The Best Aprons of 2025, According to Chefs

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Our top picks provide versatility, protection from spills and splatters, and lots of pockets.

Kiki Aranita was a chef/owner of the beloved, award-winning Poi Dog restaurant in Philadelphia. She frequently creates recipe-driven content for food brands, teaches recipe development at Drexel University, and writes about food culture and the restaurant industry for many publications.

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Food & Wine

The best aprons protect against spills and splashes in the kitchen — even if you don't have a splatter screen — and keep all your essential kitchen tools within easy reach while providing versatility, coverage, style, and pockets. There's a lot to consider when purchasing an apron — especially for an investment piece that becomes part of your identity in the kitchen.

We talked to professional chefs, mixologists, and other experts to find out what makes their favorite aprons the best, from durable waxed canvas picks ideal for outdoor grilling to lightweight linen aprons beloved by pastry chefs. Along with kitchen shoes, dish towels, and an anti-fatigue mat, a good apron is one of the most unexpectedly important cooking tools.

This durable waxed-canvas apron cleans up from pretty much any mess with just a wipe, and it's highly customizable.

It's on the pricey side and not machine-washable.

Chefs and bartenders adore Hedley & Bennett aprons. Made of thick cotton canvas, these rugged garments come in several styles and dozens of colors and include adjustable straps, ample pockets, and a utility loop to hold items like side towels and kitchen tongs.

Mike and Eylonah Strauss of Mike's BBQ in Philadelphia rave specifically about Hedley & Bennett's Waxman style. "It's very heavy-duty and stain-resistant. It’s lightweight, durable, and easy to clean.” The Waxman's canvas is coated with soy wax for water resistance and extra toughness. This repels stains and strengthens the fabric, making it less likely to wear down and fray with heavy use. Waxed canvas is popular on fishing boats and other challenging outdoor cooking situations.

The Waxman comes in three mainstay colors, plus rotating special editions in collaboration with chefs and other luminaries in the food world. You can also have it custom-embroidered with a name or monogram to create a perfect gift for your favorite chef. Hedley & Bennett aprons are all fairly expensive, but you pay for quality — plus, they come with a lifetime guarantee. With the Waxman specifically, there are also care instructions to worry about. Waxed canvas can't go in the washing machine or be traditionally hand-washed. You can only wipe this apron down with cold water. You may also need to re-wax the fabric periodically, perhaps every few years as this apron lasts for decades.

Materials: Cotton canvas, leather, soy wax | Apron Size: 30 x 33 inches | Neck Strap Size: Up to 36 inches | Waist Strap Size: Up to 43 inches | Machine-Washable: No

This inexpensive apron has a comfortable crossback design, seven color options, and lots of pockets.

The denim and twill fabrics aren't as strong as canvas, and the apron has to hang-dry.

If you don't like the feeling of a strap on your neck, the two-shoulder-strap cross-back design of the Under NY Sky Work Apron is more comfortable, adjustable, and secure. It also has storage in spades, with three double-stitched pockets on both top and bottom, and hanging loops on both sides.

"I'm a big fan of Under NY Sky for being so affordable and accessible. Their aprons are comfortable and so well made," says Philadelphia bar manager Brandon Thrash. He says he stuffs the pockets full of pens, a wine key, a beer bottle opener, kitchen tweezers, a lighter, Jolly Ranchers for snacking, and "temporary tattoos for when you need that extra bit of street cred."

Depending on the color, the Under NY Sky Work Apron is made of twill or denim from an 80/20 cotton/polyester blend. It's not quite as thick and durable as canvas but is lighter in weight and significantly cheaper. The apron's also machine-washable (on cold), though you have to hang it up while drying to hold the shape properly. If you're a pro chef or just use an apron every day, you might want to buy two so you have an extra to use while the other dries.

Materials: Cotton-polyester blend denim or twill, leather | Apron Size: 25 x 33 inches | Waist Strap Size: Up to 65 inches | Machine-Washable: Yes (hang dry only)

This sturdy canvas apron is extra-tall, extra-wide, and extra-adjustable.

Color and style options are somewhat limited.

Zach Scherer, chef/owner of Darkroom in Santa Ana, California, is 6'5", and he loves the BlueCut El Jefe because "it doesn't look like I'm wearing a miniskirt." This apron is taller and wider than most others, and its neck and waist straps also boast a wider adjustment range to fit cooks of every size. "We got custom aprons from Bluecut for Darkroom because I liked the quality of materials and fabric," Scherer says. "I also like that they aren't the same apron everyone is wearing at every restaurant in town."

This version of the El Jefe is made of heavy-duty cotton canvas with generous lap pockets on either side, a good-sized chest pocket, and a narrow slot meant for a thermometer or pen. The same model also comes in cotton twill, denim, or chambray for a variety of fabric textures, though the color selection is largely limited to blue and black.

