I’ve Tested Dozens of Cutting Boards—These Are the Best Ones for Food Prep

A cutting board is one of the most frequently used pieces of kitchen equipment. So, naturally, you’ll want one that can stand up to attempted death by a thousand cuts. And it’s even better if it’s gentle on knives. 

Over the years, I’ve tested and used dozens of cutting boards, including wooden and plastic; end-grain and edge-grain. Below, I’ll get into which ones made the cut (hehe). 

Things to Consider When Choosing a Cutting Board 

Wood vs. Plastic: Which Material Should You Choose?

The age-old question: Wood or plastic? If you ask most chefs and cooking professionals (and Serious Eats editors), they’ll probably tell you to go for wood. It’s gentle on knives, naturally antibacterial, and doesn’t scratch or gouge as readily as plastic. But if you go into a professional kitchen, you’ll most likely see a stack of industrial plastic cutting boards. What gives? Well, when you’re prepping bucketloads of vegetables and need to swap out a board to butcher chickens, ease of cleaning triumphs. 

So which should you choose? Speaking from experience as an avid home cook, a former professional prep cook, and as someone who has tested cutting boards, I say go for both: a wooden cutting board as your main squeeze and a plastic board for when you want to toss it into the dishwasher and be done. Plastic will dull your knives faster than an end-grain hardwood board, but if you’re only using it a few times a week, it won’t happen devastatingly fast. 

Speaking of wood, let’s briefly cover end-grain versus edge-grain. End-grain is the side of the plank where the fibers run upward, so you’re cutting between each strand—this reduces damage to the blade better than an edge-grain board, whose fibers run horizontally. 

When it comes to wood type, hardwood is the best bet since it’s softer and has less naturally occurring silica in it than, say, acacia or teak. You can read more about the differences between edge-and-end-grain and different kinds of wood in my review. 

A Bigger Cutting Board Isn’t Necessarily Better 

While it might be tempting to get the biggest cutting board you can—more cutting surface area!—ask yourself a few questions: Will it fit in your sink? What if you want to stash it away after using it? Bigger means bulkier. While I love my spacious, marble-smooth Carolina Cut Boardsmith, cleaning it is a pain. It’s close to 20 pounds, and my sink cannot accommodate its 16-by-22-inch frame. Maneuvering it is like wrangling a greased pig, and the kitchen looks like it got doused with a fire hose after. 

That all said, a tiny board is also limiting. Our winning OXO set comes with two smaller boards that are good for petite prep jobs, like cutting citrus for cocktail garnishes or mincing garlic. But if you want to break down a whole watermelon, most of the melon will end up on your countertop. The sweet spot for a cutting board is around 16 by 12 inches; it’s both spacious enough to dice an onion comfortably, but not so large that it’s difficult to clean or store. 

Consider the Cutting Board’s Details

There are a couple of little additions that I love in a cutting board. While they won’t make or break it, they make using it a more pleasant experience. Take rubber feet or edges: Instead of the board sliding around my faux-granite countertop, the grips keep it secure, even if I’m hacking away at a tough butternut. Some of my favorite cutting boards, like Material’s The (grippy) ReBoard, come with built-in grips; others, like the Boardsmith, offer rubber feet as an option to keep things steady. 

Another detail to consider is a juice groove. While they can sometimes be too large and eat into the cutting surface area, a job-specific carving board is worth having if you’re a frequent meat-eater or want to present your turkey perfectly portioned on Thanksgiving. The juice groove prevents meat juice runoff and makes carving any messy cut of meat neater. It’s also a great option for the aforementioned watermelon, which bleeds juice. 

Some of The Best Cutting Boards That Aced Our Tests 

What we liked: If you ask a Serious Eats editor what their dream cutting board is, it’ll probably be a Boardsmith. I coveted one for longer than I can remember. The maple beauty that now sits on my countertop is spacious and sturdy, and its smooth finish and neat seams speak to the care and craftsmanship put into every board. End-grain maple is durable, but also soft enough to keep knives sharp, even after frequent use. It’s the perfect amalgamation of durability, softness, beauty, and simplicity. I use mine every day, and it’s still in fantastic condition, without any deep gouges or warping. You can get feet and/or a juice groove added if you’d like; the latter won our carving board review, too. 

What we didn’t like: Boardsmith butcher block wooden boards are big and heavy, which makes them difficult to clean. They’re also expensive, though they will last a very long time. 

Key Specs 

• Available sizes: 12 x 18 x 2 inches; 16 x 22 x 2 inches; 18 x 24 x 2 inches; and custom orders

• Customizations: Finger grooves, juice groove, feet

• Weight: 23 pounds (18- x 24- x 2-inch option)

• Wood: Maple

• How to maintain: Wash and dry thoroughly; regularly treat with food-grade mineral oil and/or board butter

What we liked: It’s tough to find a budget-friendly wooden board that won’t warp and crack after a dozen uses. Plus, cheap boards are often made of cheap materials, like bamboo, which dulls knives faster than a hardwood like maple. But our editors have come to love this affordable acacia offering. Sure, it’s no hardwood board, but in my tests, it failed to dull a blade even after 200 strokes. It’s also nice and lightweight at a little over seven pounds, making it easy to clean and stash away. 

What we didn’t like: Acacia wood has more naturally occurring silica, which is hard on knives. This model also frequently goes out of stock. It will get some visible scratches, but they aren't deep.

