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Oct 14, 2024

The Best Cutting Boards for Meat, Tested by Allrecipes

We independently evaluate all of our recommendations. If you click on links we provide, we may receive compensation. Cut, chop, and slice—these cutting boards can handle it. Jessica Harlan is a recipe

We independently evaluate all of our recommendations. If you click on links we provide, we may receive compensation.

Cut, chop, and slice—these cutting boards can handle it.

Jessica Harlan is a recipe developer and food writer who loves making cooking fun, approachable, and interesting. She's written nine cookbooks on topics ranging from ramen to homemade condiments.

Melanie Fincher is a Birmingham, Alabama–based food writer who covers everything from cooking techniques to gadget reviews. She has nearly 7 years experience writing news and lifestyle content.

In This Article

Allrecipes / Will Dickey

Working with meat in the kitchen presents unique challenges for both preparation and serving. You don't want any meat juices leaking on your countertop or overflowing onto your holiday table. That's why when shopping for cutting boards, we recommend choosing two—one for meat and another for ingredients like vegetables, fruits, and bread. Having two cutting boards on hand helps prevent cross-contamination and allows you to have the appropriate design for any chopping, carving, or slicing task.

To find the best cutting boards for meat, we tested a variety of plastic, wood, and composite boards for important features like effective juice grooves and non-slip edges. The Allrecipes Allstars then conducted a second round of testing, using the boards in their home kitchens and rating them on their performance.

After rounding up top-rated cutting boards across a variety of designs and price points, Allrecipes product tester Jessica Harlan put each one through a series of tests. Jessica broke down a whole raw chicken and sliced raw beef on each board. She also used each board to slice cooked steak into thin strips for Grilled Steak Fajitas and to carve a whole, Juicy Roasted Chicken.

After Jessica's initial round of testing, Allstars Kim Shupe and Lisa Lynn Backus put the cutting boards through another round of trials, incorporating the boards into their daily cooking routines.

While testing, we paid special attention to the following metrics:

Why It's Great: Large surface area; features a juice well; reversible design

Grain of Salt: Not as attractive as wood boards

As our top pick, OXO's Good Grips Carving & Cutting Board stood out from the others because of its outstanding performance and ample space for large cuts of meat. The cutting board is made with two grippy edges that double as handles and non-slip feet to keep the board in place. The smooth cutting surface withstands odors and has just enough texture for wet or raw foods. According to the company, the non-porous surface won't dull knife blades.

The cutting board's reversible design has one side with a drip well that can hold up to 2 ounces of liquid, while the other side works well for chopping produce. That said, we still recommend having two boards so you can use them both at the same time. Although it's dishwasher safe, the cutting board might not fit in certain dishwashers, but it is easy to hand wash with soap and water.

If you can only have one cutting board in your kitchen, this OXO board is a solid all-purpose option for cutting up raw or cooked meat, chopping veggies, and even rolling out pastry dough. Lisa Lynn was also a big fan of the OXO. "I love this cutting board so much! It fits so nicely on the island, and I keep it there most of the time for all types of slicing, dicing, chopping," she says.

The Details: Plastic; 21.11 x 14.34 inches; 3.4 pounds; dishwasher safe

Why It's Great: Angled surface to catch juices; two functional sides; fits easily in dishwasher

Grain of Salt: Visible knife marks after a few uses

Joseph Joseph is known for its clever designs, and this handy cutting board for meat is no exception. The board has an angled surface that allows juices to roll down and collect against the high rim. Unlike some juice wells that easily overflow, this design can hold more than 10 ounces of liquid. "The slicing of the eye of round roast beef was perfect and it collected the meat juice just as expected," says Lisa Lynn. "I couldn’t wait to use the carving side of the Joseph & Joseph, and it didn’t disappoint."

This plastic cutting board features one smooth side and one textured side that has raised spikes to hold meat in place while slicing. The spiked side is helpful when food is too hot to hold in place, but it could pierce the flesh of more tender cuts. At 11.4 by 16.1 inches, the board is just the right size to cut up a chicken or slice a roast with a carving knife, but something bigger, like a turkey, would likely spill off the sides. Its smaller size fits nicely in dishwashers for an easy cleanup.

Our biggest qualms from testing were the visible knife marks on the board that appeared after just a few uses. Likewise, the sound of a knife chopping through hard foods is amplified because of the raised angle. But overall, this cutting meat has useful features, cleans easily, and is reasonably priced.

The Details: Plastic; 11.4 x 16.1 inches; 1.8 pounds; dishwasher safe

Why It's Great: Large enough for turkey; deep and wide juice grooves; easy-to-grip handles; attractive look

Grain of Salt: Pricey

Lipper International's Acacia Wood Carving Board is beautiful, functional, and durable. At 20 by 15 inches, this rectangular board is a functional size for carving turkey and large hams, and the beautifully grained wood looks lovely while serving.

The 7-pound board is heavy, but it's easy to lift and carry thanks to the deep recessed handles on its sides. The advantage of its weight is that it stays put when slicing meats. The juice well is wide and deep, holding as much as 6 ounces of liquid without spilling over. This feature was one of Allstar Kim Shupe's favorites. "The juice grooves proved useful in more than just keeping assorted liquids from spilling onto the counter, they also helped keep circular ingredients from rolling off the board too (think Brussels sprouts, onions, or key limes)," she says.

Even though the company doesn't explicitly tout that the carving board is reversible, we're confident you could use the other side despite the company's logo being etched in the middle.