Materials: Cotton canvas | Apron Size: 39 x 42 inches | Waist Strap Size: Up to 48 inches | Machine-Washable: Yes

You can choose between multiple strap styles and colors on this apron, for a totally custom look.

The snap-on straps can come apart if they're tugged too hard or get caught on something.

Keith Taylor, the president and CEO of Zachary's BBQ & Soul, loves the Chef Works Berkeley apron for its reliability and classic appeal. "This is hands down my ride-or-die apron. It has a very simple design with a couple of pockets in the right places. It ages well and only gets better after multiple washes," he says.

Perhaps the best thing about this apron is that it's completely customizable in every way. You can choose from four denim shades for the apron itself, with three strap configurations — a single neck strap, a crossback double strap, or suspenders-style with thicker straps for extra support. The straps simply snap onto the apron body, and they come in 14 different colors you can even mix and match between left and right. All told, there are 1,600 possible ways to craft your own custom Berkeley apron. You can even buy neck straps and suspender straps on their own to change up the look whenever you want. The only downside of the snaps is that the straps can pop off if they get caught on something, which is unlikely but still possible.

Chef Works' Berkeley Bib Apron puts durability at the forefront, with reinforced stress points and double-needle stitching. It's reliable, professional-looking, and well-designed in any configuration, though Taylor prefers the suspender style. "I am hooked on the design — instead of a neck strap, this apron has suspenders, which are flexible, stylish, and provide a comfort that other crossback style aprons just can't touch," he explains.

Material: Cotton denim | Apron Size: 30 x 34 inches | Machine-Washable: Yes (dry on low)

This waxed-cotton apron is lightweight, stain-resistant, and fully machine-washable.

It lacks a chest pocket and has fairly small waist pockets.

Having regular cookouts for a hundred friends at a time? Throwing crawfish boils every spring weekend? Deep-frying buckets of chicken in your outdoor turkey fryer? Consider Tilit's Contra Chef Apron. At 35 inches tall, it offers ample coverage against spatters, spills, and even charcoal embers. It's made of waxed cotton that's similarly stain-proof to the waxed canvas of the Hedley & Bennett Waxman above but much thinner — and thus cooler to wear outdoors. It's also machine-washable and even machine-dryable for the easiest possible upkeep.

When we polled chefs about their favorite aprons for this story, we sorted through many rave reviews of Tilit's Chef Aprons. "I love the versatility and look of the Tilit apron,” says pastry chef and Chopped Sweets winner Abby Dahan. “It's quality-made, washes easily, and it looks great," adds James Beard Award winner and frequent Food & Wine contributor Jose Garces. "The Tilit Chef Apron is a definite standby for me when I am grilling at home for friends and company. The force of habit means I have at least one Sharpie in my pocket, but I also use it for my instant-read meat thermometer and plating utensils."

A negative of the Tilit apron is that it has fairly few pockets. There's no chest pocket, and the waist pockets at the sides are rather small. You'll be able to hold markers and thermometers but maybe not tools like tongs or spatulas.

Materials: Cotton, leather, wax | Apron Size: 27 x 35 inches | Neck Strap Size: Up to 36.5 inches | Waist Strap Size: Up to 40 inches | Machine-Washable: Yes (dry on medium)

This apron is thin and especially lightweight, so you don’t have to worry about overheating in the kitchen.

It's fairly small and lacks a chest pocket.

While most of the other aprons on our list only come in solid colors, Williams Sonoma's cotton Classic Stripe Apron looks a little more old-fashioned. There are eight stripe choices — from Bright Blue to Dusty Rose — and 36 custom embroidery options including full names and monograms.

This apron brought chef Amy Rivera Nassar of Amy's Pastelillos from pastry pop-ups to a brick-and-mortar location selling her Puerto Rican–style pastries, all while looking incredibly stylish. "My Williams Sonoma striped apron has been with me for years,” she says. “It's very sturdy, the fit is great for my height, and the pockets are large enough for my needs." This apron's lightweight fabric will help keep you cool in a hot kitchen, to boot.

The Williams Sonoma Classic Stripe Apron has a sizable double pocket in the front, but that's not as much onboard storage as others on our list; we wish it had side pockets as well as chest pockets for pens and spoons. Though it's long enough for most cooks, it's rather small side-to-side, at only 27 inches wide. You may not get as much coverage on your sides and back as with other options.

Material: Cotton | Apron Size: 27 x 36 inches | Machine-Washable: Yes (dry on low)

This incredibly lightweight apron is perfect for warm climates or especially hot kitchens.

It doesn't have adjustable straps so you'll have to choose the correct size.

