I met the kitchen towels of my dreams, the best kitchen towels I have ever used and ever will use, on the first day I set foot in a restaurant kitchen. It was a classic meet-cute. They were unassuming in their simplicity—100% cotton, a soft white with a distinctive herringbone weave and snappy blue stripe. They weren’t like those other tea towels from back home, those awkwardly large, overly thick, hopelessly linty decorative towels that sported pumpkins in the fall, tulips in the spring. Those towels were for show, mere accessories for the oven door. But these ultra-absorbent Zeppoli kitchen towels were everything I’d ever wanted from a kitchen towel and more. I’d fallen hard.
Zeppoli cotton kitchen towels are the apex of high quality towel functionality. They’re super absorbent and quick-drying, ready to clean up messes and splatters at a moment’s notice. The long-lasting fibers get more absorbent after a few spins through the washing machine, and when your oven mitts are out of reach, they’re thick enough to tackle a hot pan. They’re the perfect size and weight for cleaning cloths—light enough to air-dry quickly, but with enough surface area to handle spills. Because the flat weave towels are lint-free and don’t shed, they’re also an ideal dish towel, so you can dry your glasses without leaving loose threads all over your clean glassware. And no lint means you can sub them in for paper towels (since we’re all about reusable alternatives) when a recipe calls for pressing the water out of tofu or patting dry slices of salted squash. They come in a few different colors—although we’re partial to the classic white with blue or red stripes—and they’re everything you need and nothing you don’t, which is exactly why they’re a top pick for us.
Even if you’ve never worked in a restaurant kitchen and had the distinct pleasure of starting your shift with a clean stack of these towels on your station, you’ve probably encountered them before. You know that rustic-chic, no-tablecloths, fine-casual type of restaurant? The one with vintage bric-a-brac on the walls and chicken liver mousse on the menu? Can you picture the napkin that’s on the table, right beneath the Duralux water glass? That’s right: Some version of the same single-striped kitchen towels I’ve been describing. I’m not saying your dining table should cosplay as a late aughts farm-to-table restaurant, but I am saying that this machine-washable towel set is lightweight and handsome enough to do double duty as the cloth napkins you have always thought about buying but never got around to. Very French bistro.
Through years of experience and expert consultation, we've learned that 100% cotton or linen is best for durability, design, and absorbance, and from there, it’s all about weave, size, and plenty of hot water for laundering. Ahead are the best kitchen towels to tackle everyday cooking messes.
“I take my own towels everywhere I go to cook, and the people I cook with make fun of me because I have so many,” says Carrie Morey , chef and founder of Callie’s Hot Little Biscuit. “The right kitchen towel is so useful.”
Sure, you can grab a cheap set of dish towels to get the job done, but quality kitchen towels are much more effective and designed to last much longer. For drying dinnerware sets and drinking glasses , polishing flatware before setting the table, and wiping up daily cooking splatters and spills, dish towels should be absorbent, ample-sized, and durable. To find the best dish towels, we spoke with a cookbook author and chef who has tested many.
Best Overall
Coyuchi Organic Waffle Kitchen Towels
Coyuchi
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Pros
The waffle weave, subtle style, and water-conscious manufacturing helped propel these to the top of our list.
Cons
A set of six might be less economical for some.
While dish towels can be as personal as the hands that use them, these coastal-colored, waffle-textured cotton towels will appeal to those who value form as well as function. Both the palette and the texture will complement any aesthetic, and since they are yarn-dyed, those colors will stay true for much longer than a printed towel.
When it comes to function, it's all about the waffle. That weave increases the surface area of the towel, which ups its absorption factor, but without the lint of many terry cloth towels. We also love the handy side loop for hanging on hooks, kitchen cabinets, or floating shelves. Add the fact that these are 100% cotton (no polyester here) and created in a factory that minimizes its water use, these towels are not only a little greener for the environment, but they’ll also help keep your environment clean with ease and stand up to repeated use.
Price at time of publish: $58
Best Bar Mops
Williams Sonoma Bar Mop Towels & Dishcloths, Set of 4
Williams Sonoma
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Pros
Heavy-duty and highly absorbent, these are a workhorse in the kitchen.
Cons
They might leave a little lint behind until they are broken in.
"When it comes to towels, my clear favorite is terry cloth," says Morey. "I love them because they soak up so much mess. I'm not a fancy chef, and I need something with a lot of absorption. I do a lot of frying, we have kids, and there's just a lot of mess in our house. Bar towels are my go-to."