The surface of the board had a satin-like, polished feel to it, and knife marks were imperceptible. The only drawbacks are that it needs to be hand washed (like all wooden boards) and it's trickier to store due to its weight and size.

"I think the Lipper board would be great for almost any home cook—as long as you have the room to store it," says Kim. "It's great for veggie prep, cooked meat carving, slicing bread—you name it. It was easy to clean, and isn't outrageously heavy, which makes it more accessible."

The Details: Acacia wood; 20 x 15 inches; 7 pounds; hand wash only

Why It's Great: Unique sloped edges; one side features a juice well; can double as a cheese board

Grain of Salt: Heavy

Dexas's Angled Acacia Wood Cutting Board features a simple, elegant design. With a 45-degree sloped edge, the board is equal parts visually interesting and functional, as the angle provides a comfortable handle for serving.

Like many other models, this one is reversible and can double as a beautiful serving piece or charcuterie board. Although it's a bit heavy, we found that the side with the juice well was easier to carry than the flat side, which was a little awkward to grip.

"The Dexas board was hands down the best looking—the wood grain was just insanely gorgeous and eye-catching," says Kim. "I also liked that the board had a decent-sized work surface, didn't move at all when in use, and was easy to wash."

The juice grooves are deep enough to hold nearly 2 ounces of fluid without overflowing. As with all wood cutting boards, hand washing is a must, but its sleek design makes cleanup fairly easy.

The Details: Acacia wood; 15 x 20 inches; 5.4 pounds; hand wash only

Why It's Great: Unique concave design; holds a lot of liquid; extremely sturdy; beautiful wood color contrast

Grain of Salt: Not reversible; shows knife marks

Architec's cutting board is a great choice for serving, thanks to its beautiful blend of dark acacia wood and light beechwood. In addition to its appearance, it has a surface of 13 by 19 inches, a thickness of a little over an inch, and a unique concave surface perfect for carving juicy meats.

The cutting board's concave dip is almost imperceptible, but it's just deep enough to capture the juices and contain them to the middle of the board. Best of all, the board holds a whopping 8 ounces of liquid in the center.

With its superior stability, this board weighs more than 5 pounds and has rubbery pads underneath that keeps it steady on both wet and dry countertops. The grippy pads, however, do prevent this board from being used on both sides. Although it doesn't have handles, the board is easy to lift since the gripper pads elevate it just enough to get a fingertip grip. Our only complaint is that the board showed knife marks after just the first use.

The Details: Acacia wood and beechwood; 13 x 19 inches; 5.3 pounds; hand wash only

Our top pick, the OXO Good Grips Carving & Cutting Board, surpassed the other models because of its generous size, comfortable handles, must-have juice well, and smooth surface that won't dull knives. Not just suitable for meat, this cutting board works great for chopping vegetables and other foods. For a wood option, the Lipper International Acacia Carving Board boasts an ideal size and a beautiful design.

Plastic: Generally considered the best option for raw meat, plastic cutting boards are dishwasher safe and have a non-porous surface.

Wood: Wood cutting boards (including bamboo) can be difficult to sanitize, as they can't go in the dishwasher. Some wood boards might even require some conditioning with food-grade mineral oil from time to time. However, wood cutting boards are beloved by chefs and home cooks alike because they tend to be easier on knives, preventing them from dulling out too quickly. Plus, they make for a beautiful presentation when carving up holiday hams or turkeys on the dining room table.

Composite: Composite cutting boards offer the best of both worlds. Made from a heavy-duty resin material, composite cutting boards are dishwasher safe, very durable, and don't require any conditioning. They offer a similar look to wood cutting boards without the upkeep. On the other hand, they can be a little harder on your knives than wood options.

One common design feature you'll want to be on the lookout for is a juice groove (or juice well). This refers to an indentation on a cutting board that catches excess juices when carving meat, so they don't spill onto your countertop or table.

Non-slip grippers keep your cutting board in place. Some models have them around the whole diameter of the board, and other ones have them just on the corners or sides. A weighty board can also help with this issue, but these can be more difficult to clean, especially if they are made of wood and require hand washing.

The Lipper International Acacia Cutting Board with Grid Grip has a beautiful design with polished acacia wood and a center grid of spikes to hold a piece of meat in place while carving. It also has deep juice grooves to catch meat drippings around the spikes and perimeter, but can be reversed to use the other side for other slicing and prep work. We loved this cutting board for slicing cooked meats, but ultimately left it off the list because it's difficult to clean.

We had high hopes that the Gorilla Grip Cutting Board board would be stable and wouldn't skid around on the work surface. Unfortunately, this cutting board didn't live up to its name, slipping and sliding on both wet and dry surfaces. Similarly, the Norpro Professional Cutting Board also had issues slipping on the countertop, though we appreciated the budget-conscious, durable, and utilitarian features. We tested the smallest size, which was great for slicing small cuts of meat like chicken breast or steak but wouldn't be able to handle carving a roast chicken.

It's perfectly fine to cut meat on a wood cutting board, but it's best if you reserve that board for just cutting meat. Use another one for cutting bread or slicing up vegetables and other fresh produce.

Cutting boards that are made from hardwoods, like maple or cherry, are some of the best options. These woods will maintain their quality for longer than softwoods and have smaller pores, which can help prevent bacteria from growing.

Allrecipes shares community-driven food content, products, and tips with millions of home cooks around the world. Our Product Tester Jessica Harlan and Commerce Writer Melanie Fincher selected the best cutting boards for meat after evaluating a variety of models with different features and price points. We determined our winners based on their design, durability, and size, as well as ease of use and cleaning.