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My well-rounded cookware collection — composed of many of the pieces you’ll find on this list — is essential to my success in the kitchen. Using the wrong pot or pan could result in burning, uneven cooking, ingredient overflow, sticking — the list goes on. And while you could build a kitchen arsenal piece by piece, the more cost-effective route, I’ve found, is to buy pieces in a set.
The selection of cookware sets on the market can be overwhelming, though. There are a lot of options to choose from — some smaller, some larger, some single-material, some mixed. So my advice: Really think about the type of food you cook and then shop based on that. If you’re cooking for a family of five and rely on big-batch dinners on the regular, you’ll want a different set than, say, a single person moving into their first apartment who wants as few pieces as they can get away with to make decent meals. Some people might be starting from scratch; others are building on what they already own. And as with knives, buying a set to fit your specifications can be tricky. No matter who you are, you don’t want to end up with space-stealing equipment you’ll never use. The key, then, is to curate a mix of types (saucepans, skillets, pots) and materials (nonstick, cast iron, stainless steel) without going overboard.
Rest assured this list includes cookware sets of all kinds — many of which I’ve tested myself, including ones I’ve used on a regular basis for years. In addition to the sets I’ve tested, you’ll find recommendations here from 17 professional cooks who use these pieces day in and day out. And if you’re interested in shopping for individual skillets, or individual saucepans, you can read our guides to those, too.
What we’re looking for
Material
Same as if you’re buying cookware individually, you should have some cast-iron or carbon-steel, some nonstick, and some stainless-steel pieces in your kitchen. (You can also splurge on copper, which is basically like an even more reactive stainless steel, but that will cost you a very pretty penny.) For this, I’ve stated whether the set is all one material or a mixed batch.
Number of pieces
Some of the sets below are fairly small, containing two to five pieces — a smart choice if you already own some and are looking to round out your collection. Others are much larger (up to 13) and will serve you well if you’re outfitting a kitchen from scratch or want to invest in a lot of one material. It’s also important to say here that “pieces” always includes lids — so, for example, a five piece set might be made up of three different pots and pans and two lids.
Types
Beyond just the number, you should of course look at the shapes and sizes of all of the parts in each set you consider. Here, I’ve listed them out so you can take a quick look and know whether or not it might be a fit for you (though it’s also worth noting that I’ve linked to some other options within the descriptions of each one if you take a more careful read through).
Best cookware set overall
Material: Mixed | Number of pieces: 13 | Types: Nonstick frying pan, stainless-clad frying pan (both 10”); 8” stainless clad frying pan, 3 qt. stainless clad saucier with lid; 2 qt. stainless clad saucepan with lid; 4 qt. stainless clad saucepan with lid; 8 qt. stainless clad stock pot with lid; carbon steel frying pan, carbon steel wok (both 12”)
Made In has three versions of its cookware set: six pieces, ten pieces, and 13 pieces. Each offers a good mix of pots and pans, so if you want fewer pieces, take a look at the more pared-down offerings. But for the purposes of this review, I’m going to talk about the largest set.
Although I don’t own every single item included in the 13-piece set, I have accumulated many of them over time, including several stainless-steel and nonstick pots and pans. So to start: Made In’s stainless steel is supremely durable (I would liken the sturdy feel to All-Clad, the industry leader in that material for decades). The pieces are smartly designed, with nice slopes at the bottom, comfortable-to-grip handles, and tight-fitting lids. They heat evenly and clean up perfectly. I also want to give an individual shoutout to the stainless-steel stock pot, a workhorse piece that replaced my old and rusty cheap one that preceded it. The eight-quart is the middle size and the one that comes in the bundle (you can also find it in six and 12 if you buy separately) — and I find that it’s perfect, big enough to handle a generous portion of stock and more than a pound of pasta if I’m cooking for a crowd, but not so big that it feels cumbersome or hard to store.
