Once you get a taste of exotic spices, you can’t help but keep adding more and more of these delicious herbs to your collection. Healthy herbs will not only give an extra punch to your dishes, but they also have various health benefits, so including them in your cooking is certainly a smart decision.
But, as you keep increasing your spice collection, you’ll notice that you’re quickly running out of space. That’s where a spice rack can come in handy – it allows you to store all of your spices in a reachable place so you can easily add them to your dishes.
You will find below some of the best spice racks on the market, as well as some useful tips on how to recognize the best spice rack for your kitchen.
If you’re just getting into spices, starting out with a smaller spice rack may be your best option. Among smaller racks, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a better solution than the Seville Classics Expandable Bamboo Spice Rack. This spice rack features a minimalist yet practical design that allows you to expand it depending on how many spices you have to store.
Simple but pretty, this spice rack by Seville Classics is slightly different from all other entries on this list. Unlike our other entries, it sports an elegant wooden construction, which is a big plus if you’re into design and you want your kitchen to look good.
This spice rack will sit comfortably on your counter top and blend in perfectly with its surroundings. It also expands up to 15.5 inches, so it can hold plenty of spice and condiment bottles, but won’t take up too much space if you don’t have too many spices to put on it.
Minimalist design and natural look are what set this spice rack apart from others on this list. It’s also very easy to set up and use, as it doesn’t need to be fitted to a wall or shelf. If you’re looking for a simple solution that will do the job while looking good at the same time, this rack from Seville Classics is the way to go.
Since it has only three levels, this rack isn’t suitable for people who have a large collection of spices. Furthermore, if you’re looking to save some working space, you’re better off looking at other options that can be bolted to the wall or otherwise kept off the counter.
A far more advanced solution than the Seville Classics piece, this spice rack from Sorbus comes at a slight increase in price. It has four levels with plenty of space, so it’s a great option for people who have a lot of spices. It’s also perfect if you have larger jars and you want to save your counter space.
Sporting a sturdy metal construction, this rack is bolted to the wall and can hold plenty of heavy jars. However, although it’s made from durable metal, it doesn’t look too industrial or sterile because of the rustic wire that can complement your kitchen décor. It’s 17 inches long and 21 inches tall, so you will surely be able to fit all of your spices with no problems.
The capacity of this spice rack is pretty impressive, so if you have a lot of jars and tiny bowls, this may be your best option. It also bolts to the wall quite easily and can be set up in a matter of minutes. Having a spice rack on the wall instead of on your countertop is also a great way to save space. It’s also very sturdy and almost impossible to knock down.
This rack really doesn’t look so great if you don’t have enough spices to fill it with. So, if your spice collection isn’t that big, you’ll end up with a lot of empty space filled with nothing but black wire. While the design may fit well in a rustic kitchen, this rack will hardly look good in a modern minimalist kitchen or one dominated by wood finishes.
Like our previous entry, the “Invisible” acrylic spice rack from Pretty Display is wall-mounted. However, it has one less level, so it can’t quite hold the same number of jars. Every shelf is bolted to the wall independently which gives you the opportunity to split them up if you’d like. It’s within the same price range as the Sorbus piece, so it really comes down to personal preference.
The shelves on this spice rack are 15 inches long, which is slightly shorter than our previous two entries, but enough for most people’s needs. It can hold bottles and jars up to two inches wide. The rack features a modern design that can fit any kitchen style. The shelves are easily bolted to the wall and their placement is completely up to you.
The fact that all shelves are independently fitted to the wall gives you a lot of room to improvise. For example, you can keep one shelf with your favorite spices on the right side of your stove, while the other two can be on the left side, one below the other.
You can also arrange them as one long shelf, if that fits your space limitations. The design of this rack is also quite original and will surely fit any kitchen.
The main strength of this spice rack can also be its main weakness. Since every shelf works independently, it can be a drag to put them up one by one. If you’re not a fan of handiwork, you may be better off with a countertop spice rack.
If you have a lot of spices to store and you don’t want them hanging on your wall, this spice rack form DecoBros is a great option. It is a less expensive option than all previous entries on this list, but it’s still well worth considering, given its solid features.
Just like our top pick, this rack can also be expanded as your spice collection grows and you need more space. However, what makes this rack so impressive is that it can expand up to 25 inches, giving you a lot of space to work with. It features a sturdy chrome finish and feels very well-built. Like most entries on this list, it’s a 3-tier rack.
Having an expandable spice rack is a great idea, especially if you’re just getting into using spices. You avoid having a larger rack with a lot of empty space. The elements also slide very easily. The whole rack seems very well constructed, and even if you manage to drop it, the chromed metal construction doesn’t seem like it would easily break.
The one thing that really bothers me about this spice rack is the glossy chrome finish. It just feels unnatural to see natural herbs and spices sitting on such an industrial, sterile base. And, since most kitchens are dominated by wood finishes, this rack will likely stand out from its environment.
On the other hand, if you have a black and white modern kitchen dominated by stainless steel surfaces, this spice rack may be just what you need.
This spice rack from Spectrum Diversified is a mix of all the previous entries on this list – it features three shelves, all one above another, but it can stand on your countertop or be fitted to the wall. It’s also the cheapest entry on the list, so if you’re going for an entry-level option – this is it.
Around 13 inches tall and 13 inches long, this spice rack falls into the “small” category. It is, however, pretty sturdy and well-made. It can hold jars up to 2.75 inches deep, so you won’t have problems finding space for larger jars. It has small feet that allow it to stand firmly on the ground, but the package also comes with hardware that allows you to bolt it to the wall.
