Best chopping boards 2025, tried and tested

The best chopping boards make food prep a breeze because they're durable, easy to clean, and built to last. 

We've tested plastic, bamboo and oak boards, priced between £2 and £100, including best-sellers from Joseph Joseph, Ikea, ProCook and more. 

Each board was put through its paces by prepping everyday ingredients. We checked how durable they were, how they felt to cut on, and how well they stood up to tough stains and smells.

We found three Best Buy chopping boards and two cheaper options that impressed enough to get our Great Value recommendation. 

The wooden chopping boards we tested

Only logged-in Which? members can view the chopping board test results. 

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All the wooden chopping boards we tested are listed in alphabetical order below.

Only logged-in Which? members can view the best wooden chopping boards from our tests.

Join Which? to get instant access to our test results and Best Buy recommendations below.

Habitat Large Solid Butchers Block

Available from Argos (£20)

Size and weight 3 x 36 x 50cm (HxWxL); 3.9kg

Dishwasher safe No

Need to know Only one size available

Ikea LÄMPLIG Chopping Board

Available from Ikea (£15)

Size and weight 1.8 x 46 x 53cm (HxWxL); 3.22kg

Dishwasher safe No

Need to know Only one size available

Joseph Joseph Folio Bamboo Chopping Boards

Size and weight 8.5 x 28.7 x 38cm (HxWxL); 4.2kg

Dishwasher safe No

Need to know Also comes with black stainless-steel case

M&S Wooden Large Chopping Board

Available from M&S (£30) (Out of stock)

Size and weight 3.5 x 30.5 x 45.7cm (HxWxL); 3.05kg

Dishwasher safe No

Need to know Also available in 40cm size

Pair your new chopping board with our best chef knives and best knife sets

Ninja Magnetic Bamboo Chopping Board

Available from Ninja (£20.99)

Size and weight 29 x 43.4cm (WxL); 1.44kg

Dishwasher safe No

Need to know Only one size available

ProCook Wood Fibre Chopping Board

Available from ProCook (£28)

Size and weight 23 x 29cm (WxL); 0.515kg

Dishwasher safe Yes

Need to know Also available in larger 38cm size

Robert Welch Oak Wood Chopping Board

Available from Robert Welch (£42)

Size and weight 2.5 x 22 x 30cm (HxWxL); 1.2kg

Dishwasher safe No

Need to know Also available in 38cm size

The plastic chopping boards we tested

Only logged-in Which? members can view the plastic chopping board test results. 

Join Which? to get instant access to our test results and Best Buy recommendations.

All the plastic chopping boards we tested are listed in alphabetical order below.

Only logged-in Which? members can view the best plastic chopping boards from our tests.

Join Which? to get instant access to our test results and Best Buy recommendations below.

Brabantia TASTY+ Chopping Board

Size and weight 2.1 x 26.7 x 42.8cm (HxWxL); 1.8kg

Dishwasher safe Yes

Need to know Only one size available

Ikea LEGITIM Chopping Board

Available from Ikea (£2)

Size and weight 24 x 34cm (WxL); 0.56kg

Dishwasher safe Yes

Need to know Only one size available

Joseph Joseph Folio Icon Regular Chopping Board

Size and weight 20 x 30cm (WxL); 1.8kg

Dishwasher safe Yes

Need to know Also available in 34cm size

Stock up your kitchen with more quality essentials – see our best non-stick frying pans and best saucepans

Lakeland Stay-Put Chopping Board

Size and weight 26 x 37cm (WxL); 3.05kg

Dishwasher safe Yes

Need to know Only one size available

OXO Good Grips Chopping Board

Size and weight 22.8 x 32.7cm (WxL); 0.75kg

Dishwasher safe Yes

Need to know Also available individually or as a two-piece set

ProCook DesignPro Chopping Board

Available from ProCook (£42)

Size and weight 23 x 29cm (WxL); 0.515kg

Dishwasher safe Yes

Need to know Also available in 38cm size

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How we test chopping boards

We pick the best-selling wooden and plastic chopping boards from popular brands and retailers. Each one then gets put through our hands-on tests. You can trust our honest reviews because we buy everything ourselves – no freebies. 

We regularly revisit the chopping boards on sale to see if there are any more popular models that need testing, and when we find them, we do. 

We test for what matters most in a chopping board: how durable it is, how it feels to cut on, and how easy it is to clean.

