Lodge 6 Qt Enameled Dutch Oven
A heavy enameled pot holds frying oil at a steady temperature and doubles as the pot for soups and braises. Many fried-chicken and soup copycats call for one.
See it on Amazon →Gifts for the Copycat Cook
Shopping for someone who makes their own Chick-fil-A waffle fries, Waffle House waffles, or Panda Express orange chicken? These are the tools that keep coming up in the equipment lists of the restaurant copycats on this site. Each pick links to the actual recipes it's used for, so you can see exactly what it helps make.
As an Amazon Associate, Copycat Spices earns from qualifying purchases. Product links below go to Amazon. We research and fact-check our recipes rather than test-cook them, and we haven't tested this gear: each pick is here because the linked recipes call for it.
For the fried chicken and fries crowd
Drive-thru favorites mostly come down to steady oil temperature and the right cut.
Candy / Deep-Fry Thermometer
Clips to the side of the pot so you can keep oil where a recipe wants it instead of guessing. It also reads sugar temperatures for candy and fudge.
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Ninja 4 Qt Air Fryer
Crisps breaded chicken, fries, and wings with far less oil than a pot of frying fat. A common pick for anyone making fast-food copycats on weeknights.
Used in: Air Fryer Nashville Hot Chicken · Air Fryer Chicken Parmesan · Homemade Air Fryer French Fries
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Mandoline Slicer
Cuts potatoes and vegetables into even slices, which is how restaurant fries and gratins cook so uniformly. A crinkle blade is what makes waffle fries possible.
See it on Amazon →For the burger, breakfast, and takeout cook
Smash burgers, diner pancakes, and stir-fries all want serious, even heat.
Lodge 10.25" Cast Iron Skillet
Gets and stays very hot, which is what gives smash burgers and steaks their crust. It's the pan most burger and steakhouse copycats on this site are written for.
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Flat-Top Stovetop Griddle
A flat-top that spans two burners, so pancakes, hibachi fried rice, and burgers can cook side by side the way they do on a restaurant line.
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Classic Waffle Iron
A classic (non-Belgian) waffle iron makes the thinner, crisper waffles diners serve. Also useful for croffles.
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Carbon Steel Wok
Its sloped sides let you toss food over high heat, which is how takeout stir-fries and fried rice get their seared edges.
Used in: Panda Express Orange Chicken · P.F. Chang's Chicken Lettuce Wraps · Din Tai Fung Garlic Green Beans
See it on Amazon → For the baker and pizza maker
Bakery rolls, famous cookies, and pizzeria crusts.
KitchenAid Artisan 5 Qt Stand Mixer
Kneads enriched doughs and whips cheesecake batters hands-free. Bakery-style rolls and cinnamon rolls are where it earns its counter space.
Used in: Cinnabon Classic Cinnamon Rolls · Texas Roadhouse Rolls with Cinnamon Honey Butter · Cheesecake Factory Original Cheesecake
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Pizza Stone / Baking Steel
A preheated steel or stone delivers a blast of heat to the bottom of the dough, the closest a home oven gets to a pizzeria deck.
Used in: Di Fara Pizza · The Famous Roberta's Bee Sting Pizza, Made at Home · California Pizza Kitchen BBQ Chicken Pizza
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Digital Kitchen Scale
Bakery copycats are often written in grams because weighing flour is far more consistent than scooping it.
Used in: Levain Bakery Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies · Crumbl Cookie Dough Cookie · Olive Garden Breadsticks
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Hand-Crank Pasta Machine
Rolls fresh pasta into thin, even sheets for ravioli and layered lasagna. A gift for the person who wants to tackle the big Italian restaurant dishes.
See it on Amazon →For the coffee, sauce, and spice obsessive
The café drinks and secret seasonings people come to this site for.
Stovetop Moka Pot
Brews strong, espresso-style coffee on the stove, the usual stand-in for an espresso machine in coffee-shop copycats.
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Krups Electric Spice & Coffee Grinder
Grinds whole spices and dried zest into fresh seasoning blends, which matters most when the blend is the whole recipe.
Used in: Wingstop Lemon Pepper Seasoning · Texas Roadhouse Herb Crusted Chicken · Fish Cheeks Zabb Wings
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Molcajete (Mortar and Pestle)
A stone mortar for crushing guacamole, salsas, and whole peppercorns by hand. It's how the tableside guacamole is made.
Used in: Rosa Mexicano Tableside Guacamole en Molcajete · Mission Chinese Food Mapo Tofu · Raoul's Steak au Poivre
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Cuisinart 14-Cup Food Processor
Handles the blitzing and mincing behind whipped dips, dressings, and fillings in seconds.
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Ice Cream Maker
Churns a cooked custard base into scoop-shop-style ice cream. For the person who wants to recreate seasonal scoop-shop flavors.
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