one will be pretty small for your child when they grow well-out of the toddler phase. They can still play with it, just not as comfortable. If you’re looking for a play kitchen specifically for a younger kiddo like little toddlers, this is a great choice! It is high-quality, durable, and super adorable! Your child will adore it without a doubt! Rounding off our list of the top 10 best play kitchens is our final choice from Step2! This is their Fun with Friends kitchen and is our pick for the best pink play kitchen! A lot of parents like to specifically choose pink kitchens, especially for their little girls, so we wanted to make sure to deliver with a super valuable play kitchen adorned in sweet shades of pink! One of the best things, though, is that this space includes tons of counter space for both storage and play! Hooks in the peek-through windows as well as additional space with baskets underneath provide even more ample storage space! That’s especially good since it comes with over 40 accessories!
Assembly on this particular kitchen may be a little difficult for some. Many parents found that the holes weren’t very well-placed and actually ended up drilling their own. When shopping for a play kitchen, you may be looking for something super specific like a pink play kitchen! Lots of parents look for pink kitchens for their little princesses. This is definitely the perfect choice coming from a great brand like Step2 and including special features like a pet area and nearly endless storage! You may interested to read: Best Baby Playpen & Playard. Play kitchens are a wonderful toy that children will both enjoy as well as benefit greatly from! They are exciting and help to keep children nice and busy while providing important developmental skills and education. Finding the best toy kitchen for your child is definitely worthwhile, which you will find out for yourself as you watch them enjoy hours of fun pretend play with their kitchen!
Melissa & Doug Wooden Chef’s Kitchen – Best Wooden Play Kitchen
Step2 Grand Walk-in – Best Large Play Kitchen
Little Tikes Super Chef – Best Small Toy Kitchen
KidKraft Ultimate Corner Play Kitchen – Best Corner Play Kitchen
Little Tikes Cook ‘n Learn – Best Interactive Play Kitchen
Step2 Best Chef’s Toy Kitchen – Best Budget Play Kitchen
KidKraft Little Cook’s Work Station – Best Simple Play Kitchen
KidKraft Vintage – Best Toddler Kitchen Set
Step2 Fun with Friends – Best Pink Play Kitchen
Final Words on Play Kitchens
