The 8 Best Box Graters, Tested and Reviewed

Best Overall

Cuisipro 4-Sided Boxed Grater

$33 at Amazon

$40 at Walmart

$37 at Target

Although the Cuisipro is among the most expensive options on this list, it also boasts the best design. First of all, it’s what’s called an etched grater (as opposed to a stamped one). Though etched are pricier, they result in sharper, more precise tools. Plus, the Cuisipro graters exclusively have what’s called Surface Glide Technology, which reduces friction and increases the surface area of each blade, meaning each stroke results in more grated cheese, veggies, or whatever else you happen to be working with.

In testing, this did an excellent job with parmesan cheese, and it truly did glide easily. We also liked its performance in making small and large shreds of softer Colby cheese. Using the slicing blade that works like a mandoline, it created thin slices of both carrots and zucchini. However, it only did a fair job when zesting lemon peel. It would be fine for occasional use, but a dedicated zester might be preferred if a lot of zesting is on the menu. The grater also has a rounded, slightly padded handle, so it was comfortable to hold onto during our tests.

There’s even a bonus ginger grater base for shredding ginger without getting those little strings in the mix. Just note that you should be extra careful when using this grater because it will grate your hand just as easily as it will grate that block of aged cheese. This grater is stainless steel. Hand washing is recommended, but we ran it through the dishwasher multiple times and didn’t notice any ill effects.

Dimensions: 9.75 x 3.5 x 4.75 inches | Weight: 10.5 oz | Sides: 4 | Materials: Stainless steel, silicone

Best Budget

IKEA IDEALISK Stainless Steel Grater

$14 at Amazon

$5 at Ikea

On the opposite end of the price spectrum is the IKEA IDEALISK box grater. It’s not the sharpest or the best designed (especially when it comes to grating harder veggies), but it will come in handy when there’s some grating to be done. Plus, it has features that do make it easy to use, such as a top handle and stainless steel construction to keep things rust-free. It’s dishwasher-safe and incredibly budget-friendly. Perfect for college students, newlyweds, folks on a budget, or anyone looking to get a decent kitchen tool for minimal cost.

In testing, this managed to grate parmesan, but it wasn’t as easy as some others. However, it did a fine job with our softer Colby cheese. Slicing carrots wasn’t particularly effective, but it did a fine job slicing zucchini. We wouldn’t use this for zesting citrus unless we had no other options.

Dimensions: 9.5 x 3.37 x 4.25 inches | Weight: 6.25 oz | Sides: 4 | Materials: Stainless steel

Best Accessorized

OXO Etched Box Grater with Removable Zester

$16 at Amazon

$33 at Oxo

$33 at The Container Store

This clever box grater, another OXO product, includes a medium grater, coarse grater, slicer, and removable zester. That’s right, removable! You can choose to use it directly on the grater if you prefer, but if you just need a quick lemon zest in a bowl or onto a surface, you can remove the zester and use it at your convenience. We liked that option since zest tends to cling to the back of grating surfaces, and this made it easier to scrape off every bit.

This also did a good job with our hard and soft cheeses. While it was able to slice both carrots and zucchini, it wasn’t as good as some others we tested, making some rough cuts along the way. Still, if we had the grater out and didn’t want to grab a knife, it would be handy. While the silicone bumper at the base helps keep the grater stable, we noticed that it trapped bits of cheese, which made it more difficult to clean (it’s not dishwasher safe).

This grater also comes with a container, storable inside the grater, which conveniently catches and measures anything you happen to be grating. Said container also comes with a lid if you’re pre-grating something that you want to store in your fridge. The grater’s surfaces are etched (sharper!), plus has the things we like about other graters—a grippable handle and a nonstick base.

Dimensions: 10 x 3.5 x 5.25 inches | Weight: 1 lb | Sides: 4 | Materials: Stainless steel, silicone, plastic

Best Collapsible

OXO Good Grips Complete Grate & Slice Set

$23 at Amazon

$35 at The Container Store

View on Boscovs.com

Part zester, part box grater, this set makes grating as easy as storing. The set comes with four surfaces, one each for coarse grating, medium grating, straight slicing, and julienne slicing. The container includes non-slip feet, a comfortable handle for gripping, and a tined food holder. The transparent, 2-cup capacity lid holds the surfaces when not in use and also catches your cheese, veggies, or whatever else you’re grating or slicing. The surfaces are color-coded, and the whole thing is top-rack dishwasher safe (the fact that you only need to wash the pieces you use is an added bonus). This is sturdy and reliable, but even if you experience any trouble, OXO has a “Better Guarantee” policy, meaning that it will repair or replace products with issues.

