8 Vegetable Peelers That Are Worth Buying for Potatoes, Tomatoes, and More
8 Vegetable Peelers That Are Worth Buying for Potatoes, Tomatoes, and More
Almost any potato peeler can handle a single carrot for a salad, but when you need to tackle a bushel of tomatoes for homemade tomato sauce or a big ol’ butternut squash, a specialized vegetable peeler helps.
A vegetable peeler is very similar to a potato peeler, but can vary in size and blade style to make it more suitable to specific foods. For example, tomatoes, with their thin skin and tender flesh, are much easier to peel with a serrated blade. Large vegetables with tougher skins — like that butternut squash, as well as eggplant — benefit from a wider blade. Asparagus, on the other hand, is more efficiently peeled with a smaller, more curved blade. Once you have an effective tool on hand, you can find all kinds of genius new uses for your peeler.
1) Scalpel Blade Peeler
Swissmar
amazon.com
This lightweight peeler doubles as our best overall potato peeler and vegetable peeler. In our test, it performed well on a who’s who of differing produce: Butternut squash, carrot, apple, potato, and sweet potato. It even worked admirably on tomato. The stainless steel blade is super sharp, and it swivels to stand up to curvy and gnarly foods. It has a built-in eyer for removing blemishes, and you can add it to the dishwasher when you’re done for quick cleaning.
2) Piranha Y Peeler
Kuhn Rikon
amazon.com
$16.99
If you’ve ever had a straight blade slip right off a tomato, you’ll appreciate the ease with which you can remove thin strips of skin with this peeler. While the brand's straight-blade Y peeler is one of our favorites for potatoes and most vegetables, this version stood out for its sharp, stainless steel serrated blade that let us peel tender foods, like tomatoes, peaches and pears, without tearing the skin or squishing the fruit. It also tackled thin-skinned, slick butternut squash skin and thick-skinned, smooth eggplant with ease. Toss it in the dishwasher when you’re done.
3) Spiralizer Plus Attachment
KitchenAid
amazon.com
$99.00
If you keep a KitchenAid stand mixer within reach, this makes a great vegetable peeler. The attachment plugs into the power hub on the front of the mixer and makes peeling a variety of vegetables as easy as flipping a knob. You slide your produce onto the attachment’s skewer mount and then insert the peeler blade and align it with the food. It peels your potato, zucchini, cucumber, and more quickly and with little waste.
This attachment is handy if you are prepping, say, a whole pie’s worth of apples, and it’s also helpful for those who have trouble using standard peelers. It works with produce up to 5 ? inches in length, so long veggies will need to be trimmed. Bonus: It can also be used as a corer, slicer and spiralizer, so there’s a little extra incentive to leave it set up.
4) Good Grips Corn Prep Peeler
OXO
oxo.com
$7.99
We don't often recommend single-use tools, but this one proved to be worth it. Corn, with its rounded shape and separate kernels, can be cut with a knife, but can be dangerous and wobbly to stand the ear upright. And traditional peelers are often too shallow, which means you sacrifice the sweet kernels. But this peeler makes taking corn off the cob a pleasure. The curved design allows you to maintain contact with the cob, so you don’t damage the kernels, and leaves you with a very smooth cob. Plus you can work with the ear on a flat surface, which keeps the task safe.
The blade is Japanese stainless steel, so it won’t rust and is dishwasher safe. And Oxo, well-known for its ergonomic design, maintains its record with the non-slip handle. The Corn Prep Peeler is part of a collection of other specialized vegetable peelers from Oxo, including an assorted set that tested well all-around, a large peeler that proved useful for cabbage, and more.
5) PalmPeeler Vegetable Peeler
Chef'n
amazon.com
$6.99
This reimagined peeler was comfortable in the palm — it has a finger holder to help keep it in place — and performed well with a variety of fruits and veggies. It’s a great choice if you have arthritis or dexterity limitations. It also keeps fingers away from the stainless steel blade, if you have younger kids helping with prep. One caveat: The peeler can clog with the peeled strips, and you can’t immediately see that due to the design, so you will sometimes have a misfire when attempting to peel a new strip. It comes with a cap for safe storage and is dishwasher safe.
6) Magnetic Tri-Peeler
Tovolo
amazon.com
$17.20
Both the straight and serrated Y peelers from Tovolo handled our produce tests with ease. They’re sharp stainless steel and swivel to handle corners and curves. So why not buy them as part of this set of three, which includes a julienne peeler to round out common vegetable prep tasks?
The lightweight trio is comfortable and dishwasher safe, and they’re magnetic to stay stacked for compact and easy access. One caveat: None of the peelers has an eyer, which can be a detriment for potatoes and apples. But for vegetables like carrots, cucumbers and zucchini, it’s a versatile set that gets you peeled and sliced lickety-split.
8) Precision Kitchenware Ultra Sharp Stainless Steel Vegetable Peeler
The best-tested picks for quick and efficient prep work.