The nonstick is fantastic, too. It’s as well-constructed as the stainless, and heats just as consistently across the surface. I’ve only been using mine for several months, so I can’t yet personally attest to longevity, but Charlie Pennes, founder of White Bark Workwear, has been using his for more than three years. “The fact that the nonstick is still in good shape is shocking to me. I cook on pretty fast and high heat and have destroyed some other pans in like a month,” he says. “I use it for everything all the time and it doesn’t even have a scratch on it.”
Finally, there’s a 12-inch carbon-steel frying pan and wok. Cookbook author Lesley Téllez owns those pieces and calls them really sturdy. Your pans get blazing hot, and it cooks super evenly,” she says. “You get the same high-heat conduction as you would with cast iron, but because it’s not as thick, you have more control.”
Best less expensive cookware set
Material: Mixed | Number of pieces: Five | Types: 10.5” nonstick pan, 10.5” sauté pan with lid, 3 qt. sauce pot with lid
Material’s only cookware set also includes a mix of kinds of pots and pans and materials — only fewer than the Made In sets. I’ve added all three pieces of Material’s set individually to my own collection over the past few years (yes, I should have just bought the discounted bundle, but you live and you learn). In the end, they come in handy all the time. The pieces all have a copper core overlaid by other materials (self-explanatory for the nonstick, and in the case of the sauté pan and sauce pot, a stainless-steel and aluminum coating). Copper conducts heat particularly well but is notoriously expensive, so by using it only at the center, Material’s pots and pans reap the benefit while staying at a reasonable price. I particularly love the nonstick (which, for what it’s worth, I think is one of the nicest-looking skillets of its kind out there). So does recipe developer and cookbook author Hetty McKinnon. “This is by far the most durable nonstick pan I have owned,” she says. “It heats up super-quickly and cooks evenly. It also feels balanced and light in my hand, which is such a nice change from my cast-iron skillet. Importantly, it has not warped after extended usage, which is an issue I always face with nonstick pans.”
[Editor’s note: This set is currently out of stock, but you can sign up to be notified as soon as it’s back.]
Best nonstick cookware set
Material: Nonstick | Number of pieces: 10 | Types: 8” fry pan, 10” fry pan, 1.5 qt saucepan with lid, 3 qt. saucepan with lid, 2.6 qt. sauté pan with lid, 5 qt. nonstick dutch oven with lid
Zwilling, which makes my very favorite nonstick skillet, has an extensive collection with several pieces — each made from the same materials as their signature pan: an aluminum core that heats quickly and evenly, and a sleek surface. In the four years I’ve been using the skillet, the coating hasn’t degraded at all — a tall order for a material that isn’t meant to last forever in the way cast iron or stainless steel is. And though I only added the rest to my kitchen recently, I’m impressed. The small pot is perfect for making rice; the high-sided sauté pan is nice for crisping fish skin and keeps the splatter contained. The insides of all the pieces are nicely curved, so it’s easy to access the corners when stirring. The handles stay cool to the touch, even over a high flame, and don’t have any rivets or indents so they clean up easily. They are also all scratch-resistant, a quality that recipe developer and writer Rebecca Firkser appreciates. “I still try to be cautious when flipping things with my metal fish spatula, tongs, and slotted spoons, but even when I’ve scraped the pan accidentally, I’ve never seen a scratch on the surface,” she says.
Best nonstick skillet cookware set
Material: Nonstick | Number of pieces: Two | Types: 9.5” fry pan, 11” fry pan
If you don’t need nonstick pots or saucepans, but are in the market for multiple nonstick skillets, I still think you should stick with Zwilling. In fact, it’s smart to buy a skillet set — I find different sizes come in handy for different purposes, and you’ll get two for $30 less than you would if you bought them separately. In this case, the 9.5-inch is perfect for feeding two to four people, but “you can also scramble eggs for one in it without it feeling ridiculously oversized and spare,” says recipe developer and cookbook author Molly Baz. (I’ve done this many times before, too.) The 11-inch can accommodate even more for when you’re cooking for a crowd or making something big-batch. Firkser and recipe developer and cookbook author Andy Baraghani are both just as big fans as Baz, noting the comfortable handle and the fact that you can put the pans in the oven and dishwasher without ruining their nonstick properties.