We score plastic and wooden chopping boards slightly differently. Wooden boards are generally harder to maintain and clean but offer a better chopping experience. For wooden boards, cutting feel is weighted more heavily, while durability and cleaning are weighted slightly lower compared to plastic boards.

Durability

We assess:

• how easily each board gets marked when preparing ingredients with a range of knives
• the amount of warping after repeated hand and dishwashing (where dishwasher-safe) 
• the overall condition of each board after extended use.

The best boards survived with only superficial scratches and stayed perfectly flat. The worst had deep knife grooves, peeling plastic and splintering bamboo. 

Cutting feel

• Our panel of five testers rate how it feels to cut a variety of ingredients on each board. At the end, each one picks their two favourites. The most popular boards stayed in place, felt pleasantly springy under the knife, soaked up juices and stayed quiet throughout.
• We use a force gauge to measure how much each board slips on the kitchen counter.

Cleaning

We assess:

• how much each board stains when chopping beetroot
• how strongly each board retains fish and garlic odours after washing
• how easy it is to clean off food and residue by hand.

The top scorers easily resisted stains and odours, showing no visible changes or unpleasant smells. The worst gave off a fishy smell and clung to stubborn stains, even after washing. 

Why we didn’t score knife sharpness

Knife dulling is a common concern when choosing a chopping board. We measured the sharpness of both chef’s and bread knives before using each board. After chopping over 600 times on every board – across bamboo, wood, and plastic – we found no material or board dulled the knives more than the others. Each knife retained its out-of-the-box sharpness throughout testing, so we decided not to keep this part of the test. 

Why you can trust us: at Which? we're free from manufacturer and retailer influence. Find out more about our impartiality and how your support helps us to stay editorially independent.

What’s the best material for a chopping board?

It depends on what matters most to you. Oak, bamboo, plastic and glass all have their pros and cons. 

• Oak boards are durable, satisfying to cut on and look good. In our tests, most resisted deep scratches. But they can be heavy and require hand washing and regular oiling to stay in decent condition.

• Bamboo is technically a grass, not a wood, but offers many of the same benefits. It’s gentle on knives and naturally porous, which helps stop food from slipping around. However, this porosity, and bamboo’s lighter colour, makes it prone to staining. Like oak, it’s not dishwasher-safe and needs regular maintenance.

• Plastic chopping boards are cheaper, lower maintenance, and easier to keep clean. Even with just handwashing, we found most were stain-free in seconds. Better yet, you pop them in the dishwasher, too. But they have downsides: they pick up knife marks quickly, and over time, deeper cuts can harbour bacteria. Importantly, they can also be a source of microplastics. 

• Glass chopping boards are notorious for blunting knives. We didn’t include any in our tests, and recommend avoiding them altogether.

Are plastic chopping boards safe?

We spoke to Olivia Howes, Senior Sustainability Writer at Which?, about the safety of plastic chopping boards. She explained, 'We recently looked into the latest research on microplastics. There's strong evidence that they cause significant environmental harm.

'The evidence for their impact on human health is less established, but there's certainly enough emerging evidence for many scientists to conclude that they are likely to do harm. Using plastic chopping boards can cause tiny fragments of plastic to break off into your food, and so could be a source of microplastics ingestion.'

If you’re concerned about microplastics, we suggest avoiding plastic chopping boards. However, since they’re commonly used and widely sold, we included them in our testing to see how they performed. 

How to clean a wooden chopping board

Most manufacturers provide care instructions with their chopping boards, so be sure to check those first. 

That said, these tips apply for most wooden boards:

• Be quick Clean right after use to help prevent staining.
• Don't drench Never soak your board in water. Soaking creates cracks in the wood, which can harbour bacteria.
• Always hand-wash. Gently wipe clean with a sponge and warm soapy water, then rinse.
• Grab a clean towel and dry immediately. 
• Leave upright to air dry to avoid the board sitting in a pool of water. 

Can you use the same board for meat and veg?

We don’t recommend using the same board as there’s a risk of passing harmful bacteria from raw meat to other foods. Colour-coded chopping boards offer a smart solution to this problem. 

If separate boards aren't possible, cut veg first, then wash the board thoroughly with hot, soapy water and dry it fully before preparing raw meat. 

Keep an eye out for deep cuts in your board, they can trap bacteria and make thorough cleaning harder. If your board is heavily worn down, it’s best to replace it.