The best kitchen gifts for moms who cook.
On Mother’s Day, gifts for mom should be the very best! These are the 2023 Best Mother’s Day gifts for cooks, with prices that fit every budget. She will have a very happy Mother’s Day with any of these great finds.
The best Mother’s Day gifts for cooks
Mother’s Day gifts can be tricky. For moms who cook, my gift goal is always to find presents that 1) are good quality, 2) fall within her interests, and 3) look lovely and isn’t overly utilitarian (just my opinion–I don’t want storage solutions on my big day, please). Luckily, there are beautiful cooking and kitchen Mother’s Day gifts that meet all of these qualifications!
Below, I’ve rounded up a list of all the best Mother’s Day gifts for cooks and gifts for mom, divvied into multiple price ranges. Whether you’re looking for a small kitchen accessory or big statement gift, these kitchen and cooking gifts are guaranteed to win her heart.
Best Mother’s Day Gifts for Cooks: $1 – $30
1. Pretty Recipe Cards
There’s a special place in my heart for vintage Pyrex. There’s also something special about a hand-written recipe. I love, love, love these happy cooking-themed recipe cards from Northwest Paper Studio on Etsy. Northwest also has other lovely recipe card prints, like floral, herb, and whisk designs.
2. Three-Ring Recipe Binder
For moms who cook that like full-page recipes, this Jot & Mark recipe binder — great for print-outs! — comes in several pretty (and food-themed) covers like citrus and strawberries. Make it personal by including a hand-written favorite family recipe or personal letter inside! (And with Amazon Prime shipping times, this could also make a good last-minute Mother’s Day gift.)
3. Homemade Pasta Accessories
Why open a box of Barilla when you can open a box filled with artisan homemade pasta tools? Fante’s is the go-to source for gifts like a gnocchi board, ravioli forms, spaghetti drying racks, and oh-so-much more.
4. High-End Tea
A box from the supermarket aisle is fine. A beautiful canister of tea from a proper tea house? Much, much better. Brooklyn-based Bellocq Tea Atelier makes a wide variety of premium, well-sourced teas that come packaged in beautiful tins. Bellocq also sells curated tea collections (tea and chocolate, anyone?), plus tea accessories like cups, teapots, matcha whisks, and more.
Cooking Gifts for Moms for Mother’s Day: $30 – $85
1. A Faux Food Candle
John Derian is the king of kitchy-but-classy faux food candles. This collection is guaranteed to bring smiles. These add a fun, whimsical boost to any food-lover’s Mother’s Day spirit.
2. Bread (and More Bread) from Poilâne
If your mom loves bread and has been to Paris, her wanderings likely took into famed bakery Poilâne, a jewel box artisan bakery still using their ancient oven, which arguably turns out the best crusty bread in France.
An in-the-know Francophile food lover will flip for a Mother’s Day loaf of their big sourdough miche loaf with its signature swirl “P.” And while you’re at it, throw in a bag of their “punition” butter cookies.
3. A Pretty Cake Pedestal
These best-selling Mosser glass cake pedestals elevate any Mother’s Day cake — literally and figuratively. They are also timeless and cheerful. In a range of beautiful colors, it’s hard to pick only one. The 10-inch cake pedestal would be my pick, since it works for both 8- and 9-inch cakes, and would also look beautiful holding bundts, cookie stacks, and more.
4. A Lovely Teapot
Anthropologie is a great source for kitchen and housewares. This hand-painted stoneware teapot will make every cup of tea special.
5. A Cake Server Set
If the mom in your life is still cutting and serving cake with a simple utilitarian kitchen knife, give her a memorable upgrade. This $59 set from Williams-Sonoma is simple and elegant. I like this modern gold CB2 cake server as well, for about the same price.
Kitchen Gifts for Moms Who Cook: $85 – $ 150
1. Pretty Food-Print Pajamas
Beadhead always sells pretty, high-quality pajamas, often with several food-themed prints. For a nice gift for moms who cook this Mother’s Day — and love pretty p.j.s — I currently love these French macaron print pajamas (there’s a kid version, too!), as well as this pink dessert pattern set. And how cute is this pasta print pajama gift for pasta-loving moms?
2. A Gorgeous Watering Can
This stunner watering can by Haws will definitely elevate your mom’s plant-watering experience, especially for her fresh herbs or potted citrus plants.
3. Beautiful Baking Dishes
A great Mother’s Day kitchen gift is this set of nested Staub bakers. At time of publication, these heavy-duty casseroles have been reduced to $99 from $243. This is a steal. Staub is great quality, and these will last forever.
4. A Live Lemon Tree
When life gives you lemons…. Flowers are always wonderful for Mother’s Day. But for someone wanting to give something a little different that a specific kitchen gift for Mother’s Day, this pretty live Meyer lemon tree might just be the ticket. These require full sun, but do well indoors in winter, then move outside in summer. These sunny lemons will brighten not just her day, but the whole year.
Best Mother’s Day Kitchen Gifts: $150 and above
1. A Fancy Night Off From Cooking
Let’s face it. No matter how much your mom likes to cook, a great Mother’s Day gift would be a night out of the kitchen. Get a gift certificate to an elegant, splurge-worthy restaurant. Better yet? Make the reservation and take her on a date. To find the best restaurants in larger urban areas, check out Unpeeled Journal’s Food Travel Guides. I also rely on Michelin, Bon Appétit, and Eater as reliable sources for best restaurant recommendations.
2. The Zoshirushi Rice Cooker
I am breaking my own rule against purely utilitarian Mother’s Day kitchen gifts and recommending this Zoshirushi rice cooker, otherwise known as THE rice cooker. This impressive gadget from a reliable Japanese company features automatic keep warm, extended keep warm, and reheating cycles; two delay time settings; musical beeps; and more.
SGJ says
Thank you for all the good suggestions.