Best ceramic nonstick cookware set
Material: Nonstick | Number of pieces: Ten | Types: 1 qt. saucepan with lid, 2 qt. saucepan with lid, 5 qt. casserole pan with lid, 8” frypan, 9” frypan, 3 qt. skillet with lid
Greenpan has an extensive collection of nonstick cookware. The surfaces of its pieces are all made from ceramic. While this isn’t my personal preference in terms of performance (the coating tends to wear down faster than those made with PTFE), many pros who prioritize non-plastic materials say they work totally great. “The saucepan you can use for a stew, for pasta — it’s very versatile. You can use other ones for frying onions, for poaching eggs,” says cookbook author and broadcaster Yasmin Khan. “Also, I’m half Iranian and in a lot of Iranian recipes, we use a nonstick pan, like for tahdig. At the end of the day, it’s just easier to cook things in a nonstick. You don’t necessarily need to splurge on fancy pans pro use.” Other pros, like recipe developer and food writer Caroline Lange and cookbook author Vallery Lomas, have also sung the praises of GreenPan to us before. This four-piece set will get you pretty far, but GreenPan also makes an 11-piece one should you really want to go all out.
Best cast-iron cookware set
Material: Cast iron | Number of pieces: Five | Types: 10.5” round griddle, 8” skillet, 10.25” skillet, 5 qt. Dutch oven, one interchangeable lid
For a very reasonable price, this set from Lodge will get you two different-sized skillets, a flat circular griddle, and a Dutch oven. As I explained when I named Lodge’s the best skillet overall, cast iron can pretty much do it all: get really hot and retain that heat, and hold a nonstick surface if seasoned properly. You can sear, sauté, braise, fry, and bake with it. I turn to my Lodge skillet on a weekly basis (it lives on my stovetop) and Strategist senior writer Liza Corsillo has been using her collection (she has three different sizes) for over a decade — and even uses the backside of her 12-inch as a flat surface for making pizza because it gets hot enough to achieve a crisp crust (though I do think the dedicated griddle would be even better for the task if you go with this full set). She says she loves that the material is so durable she never has to worry about messing it up. Strategist deals editor Sam Daly has owned one for three years, too, and says she especially loves that it can go in the oven, key for getting a really good crisp on roasted vegetables. She also says that caring for the pan is easier than she expected: She simply washes it with a bit of soap, completely dries it over the stove, and then dabs some neutral oil on it. (I’ve been using this exact same process on my Lodge for years, too, and it’s in great shape.)
The Dutch oven is good for things with more volume like soups, stews, and pastas. And Georgia Macon, executive pastry chef of Portland, Maine’s Twelve uses a similarly shaped vessel in the exact same material from Lodge for baking bread. “It’s not enameled so it lasts even longer,” she says. “And it doesn’t chip ever.” As for the griddle, there’s nothing better for making pancakes, eggs, and bacon.
Best enameled cast-iron cookware set
Material: Cast iron | Number of pieces: Five | Types: 10” fry pan, 1.75 qt. saucepan with lid, 4.5 qt. round Dutch oven with lid
If you want to get a bit fancier, Le Creuset makes an enameled cast-iron set. The material has all the heat retention of cast iron, but a smooth surface that doesn’t require seasoning to maintain its nonstick quality. Recipe developer and cookbook author Jessie Sheehan and cookbook author Erin Gleeson say this is a long-term investment of pieces that will never need to be replaced.
The collection includes their signature Dutch oven, a workhorse of a pot that many experts love. Sheehan uses hers all the time, including for foods like bacon or hamburgers that tend to splatter (the high sides keep grease contained). Recipe developer and cookbook author Alexis deBoschnek says it “cooks really evenly across the board, whether on the stove, in the oven, or even in a smoker.” She appreciates the tight-fitting lid and the fact that “the nonstick quality has lasted,” she says. Beyond the Dutch oven, you’ll get a small saucepan and a fry pan. I’ve owned the latter for a couple of years now and use it regularly; and Gleeson has owned one for nearly a decade.
