A good chopping board will be your best friend in the kitchen, but a bad one will crack under pressure (quite literally), warp in heat, spill juices all over your work surface, and harbour nasty bacteria if you’re not careful when washing it.
But as our best chopping board reviews reveal, you don’t need to spend a small fortune to get a quality piece of kit, and when you think of how often you slice, dice, cut and carve ingredients, spending time considering your choice of board is a no-brainer.
Read on to discover the best chopping boards as recommended by the Good Food reviews team. Something extra to note is that while plastic chopping boards are generally cheaper and dishwasher-safe, they can shed microplastics, which is why you’ll find more wood and wood fibre options in this list.
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Best chopping boards to buy at a glance
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- Best chopping board for everyday use: ProCook wood fibre chopping board, £16
- Best budget chopping board: Lakeland non-slip wood fibre chopping board, £8.99
- Best chopping board set: Joseph Joseph folio chopping board set, £45
- Best chopping board for versatility: Brabantia Tasty+ chopping board set, £17.60
- Best value chopping board: Marks & Spencer hexagonal chopping board, £19.50
- Best chopping board for presentation: Robert Welch pebble oak chopping board, £42
- Best chopping board for meat: Cole & Mason Berden extra-large acacia wood board, £40
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How we tested chopping boards
We tested a representative sample of chopping boards made from wood, bamboo, plastic and eco-friendly recycled material and scored them using the following criteria.
The Good Food ‘drop test’: reasoning that over its lifespan, a chopping board suffers lots of knocks and scrapes, we dropped them from knee height to see if they stayed intact.
Extra functions and aesthetics: boards come in all shapes and sizes – some with spikes to secure meat, others with knife sharpeners and folding sides. We rated the extra functions on whether they’re worth the extra money. We also poured water over boards with moats to check whether the groove captured all the liquid.
No marks: we put each board through a rigorous test of chopping and hacking with a sharp knife to check whether the surface was left with irremovable marks. Chopping boards naturally suffer wear-and-tear, but we wouldn’t expect them to damage easily on first use.
Ease of washing: we used beetroot during testing to check whether the board would absorb colours and odours that can’t be removed with warm soapy water.
Best chopping boards to buy in 2026
ProCook wood fibre chopping board
Available from ProCook (£16)
Best chopping board for everyday use
If you’re after a plastic-free board that doesn’t break the bank, this option from ProCook is a solid choice. It’s made from an eco-friendly wood fibre composite that has naturally antibacterial qualities and can be also cleaned in the dishwasher.
At 29 x 23cm, it offers a good amount of room for everyday chopping tasks, and while there aren’t any grooves for juices to flow into, it’s at less risk from heavy staining thanks its bold, black colour.
In test, it stayed firm on the worktop, aided by the removable non-slip feet in each corner. We spotted a few knife scratches that had been left behind after a lengthy chopping session, but it passed our drop test with flying colours.
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Lakeland non-slip wood fibre chopping board
Available from Lakeland (£8.99)
Best budget chopping board
This little board quickly became a firm favourite in our tests. Made from hard-wearing wood fibre, it has the resilience of a solid wood board, but with a waterproof, nonporous surface – all for a very reasonable £8.99.
Lightweight and versatile, it stays firm on surfaces without slipping thanks to the rubber corners, and the grooves around the outside are great for collecting juices – whether you’re chopping up fruit or slicing meat.
At 30 x 21.5cm, it has a compact surface area, so is perhaps best saved for smaller chopping tasks, though a medium board is available for bigger jobs. It also cleans like a dream in the dishwasher and can be stashed away snugly in the narrowest of cupboard spaces.
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Joseph Joseph Folio chopping board set
Available from Joseph Joseph (£45)
Best chopping board set
This is a solid set of boards ideal for those with space-challenged kitchens. Its ‘library’ solution keeps four boards snug in a slim, upright storage box, which can sit unobtrusively against a wall or splash-back.
In a choice of two different colourways, either brights or greys, each one is in a different shade, so you could decide to keep one solely for veg, meat or strongly-flavoured foods such as spices and fish.
The boards themselves are uniformly sized and performed well, their corner ‘feet’ gripping worktops with food items held in place thanks to a subtly textured surface. Choose from regular (20x30cm) or large (24x34cm).
There’s space for air to circulate around each chopping board too, so it’s a great way to keep boards dry and hygienic once out of the dishwasher – they came out looking good as new.
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Brabantia Tasty+ chopping board set
Available from Amazon (£18.99)
Best chopping board for versatility
This set of boards by Brabantia gave us a choice of three great cutting areas. The largest also served (literally) as a lipped tray for serving up meals or transporting cuppas to the next room.
We used it as a breakfast tray – it was the perfect size for bacon sarnies and tea for two. Flip it over and you have a rock steady board with enough space for large meal prep.
Nesting side by side inside the larger board, the two smaller surfaces of our test model were in different tones of green and looked great in the kitchen. These stayed unblemished no matter what we chopped and sliced, repelling smells and stains and saving stray juices in the channels running around their borders.
