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In a world of vegetable peelers, it can seem daunting to choose the best one for a seemingly simple task—or have it end up in the back of your kitchen drawer to be forgotten. Swivel or Y? Smooth or serrated? Palm peeler or classic? Ceramic or stainless steel?
There are two types of blades on a vegetable peeler: A stationary blade or one that moves back and forth. A swivel or “straight” swivel peeler makes the process easier as the blade moves to the proper peeling position on its own, with no need to adjust your grip or hand position. It has a floating suspended peeling blade to better adapt to the form of the fruit, vegetable, cheese, or tough-skinned produce being cut rather than a fixed blade, which means it peels continually thin. It is more like using a traditional paring knife, where your wrist moves back or forth.
Some folks prefer a Y-peeler, where the blade sits horizontally. Your wrist will rotate in a 180-degree range rather than back and forth like a swivel peeler, so you must orient your hand in a different position for peeling.
Check out our top 10 picks for every kind of vegetable peeler you'll want in your kitchen.
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Blade flexes and peels in both directions
Comfortable and easy to grip
Peels smoothly in thin, long strips
Needs to be handled carefully due to very sharp blade
The OXO Good Grips Swivel Peeler has swiveling twin blades so you can peel in either direction, for lefties or righties. Plus, the blade flexes so it bends to cut larger swaths of peel than a rigid blade would.
It has an oversized, non-slip silicone grip for great hold, even with repetitive strokes. Why is this important? It means the peeler stays in your hands even when wet or you’re peeling under running water, so there’s no risk of slipping or injury. There is also a built-in potato-eye remover that lets you dig out eyes or blemishes without switching to a knife—or ruining the produce. A large hole in the handle lets you hang the peeler if you prefer. This peeler is dishwasher-safe. In addition to the swivel blade and the comfy grip, reviewers gave this peeler points for how smoothly it peels and the thin, long strips it produces. A few note that the blade is very sharp, however, so the peeler needs to be handled with care.
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Lightweight and comfortable to hold
Sharp blade works smoothly and consistently
Affordable
Not dishwasher safe
Like a swivel peeler, you can also use a Y-peeler with the left or hand right. An advantage of a Y-peeler is for mass peeling, especially when your hand may become uncomfortable from a standard peeler.
The Kuhn Rikon Original Swiss Peeler is beloved by professional chefs for its durability, lightness, sharpness, and consistency. Like a swivel peeler, it has an integrated potato-eye remover so there’s no need to swap out for a knife. It’s equipped with a super-sharp carbon-steel blade that cuts better than most other peelers—and stays sharp; however, the peeler is not dishwasher safe.
Blades are sharp and easy to adjust
Operates smoothly
Non-slip handle and silicone finger-grip
A bit tricky to clean due to sharp blades
If your kitchen space is tight or you are looking for an all-purpose, lightweight kitchen appliance, the Vremi 3-in-1 Julienne Vegetable Peeler is for you. Rather than buy a peeler, mandoline, and a julienne zester separately, this vegetable peeler combines all these into one handy, compact appliance without taking up extra space in your drawers.
It is a multi-functional, three-swivel rotating blade peeler for cutting, peeling, shredding, and slicing fruit or vegetables. There are three heavy-duty stainless steel blades: A straight blade for skin removal, a julienne zester blade to create garnish strips, and a serrated peeling blade for softer skins. No need to swap out the blades: The wheels on the sides of the peeler make it simple to choose the blade style you want. For the most part, reviewers are happy with the performance of all three of the blades, saying each is sharp and operates smoothly.
The Vremi 3-in-1 is padded with a non-slip handle and silicone finger-grip to help prevent wrist strain, and it's is BPA-free. Hand-wash and -dry only.
Works quickly
Doesn't take off a lot of potato flesh with the peel
Easy and fun to use
A bit loud
For mass peeling—like let’s say a large gathering or meal prep for the week—an electric peeler like the Starfrit Rotato Express Electric Peeler comes in handy (no pun intended). It quickly peels just the skin without wasting produce in 10 seconds—a feature that garnered it high marks from countless reviewers. This safely designed electric peeler means no need to touch or hold the vegetable while peeling: It stops automatically.
The peeler arm adjusts for every thickness and type of vegetable and can even be used to zest citrus. It contains onboard storage under the device to hold spare blades as well as a thumb knife to remove the eyes from potatoes or other produce blemishes. The peeler includes a 6-volt adapter to plug it into any outlet. Alternatively, it can operate with batteries.
It’s made from durable ABS plastic and has a non-slip base that holds it securely to the counter or other work surface. Hand-wash only.
Easy to use
Blade is sharp
Ergonomic design
Only comes in one color
Slide the square disk over your finger like a ring, so it sits in your palm. Confidently peel produce without the worry of dropping or slipping. It nestles comfortably in the palm of your hand and comes equipped with soft palm and finger grips. Your fingers are less likely to cramp up since you’re using the strength of your whole hand to peel. Reviewers with joint and wrist pain, and those who have trouble gripping, say this makes peeling a breeze. Are kids helping in the kitchen? This is a safe option to let them pitch in.
Chef'n PalmPeeler comes with an 18/10 stainless steel blade and a built-in potato-eyer, and it's safe to put on the top rack of the dishwasher.
