The 12 best kitchen candles for 2024

With a deliciously earthy and botanical scent, this Roma Heirloom Tomato Candle is perfect for dinner parties where you don't want to fill the room with an overly sweet scent. “It recreates the fresh, subtly spicy scent of ripe, juicy tomatoes with a warm, summery, nostalgic feel,” says Teisha Murtagh, vice president of commerce.

Other scents include Adriatic Muscat Sage and Climbing Tuscan Rosemary. “These candles do not disappoint and stand up to anything on the menu,” says Murtaugh. If you're looking for a great gift for the party host, we think this candle would be a thoughtful choice.

If you're hosting a dinner party where guests will mingle indoors around the fire pit or outdoors by the grill, try Wild Herb Tonic by PF Candle Co. This product brings the earthy scent of a campfire straight to your dinner table. It's perfect for cooler evenings and is versatile enough to be used in any season.

“This candle is equal parts herbal and woody, with notes of fresh thyme, orange peel, and pine that will make you feel like you've returned to a cabin after a rainy fall hike. I especially love lighting this candle when the weather gets chilly and I'm cooking something warm, but it's a versatile candle that can be used in any season,” says Senior Commerce Editor Danielle St. Pierre.

“My wife loves expensive candles and this is the brand she asked my parents to buy her for her birthday. The scents are all sophisticated and wonderful, although the floral scents might be too overpowering for a dinner party. I find Feu de Bois to be the best food-friendly scent because it's smoky and woody,” says senior writer Jason Horn.

“I love all of Get a Whiff Co.'s candles, but I've been buying their Sage Against the Machine Blend for years. The scent isn't too strong—it's on par with a light essential oil diffuser—and the wood wick is sonically satisfying,” says writer Dillon Evans. If you prefer woody scents, Evans also recommends the brand's Pine & Eucalyptus Candle, available on Amazon.

If you're hosting your next dinner party and want to theme your candles to match the occasion, try this soy candle from Big Night BK. Packed with zesty notes of arugula, basil, lemongrass, amber, and saffron, this candle will make your guests feel welcome and instantly inspire them to tuck into a delicious meal, even if it's from a takeout box.

Few things smell better than fresh basil picked from your indoor herb garden. Mrs. Meyers Basil Scented Soy Candles have a great, refreshing scent that's crisp and calming, and doubles as a kitchen deodorizer. This candle set comes in a recyclable glass jar, making it perfect for gifting or stocking up for your home.

Were your twenties marked by long Saturday afternoons spent laughing over bottles of mimosas and plates of sticky bacon? Then this nostalgia-filled candle is for you. Scented with fresh blood orange, bergamot and grapefruit, this candle is new My Saturday morning breakfast routine involves making waffles for the kids and brewing a big pot of coffee for myself.

For many of us, some of the most formative mealtime moments were spent in our grandparents' kitchens. If you have fond memories of making pierogi with Grandma or sneaking in some Grandma's cobbler, this candle will make your heart swell. Created to capture that sweet, sentimental moment, this candle is flavored with delicious apple cinnamon, clove, and of course butter (as Grandma used to make it). everytime I used the real thing.

If you always crave something sweet after dinner, try this custom candle from Anthropologie. With notes of warm vanilla, fresh pear, whipped cream, and apple peel, this soothing candle recreates the smell of freshly baked potato chips on a baking tray on your countertop. Plus, the crackle ceramic jar it comes in has a charming vintage feel.

These vibrant candles are a fragrant treat and snack all in one, making them the perfect addition to any gardening enthusiast's herb tool collection. This produce-inspired scent is as close to real tomato vines as you'll ever experience in a candle. But that's not all: each candle in this collection comes in a biodegradable seed-filled package that allows you to grow the plant that serves as the candle's base for a sensory experience.

Calling all accident-prone home cooks: If you often burn dinner in your stainless steel pan or leave ingredients on the counter overnight, then you need this odor-eliminating candle. From burnt food and pungent odors (like fried fish) to grease and smoke, it absorbs up to 95% of unpleasant odors and leaves your kitchen smelling clean (even if it looks different).

If the essence of ripe tomatoes were bottled, that scent would be in this candle. Inspired by gardening in the Hudson Valley, Malin + Gotts' Tomato Candle is a fresh, summery scent with notes of basil, lavender, mint, and ripe tomatoes. This candle is super popular every summer and often sells out, but don't worry; it will be back in stock later this summer, just in time for the fall harvest.