The best chopping boards for every kitchen need and style, tried and tested
Most of us prefer browsing flashier kitchen gadgets over plain, old chopping boards – but we tested the models actually worth investing in
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The best chopping board should make food preparation easier by reducing the number of cutting accidents and keeping kitchen knives sharper for longer. Most households will use a chopping board everyday and yet we spend longer researching flashier cooking gadgets – the best air fryer or top slow cooker – and make do with a battered old version of the true kitchen workhorse.
Why is a good chopping board important? “Because prep is an integral part of cooking and a good chopping board is integral to prepping,” says Mimi Morley, senior recipe development manager at meal company HelloFresh. “Having a good-sized, good-quality chopping board is important for the enjoyment of the cooking process. A rubbish chopping board is like having a tiny pan where nothing fits in and everything burns.”
To help you out, we’ve reviewed the best chopping boards on the market, looking at a range of products made from wood, plastic, bamboo and recycled material. We tried and tested bestselling chopping boards from ProCook, Joseph Joseph, Ninja, Dalstrong, Zwilling, Brabantia and several other big brands. You can read our full review of the ten best chopping boards below but if you’re in a rush – or should I say, chop, chop – here’s our top five:
What is the best chopping board? At a glance
- Best Buy chopping board: Brabantia Tasty+ Chopping Board set
- Best Value chopping board: ProCook Non-Slip Chopping Board
- Best plastic chopping board: Joseph Joseph Nest chopping board set
- Best wooden chopping board: Stellar Kitchen Pure Oak Board
- Best hygienic chopping board: Lakeland 4 Stay-Put Chopping Boards
What to look for in a chopping board
The first thing to consider is what material you want to choose. There are many debates about what is the most hygienic material for a chopping board. Wood and bamboo have natural antibiotic properties but can warp if exposed to too much water. Most wooden chopping boards require occasional oil treatments too. Plastic, meanwhile, is generally cheaper and easier to wash as the boards can usually go in the dishwasher, but may not last as long and could be marked by sharp knives.
Smaller kitchens will appreciate chopping boards with clever storage hacks, such as being able to clip them away under shelving units. Colour-coded sets can also be useful to keep one chopping board for raw meat, one for vegetables and another for cooked foods. Morley’s top advice is to go for a chopping board that’s a good size. “Don’t go for one that is too thick and heavy as they’re really annoying to wash. But not really thin either, or it will break,” she says.
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How we tested the best chopping boards
In my bid to find the best chopping board, I carried out months of kitchen prep and used each product to prepare a range of the same foods, including dicing onions and garlic bulbs, dealing with skittering cherry tomatoes, cutting raw chicken, cooked lamb and chopping fine herbs. I considered the usable size of each board and checked for any marks after heavy chopping.
I also took into account any movement as I cut up the food, as the slip of a board while wielding a sharp knife could be incredibly dangerous. Then, I put to the test any extra features, such as juice grooves, non-slip feet, sliding gulleys and clever storage devices to see if they were worth the extra investment.
After using and washing up the boards according to the instructions, I checked if there had been any permanent staining left by colourful vegetables or herbs and if any odours lingered. I also considered the chopping boards’ aesthetics, their cost and the materials they are made of.
Best chopping boards
1. Brabantia Tasty+ Chopping Board set
Best Buy chopping board, 10/10
We like: Anti-spillage grooves, convenient storage, good design
We don’t like: No airflow in storage
- Dimensions: Small W 16cm, L 25cm, medium W 25cm, L 25cm, large W 40cm, L 25cm
- Weight: 1.8kg for all
- Material: Nylon
- Non-slip: Yes, with non-slip rims
- Extra features: Two smaller boards fit into the one larger one for storage
This is a great value set that includes three chopping boards: two smaller sizes that are suited for onion chopping and small fruit and a larger one that was suited for cutting up cooked meat and larger vegetables. The smaller ones nest inside the bigger board to make them easy to store and the muted green and grey colours look good in the kitchen. The largest board also doubles up as a tray if inverted, which is a great multi-purpose idea for more compact kitchens.
All the boards are reversible for extra chopping options and I found them exceptionally easy to wash, just shove them in the dishwasher and they’ll emerge sparkling, with none of the finicky drying instructions that wooden boards demand.
Non-slip grooves collected juice from the veg and meat to reduce overall kitchen mess and the boards did not retain the odours of pungent foods such as onions, which other products did. They were all nice and sturdy on the counter when cutting, making Brabantia’s set a top buy with its five-year guarantee too.
