Best cutlery tray to help you organise your knives and forks
Our pick of the best cutlery trays, from a compact cutlery organiser to an expandable cutlery tray
Kitchen cupboard organisation is key to maximising your storage space in your kitchen. Having an organised cutlery drawer, with a good quality cutlery tray makes finding your cutlery quicker and easier.
You don't want to be rummaging in a drawer for a knife and fork after you've just cooked your family a meal and you're desperate to dig in.
To help you organise your cutlery efficiently, we have scoured the market, to find the best cutlery trays, to fit all different sized drawers. When testing and selecting the trays, we considered, size, material, compartments for organisation, aesthetics and value.
For more organisation inspiration, take a look at our kitchen cupboard storage ideas and fridge organisers.
Best cutlery trays at a glance
- Best compact cutlery tray: Joseph Joseph DrawerStore Compact Cutlery Organiser, £18
- Best cutlery tray for large drawers: Plastic Cutlery Tray for Kitchen Drawers Insert, £30.99
- Best wooden cutlery tray: Premier Housewares 5 Compartment Cutlery Tray, £12.10
- Best cutlery tray for a modern look: Habitat Nevin Cutlery Tray Black, £6.50
- Best expandable cutlery tray: Joseph Joseph DrawerStore Expandable Cutlery Tray, £28
- Best rustic looking cutlery tray: Seagrass Cutlery tray, £25.99
- Best for out of drawer storage: JEKUGOT Bamboo Utensil Cutlery Holder, £19.99
- Best for sharp knives: Joseph Joseph DrawerStore Compact Knife Organiser, £18
What to consider when choosing a cutlery tray
Size — When buying a cutlery tray, it's important to ensure it's the right size and will fit your kitchen drawers. We have listed the measurements in the specifications so you can measure your drawer before buying to check that it will fit.
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Compartments – A traditional cutlery tray will come with 5 compartments, a space for your forks, knives, dessert spoons, soup spoons and tea spoons. However, some only have 4, which is fine if you don't care too much about separating your spoons and can actually give a more simplistic look. Larger cutlery trays can actually have more than 5 compartments, ideal for if you want to organise your utensils, or have baby cutlery to store.
Material – You can get cutlery trays in all different materials. The most common is plastic. However, with sustainability in mind, wood is also very common, including bamboo. Find a material to suit your taste and style. We have included cutlery trays made from different materials in this list, including metal and even seagrass.
Our pick of the best cutlery trays
1. Joseph Joseph DrawerStore Compact Cutlery Organiser, £18
– Best compact cutlery tray
Size: L39.5cm x W11cm x H5.7cm | Material: Plastic
If you have very limited kitchen drawer space, or just have a small drawer, then this compact cutlery tray from Joseph Joseph is ideal.
It has overlapping cutlery compartments and takes up half the room a regular cutlery tray would.
There are 5 different compartments so you should be able to organise all your cutlery sufficiently. The tray even has little icons to signify where different pieces of cutlery should go to ensure it all fits. It is also brilliant for storing children's cutlery too due to its compact size.
The non-slip feet on the bottom make the tray stay put in the drawer and stops it being able to move around so you can store things in the other half of the drawer.
To clean, just wash and dry by hand.
The tray is available in grey, bamboo and blue.
Pros: Compact, has 5 compartments, icons to signify where cutlery should go, non-slip feet, available in multiple colours
Cons: Cannot see all your cutlery laid out
Available from: Joseph Joseph, Amazon
2. Plastic Cutlery Tray for Kitchen Drawers Insert, £30.99
– Best for large drawers
Size: L42.2cm x W80cm x H6cm | Material: Plastic
The Joseph Joseph cutlery tray above is great for small drawers, but if you have a big drawer and want to maximise the space, then this extra large cutlery tray is great.
It will fill the large drawer and has 11 compartments to help you organise your cutlery, utensils and more.
It's made of a strong plastic material so should last you quite a while.
Pros: Maximises storage space, organises cutlery and utensils, strong plastic
Cons: Not the most attractive looking, only suitable if you have large drawers
Available from: Amazon
3. Premier Housewares 5 Compartment Cutlery Tray, £11.70
– Best wooden cutlery tray
Size: L38cm x W30cm x H5cm | Material: Birch wood
This wooden cutlery tray will look lovely in your drawer. It's made using birch wood, known for it's hardness and durability, so it should be very long-lasting.
The design is like that of a regular cutlery tray, 5 compartments, all with ample space.
The only downside is, as it's made of wood, you can only wipe clean with a damp cloth and submerging it in water for a deep clean is not recommended.
