The Best Salad Spinners
Verified by
Hadleigh V. Lead Product Analyst
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Serious Eats put 14 salad spinners through the same routine: weigh the greens, wash them, spin them, weigh them again. The OXO Steel came out on top. It left 3.68% of the water behind and dried 5 ounces of mixed greens in 27 seconds, then won the category because it does that from a bowl you can carry to the table. TechGearLab ran a messier test, rinsing soil off romaine, and the Steel cleared more of the dirty water than anything else in its group: 83% after two spins.
The steel bowl is the reason to pay more. It is heavier than plastic and sits on a non-slip base, so it stays put while you pump, and Serious Eats found it steadier than the plastic model. Wirecutter named it best for serving. Food Network picked it as the best stainless spinner, and TechGearLab called it the most durable design it tested. Inside, it shares its pump and 4.95-quart basket with the plastic OXO, the most recommended spinner in the category.
Seven of our eight sources tested the Steel, and every one of them recommends it. mybest scored it 4.34 out of 5 against 4.37 for the plastic model, with full marks for ease of use and washing. Every part is dishwasher safe, and America's Test Kitchen gave it top marks for cleanup.
What It Won't Do
Most of the extra money goes into the bowl. The OXO Steel lists at $74.99, and Wirecutter points out that it costs roughly twice as much as the plastic Good Grips, which left slightly less water in both Serious Eats' and America's Test Kitchen's tests. The brake is stiff too: TechGearLab found it the hardest button to press in its group. Because the bowl is opaque, Food Network notes you can't see how dry the greens are until you lift the lid.
America's Test Kitchen, Wirecutter, Food Network, EatingWell and mybest all named the OXO Good Grips their top salad spinner. No other model in our research has that kind of backing. America's Test Kitchen found it the most effective in its lineup at removing water from a range of greens, and Serious Eats measured 3.38% of the water left after 28 seconds, a touch drier than the Steel.
Wirecutter has recommended it since 2014. Its latest round added a paid panel of testers, including wheelchair users and people with arthritis, and the push-button pump was still the easiest mechanism to use. The brake stops the basket quickly. The lid comes apart for washing, and every part goes in the dishwasher.
OXO lists it at $32.99, less than half the Steel's $74.99, for the same basket and the same pump.
What It Won't Do
The plastic is thin. Serious Eats found the bowl lighter and less stable than OXO's metal and glass versions, and Food Network questioned how well the thinner pieces will hold up. TechGearLab saw the basket wobble at high speed. The pump stem also drops 2 inches into the basket, which America's Test Kitchen found took up a little room and slightly bruised baby spinach. EatingWell adds that the clear plastic can discolor over time.
Who Should Buy Which
OXO Steel Salad Spinner
Serious Eats' top salad spinner out of 14, with a steel bowl that goes straight to the table
- Cooks who wash, dry and serve salad from the same bowl
- Households that make salad several times a week and want a spinner that lasts
- Anyone whose last plastic spinner cracked or skated across the counter
- Hosts who want a steel bowl that looks right on the table
- Kitchens where every part has to go in the dishwasher
OXO Good Grips Salad Spinner (Large)
The top pick at America's Test Kitchen, Wirecutter and Food Network, for about $33
- Anyone who wants the most-recommended salad spinner for about $33
- Cooks who care about dry greens more than a serving bowl
- People with limited grip strength, since Wirecutter's accessibility panel found the pump easiest to use
- First-time buyers replacing a pull-cord or crank spinner
- Small households that want a spinner light enough to grab one-handed