6 Best Pepper Grinders, According to Our Test Kitchen
Updated: Apr. 20, 2023
The taste and texture of freshly cracked pepper can't be beat! Here are tried-and-true pepper grinders that will deliver the coarse grind you need for bold flavor.
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Best Pepper Grinder for Tired Wrists
Twisting a pepper grinder can be tiring on your wrists and grip, especially if you like a lot of pepper. Taste of Home Culinary Assistant Mark Neufang uses the OXO Good Grips Radial Pepper Grinder at home. It has a crank mechanism at the top so you can crack pepper with a few quick turns. A clear door swings open for easy filling—no more spilled peppercorns all over the floor.
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Best One-Handed Pepper Grinder
Cooking is a messy job, which is why the one-handed Dreamfarm Ortwo Pepper Grinder is a great choice, according to Executive Culinary Director, Sarah Farmer. If one of your hands is occupied with food prep, you can still operate the grinder with the other hand, thanks to the squeeze mechanism handles. When you need more spice, open it up and use two hands for quicker dispensing.
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Best Mess-Free Pepper Grinder
Because most grinders dispense from the bottom, you almost always have leftover pepper dust to clean up underneath the grinder. The OXO Good Grips Mess-Free Pepper Grinder grinds from the top for clean storage and no trapped residue. It also features a sliding tab to adjust the coarseness to fit your recipe. It’s so good, the Test Kitchen team uses it in the studio!
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Best Pepper Grinder You’ll Never Need to Replace
One of our food editors, Rashanda Cobbins, has had this reliable pepper grinder for 14 years! The Williams Bounds Black Walnut Mushroom Pepper Mill features a special mechanism that crushes the peppercorns rather than grinds them, so there’s no metal on metal grinding that eventually leads to dull or clogged blades. But if something does go wrong, all Williams Bounds pepper mills come with a lifetime warranty.
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Most Unique Design Pepper Grinder
If you want your pepper grinder to also be a conversation piece, check out the Swiss designed Kuhn Rikon Ratchet Grinder. It has a playful modern look with a ratchet handle on top; simply move the ratchet back and forth to grind. Sarah loves the sleek look and says it grinds great. It comes in five chic colors to fit your kitchen decor.
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Best Splurge Pepper Mill
The classic design and quality craftsmanship of the Peugeot Paris Pepper Mill makes it a favorite of Deputy Culinary Editor James Schend, despite the steep price tag. The steel mechanism cracks peppercorns before grinding for a consistent grind and rich aroma every time you use it. You can adjust the size of the flakes from ultra fine to coarse with an easy turn of the base.
Originally Published: January 25, 2022