Key Specs

• Available sizes: 20 x 14 x 1.25 inches

• Customizations available: None

• Weight: 7.2 pounds

• Wood type: Acacia

• How to maintain: Hand-wash and thoroughly dry; coat with food-grade mineral oil every few weeks 

What we liked: This eye-catching board is a great Goldilocks size at 17 by 13 inches. It’s spacious enough to break down a head of cabbage, but not so big that you can’t wrangle it into the sink. In my tests, any scratches healed over quickly, and it didn’t dull knives. It’s a showstopper of a board, and one that I'd leave out for guests to admire.  

What we didn’t like: It stained after cutting up a sweet potato. It’s made of small pieces of end-grain larch wood, meaning there are more points of vulnerability in terms of warping or cracking.  

Key Specs 

• Available sizes: Large: 21.6 x 13.5 x 1.75 inches; medium: 17.75 x 13.5 x 1.6 inches; small: 17.75 x 11 x 1.5 inches

• Customizations: None

• Weight: 8 pounds (medium size)

• Wood type: Larch wood

• How to maintain: Hand-wash and thoroughly dry; coat with food-grade mineral oil every few weeks

What we liked: While end-grain is better for your knives and more durable, edge-grain hardwood is still a fine option. I liked this board from Made In, which has a juice groove on one side and a flat surface on the other side. It’s 18 by 12 inches—spacious, but also compact enough to clean easily. The wood has held up over time without any gouges or splitting. 

What we didn’t like: One side of the board had a chunk missing upon arrival. Edge-grain boards generally aren’t as durable as edge-grain cutting boards, and they tend to be harsher on knives. 

Key Specs 

• Available sizes: 18 x 12 inches

• Customizations: Can add a personalized engraving

• Weight: 8 pounds

• Wood: Maple

• How to maintain: Wash and dry thoroughly; regularly treat with food-grade mineral oil and/or board butter; sand surface as needed

What we liked: In my tests, this plastic board from Material was surprisingly gentle on knives. It has a slightly springy surface, so blades didn’t clack against it, and the grips on the side kept it in place on my slippery faux-marble countertop. The hole in the corner lets you hang it up for easy storage, and it’s dishwasher-safe. I’ve continued to use it after testing, and it’s stayed in great condition without getting any deep scratches. 

What we didn’t like: It doesn’t have a juice groove, so if you cut up anything messy, like citrus, the juice will run all over. 

Key Specs 

• Dimensions: 14.75 x 10.75 inches

• Other sizes available: No

• Weight: 1.13 pounds

• Materials: Plastic, silicone

• Dishwasher-safe: Yes

What we liked: This petite set of two plastic boards is a great option for tiny prep tasks, like mincing shallots or supreming citrus. Each board has rubber grips on the left and right side, which help them stay put, and the shallow juice groove does a surprisingly good job of containing liquids. They only dulled knives by 4% in my tests. 

What we didn’t like: This set was recently redesigned, and the new version isn’t quite as gentle on knives. It’s also slippery, and blades clacked against the surface with each cutting stroke. 

Key Specs 

• Dimensions: 10.75 x 7.25 inches; 13 x 9 inches

• Other sizes available: Yes

• Weight: 1.2 pounds; 12.1 ounces

• Materials: Plastic

• Dishwasher-safe: Yes

What we liked: This is basically a larger version of the above set. I found the 14.75 by 10.5 size much more utilitarian than two smaller boards. This is the plastic cutting board you reach for when slicing up a loaf of bread or dicing an onion. While it did get faint scratches after frequent use, none were very deep, and some marks are par for the course for plastic boards.

What we didn’t like: Knives dulled by 35% in my tests using this board. While not insignificant, some dulling is to be expected with plastic cutting boards. 

Key Specs 

• Dimensions: 14.75 x 10.5 inches

• Other sizes available: Yes

• Weight: 1.86 pounds

• Materials: Plastic

• Dishwasher-safe: Yes

What we liked: Our winning carving board is the Boardsmith board with a juice groove, so I thought it would be more useful to highlight an affordable option instead. This board has a neat grid of pyramidal notches in the center that holds roasts in place while slicing. Surrounding it, like canyons around a mountain range, are the juice grooves, which caught runoff nicely in our tests. It’s lightweight and compact, which is great for storage—and since many folks only break out a carving board a few times a year, this is a boon. 

What we didn’t like: The little pyramids limit cutting direction, and the juice grooves are rather shallow. The board got marked up easily. 

Key Specs 

• Weight: 4.75 pounds

• Dimensions: 20 x 15 x 1 inches

• Material: Acacia

• Reversible: No

• Dishwasher-safe: No

FAQs

What’s the best way to clean a cutting board?

Wooden boards should be hand-washed and thoroughly dried, then wiped with a layer of mineral oil to keep them supple. Many plastic boards are dishwasher-safe.

Do I need a wooden cutting board?

Wooden cutting boards are gentler on knives than plastic. Unless you plan on sharpening your blades frequently, a wooden board can lengthen the time between sharpenings. 

Why We’re the Experts 

• Grace Kelly is a senior editor at Serious Eats.

• She’s been testing kitchen gear for over four years. 

• She tested wooden and plastic cutting boards for the site. 

• She’s had a Boardsmith cutting board for four years, and it’s still in tip-top shape.