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We’re all trying to be a little more Earth conscious these days, whether that means opting for reusable containers over plastic bags or bringing our own totes to the store. Having a good set of kitchen towels is a smart way to go green, too—you can cut back on your paper towel consumption and add a little visual interest to your kitchen in one fell swoop. But what are the best kitchen towels, and what makes them great?
You can find cute kitchen towels pretty much everywhere: gift shops, kitchen stores, and HomeGoods — so it’s hard to know which options only look cute and won’t actually help take care of a spill. I’ve worked with Meggan to come up with a list of the very best kitchen towels, from colorful cuties that look great on a countertop to a set of super absorbent towels made from sustainable bamboo.
Here are the 6 best kitchen towels that are worth investing in right now.
Table of Contents
Our Top Picks
- What’s in Meggan’s Kitchen: Anthropologie Lillian Dish Towels – $24 at Anthropologie
- Best Cheap Kitchen Towels: Everydayspecial Multi-Purpose Bar Mop Towels – $10.99 at Amazon
- Best Absorbent Kitchen Towels: Stonewall Kitchen Cotton Kitchen Towels – $6.95 at Stonewall Kitchen
- Best Bamboo Kitchen Towels: Sweet Dolphin Kitchen Dishcloths – $13.99 at Amazon
- Most Colorful Kitchen Towels: Geometry Stripes On Stripes Tea Towel – $18 at Geometry
- Best Splurge Kitchen Towels: Hedley & Bennett Chef’s Towel – $25 at Hedley & Bennett
Reviews of The Best Kitchen Towels
1. What’s in Meggan’s Kitchen: Anthropologie Lillian Dish Towels
A cheery, brightly-hued three-pack, these Lillian dish towels are what Meggan uses in her home for light, everyday tasks, as well as a touch of decoration. While she prefers bar mop towels for her kitchen’s biggest messes—more on those later—she keeps these Anthropologie towels around because, as she explains, “they’re soft, super absorbent, and they look cute on a towel rack.” Meggan even owns multiple sets, just in case some are hanging out in the laundry basket or taking a spin in the dryer.
The Specs:
- Size: 28 by 21 inches
- Material: Cotton
- Quantity: Three
- Colors: Blue, purple, and orange
- Care: Machine washable
The Pros:
- Beautiful colors
- Easy to clean
The Cons:
- Costly
- Show stains easily
- Can’t be bleached
Buy the Anthropologie Lillian Dish Towels:
2. Best Cheap Kitchen Towels: Everydayspecial Multi-Purpose Bar Mop Towels
These inexpensive towels are Meggan’s other at-home favorite. She says she owns about 60 and calls them “workhorses that can take on any job.” They’re perfect for bigger messes, like spilled spaghetti sauce, squashed berries, or anything that might stain. If they get especially dirty, Meggan suggests soaking them in bleach water for up to a week before laundering them, saying you should use ¼ cup bleach per gallon of water in a bucket and warning that you shouldn’t try this method with decorative, colored, terry cloth, or flour sack towels.
They’re not the prettiest, and Meggan initially purchased them just to use in her test kitchen. But after seeing how effective they are, she bought a batch for at-home use, too. “That way, I don’t destroy my Anthropologie towels with the messiest jobs,” she says.
The Specs:
- Size: 19 by 17 wide inches
- Material: Cotton
- Quantity: 12
- Colors: White, or white and blue
- Care: Machine washable, tumble dry
The Pros:
- Extremely durable
- Easy to clean
- Super absorbent
The Cons:
- Not very attractive
Buy the Everydayspecial Multi-Purpose Bar Mop Towels:
3. Best Absorbent Kitchen Towels: Stonewall Kitchen Cotton Kitchen Towels
A super-absorbent, heavy weight cotton towel, these Stonewall Kitchen towels are what I use in my own kitchen. At just about $7 a towel, they’re relatively inexpensive, and since they come in a full rainbow of colors, you can either stock up on one hue or grab the whole spectrum. I keep them lined up in a drawer in rainbow order, and it brings me great joy every time I reach in to grab one. They’ll soak up a spill with no problem, and if you use them for the messier spots, they still look great wash after wash.
The Specs:
- Size: 28 by 18 inches
- Material: Cotton
- Quantity: 1
- Colors: Red, orange, yellow, light green, dark green, black, gray, beige, white, royal blue, light blue, purple
- Care: Machine washable
The Pros:
- Extremely durable
- Won’t bleed in the wash
The Cons:
- White portions can stain
- Can’t be bleached
Buy the Stonewall Kitchen Cotton Kitchen Towels:
4. Best Bamboo Kitchen Towels: Sweet Dolphin Kitchen Dishcloths
Small but mighty, Sweet Dolphin’s Kitchen Dishcloths are soft, absorbent, and incredibly durable. These two-ply cloths are made from bamboo-derived rayon, meaning they never leave scratches, streaks, or lint behind. They’re soft to the touch and naturally sustainable, and the brand says the towels become even more absorbent with each wash, meaning that they’ll be good to go for years to come.