Best stainless-steel cookware set
Material: Stainless steel | Number of pieces: Seven | Types: 10” fry pan, 2 qt. saucepan with lid, 3 qt. saucepan with lid, 6 qt. stock pot with lid
If you’re looking to invest in new stainless steel, All-Clad is as classic as it gets. Joy Wilson, the creator of Joy the Baker, has owned this set for over six years. While she acknowledges the high price point, she says she trusts the brand’s “great reputation” for making cookware that lasts a long time and uses at least one of the pieces in this well-rounded set every day. The skillets “give food great color and even caramelization and still deglaze perfectly, without any gunk sticking to the bottom,” she says.
Both Wilson and Matt Rodbard, food writer, editor, and cookbook author, note that All-Clad cleans up well (Rodbard uses Bar Keepers Friend). He turns to his skillet all the time (and even commonly gifts it to people). “It’s my workhorse,” he says. “You get such an even temperature. Plus, I think that having a piece of iconic culinary gear in your house feels great. The handle is iconic. If you look through most cookbooks in the last 20 years, you’ll spot the handle.” Jamie Knott, chef of Saddle River Inn in New Jersey, told us that he uses his three-quart saucepan because “it has a heavy bottom, heats evenly, and lasts forever.” As with the GreenPan nonstick, All-Clad also offers a bigger set with more pieces if that’s what you’re after.
Best copper cookware set
Material: Copper | Number of pieces: Seven | Types: 10” fry pan, 2 qt. saucepan with lid, 3.5 qt. sauté pan with lid, 6.5 qt. sauté pan with lid
Copper pots and pans are always expensive, so if you’re going to splurge, industry-favorite Mauviel is the way to go. Daniel Cutler, co-owner and chef of Ronan in Los Angeles, received his set as a wedding gift, but “if I had unlimited money, I would only use these pans,” he says. That’s because copper conducts and retains heat, and cools down quickly; it’s the same principle as stainless steel, but even more exacting. And if you take good care of your pieces, they’ll last a lifetime (and then some)— keep them sparkling by polishing them with Bar Keepers Friend, or let them develop a natural patina over time, as Cutler does. If you follow his lead, though, you need to “wash with hot soapy water and an abrasive sponge” as soon as you’re done cooking so food doesn’t stick.
Best griddle set
Material: Carbon Steel | Number of pieces: Two | Types: Rectangular griddle, press
This set is a bit different from the collections of pots and pans above, but I find it to be an incredibly useful pair for maximizing surface area. A large flattop like this gives me more usable space than a skillet, while the accompanying press has matching right angles so I can smash and sear all the way to the edges — not possible in a round pan.
Not only can I fit more, laying bacon down from corner-to-corner and frying up to four pieces of toast or sandwiches at a time (even my ten-inch cast iron only fits two comfortably), but the sides are slightly raised so no grease ever floods onto the stove. The carbon-steel material is an excellent heat conductor that maintains high temperatures but is a bit more responsive to changes than cast iron (which takes ages to cool down), and lighter to boot.
Some more kitchen essentials we’ve written about
Our experts
• Andy Baraghani, recipe developer and cookbook author
• Molly Baz, recipe developer and cookbook author
• Daniel Cutler, co-owner and chef of Ronan
• Alexis deBoschnek, recipe developer and cookbook author
• Rebecca Firkser, recipe developer and writer
• Erin Gleeson, cookbook author
• Yasmin Khan, broadcaster and cookbook author
• Jamie Knott, chef of Saddle River Inn
• Caroline Lange, recipe developer and food writer
• Vallery Lomas, cookbook author
• Georgia Macon, executive pastry chef of Twelve
• Hetty McKinnon, recipe developer and cookbook author
• Charlie Pennes, founder of White Bark Workwear
• Matt Rodbard, food writer, editor, and cookbook author
• Jessie Sheehan, recipe developer and cookbook author
• Lelsey Téllez, journalist and cookbook author
• Joy Wilson, creator of Joy the Baker
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