In testing, we liked that we had a choice of cutting or grating with the inserts in the holder, or holding them up at a steeper angle, like a mandoline. The smallest grater wasn’t as small as some of the graters we tested, but worked well for both cheese and zesting. The larger grating surface also worked well. The julienne blade made small thin slices that were smaller than a traditional julienne cut, but worked well. The slicer was one of our favorites, slicing both carrots and zucchini with ease.

Dimensions: 9.5 x 3.25 x 4 inches | Weight: 1 lb, 8.75 oz | Sides: 4 | Materials: Stainless steel, plastic

Best Nonslip

Zwilling Z-Cut Box Grater

$40 at Amazon

$40 at Walmart

$40 at Williams-Sonoma

This Zwilling box grater features four different blades for grating, rasping, slicing, and zesting in a compact, minimalist design. The model also comes with a protective cover for safe storage and long-term sharpness, as well as an anti-slip interior drawer to catch whatever you’re grating (that can sit upright or sideways, depending on your preference). We love how the two-way grating technology lets you grate back and forth, which makes food prep quicker and easier.

During testing, this grater felt sturdy and easy to operate, especially when we turned it to its side rather than grating up and down. It produces consistent grates of parmesan cheese and mozzarella, though we did notice that the back-and-forth motion didn’t work as well for zesting citrus. The box grater was also very easy to wash by hand, but it is also dishwasher safe. Although this tool is on the pricier side, we think that the smart features, minimalist design, and great performance make it worthwhile.

Dimensions: 4.25 x 4.25 x 10.12 inches | Weight: 1.42 pounds | Sides: 4 | Materials: Stainless steel, plastic

Best Space Saver

Microplane Cube

$22 at Amazon

When it comes to box graters, this little guy literally comes in a box. Or a plastic storage cube, to be precise. The grater itself has three grating sides, one open side, and two grippable sides which are needed since there’s no handle. The graters are small, medium, and ribbon, but there’s no large grating surface—which makes sense since this is rather petite. The ribbon cutter was our favorite for softer cheese, but all three surfaces worked well for both hard and soft cheese. This also did a great job for zesting. Since it’s small, it’s not going to shred as quickly as larger graters with more surface area, but it works efficiently and doesn’t take a lot of storage space.

The grater is dishwasher safe, and we ran it though the dishwasher multiple times during testing. The box should be hand washed, but if it’s only used for storage it shouldn’t need a lot of cleaning.

Dimensions: 3 inch cube | Weight: 7.5 oz | Sides: 3 | Materials: Surgical-grade stainless steel, plastic

Best Color Options

Spring Chef Professional Box Grater

$14 at Amazon

$15 at Walmart

View on Springchef.com

Looking for a box grater that will fit in the overall aesthetic of your kitchen? This model from Spring Chef comes in 10 different hues, including neutral colors like black or gray, brighter ones like orange, green, pink, or purple, and even trendy shades like mint or navy.

This grater performed well in our tests, producing even shreds of both hard and soft cheese. The big surface area of the sides and the wider, flared opening at the bottom came especially in handy while grating larger volumes. Since it is lightweight, despite its size, we noted that it might not last as long with heavier use (more than the average home cook). Cleaning was easy—both in the dishwasher and while washing by hand—and the rubber bottom is removable to ensure that no smaller pieces of food are caught underneath. All in all, this grater is a great value for the price.

Dimensions: 9.88 x 5.59 x 5 inches | Weight: 0.75 pounds | Sides: 4 | Materials: Stainless steel, rubber

Best 6-Sided

THETIS Home 6-Sided Kitchen Box Grater

$15 at Amazon

This grater does it all. With it, you can zest or shred finely (great for garlic cloves and cheese to top pasta with); slice fruit and veggies such as apples, cucumbers, potatoes, etc.; and do medium or coarse shreds. Some of this, of course, could also be accomplished with some pro-level knife skills, but if you’d rather have a grater do the work for you, this is an excellent option. It also comes with a rubber handle and rubber base and is technically dishwasher-safe, but hand-washing is recommended if you have the time. In testing, we ran it through the dishwasher multiple times with no ill effects.

This worked well for both our hard and soft cheeses, and we liked that we could choose large or small shreds as well as ribbon cuts. This also did a good job zesting. This has two options for slicing, for either straight or wavy cuts. Both worked well for zucchini but not as well for carrots.

This is on the larger side of the grater options (not surprising, given the hexagonal shape), but if you’re looking for a grater that can accomplish anything, this is the one! While this does need slightly more storage space, the benefit is that it’s easier to get a hand inside the grater to retrieve stuck-in food, and it’s also easier to get a sponge inside for hand washing.

Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 3.1 inches | Weight: 0.2 lbs | Sides: 6 | Materials: Stainless steel, rubber