The Specs:
- Size: 9 by 7 inches
- Material: Bamboo-derived rayon
- Quantity: 10
- Colors: White, pink, yellow, blue, and multicolor
- Care: Machine washable
The Pros:
- Very absorbent
- Wrings out well
- Doesn’t leave residue or streaks
The Cons:
- Smaller than other kitchen towels
- Can’t be dried on high heat
What Others Are Saying:
The Sweet Dolphin Kitchen Dishcloths have a 4.6-star rating from over 3,000 reviews on Amazon.
Buy the Sweet Dolphin Kitchen Dishcloths:
5. Most Colorful Kitchen Towels: Geometry Stripes On Stripes Tea Towel
Geometry has made its name in the kitchen industry by producing towels that are brightly colored, boldly patterned, and incredibly modern-looking. Our favorite of their line is the Stripes On Stripes Tea Towel, which is printed in California on post-consumer recycled fabric that’s super absorbent, fast-drying, and great for cleaning up. These look great on the counter or on a towel rack, and they won’t scratch your glasses or china. They also have a ton of other patterns if that one doesn’t suit your fancy.
The Specs:
- Size: 30” long by 18” wide
- Material: Recycled polyester and polyamide
- Quantity: 1
- Colors: Multi-colored, and comes in many, many other prints
- Care: Machine washable
The Pros:
- Incredibly absorbent
- Dries quickly
The Cons:
- Expensive
- Print is only on one side.
What Others Are Saying:
Food & Wine named Geometry the best tea towels, and Domino calls them the best prints.
Buy the Geometry Stripes On Stripes Tea Towel:
6. Best Splurge Kitchen Towels: Hedley & Bennett Chef’s Towel
A company that makes chef-friendly products for the foodie crowd, Hedley & Bennett is perhaps best known for its kitchen aprons, which you can see everywhere from Top Chef to just about every decent restaurant in the country. They make a great set of chef’s towels, too, which come in a whole range of colors and patterns. Available in three packs, these machine-washable towels fit perfectly in an apron’s towel loop.
Because they’re meant for people who love to cook, they’re durable and absorbent, and the brand says they’re meant to be used again and again and again. They even have a lifetime guarantee, with the brand offering to replace any of its products that fail at their intended use.
The Specs:
- Size: 27.5 by 19.5 inches
- Material: Cotton
- Quantity: 3
- Colors: Paprika, blueberry, oat, charcoal, strawberry, ultramarine, Beskar gray, and Star Wars Hyperspace
- Care: Machine wash cold and lay flat to try
The Pros:
- Bright and vibrant colors
- Durable
The Cons:
- Gentle cycle wash and lay flat dry
- Can’t be bleached
Buy the Hedley & Bennett Chef’s Towel:
Other Kitchen Towels to Consider
Stonewall Kitchen Dahlias Kitchen Towel
If you’re someone who loves florals, then you’ll probably like this Stonewall Kitchen dahlias towel, which is absolutely beautiful. This didn’t make our list above because it’s slightly more expensive than the traditional Cotton Towel, but if you’re looking for a special one-off gift for something like Mother’s Day, a whole set of these floral towels could be a good option. The Dahlias Kitchen Towel is available at Stonewall Kitchen for $10.95.
Homaxy 100% Cotton Waffle Weave Kitchen Dish Cloth
While this is a favorite of Amazon customers, with more than 25,000 buyers giving these towels an average 4.5-star rating, we can’t really vouch for them ourselves. The Homaxy brand isn’t something we’re especially familiar with, so while they’re probably okay, we just don’t know for sure. The Homaxy 100% Cotton Waffle Weave Kitchen Dish Cloth is available at Amazon for $8.99.
Sur La Table Quick-Dry Terry Towels
These are from a reputable retailer, and we like that they’re quick-dry, but we haven’t tried them ourselves, and there’s only one buyer review on the Sur La Table site. It’s just hard to gauge, even if they look (and seem) nice. The Quick-Dry Terry Towels are available at Sur La Table for $22.
Why You Can Trust Us
Growing up in a restaurant-owning family with a mom who wrote about food for a living, I’ve become pretty savvy about what kitchen gear works and what doesn’t. I’m an avid cook myself, and I’ve tried everything from mandolins to microplanes. I’ve dabbled in all different kinds of towels, too, so I know what’s absorbent, durable, and what actually looks good after a wash or two—or 100.