2. ProCook Non-Slip Chopping Board, set of 3
Best Value chopping board, 8/10
We like: Butaway handles, BPA-free, reasonable price
We don’t like: White board retained some staining
- Dimensions: Small W 29cm, L 20cm, medium W 33cm, L 20cm, large W 37cm, L 25cm
- Weight: Three kilograms, total
- Material: Plastic and silicone
- Non-slip: Yes
- Extra features: Cutaway handles
Another trio set of chopping boards with large, medium and small sizes, though ProCook’s design doesn’t fit together or store quite as efficiently as Brabantia or Joseph Joseph’s sets.
I particularly liked reserving the smallest one for onions and shallots so I didn’t have to worry about their smell or taste transferring to other foods. The medium-sized board has a useful central ‘gulley’ to slide food from the board into a saucepan or frying pan.
Each board can go in the dishwasher or be easily cleaned by hand and the non-slip edges were sturdy in use. However, I found that using my sharpest knife on this board left marks if I wasn’t especially careful, but just a slight visual mark and not a 3D indentation.
3. Lakeland 4 Stay-Put Chopping Boards
Best hygienic chopping board, 9/10
We like: Doesn’t shift an inch on the worktop, different colours for food hygiene
We don’t like: Garish colours may clash in some kitchens
- Dimensions: W 26cm, L 37cm
- Weight: 3.05kg in total
- Material: Polypropylene
- Non-slip: Yes
- Extra features: Different colours, handles and crumb-catching grooves
The four brightly-coloured surfaces in this good-value pack were the best chopping boards to clean. While not the most muted or modern in colour, I felt like a professional chef in a commercial kitchen using these boards, which can be easily colour-coded. I used red for raw meat, yellow for “smelly” veg, green for fruit and blue for carving cooked meat.
The anti-slip panels at both ends of the products were effective at stopping the boards from moving while cutting the food, but I did find some visible marks (although again, not feelable) after a few weeks of use. The boards are thicker than other plastic chopping boards and felt solid when in use.
4. Joseph Joseph Folio Slim 3-piece large chopping board set
Best non-slip chopping board, 9/10
We like: Slimline, fixes to the underside of cupboard
We don’t like: They’re pricey at RRP
- Dimensions: W 36cm, L 27cm
- Weight: 1.3kg
- Material: Plastic
- Non-slip: Yes
- Extra features: Steel bars for space-saving storage
Although the chopping boards in this set are large themselves, this product is suitable for a small kitchen as their storage case fixes to the underside of a cupboard, meaning they can slot away into a typically unused space. I love being able to just lower a hand to grab one of the boards hanging down from my under-hob cupboard. The whole thing was easy to install, requiring just a few screws. The set is on the pricier side but does include the stand as well as three boards.
The three different colours made it easy to reserve one board for raw meat, one for veg and one for cooked foods. The fact that they’re all dishwasher-safe too made for an easy clean-up operation and both sides are usable, which is helpful when you are chopping up different types of food and don’t want contact. Overall, the chopping boards are lightweight and easy to use.
5. Bamboo chopping board
Best chopping board for vegetables, 8/10
We like: Hanging loop for storage, easy to clean
We don’t like: Not suitable for the dishwasher
- Dimensions: W 38cm, L 26cm
- Material: Bamboo
- Non-slip: No
- Extra features: Hanging loop for storage
This bamboo chopping board from foodies’ favourite Sous Chef feels a lot more expensive than the £8.99 price suggests, with a solid black handle, a large board and wood-style grains. It comes with limited packaging and has a small sticker on its wrapping reading, “attention. Wipe with a damp clean cloth, not dishwasher safe”. It didn’t list any oiling requirements, but I have found in general that bamboo boards benefit from an occasional rub down with oil to help them last longer.
I found this board to be hard-wearing without showing any knife marks, although I did miss the juice-collecting grooves when it came to carving a lamb shoulder. Similarly, when chopping four cucumbers for a salad, the watery parts ran off the board and onto the counter. In general, though, the board performed well for everyday chopping and looked good enough to carry a roast over to the table to serve to family.
6. Joseph Joseph Nest chopping board set
Best plastic chopping board, 8/10
We like: Colour-coded with storage stand, stand allows side and top access
We don’t like: Expensive
- Dimensions: Regular, W 32cm, L 22cm; large, W 35.5cm, L 26cm
- Weight: 1.9kg in total
- Material: Polypropylene
- Non-slip: Non-slip feet
- Extra features: Stand included
This set of three chopping boards from Joseph Joseph ticks all the boxes: colour-coded (in muted mushroom tones or shades of green) to help prevent cross-contamination, textured cutting surfaces with non-slip feet and a stand to hold the boards neatly together that allows air to circulate between them. You can dry them here rather than taking up space on a drying rack.