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Very sharp, rust-resistant blade
Comfortable ergonomic handle
Peels very smoothly
Lightweight plastic body
Why choose a ceramic-blade peeler? Ceramic blades won’t rust, pit, or corrode. They also won’t cause fruits and vegetables to brown or change the taste or smell of food. Kyocera Advanced Ceramic Y-Peeler is very sharp and has an ergonomic handle for ease of use. A ceramic peeler like this is wonderful for dishes or recipes that call for skinless fruits and vegetables and delicate produce like tomatoes.
It also packs an eye-corer to remove imperfections. This peeler is dishwasher-safe.
Many reviewers praise how sharp this peeler's ceramic blade is, saying it peels cleanly and smoothly. A few of them express concern about whether the peeler's plastic build will last.
Blades are dishwasher safe
Great for peeling bushels of apples
Multiple blades for different uses
Vegetable length is limited
Lopsided fruits might be hard to position
If you own a KitchenAid stand mixer, this peeler tool attaches to the power hub of the mixer. It turns it into a motorized peeler for potatoes, apples, and more. This attachment fits all household KitchenAid stand mixers. It includes three sizes of spiralizing blades (medium, fine, and extra-fine) in addition to the peeler blade: A slicing blade that removes a large core, a slicing blade that removes a small core, and a thin slicing blade that removes a small core.
Love zoodles? Peel vegetables first and then switch to one of the three spiralizing blades to make vegetable pasta or garnishes for your salads. "This spiralizer made short work of zucchini, and I also had success with a fat carrot that I cooked with the zucchini and onion for a tasty side dish," our product tester notes. This can also core, peel, and slice apples all at the same time. The blades are top-rack dishwasher-safe.
"This spiralizer definitely has a no-frills look ... but I'm fine with that since it’s not a display piece. In use, the minimalist design means there’s less to get in the way and less to clean." — Donna Currie, Product Tester
Rust-resistant stainless steel blade
Can peel fruits and veggies with challenging skins
Handle is a bit small
Smooth or serrated blades? This Messermeister Pro Touch Serrated Swivel Peeler has a stainless steel serrated blade, which allows you to not only grip wet vegetables but peel them easily. Great for peeling slick, soft-skinned tomatoes and other fruits with challenging skins, such as mangoes, grapes, eggplants, and ginger. (Several reviewers gave it high marks for this.) Also creates zoodles if you don’t have a spiralizer or standing mixer kitchen attachment. And because it's made from thick gauge 18-8 stainless steel, it will not rust, bend, or deform.
Very sharp dual blades
Sturdy stainless steel build
Works smoothly and quickly
Affordable
Works better on firmer vegetables
Does tackling that pumpkin or butternut squash seem daunting? An alternative to a spiralizer, the Precision Kitchenware Julienne Peeler can create beautiful pasta alternatives, such as zoodles or veggie noodles from sweet potatoes, zucchini, cucumbers, and more as well as create garnishes like super-thin lemon peels or curls with ease. It's armed with super-sharp, stainless-steel dual blades: One side is a standard vegetable peeler while the other features julienne blades that cut the veggies into small ribbons. This julienne peeler can also remove potato eyes.
Neat and compact, it won’t take up extra space in your kitchen. You can even hang it up, thanks to the hanging loop. It comes with a cleaning brush and guard to protect you from cuts and nicks. No assembly required. Easy to clean, this peeler is dishwasher-safe and has a 10-year warranty.
Customers love this peeler's super-sharp blades make ultra-thin slices, cutting their prep time considerably. A few warn, though, that they have better luck with firmer vegetables like carrots.
If you want an all-around great peeler, we recommend the OXO Good Grips Swivel Peeler (available at Amazon). With swiveling twin blades, it peels in both directions, making it ideal for both lefties and righties. If you are looking for something that can tackle more projects, we recommend the Vremi 3 in 1 Julienne Vegetable Peeler (available at Amazon). With three different blades, it’s a peeler, mandoline, and julienne zester in one.
Why Trust The Spruce Eats
Donna Currie is a freelance writer and product tester for The Spruce Eats. She and our staff tested and spoke with industry professionals, chefs, and home cooks for this comprehensive review in addition to a cross-section analysis of consumer and editorially rated peelers.
What to Look for When Buying a Vegetable Peeler
Blade sharpness: The main feature you'll want to look at is how sharp a peeler's blade is. This will determine how smoothly and quickly it peels a vegetable—and how easy it will be for you to use it. Peeler blades are typically made of one of three types of materials: stainless steel, ceramic, and carbon steel. Stainless steel blades are by far the most common, and for good reason: you can sharpen them like you would knives. Ceramic blades can be (and stay) just as sharp as the former, but they're more prone to breakage. Carbon steel blades are susceptible to rust if not taken care of properly.
Blade performance: Whether the blade swivels or not also determines how quickly and easily you'll be able to peel. A swivel blade allows you to peel in both directions with more freedom, whereas using a stationary blade means you'll have to make sure you're holding it at the proper angle for it to grab the peel. You also want to look at how deeply and smoothly the blade peels. Make sure that the peeler's second blade serves to guide the first, peeling blade, and not cut further into the vegetable and risk food waste. The second "guiding" blade should also have a raised ridge so that less of it comes into contact with the food, allowing the first blade to peel more smoothly.
Design: One of the most important design elements to examine is the amount of space between the peeler's blade and the bridge (the part that connects the blade to the handle). The ideal amount of space between the two is 1 inch, according to experts. Less than this makes clogs more likely; more and you sacrifice control (and the likelihood of peels flying around). Another important design feature is ergonomics: mainly how comfortable and easy it is to hold the handle, and whether the peeler is relatively lightweight enough that you won't tire easily.
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