Best Amazon Echo Hacks for the Kitchen Update
You may be surprised to learn that some of the best Amazon Echo hacks can help you in the room of your home where you likely spend much of your timeโthe kitchen. In fact, says Katherine Prescott, founder and editor of Voice Brew, a company founded on helping people get the most from Alexa, โPeople love having Alexa as their kitchen companionโa fact I learned after surveying Alexa users on their favorite ways to use Alexa while theyโre cooking.โ

5 best Amazon Echo hacks for the kitchen
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You know how your hands can get messy while cooking. These Alexa Echo hacks make it so that you donโt have stop cooking or baking to wash your hands so you can look something up. They also include cool Alexa commands.
So what are the 5 best Amazon Echo hacks for the kitchen? Letโs start the countdown.
By the way, Iโve created a list of recommended products, related to Amazon Echo hacks, over on my Amazon shopping page!
Speaking of Amazon, hereโs what you need to know when shopping on Amazon Prime Day.
1. This Alexa hack can help with unit conversions
Do you how many tablespoons are in a stick of butter? Well, yes, you can likely just look on the butter package for the answerโwhich is eight, by the way. But your Echo Dot (or even your Google Home personal assistant or even your iPhoneโโHey, Siriโ) can get the answer for you.
Prescott says that unit conversions are one of the most popular uses for Alexa in the kitchen, especially for all you bakers out there. With Alexa, you donโt need to stop and look it up on your phone or computerโyou just need to ask.
How? Ask Alexa any unit conversion question. This Amazon Alexa command might be โAlexa, how many tablespoons are in a quarter cup?โ
2. Need a timer? This is one of the most popular Alexa hacks
What do you do when your hands are covered in pizza dough but you need to set a timer? Ask Alexa for help.
This is one of those uses that sounds simple but truly is a game changer in the kitchen. Think of all those times when you have foodstuff all over your hands. Then think about how you need to punch in a timer on the stove or on your phone. Suddenly, your clean appliances and device are covered in muck.
An Alexa hack that you can categorize
With Alexa, you can set as many timers as you wantโand you can name them so when a timer goes off, you know what itโs for. So you might say, โAlexa, set timer for 8 minutes for pastaโ and โAlexa, set 20 minute timer for pizzaโ
To check how much time is left โAlexa how much time is on my pasta timer?โ Then, when the time is up โAlexa stopโ
Thatโs pretty impressive. I know that when I ask โHey, Siriโ to set me a timer, she doesnโt get so fancy as to categorize those timers for me!
One of the easiest Amazon Echo hacks
Hereโs another of those kitchen Alexa Echo hacks, says Prescott. โYou can also use reminders as timers, which can be helpful if you are cooking something for a long time (like a roast or yams) and plan to walk away from the kitchen Echo speaker where the timer will go off.โ
A reminder is handy because Alexa will announce it over your Echo speaker and send your phone a push notification. Thatโs double the Alexa hacks!
3. Best Amazon Echo hacks for entertainment
Whether you like to play games or listen to music, news or books while you cook, Alexa can entertain you.
How? Just ask. Yeah, I know, Amazon Alexa commands are starting to get repetitive, but donโt you think these are also quite cool Alexa commands?
- Music: โAlexa, play Bruce Springsteenโ
- Games: โAlexa, open the Wayne Investigationโ
- News: โAlexa, turn on the news.โ
- Listen to books with Alexa: โAlexa, read my book.โ (FYI, you can try Audible for free for 30 days. Plus, if you sign up using this link, youโll get two free audiobooks to download.)
If you have the newest Amazon Show, you can use these Alexa hacks to bring up stuff to watch while you are cooking. Food Network, anyone?
Like to be entertained while talking on the phone? You can also make calls to other Echo devices or contacts in your address book.
Just say โAlexa, call Mom,โ and choose whether you want to call the Echo device associated with Mom or the phone number. Be sure youโve syncโd your contacts in the Alexa app in the Communicate tab on the bottom navigation bar.
4. Shopping lists and Alexa hacks
Youโre cooking and you realize youโre on your last roll of paper towels. Just ask Alexa to reorder them on the spot. This Alexa command would be, โAlexa, add paper towel to my shopping list.โ
You can also use this Alexa hack to reorder from Amazon. Just say, โAlexa, buy paper towels.โ If youโve ordered paper towels from Amazon before, Alexa will ask if you want to buy the ones you previously ordered.
In addition to paper towels, you can use Amazon Echo Dot tricks to order all of your groceries. As a Prime Fresh member, you can also ask Alexa to add grocery items to your Fresh cart. To order a grocery item from AmazonFresh, say, โAdd [item] to my Fresh cart.โ If youโve bought the item before, Alexa adds the same item to your cart.
Sign up here for your free trial of Amazon Fresh.
Keep in mind that these Alexa hacks for shopping only work if you have voice purchasing enabled under settings in your Alexa account. Also importantโyou need to have an Amazon Prime membership. You can try Amazon Primeย for free for 30 days.
5. Use Amazon Alexa commands to search for recipes
We all have our go-to recipes, but sometimes itโs nice to mix it up. Just ask Alexa for a recipe, and sheโll suggest a few with quick descriptions. If you like one, sheโll send the recipe to your phone.
Hereโs how this Amazon Alexa hack works: To find a recipe, say โAlexa, find me a recipe for grilled vegetablesโ (or whatever your dish of your choice is). Say โnextโ if you want to hear another recipe option. When you hear a recipe you like say โmore information.โ
These recipe-related Echo Alexa hacks can work with your phone, too. So, when given the option, ask Alexa to โsend recipe to my phone.โ Then open the push notification from the Alexa app with a link to the recipe.
By the way these Alexa hacks work with the Alexa app on your Android or IOS devices, too.
If you want to upgrade your Alexa hacks in the kitchen, an Echo Show can help. With an Echo Show, you can easily browse recipes on the screen.
Google Home Hacks and Tricks
While Alexa has become the equivalent generic term like โKleenexโ or โSwifferโ she isnโt the only talking assistant out there. There are other digital personal assistant devices and apps that you can ask for help.
Many of these Alexa hacks work as Google Home hacks, too. The interface may be slightly different but the outcome should be the same.ย
If youโre an iPhone user like I am, you can likely ask โHey, Siriโ for help with your cooking tasks, too, or setting of timers, etc.
More Alexa hacks for your home
Amazon Echo Dot tricks arenโt just limited to Alexa hacks. There are other smart components in the Amazon family that work with Alexa and which can transform your home into a smart house. Here are some others to consider.
Amazon Alexa Smart Plug
The Amazon Smart Plug works with Alexa to add voice control to any outlet. Schedule lights, fans, and appliances to turn on and off automatically, or control them remotely when youโre away.
Here are five ways to save money with an Amazon Prime membership.