20 Alexa Skills That Will Make You a Better Cook

If you have an Amazon Echo or Dot in your kitchen, Alexa becomes a great sous chef as well as a virtual assistant when you add the right skills. From helping you decide what to cook to adding items to your shopping list, Alexa is your own personal Julia Child. These are the best cooking skills for Alexa.

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When you're in the mood to cook, but don't want to go shopping, too, tell Best Recipes by Hellman's three ingredients that you have, and it will find three recipes that you can make. You can ask for breakfast, lunch or dinner recipes. The skill emails you the recipes instead of talking you through them.

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When a recipe calls for butter and you realize you're all out, Ingredient Sub can tell you how much margarine you can use instead. The database has a good number of basics, but if you're seeking a replacement for something like turmeric, Google will be a better resource.

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The Instant Pot pressure cooker is one of the most popular kitchen gadgets; the Instant Pot skill helps you find recipes and then guides you through each step.

A good way to ruin a dinner party is to serve your guests overcooked food — or worse, undercooked. The Cook Reference skill tells you the safe temperature to cook common meats and fish like chicken, pork, beef, salmon and more.

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Cook's Illustrated is one of the most respected publications when it comes to cooking; its scientific approach results in excellent recipes that are accessible to all. The Cook's Illustrated skill not only offers tips, but three times a week has new videos, which you can view on compatible devices such as the Echo Show.

If you use Chefling to help keep track of groceries you need to buy or when food is expiring, you can skip opening the app and have Alexa do the work for you. Through the skill, you can add items, check expiration dates, share your shopping list and more.

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Take the guess work out of how long to grill thanks to this skill. Give it the type of meat, fish or vegetable you'll cook and it tells you the best temperature, whether you should use direct or indirect cooking, and how long to grill it.

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