This is a slightly more refined version of the bar towel that you’ll find in professional kitchens and behind bars at many restaurants. The reason bar towels are so popular is that they work: The terry cloth weave is highly absorbent and can tackle a wide range of messes. These pure white versions from Williams-Sonoma are hemmed on the edges for a little more elegance in case you want to leave a set out on the dining room table or bar cart. For the kitchen that sees a lot of action, they’re essential.
Price at time of publish: $20
Best Linen
Pottery Barn Caravan Laundered Linen Stripe Tea Towel Set of 2
Pottery Barn
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Pros
Linen tends to hold up better than cotton, and wins major style points for coming in a wide range of colors.
Cons
For a set of two, it’s on the pricier side.
By its nature, linen, which is woven from the flax plant, is more durable and long-lasting than cotton. It is also very absorbent and has been used for centuries in various clothing and household (even medical) applications, so its durability and usefulness are highly tested.
Besides its usefulness, it is also very breathable, which makes it a fabric of choice for coastal living. That’s why this towel, with a faded stripe, is a logical choice for the star linen in your kitchen. It is low-lint, quick-drying, and attractive enough to use and display on the regular. We love the rustic colors to choose from in this particular set, and we think they'd look great next to a matching linen tablecloth.
Price at time of publish: $89
Best Value
Utopia Towels Kitchen Towels Dish Cloth
Amazon
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Pros
Durable, absorbent, and affordable in bulk, these towels are a classic choice for a reason.
Cons
These towels are slightly smaller than others on this list.
Want to polish glassware? Wipe spills? Quickly grab something out of the oven, or cover that sourdough loaf as it proofs? This is a towel that can do it all. The soft, cotton weave is absorbent and won’t leave lint on delicate stemware, and the blue stripe gives it a pop of color as it hangs over the towel bar. It washes and dries quickly, only gets softer with age, and can even stand in for a cloth napkin in a pinch.
In a professional kitchen, towels such as these are employed in a variety of uses — from padding a plastic cutting board to keep it from slipping to wrapping a bunch of just-washed herbs to keep them fresh. And if you like sporting a towel in your kitchen apron strings like many professional chefs do (for greasy fingers and hot pot handles), this is the towel for you.
Price at time of publish: $30
Best Two-Sided
All-Clad Dual Striped Kitchen Towel
Amazon
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Pros
They’re reversible for extra functionality, and an antibacterial agent prevents odors.
Cons
They may not be as durable as others on this list.
This towel might be the best of both worlds. One side is a flat weave to minimize lint for polishing stemmed coupes or Champagne flutes and wiping hands, and the other side is a looped terry cloth weave that is ready to tackle spills and messes. It can double as a countertop drying towel, too, especially since it’s treated with an antibacterial agent to keep odors away. Stylistically, it’s a classic stripe, and with its flat side front-facing, will hang crisply from a towel rod or oven handle.
Price at time of publish: $30
Best Flour Sack
Zeppoli Flour Sack Towels
Amazon
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Pros
These dish towels are versatile, lint-free, and dry quickly.
Cons
There are natural imperfections in the weave.
Flour sack towels became popularized during the Great Depression when homemakers upcycled the soft, durable cotton for various household uses, from towels to play dresses for children. Fast forward to now, and they are an essential cloth in every kitchen and even our Editor-in-Chief Hunter Lewis’s pick for dish towels.
This pack from Zeppoli stands out from the rest because the towels are extra durable, absorbent, and large to tackle any task, including straining liquids. The material is lint-free and dries quickly, making it an excellent choice for polishing glassware.
Price at time of publish: $25
Best Tea Towel
Geometry Lemon Gingham Tea Towel
Geometry
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Pros
These machine-washable tea towels are made from recycled materials and come in dozens of fun prints and colors.
Cons
These towels are only printed on one side, which might not be aesthetically pleasing to some.
Your kitchen towels are part of your everyday cooking and cleaning routine, so it helps if they're beautiful. With dozens of prints to choose from — from stripes to gingham to florals — these tea towels from Geometry are super absorbent, fast-drying, and durable. These towels can be thrown into the washing machine (just be sure to wash them in cold or warm water with mild detergent) and dried on low. The prints are designed to be fade-resistant.
We love that Geometry makes their towels and linens from post-consumer recycled materials. Whether you're re-stocking your kitchen or gifting a home cook, these kitchen towels will add a fun pop of texture and color to your space.
Price at time of publish: $17