Although guaranteed by Brabantia for five years, it points out that hot pans shouldn’t be rested on them – bear that in mind if you’re prone to plonking hot trays on boards straight from the oven.
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Marks & Spencer hexagonal rectangular large chopping board
Available from M&S (£19.50)
Best chopping board for storage
This board is lighter to hold than it looks and well designed for its price tag. The useful grab handle means it can be hung from a meat hook-style rack – a nice option for storage.
The herringbone alignment of the wood also looks great, but makes the surface less smooth than others tested, so requires more thorough care and regular oiling.
But for now, it withstood our drop test and stayed looking pristine after lots of chopping, hand-washing (this one’s not for the dishwasher) and splashing with beetroot juice and spiced chicken joints, heavy on the turmeric.
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Robert Welch pebble chopping board 32cm
Available from Robert Welch (£42)
Best chopping board for presentation
This option, from British company Robert Welch, is made with a smooth, solid oak that’s a nice alternative to the usual style. It looks great on display in the kitchen or used to present food on the dining table.
Staying unscored after hefty knife use, it wiped down easily and seemed more water resistant than others when given a thorough hand-wash. However, to avoid any warping, we followed instructions to dry it straight afterwards and made sure not to soak or immerse it in water.
Solid oak with a food-safe oiled finish, this felt lovely to handle, with soft, tapered edges. We tried the 32cm version, which was a good size for making and serving lunchtime sandwiches.
There’s a larger 44cm version, and since it’s surprisingly light for such a solid board, it would also be a versatile worktop-to-table choice.
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Cole & Mason Berden extra-large acacia wood carving chopping and serving board
Available from John Lewis & Partners (£40)
Best chopping board for meat
You’re unlikely to run out of space when you’re using this chunky, solid wood board, which measures in at a hefty 46 x 34cm.
There’s plenty of room for chopping a sizeable amount of vegetables, so it’s ideal for those cooking for the masses. The big surface also doubles up as an attractive serving board.
This has another trick up its sleeve, too: flip it over and the other side is designed for carving meat, with ridges to collect juices that then flow into the deeper well in one corner. There’s a small space next to the well for draining those juices off – another useful detail.
The board is made of acacia and is on the heavy side. We were very nervous when performing the drop test, but it survived intact. You’ll need to wash this by hand, but it scrubbed up well and the purple beetroot stains came out with no problem.
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Wooden vs plastic chopping boards
Wooden chopping boards
Many people like a solid wooden board, some of which are good-looking enough to double as a serving platter. They’re also great for bread and carving meat, as they often have a little moat for catching juices. Crucially, they’re also devoid of microplastics.
While they’re more likely to absorb odours and stains than plastic chopping boards, hard wood is less absorbent than soft. A wooden chopping board shouldn’t be exposed to lots of water, as it might warp or crack. You can also treat it with oil to keep it in top shape.
Teak is a reliable wood type, but equally as important is the style of chopping board – one solid piece of wood may be more likely to withstand the test of time than a board made up of lots of layers or pieces of wood joined together.
Plastic chopping boards
Plastic chopping boards, which are generally made from polypropylene or polyethylene, are lightweight, affordable, and dishwasher-safe.
They’re seldom as attractive as their wooden counterparts, but they win on price and can be colour-coded for particular tasks, as seen in professional kitchens (red for raw meat, blue for raw fish and so on). Their non-porous nature also means bacteria can be washed away easily.
However, a recent scientific study revealed that chopping boards made from polypropylene or polyethylene could be exposing humans to up to 79.4 microplastics every year. As plastic pollution also becomes a growing concern, lots of people are now opting for wooden boards as a more sustainable choice.
Whichever board you choose, remember to consider the tasks you’ll be using it for, where you’ll be storing it, whether you want a handle on your board to hang it up, and whether it’s non-slip, as you don’t want your board skidding all over the place.
How to clean a wooden chopping board
Wooden chopping boards can store all kinds of hidden germs, but cleaning them regularly will keep nasty bacteria and bad smells at bay. There’s no need to invest in harsh chemical cleaners either – all you need is half a lemon and some salt.
Simply sprinkle the salt across the chopping board’s surface, then work the lemon half into the grain of the wood, squeezing gently so it releases some of its juice. The salt will dissolve into a thick abrasive paste, and this will help kill any bacteria lurking in the scratches and deodorise the board.
Make sure you clean both sides of the board, as well as the edges. Leave for a few minutes, then rinse everything away with hot water, making sure to remove any lemon pulp.
Dry the board thoroughly with a tea towel and allow it to air dry fully before storing it away. Once dry, add a thin layer of vegetable oil to seal and nourish the wood.
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For more of the best kitchen equipment, visit our reviews section. Which chopping board do you use? Leave a comment below…
If you have any questions, suggestions for future reviews or spot anything that has changed in price or availability please get in touch at goodfoodwebsite@immediate.co.uk.