Pros: Wooden, attractive, traditional 5 compartments, lots of space, will fit most drawers
Cons: Fairly hard to properly clean
Available from: Amazon
4. Habitat Nevin Cutlery Tray Black, £6.50
– Best for a modern look
Size: L36cm x W26cm x D4.3cm | Material: Metal
Everyone has different taste, if you want a more modern look, then this black wire cutlery tray is a good option.
Unlike traditional cutlery trays, this one only has 4 compartments, making it very simplistic and easy to find things.
Each compartment has plenty of space to store cutlery.
Due to the mesh wire design, it can also double up as a drainage tray too, place it on your draining board and let your cutlery dry in the tray.
The tray is handwash only.
Pros: Modern simplistic style, plenty of space, can double up as drainer, affordable
Cons: Only has 4 compartments
Available from: Argos
5. Joseph Joseph DrawerStore Expandable Cutlery Tray, £26
– Best expandable cutlery tray
Size: L28.3cm x W36.5cm x H5.5cm (closed) L36.5cm x W48cm x H5.5cm (expanded) | Material: Plastic
You can get expandable cutlery trays which really maximise your drawer space. This Joseph Joseph cutlery tray expands to fit a variety of drawer sizes. Once you get it adjusted to the right size for your drawer, you can lock it so that it stays that size.
The tray has 4 deep-sided compartments and a moveable storage dish for little items. As you expand it, you will create another compartment, great for storing utensils (depending on how much you extend it).
The tray is available in white/green and grey/blue.
Pros: Expands to fit in a variety of sized drawers, maximises storage space, comes with a storage dish, available in 2 colours
Cons: Quite expensive
Available from: Joseph Joseph, John Lewis and Amazon
6. Seagrass Cutlery Tray, £25.99
– Best for a rustic look
Size: L40cm x W28cm x D10cm | Material: Seagrass
This Seagrass cutlery tray is beautiful for a rustic look and could even be put out on display on a worktop or sideboard if you lack drawer space.
The cutlery tray is handmade from woven seagrass – giving it a lovely homely touch – and has 4 compartments, with ample space to store all your cutlery. It even has a handy central loop to carry it to the dining table.
Pros: Attractive, handmade, rustic looking, has a carry handle, can be put out on display
Cons: Only 4 compartments, might be quite difficult to clean
Available from: Trouva, Not On The High Street
7. JEKUGOT Bamboo Utensil Cutlery Holder, £19.99
– Best for out of drawer storage
Size: L30cm x W8cm x H15cm | Material: Bamboo
If you really don't have much drawer space available or just want your cutlery on display then you could get a cutlery holder like this one. It has 3 compartments, labelled knives, forks and spoons. Unfortunately, there isn't a compartment for teaspoons.
The holder is made of bamboo, making it eco-friendly. It has classic black handles on either side to make carrying it from the kitchen to the dining table easy.
Pros: Looks nice on display, good for if you lack drawer space, labelled compartments, eco-friendly, carry handles
Cons: Only 3 compartments
Available from: Amazon
8. Joseph Joseph DrawerStore Compact Knife Organiser, £18
– Best for sharp knives
Size: L39.5cm x W14cm x H7.4cm | Material: Plastic
Although sharp knives aren't technically cutlery, it's likely you store them in your cutlery drawer so we thought this knife organiser was worth a mention.
It has 2 tiers and can hold up to 9 knives with different blade lengths. The top tier is for smaller knives, the bottom for your larger ones.
This organiser is suitable for knife blades up to 23cm and has non-slip feet to ensure it stays put in your drawer.
To clean, wash and dry by hand. The knife organiser is available in white, grey, bamboo and blue.
Pros: Great way to organise your knives, can take knives of different lengths, non-slip feet, lot of colour options
Cons: None
Available from: Joseph Joseph, Amazon and John Lewis
How did we choose our 8 of the Best?
When testing and selecting the best cutlery trays, we considered, size, material, compartments for organisation, aesthetics and value.
Our Best of lists are compiled by qualified and experienced parenting journalists. They rely on a number of sources, including our independent reviews, testing undertaken during the MadeForMums Awards, and feedback from our home testing panel and Top Testers Club. Each year thousands of products are put through their paces by hundreds of parents across the country on behalf of MadeForMums, to ensure we’re bringing you honest and true reviews and recommendations.
Our list is not an ordered ranking from 1-10, instead it is a carefully selected group of tried-and-tested products, each of which we believe is best for a different situation or requirement. We don't just tell you what is best, we help you discover what is best for your family.
Authors
Chloe is a Digital Reviews Writer and Coordinator for Immediate Media's Parenting team, specialising in household and trying to help parents save money. She researches and writes articles, recommending the best products, ranging from best cordless vacuums to best playpens. She has a First-Class Honours Psychology degree where she developed a strong interest in child development. During her teenage years she worked as a play worker and Brownie volunteer to support children's play.
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