Each board is dishwasher-safe, easy to clean and requires no other maintenance, which was a treat after all the wiping and oiling of the wooden and bamboo boards. I did, however, find that scratch marks were fairly easily made when I used my sharpest knives and that these lingered on the surfaces. It did not affect future use but did look a bit unsightly.
7. TOG paperboard chopping board (medium)
Best eco-friendly chopping board, 8/10
We like: Lightweight, sustainably made of paper
We don’t like: Expensive, marks easily
- Dimensions: W 33.8cm, L 23.3cm
- Weight: 683g
- Material: Sustainably sourced paper, laid over with Ecobind resin
- Non-slip: No
- Extra features: Sustainably made
From a design perspective, this chopping board stands out because of its slate grey surface and striped sides. But it’s when you look into the chopping board’s materials that the TOG paperboard shows its idiosyncrasies. Made by professional knife-maker TOG, it consists of layers of FSC-sustainably sourced paper, which are then bound together by hand with Ecobind resin.
The chopping board feels smooth to the touch and is robust – knife marks easily wiped off – as well as dishwasher safe. I found that the TOG paperboard didn’t absorb smells like the plastic and wooden boards did. Even chopping up onions for soup didn’t linger. A corner hole in the design means you can hang the board up, or you can buy an accompanying stand as well in the same material. This board is a British-made, sustainable choice.
8. Stellar Kitchen Pure Oak Board
Best wooden chopping board, 8/10
We like: Beautiful, table-ready design
We don’t like: High-maintenance, not dishwasher-friendly and must be dried immediately
- Dimensions: W 53cm, L 29cm
- Weight: 1.2kg
- Material: Oak
- Non-slip: No
- Extra features: Works well as a cheese or charcuterie platter
This oak board from Stellar has a lovely design with a curve near the handle that makes it great for creating meat or cheese platters, as well as being a useful chopping surface. It’s a good size, although not as large as some of the bamboo boards and I liked its generous-sized handle that made it easy to wield.
The board itself feels solid and durable and I didn’t see any knife marks during its heavy use, although the strong wood will have an impact on the knives, which may need sharpening more often than when used with plastic boards. As a wooden board, this model does require more maintenance than a plastic one too, being hand-wash only and needing to be dried immediately after cleaning. It does also need an “occasional” coating with mineral oil to maintain the surface.
I loved using this board for charcuterie and for cutting bread and cakes, but did prefer to use plastic or bamboo surfaces for wetter ingredients like tomatoes and raw meat.
9. Deer & Oak Premium Bamboo chopping board
Best large chopping board, 8/10
We like: Durable, solid, good-looking butchers’ block design
We don’t like: Requires occasional oiling, must be hand-washed and immediately dried
- Dimensions: W 38cm, L 25cm
- Weight: 1.2kg
- Material: Bamboo
- Non-slip: No
- Extra features: Includes vouchers for a free sample of oil
Despite the brand name of this chopping board, it’s made of bamboo rather than oak – something I had to double-check while holding the board as it’s surprisingly heavy for a bamboo cutting base. This chopping board certainly feels sturdy with a chunky butchers’ block feel that looks good on the counter. But it does take up more cupboard space when put away, being about twice as thick as the average chopping board.
Big chopping boards are something of a speciality for Deer & Oak, founded by a pair of brothers in Kent. In addition to this L (for large) board, there is an XL, XXL and a recently launched W 60cm, L 40cm XXXL (£44.95), big enough to fill most kitchen worktops. We’ve tried that too. It’s great to be able to chop large amounts without worrying about the food spilling off the edge of the board. But you do need somewhere to put it.
Considering its heft, this model feels like good value for money, but as with other bamboo boards does come with a fair amount of responsibility. It isn’t dishwasher suitable, you can’t submerge it in water, it must be wiped down with a damp cloth and it should be oiled regularly.
The manufacturer does, however, include a voucher for a free 10ml sample of chopping board oil to maintain its condition – you don’t even have to pay for postage. Being a softer material than granite or harder woods, this board didn’t seem to blunt my knives at all and Deer & Oak, its maker, offsets the carbon used in its production process, meaning it’s also a sustainable choice.
