The 10 Best Cutting Boards, According To Professionals

Double the workspace, double the fun. The OXO Good Grips Cutting Board Set come with a medium-size board for food prep and a large board for everyday use, and they’re both double-sided.

Each of these boards is designed with home chefs in mind, from their drip-catching grooves to their easy-pour corners. They even have handles and tapered edges, so you can comfortably carry scraps to your compost bin or trash.

The non-slip feet on the edges of the OXO Good Grips Cutting Boards boards grip the counter as you cut, which makes it a steady surface for everything from carving tender roast beef to chopping fresh veggies for a crisp crunch salad. And cleanup is as simple as throwing it in the dishwasher in between uses.

“They’re really slim—both pieces fit in your dishwasher easily. All the knives I’ve used feel really comfortable, the more delicate ones don’t feel like they’re going to crack when I’m cutting,” said Papantoniou. “You also don’t have to put a wet paper towel or anything underneath to stabilize them, they stay put. They’re also reversible, which I really like—one side has a juice groove and the other is smooth.”

The non-porous, odor-resistant polypropylene material is durable, but it will eventually need to be replaced. While these OXO Good Grips Cutting Boards may not be a buy-it-for-life set, they come pretty dang close. They're a Good Housekeeping Institute fave and have held up great against daily use in their test kitchen over the years.

Getting the most bang for your buck doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice quality. Offering double the surface area for an affordable price, the reversible Farberware Bamboo Cutting Board serves as both a cutting board and a platter for serving finger foods during a cocktail party.

While its juice groove isn’t particularly deep, it effectively traps liquid from even the most succulent meats and produce. In addition to boasting a limited lifetime warranty, this BPA-free board even features non-slip grips on each corner to prevent it from sliding during use.

During testing, the Farberware Bamboo Cutting Board didn't stain even when chopping the juiciest tomatoes. The Good Housekeeping Institute appreciated its durability, comfortability, and cleanability. However, they warned that it’s more likely to show evidence of long-term slicing and dicing if you don’t oil and hand-wash it.

Papantoniou explained, “We tested a smaller size of this board,” but since its discontinuation, they consider the larger size of the Farberware Bamboo Cutting Board to be an appropriate replacement. “It has a really nice non-slip material on the edges,” she continued. “It’s easy to clean and it’s a really great value for the price.

For a professional-grade wood cutting board, Chris Scott, chef at the Institute of Culinary Education, recommends Boos, and he’s not the only one. Master Chef Gordon Ramsey counts the Boos Block among his kitchen essentials. You'll also find them being used in the Delish test kitchen.

With a thickness of three inches, the 18-inch John Boos Maple Wood End Grain Round Chopping Block is widely recognized within the culinary industry for its durability. It's also moisture-resistant, making it ideal for cooking indoors or grilling up some burgers and steak out on the patio. However, even the ultimate cutting board has its weaknesses. This 22-pound (!) sustainably-sourced hard maple board can only be hand-washed and is not compatible with dishwashers, microwaves, or refrigerators.

“In general, Boos blocks are heavy and don’t move when you’re cutting on them,” Papantoniou said. When specifically speaking of the Maple Wood End Grain Round Chopping Block, she declared “I really liked the round one from an aesthetic perspective, but it’s also easier to fit into your sink, which is great for cleaning purposes. It’s also not as thick as other Boos Blocks, which again, makes it less heavy and easier to move and clean.”

But if you’ve got the cash—or manage to find a really great sale—we think it is well worth the extra expense.

Much like Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus, the Epicurean Gourmet Series Cutting Board offers the best of both worlds. It has the classic look of wood and the durability and light weight of plastic (it’s even dishwasher-safe and temperature resistant to 350° F).

“This is made of a paper composite material,” which Papantoniou clarified means “It feels like wood, but it’s dishwasher-safe, really thin, and comes in a bunch of different sizes and styles. Some have juice grooves, for example, so you can really find the style that’s best for you.”

What’s more, she appreciated how the Epicurean Gourmet “stays put—you don’t have to put a wet paper towel underneath to stabilize it—and it’s also slightly oversized, but you can still fit it in your dishwasher.”

This particular board’s reversible design features a flat surface for food prep on one side and an integrated juice groove on the other, and its nonporous Richlite material won’t absorb odors and or damage your knives. That means this cutting board can handle everything from slicing chicken for a winning dinner to chopping fruit for a Hawaiian cheesecake salad. And Epicurean protects your investment with its limited lifetime warranty.

Plus, according to the Good Housekeeping Institute, “These cutting boards have become a go-to item in the Kitchen Appliances Lab. They've stood up to years of use.”

Let's get ready to rumble! Coming in at a whopping 23 lbs. and three inches thick, the Catskill Craftsmen Wood End Grain Cutting Slab just might be the greatest heavyweight since Mike Tyson.

This gorgeous cutting board is constructed of sustainably harvested Northeastern yellow birch hardwood and boasts a smooth surface, cross-hatched design, and an oiled finish.