My favorite thing about this spice rack is that it can accommodate larger jars. Some jars are simply too big to be kept on a spice rack and you have to keep them in a separate place. This rack solves that problem. The shelves are also very tall, so you can even use it to store taller bottles. It’s also well-constructed and compact.
If you decide to keep it on your table or counter, this rack is rather easy to knock over, so you’re better off bolting it to the wall. The shelves are also not very long, so they can’t hold a lot of jars (especially if you use larger jars). If you have a large collection of spices, this spice rack will hardly do the job.
When searching for the best spice rack, you want to look for some specific features. Here are the most important things to keep your eye on.
As you’ve probably noticed by now, there are different types of spice racks. These are the most common ones:
These spice racks come with hardware that enable you to affix them to a wall. This frees up a lot of counter space while keeping your spices easily accessible. They do, however, require some work to set up and their shelves are rarely spaced wide enough to hold tall bottles.
As their name suggests, these spice racks sit on your counter and give easy access to all spices. While they do take up some counter space, you don’t need to do anything to set them up.
Some spice racks are a combination of these two types, so they can sit on your counter but also include wall-mounting hardware if you want to save space.
One of the most important things you need to consider when buying a spice rack is its capacity. If you have a small collection of spices, you may consider a smaller spice rack. But this might not be a good idea, since this rack won’t be usable if you decide to add more spices to your collection.
On the other hand, getting a larger spice rack only to have it sit on your countertop half-empty may not look that nice. That’s why you may want to consider an expandable spice rack, as these racks give you the best of both worlds.
Most spice racks have between two and four layers or tiers. While you may be tempted to get a rack with more layers, be careful when making this decision. Having more layers usually means that there is less space between every shelf, so this spice rack likely won’t be able to accommodate taller jars or bottles. So think about your spice collection and see what kind of spice rack you need.
The 'Invisible' Acrylic Spice Rack from Pretty Display may be a good solution here, as this rack features independent shelves that can be placed anywhere.
The kind of material you choose for your spice rack will largely be dictated by the design of your kitchen. For example, while the Sorbus 4-Tier Organizer may fit perfectly in a rustic kitchen, the DecoBros Expandable Spice Rack would be more at home in a modern, minimalist environment.
The material will also greatly contribute to the sturdiness of your spice rack. As a rule of thumb, metal and hardwood constructions are sturdier, while plastic and whicker spice racks are something you may want to stay away from.
Not all spice racks can accommodate jars of all sizes. A regular-sized spice jar is usually about two inches wide, and most spice racks are made with this in mind, so, you shouldn’t have any problems with your regular jars. However, if you want have wider spice bottles or jars, you will need to find a rack with a large enough shelf size.
Countertop spice racks are typically wider than wall-mounted ones, which is why both the Seville Classics and the DecoBros expandable spice racks feature the widest shelves on this list of three inches.
A feature that people tend to overlook when buying a spice rack is its weight. There are several reasons why the weight of your spice rack can be important. First of all, one of the main benefits of a countertop spice rack is the ability to move them around and customize your counter space. With a spice rack that is too heavy, you won’t be able to do that easily.
Secondly, if your wall-mounted spice rack is too heavy, it will require more time and tools to set up and may even fall off the wall if it’s loaded with jars and not properly set up.
A spice rack is a handy tool used to organize your spices and bottles of seasonings. They usually have a few connected shelves that either sit on the counter or are mounted to the wall. By organizing all of your spices this way, you keep them at reach while saving valuable space.
Spice racks come in various shapes and sizes, so you can choose the right one for you based on your spice collection. They also feature different designs, with some racks being more rustic, while others look more modern and stylish.
The type of spice rack that you should get depends on several factors. You first need to take a look at your spice collection and ask yourself some important questions. Are you looking for a spice rack just to accommodate your current spices, or will you be looking to expand your collection? Do you care more about design or durability? Do you want to save countertop space?
Once you answer these questions, you’ll be closer to getting the right spice rack for your needs.
However, one of the most important things to keep in mind when getting a spice rack is jar size. Take a close look at the depths of the shelves of all the spice racks that you’re considering and compare them to the width of your jars.
There are several ways to organize your spice rack. These are the two most popular ones:
Many cooks decide to group their spices by use. So, for example, you could put all of your grilling spices on one shelf, your baking spices on another, and your seasonings on the third one.
Another popular way to organize a spice rack is to group spices by the cuisine they come from. That means you would keep all of your Italian, Mexican, or Cajun spices together, so you can just grab one of them while cooking a dish of that particular cuisine.
Spices should be tightly covered at all times and kept in a cool and dry place. While whole spices have a shelf life of up to two years, ground spices typically stay fresh for around six months. Keep your spices in sealed jars that can easily be distinguished from another.
Whatever you do, avoid storing your spices in matching jars. This may look pretty in magazines, but it will only confuse you and waste your time.
If you’re keeping your spices in a cabinet, you’ll want to clearly label all of your jars so you can tell them apart. When it comes to arranging spices, your best bet is to sort them by use or by cuisine.
Organizing all of your spices in one place is a great idea – it allows for easy access and saves valuable space, giving you more room to work around the kitchen.
In my opinion, the best spice rack on the market is the expandable bamboo spice rack from Seville Classics. This spice rack will fit perfectly on any countertop, while providing you with as much space as you may need. It is also adjustable to the size of your spice collection.