10. Zwilling Bamboo Chopping board
Best chopping board with juice grooves, 7/10
We like: Large and resilient, table-ready
We don’t like: Not dishwasher proof, fairly high-maintenance
- Dimensions: W 36cm, L 25cm
- Weight: 1.8kg
- Material: Bamboo
- Non-slip: No
- Extra features: Juice groove
I liked the look and feel of this Zwilling bamboo chopping board. From afar, it looks like a traditional wooden board but is actually lighter because of the material and up close you can see a pattern imprint of bamboo sticks. The juice groove going all the way around the chopping board was suited to carving up meat and I loved that it looked good enough to use as a serving platter too.
As bamboo is antimicrobial, it’s a hygienic board to use and I didn’t find any knife marks after weeks of use. On the downside, the board is not dishwasher-proof and I had to wash it with a damp cloth and dish soap before wiping it dry immediately to avoid warping. Zwilling also recommends treating the board regularly with cold-pressed cooking oil so it isn’t as easy as a plastic chopping board to clean or maintain.
Chopping board FAQs
Investing more in a chopping board can save you money in the long term, according to Holly Thomson, of culinary site SousChef. “A chopping board is actually one of the first things you should invest in, in order to look after your kitchen knives,” she explains. “Using a soft board will keep your blades sharper and look after your knives for longer, which of course has a huge impact on cooking enjoyment.”
“Personally, I use a wooden board for fruit and veg and a plastic board for meat,” says Morley, of HelloFresh. “I prefer the feel of chopping on a wooden board but plastic is more hygienic for meat. Glass chopping boards, however, are an abomination – they blunt your knives and are actually just dangerous to chop on.”
“Both have their benefits – wooden boards are obviously better for the environment, they don’t blunt knives and good quality ones will stay waterproof [if you oil them],” explains Morley. “Plus they’re more aesthetically pleasing. Plastic boards also have their benefits – they’re non-porous so you can just wash the bacteria off them and smells shouldn’t linger as they often end up doing with wooden boards. There are pros and cons to both.”
“If you’re cooking a lot, I think it’s a good idea to have a few different sizes. It’s annoying to have to wash up a massive chopping board if you’re only prepping a shallot,” Morley adds. “And it’s also annoying to have all your veg spilling off a tiny board because there’s not enough space. I’d go for one small, one medium and one large if you have the space.”
“Wooden chopping boards: absolutely not,” warns Morley. “They can warp or crack and basically get ruined in the dishwasher. Plastic boards can also be damaged by a dishwasher but lots are fine.”
“If you look after your chopping board, it should last for a long time, especially wooden ones,” Morley advises. “If you oil your wooden board and don’t put them in the dishwasher, they can last years and years. Plastic boards probably need to be replaced more often. Both wooden and plastic boards should be replaced if they have deep cuts in them that don’t close up [sometimes they can close up in wooden boards].
“These cuts can be a lovely area for bacteria to multiply, which is not what you want from your chopping board.”
“Hand-wash only,” is Morley’s first rule. “Use dish soap, warm water and a sponge and then rinse, dry immediately and then prop it against something to air dry completely – don’t leave it lying flat as that’s when it can build up bacteria and smell. To maintain a wooden board, oil your wooden board regularly with food-safe mineral oil. It will help create a barrier that prevents stains from soaking in.”
“Bamboo chopping boards are generally considered hygienic but they obviously need to be cleaned properly to maintain this,” explains Morley. “They are naturally antimicrobial so inhibit the growth of certain bacteria. Bamboo is harder and less porous than other types of wood so absorbs less moisture and is less likely to harbour bacteria. It’s also very dense which makes it resistant to deep knife cuts [where bacteria can build up]. Bamboo also dries faster than wood which helps reduce the risk of bacteria multiplying.
“The only thing to consider with bamboo, however, is because it’s hard, it can dull your knives faster than other softer woods.”
“This is not recommended because of cross-contamination,” advises Morley, who says that in professional kitchens this is “an absolute no-go.” In a home kitchen, she adds: “It’s best to designate one board for fruit and veg and one board for meat and poultry. If using the same board is unavoidable, just make sure you clean the board thoroughly between uses.”
“Don’t put them in the dishwasher!” is Morley’s blunt advice. It’s also important to dry even hand-washed boards as quickly as possible to remove all moisture.
Here are Morley’s experienced methods.
For wood and bamboo: make a lemon and salt scrub. Sprinkle coarse salt on the board, halve a lemon and use the cut side to scrub the salt into the board, squeezing a little as you scrub. Let it sit for 10 minutes and then rinse and dry.
For plastic chopping boards, mix bicarb and water together to form a paste, apply it to the stain on the board and scrub. Let it sit for 15 mins then rinse and dry (this can also be effective for wooden boards).