But aside from its serious heft (it’s 11 times as heavy as our top pick, the OXO Good Grips Cutting Board Set), this behemoth of a board offers a myriad of convenient features, including a reversible design and cut-out finger slots on each side for easy transport from your countertop to your trash to dispose of your post-prep scraps.

Calling the Catskill Craftsmen “a big, beautiful, high-quality wood cutting board,” Papantoniou said, “It’s really heavy-duty and has these nice handles on the sides for carrying. It makes for a really good all-purpose surface for cutting.”

And best of all, its sturdy construction won’t wreak havoc on your knives or your wrists, no matter how robustly you may chop some carrots for a zesty homemade coleslaw.

Can Totally Bamboo's Bamboo Cutting Board Set solve all your culinary conundrums? Probably not, but it can certainly help!

This set includes three boards to suit all your food-prep needs, from larger boards for cutting meats, fruits and vegetables to a smaller board that’s perfect for slicing garnishes.

In addition to featuring a handle for easy hanging and carrying, they're constructed of flat-grain Moso bamboo, so they’re durable, but not too heavy. This impressive sturdiness also means they can handle whatever you throw at them, while still being gentle on your knives.

“I used to have these and loved them,” Papantoniou said. “I really liked the different sizes—the little size can be used for limes, you can really easily use them as a plate if you’re cutting something up just for yourself. But you do need to take care of them and oil them because they can warp.” Note that you’ll need to hand-wash or wipe down these boards with a damp cloth, because they’re not suitable for soaking or putting in the dishwasher.

This board set don’t jiggle jiggle—it folds. That’s right, the BPA-free and dishwasher-safe Dexas Mini Heavy Duty Grippmat Flexible Cutting Board Set can be folded and rolled to easily funnel food while cooking. This flexible four-pack comes in a range of bright colors (specifically, red, blue, yellow, and green) and are non-porous, non-slip, and non-absorbent.

“These are just really great for storage, taking on the go, when you’re in a pinch, when you don’t really want to clean something. They also can go right in your dishwasher,” said Papantoniou. “They absorb knife cuts well and don’t move around. They’re also color-coded if you want to keep your raw meats separate from the rest of your food. But in all, there’s four to a pack and they’re there when you need them.”

The grips on the back don’t allow for the versatility of other, double-sided options, but they do take an extra step towards preventing slips whether you’re slicing and dicing chunks of beef for stew or sweet potatoes for a marshmallow-laden casserole. Just keep in mind that these lightweight boards are very thin, which is great for storage, but may not be comfortable for some while chopping.

We’re not jk-ing when we say the J.K. Adams Maple Pro-Classic is the best wood cutting board you can buy.

Made in Vermont, this no-frills unit is simple, yet functional with a maple hardwood design and mineral oiled finish. Plus, it’s thick enough to be comfortable even when you’re chopping with vigor, but is lightweight enough for optimal portability.

Papantoniou said her colleagues and she are “really big fans of J.K. Adams” over at the Good Housekeeping Institute. “They’re really easy to clean and a good size—they can be used for different tasks, like a pastry board, so you can roll dough on it, or as just a standard, reliable cutting board.”

You just need to wipe this board clean when you’re done using it. You should also oil it to prevent it from cracking or warping.

Plastic cutting boards are great for carving meat because of their non-porous and non-absorbent properties, and the Dexas Polysafe Pastry/Cutting Board is the best you can get. Offering an ample cooking surface and plenty of safety and stability while you’re cutting, the only thing better than this cutting board’s sturdy-yet-lightweight construction is its versatility.

“This one is big and oversized and can also be put in the dishwasher. It’s made of a material that can be wiped down with even diluted bleach, which you see a lot of in restaurants,” explained Papantoniou. “Its size makes it good for roasts and it allows you to really roll out cookie doughs or any other types of pastry dough.”

It's also dishwasher-safe—which can really come in handy if you want to use high-heat sanitization to prevent raw meat contamination—and its reversible design features a well on one side for collecting all those delicious juices from thick cuts of meat. However, it’s good to note that those same tasty juices can be the source of some troublesome stains after long-term use.

It’s not easy being gray—unless you’re the Joseph Joseph Chop2Pot Cutting Board. If you’re tired of cleaning stray bits of your mirepoix off your floor, this cutting board is here to make food prep life infinitely easier. Much like the Dexas Mini Heavy Duty Grippmat Flexible Cutting Board Set, this pliable plastic board can be folded up to form a chute for your scraps to slide right into the trash or your chopped food to neatly fall into your pot or pan with no waste.

Calling the Chop2Pot “really lightweight and good for small tasks,” Papantoniou said the beauty of this cutting board lies in its convenience: “You can just fold it up and toss your ingredients into a pot without them flying around.”

In addition to being dishwasher-safe, this cutting board boasts a comfortable, soft-grip handle and non-slip feet. But even the handiest of kitchen helpers have their weaknesses, and in the case of the Chop2Pot, its flexible design can be both a blessing and a curse—with all that folding, some may have difficulty getting this board to lay flat, and you will need to lay down a towel to prevent it from moving around while you’re cutting.