Looking to live out all your cottagecore fantasies while cooking? Look no further than Rough Linen's chic pinafore apron. Designed to slip seamlessly over your head (with no strap or adjustable parts), this design would look equally at home on the set of a Nancy Meyers flick as it will in your kitchen. Soft, absorbent linen is an excellent fabric for many kitchen uses, including tablecloths, placemats, and kitchen towels. In a way, linen is even more functional than cotton in an apron: It'll wick away moisture when you use it to wipe your hands, staying less saturated and drying more quickly. It's also thin and breathable, great for times when the stove and oven are both blasting out heat.

Rough Linen's pinafore apron comes in 13 different colors, with deep pockets and an easy-to-move-around-in wraparound style. It comes in petite, medium, or large (plus two kids' sizes), so you're bound to find a good fit. On the other hand, the straps aren't adjustable, so you'll need to check out the size chart and pick the correct one for you.

Material: Linen | Apron Size: 28 x 35 inches (petite), 34 x 40 inches (medium), 35-plus x 40 inches (large) | Machine-Washable: Yes (dry on medium or high)

This mini-apron offers the same quality and durability that you'd expect from Hedley & Bennett, and it comes in lots of fun prints.

It's on the pricey side for a kids' apron.

Budding chefs need some extra protection in the kitchen too, and Hedley & Bennett has you covered. Its Kids Apron is the same as the brand's best-selling Essential Apron, only in miniature. It's made of durable cotton twill that's stain-resistant and fully machine-washable. The best part is that the apron comes in several colorful and fun prints that your kids will love, including Mickey Mouse, Cookie Monster, and even Grogu (aka Baby Yoda). "I'm trying to get my niece to follow in my footsteps: I gave her an Opinel kids' knife set for Chanukah and one of these aprons for her birthday," says Food & Wine senior writer Jason Horn. "It’s pretty much indestructible, just like the adult sizes."

While it is a bit pricey for a kids' apron, its durability (and Hedley & Bennet's lifetime guarantee) will ensure that it lasts until your tiny home cook is ready to graduate to grown-up size.

Material: Cotton twill | Apron Size: 21.75 x 20.5 inches | Neck Strap Size: Up to 22 inches | Waist Strap Size: Up to 30 inches | Machine-Washable: Yes (dry on low)

The main purpose of an apron is to protect your clothes from spatters and spills, which means you want it to cover a good portion of your front and ideally wrap around your sides and back, too. The most important thing to look at is the dimensions of the apron independent of straps and ties: It should be tall enough to stretch roughly from neck to thigh, but if it extends to the knees or farther, it can interfere with moving around.

Aren’t most aprons adjustable? Yes and no. You can often change the length of neck and waist straps to make wearing the apron more comfortable, but that doesn't affect the length and width of the apron itself. Individual apron models are often one-size-fits-all, but some brands make a separate style designed for larger, taller people.

Apron style depends on how the ties and straps are set up. A few popular styles are below:

An apron is destined to get spattered and splattered, so it should be made out of a durable, stain-proof material. Fabrics with a thick weave like canvas, denim, and twill are common choices, as they can hold up to a lot of abuse, but these also hold in heat and aren't as breathable — not necessarily the best choice for a sweaty kitchen. Lighter, cooler aprons are often made of thin cotton or linen that's more absorbent and usually machine-washable.

The most heavy-duty aprons are made of fabric coated with wax, which makes them almost completely impermeable to liquid. You can simply wipe off any spills with a sponge or dishcloth. The disadvantage of waxed fabric is that it's stiff and sometimes uncomfortable, and it usually can't go in the washing machine.

If you ask five professional chefs how they tie their aprons, you'll get five different answers. Some people tie the waist straps in the back, while others wrap them around to tie in the front. Some use a pretty bow, others a compact double-knot. Ultimately, the best way to tie an apron is the way that's most comfortable for you. As long as the apron stays securely attached to your body and the ends of the straps don't dangle over the stove or drag on the floor, you're good.

If you’re a home cook who occasionally wears an apron when whipping up something especially messy, you can likely get away with a simple thin cotton or linen apron. These are the most lightweight, breathable, and easy to care for, and won’t add a lot of complication to your cooking or laundry routines. However, pro chefs or anybody who's going to wear the apron day in and day out may benefit from a more heavy-duty fabric like twill, canvas, or even waxed canvas.

The first step is to read the care instructions for your particular apron. If you can't put it in the washing machine or use certain kinds of detergents, don't. After that, the type of stain matters: A different type of stain remover is better for an oily salad dressing spill than a set-in red wine or tomato sauce stain. Aprons are made to be stain-resistant; most of the time, a hand-wash or trip through the washing machine should take care of the stain.

If you have an apron made of waxed fabric, it most likely isn't machine-washable and shouldn't be hand-washed with hot water or laundry detergent, either. Waxed aprons should mostly just be wiped off with cold water and a sponge or cloth. The liquid-proof coating makes most spills a breeze to remove, but heat and soap can break down the wax.