We recently went with 5" lights in a very similar kitchen and lighting arrangement to the one you're describing. 4" seemed too small and 6" too big. The 5" use the same housing as the 6", which had us stymied for a bit until we figured it out.

The critical number you're looking for is the lumens. A correct lumen choice will give you all the coverage you need. We used to use 100 or 75, etc. watt bulbs and we knew how bright that was. With LED lights, there are lumens, a different set of numbers with the same result. You're probably looking for something around 960 lumens each for your setup. We got our lights from Costco and they were about 1100 (?) lumens. When everything is turned on and up you could land an airplane in our kitchen.

The other number is a color "warmth" number. 2700 is popular in kitchens, but some people go whiter/cooler with 3000 or even higher.

Thanks so much! But I'm wondering about something that you wrote-- what do you mean by the 5" use the same housing as the 6"?? We used the 5" in our bathroom and the diameter of the recessed lights seems smaller than our 6" lights. I'm missing something-- could you clarify? At any rate, many thanks for your advice!!!

The light comes in 2 parts, the can (housing) and the light:

The 5-6" can accommodates either a 5" or a 6" light unit. Either way the ring on the outside of the light covers the underlying housing.

Installed, it looks like this

We had trouble finding 5" housings because we live in CA and needed the connector in the back that is specifically Title 24 compliant. Title 24 is an energy conservation thing and requires a connector that is LED only vs a connector that allows LED or something else. We couldn't find that in available 5" cans, but could in 6" (5-6") cans. It was very confusing there for a while.

Got it now! Thanks very much for the pictures, and for your help!!

patagonia:

I can't speak to size, but if light position is critical, I can't overemphasize using remodel cans over suzanne's pictured new work lights.

I've been in a claustrophobic Florida attic prying those mounts from trusses because the electrician didn't look at the cabinet placement drawings before installation.

Your electrician roughs in Romex, drywall over it, cabinets go in, then you pick the exact spot for the light, drill the hole, fish for the Romex, and perfect placement.