The same is true for Culinary Hill’s Meggan Hill, who’s a classically trained chef and professional writer. She’s spent years honing her own recipes, combining the Midwestern food she loved growing up with modern techniques, equipment, and nutritional standards. As she has explained, there’s nothing she loves more than helping cooks find success and confidence in the kitchen, and that includes having the right gear.
For this post, Meggan and I pulled from our collective years of experience to put together a list of towels that we’ve either used and loved or heard really amazing things about. (It’s more the former than the latter.) We chose brands and vendors we know and trust, and towels we think will stand the test of time.
Everything to Know Before Buying Kitchen Towels
What to Consider Before Buying Kitchen Towels
When picking a set—or two—of kitchen towels for your home, there are a few things to consider.
Intended use: Do you just want towels to hang on a rack and make your kitchen look nice, or are you going to be grabbing them to mop up major spills? If you’re planning on actually using your towels, you’ll want to choose some that are absorbent and can stand up to multiple washes.
How many you need: If you’re a daily laundry person, then you can get away with fewer towels. If you’re more of a procrastinator, though, then you might want to pick up a few more towels than you might really need, that way, you’re not without a kitchen towel when all the others are in the dryer.
Size: How big do you want your towels to be? When you think about your ideal kitchen towel, do you want something large and in charge that you can wrap around pot handles or throw in your apron loop? Or do you prefer something little and hand-sized that’s more of a dish towel than a true kitchen towel? You may want a variety of sizes to accommodate all the different ways you use your kitchen towels.
What Fabric is Best for Kitchen Towels?
Cotton is generally the best fabric for kitchen towels. The very best kitchen towels are made of tightly woven cotton, which is known for being absorbent, soft, and durable. Soft cotton also typically doesn’t scratch or smudge surfaces, which is nice if you’re using your towels to dry dishes.
There are other towel options out there, though, including terry cloth, linen, and bamboo. None of them are bad—terry cloth towels are especially great for mopping up bigger messes—but traditionally, cotton towels are the most durable and resilient.
Where to Hang the Kitchen Towel
The easiest place to put your kitchen towel is on a towel bar on a dishware or oven. While there are racks that simply slide on to the front of a door, you can also buy a rack that mounts inside your cabinet, should you want to hide your towels away rather than show them off. Hanging a towel is great for drying it, though, so above all else, don’t just fold up your newly wet towel and throw it on the kitchen counter. That’s a recipe for stinky linen and bacterial growth.
Can You Put a Kitchen Towel in the Microwave?
You can put a kitchen towel in your microwave—but only when wet. Microwaving dry cloth can actually cause a fire, with ignition potentially occurring in just 15 seconds. Unlike a clothes dryer, a microwave won’t heat a towel evenly, so you might end up with holes in parts or burnt edges, especially if there are other substances on your towel that might burn at a different temperature, like random hairs, bits of food, or microscopic particles.
If you do want to microwave a towel—to make a compress, for instance—make sure and get it damp first, and run the microwave for only 10 to 15 seconds at a time.
How to Fold Kitchen Towels
There are a ton of different ways to fold kitchen towels, from fan shapes to plain old rectangles. One of the most popular ways to fold kitchen towels recently, though, has been the Marie Kondo method, which allows the towels to stand up on end in a drawer, basket, or organizer, side by side. That way you can really see your towels, and they just look really nice.
To do a Kondo-style towel fold, just fold your towels in half twice, then in thirds. If they don’t stand up on their own, they’re not folded right.
How to Clean Kitchen Towels
How you clean your kitchen towels really depends on their washing instructions, so be sure to check those tags. Typically, most towels are machine washable, though some may need to be line-dried or laid flat.
What doesn’t vary, though, is how often you should be washing your towels. Microbiologists typically recommend washing kitchen towels after every single use, especially if they’re coming into contact with meat or its byproducts, like juice from a package or that might remain on the counter after you cook a steak, say. As one microbiologist told Parade, “nearly half of the multiuse kitchen towels harbor bacteria that cause food poisoning and other foodborne illnesses after one month of use without washing,” so, bottom line, wash your towels. It’s better to be safe than sorry
The Best Recipes That Use Kitchen Towels
Kitchen towels aren’t just for cleaning up in the kitchen. They’re also for cooking! You can use them to drain cucumbers, roast hazelnuts, create a water bath for a cheesecake, or roast chickpeas. You can also use kitchen towels to help create a whole delicious meal. Here are a few of Meggan’s favorite recipes that require the use of a kitchen towel:
Prices were accurate at time of publication.
