ENCOURAGE your child to play outside and get into nature with a mud kitchen. Designed to cook up all sorts of fun, these wooden outdoor play kitchens allow kids of all ages to use their culinary imaginations and get messy.
These outdoor toys provide the perfect blend of developmental support combining sensory exploration, imaginative role play, problem-solving and social skills. Mud kitchens are designed to be played with, purely outdoors and create plenty of pretend fun scooping up mud, grass, water, sand from the garden and whipping, baking and frying them into all sorts of muddy delicacies.
Mud kitchens come in all shapes and sizes, so you can find one to suit a big or small garden. The best type of mud kitchen will spark your child’s imagination with fun details such as pretend ovens, sinks or even working taps. However, they also need to be sturdy enough to last outside in rain or shine and free from impractical gimmicks that won’t stand the test of time.
Best mud kitchens at a glance:
- Best mud kitchen overall: Discovery Mud Pie Kitchen
- Best value mud kitchen: Playhouse Marvellous Mud Kitchen
- Best mid-range mud kitchen: Chad Valley Wooden Mud Kitchen
- Best premium mud kitchen: Discovery Mud Pie Kitchen
Chad Valley
5
- Chad Valley Wooden Mud Kitchen, £125 from Argos - buy here
Pros: Two sink bowls, oven, utensils included
Cons: Needs weatherproofing, no tap
Rating: 4/5
This is a generous outdoor kitchen, with an opening oven, large blackboard and four wooden hobs. Our five-year old tester really liked that this kitchen had two metal bowl sinks for mixing mud and water together and it’d be great for siblings as they’d have one sink each too.
Constructing this mud kitchen was fairly straightforward, although the oven door was a bit fiddly and it took around an hour to get it fully assembled. The included pots and pans and utensils are good fun to play with and the wood does feel sturdy, however it is advised to cover the kitchen in heavy rain and strong sunlight and it needs treating to be reliably weatherproof.
Age suitable: 3+. Size: H105cm, W93.5cm, D52.5cm. Type of wood: Not specified but FSC approved. Assembly time: 1-1.5 hour.
Playhouse
5
- Playhouse Marvellous Mud Kitchen, £75.96 from Amazon - buy here
Pros: Affordable, quick to construct, utensils included
Cons: On the smaller side, no oven, hob knobs don’t turn, needs weatherproofing
Rating: 3/5
Putting this mud kitchen together was an absolute breeze, the instructions are easy to follow and all the pieces were well-marked and it was up in around 15 minutes. This kitchen is definitely on the smaller side when compared with some of the others on the list so possibly best for younger children, and it’d be a squeeze for more than two children to play with it. However, it is also very neat and portable and ideal if you’re short on outdoor space.
The removable steel sink is a good size for playing in and our tester loved the hot and cold tap, which can be twisted. However, it’s a shame the hob knobs are glued down and can’t be turned. The wood is of good quality, but it’d definitely be worth treating it to make sure it’s fully weatherproof, before leaving outside.
This mud kitchen comes with three dinky pots and pans and two kitchen utensils for whipping up dishes. There is also a little blackboard square, but our three-year-old tester found it a bit small for scribbling. We absolutely loved the three built-in plant pots which are perfect for growing herbs or cress and look incredibly sweet too.
Age suitable: 3+. Size: H65.5cm, W83cm, D41.7cm. Type of wood: FSC-certified Canadian hemlock. Assembly time: Less than 30 mins.
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TP Toys
5
- TP Junior Chef Wooden Mud Kitchen £89.99 at TP Toys - buy here
Pros: Large removable sink, oven, well priced, utensils included, treated wood
Cons: Time-consuming to construct, no tap
Rating: 3/5
Of all the mud kitchens we tested, this one was a bit of a faff to construct, with some holes not pre-drilled and a few tricky bits to balance, but we were still able to build it reasonably quickly.
Once it’s up together, this little mud kitchen has a couple of really cool features; the ‘oven’ is generous (our three-year-old tester kept hiding inside it) and feels well designed.
We really like the large plastic tub ‘sink’ which can be removed and used as a big water tray all over the garden; it’s a shame there’s no tap element, although this is available on some of the more deluxe versions of the TP Kitchen.
The attention to detail with the painted hob and little hanging rail for the included utensils is really lovely and the FSC-certified wood is pre-treated and feels durable and ready for the outdoors.
