Let’s face it, we’re all a little bit of a mess in our own way, especially in the kitchen. This why you can never have too many kitchen towels. Having a thick stack on hand will ensure you’re always ready to sop up messes, wipe down counters, and dry hands, dishes, and produce.
We’ve wiped up gallons of spills and dried countless dishes with 25 towels since 2014, and the Williams Sonoma All Purpose Pantry Towels are our favorite. They’re absorbent, durable, affordable, and available in a rainbow of colors.
Top pick
With terry cloth on one side and waffle weave on the other, this towel combines absorbency, utility, and attractiveness.
The Williams Sonoma All Purpose Pantry Towels are our favorite because they’re big, thirsty, long-lasting, and reasonably priced. With tightly looped cotton on one side and waffle weave on the other, these towels have the absorbency of terry cloth without the fluff.
They’ve been in regular rotation in the test kitchen and in several staff members’ homes since 2016 and show very few signs of wear. They have a convenient loop for hanging and come in a wide variety of colors.
Budget pick
These affordable terry cloth towels aren’t cute, but they’ll get the job done, wiping up spills from big to small.
The Utopia Towels Kitchen Bar Mops are an inexpensive way to get the job done. In our tests, they absorbed spills with ease, wiped up messes well, and held up to extensive runs through the washer and dryer.
They’re not that attractive, resembling bathroom hand towels rather than kitchen towels, but that’s fairly standard for bar mops. And unlike many other bar mops, they do at least come in several colors other than white.
Although these towels may not be the best choice for polishing your glasses, they are a good option for someone looking to clean up without cleaning out their wallet.
Also great
Available only in white, these flour sack towels are large and thin, and dry faster than terry cloth.
Aunt Martha’s Premium Flour Sack Dish Towels are the thickest and most absorbent we’ve found for this style of towel. But, like most flour sack towels, they’re at least 50 percent bigger than our other towel picks, and made from thinner cotton. These are a great choice if you want a smooth, lint-free cloth that’s not only great for drying dishes, hands, and delicate produce, but is also helpful for food prep tasks like straining stocks.