Age suitable: 3+. Size: H88cm, W95cm, D38cm. Type of wood: Treated and FSC-certified. Assembly time: 1-1.5 hours.
Plum Play
5
- Discovery Mud Pie Kitchen £249.99 at Plum Play - buy here
Pros: Large built-in planter, painting screen, utensils included
Cons: Time-consuming to construct, no oven, fairly large
Rating: 4/5
There’s so much to discover in this mud kitchen from outdoor toy specialists Plum. Along with hobs, shelves and steel sink, there’s also a large painting screen, trellis, planter and wind chimes! Our two four-year-old testers were instantly inspired to whip up some mud pies and get creative with the included paintbrush pens.
Of all the mud kitchens we tested, this took the longest to put together (just over 2 and a half hours). The instructions are clear and well presented, but there are a fair few fiddly bits and it’s definitely a two-person job. However, once it’s all together it is incredibly sturdy, the wood is pretreated and with a little bit of upkeep, it would definitely last outside for years.
This mud kitchen is very large and unlike the others we tested it is also double-sided, which makes it trickier to place in smaller gardens, but it is also double the fun!
Age suitable: 3+. Size: H88cm, W161cm, D114cm. Type of wood: Treated FSC-certified pine. Assembly time: 2.5 – 3 hours.
Muddyfaces
5
- Muddyfaces Mud Kitchen, £455.99 from Muddyfaces - buy here
Pros: Beautifully made in the UK, treated for outdoor use, interactive hob dials, big enough to entertain lots of kids, easy to construct
Cons: No sink or oven, expensive
Rating: 3/5
Putting this mud kitchen together couldn’t be easier; it’s simply a case of slotting the table and the backboard together and securing them. The hobs aren’t actually attached to the kitchen at all, which means they can be used all over the garden and they are incredibly beautiful with lasered details and moveable dials.
Our three and four-year-old testers loved turning them and the little circles with cooking words on them are a nice touch too. However, it’s a shame that there isn’t a sink or oven element to this kitchen. The backboard features a shelf with some neatly shaped holes for holding utensils, but these aren’t included.
What really sets this mud kitchen apart (and goes someway to justify the large price tag) is the sturdy quality of the treated Scandinavian redwood, which feels like it would stand up to years of messy play in all types of battering weather.
As there are fewer fiddly bits, there is actually a decent amount of playing space, which means lots of children can use this kitchen all at once, making it ideal for nurseries and preschools and we found little ones quickly use their imaginations to stir up all sorts of fun.
Age suitable: 3+. Size: H102.5cm, W100cm, D42cm. Type of wood: Treated Scandinavian Redwood FSC-certified. Assembly time: 15mins.
What to look for when choosing a mud kitchen
There are a few things to consider when choosing a mud kitchen for your home: firstly, they can be very large, so decide on the right spot in your garden and check the dimensions before buying.
As an outdoor toy, mud kitchens need to be very sturdy and hardwearing. Generally speaking the more expensive a mud kitchen is the more reliable and well-made it will be. Look at how and where the wood has been sourced from (always check it is FSC-approved and sustainably managed) and if it has been treated for outdoor use.
Even if it has been treated, we’d still advise regular maintenance and waterproofing.
An array of utensils and extras are also important for making your mud kitchen as fun as possible. Consider whether the mud kitchen has storage, an oven, hob, sink, tap, pots, pans and accessories as these will all add to the enjoyment.
How we tested the mud kitchens
We assembled and built these mud kitchens and handed them over to our mini testers ranging in age from 2 to 8 who explored every inch of these role-play toys to find the fun.
We considered price, ease of build, sustainability, features, size, robustness, longevity, features, included accessories and overall fun rating.
Where to buy a mud kitchen
You can find toy mud kitchens from a wide range of retailers, both in store and online. Major department stores such as Argos and John Lewis stock mud kitchens as well as outdoor play specialists such as TP Toys, Plum Play and Muddyfaces.
How much does a mud kitchen cost?
Mud kitchens are a sizeable piece of wooden play equipment that will need to be strong and safe enough to survive lots of outdoor play and exposure to inclement UK weather, so as a result they are never cheap. The least expensive options tend to start at around £55 but can go up to over £1,000 for handmade beauties.
