The 6 Best Stainless Steel Cookware Sets, According to Lab Testing

Before becoming a cooking tools expert, she spent seven years working as a professional chef in New York City restaurants. In her free time, she’s busy baking sourdough bread and rustling pots and pans on her own stove. To select our best cookware sets, we relied on our years of rustling pots and pan both in our test kitchens and on our own home stoves. We checked what professional reviewers had to say about their test results and what home cooks reported about long-time use. If you want the benefits of a nonstick coating but want to minimize any risks, you can opt for a ceramic nonstick coating.

Completely ceramic cookware are made of either porcelain, earthenware, or stoneware, and they’re typically dishwasher-safe. While steel pans are not as common as other materials for home cookware, carbon steel, and blue steel is sometimes used for woks and other specialty pans. The cookware needs to be seasoned before use and oiled after cooking to keep it from rusting in storage. Enameled steel cookware is not as common today as it was in years past, but speckled enamelware can still be found occasionally, particularly in large pots used for water bath canning.

The Cuisinart Multiclad Pro Stainless Steel 12-Piece Cookware Set is our top choice for overall design, performance, and versatility. The Viking Hard Stainless 10-Piece Cookware Set has a small stockpot so we didn’t test it. We cuisinart knife think most people will be happier with the All-Clad set we recommend. The All-Clad D5 Brushed Stainless 10-Piece Set took longer to heat up, so it took more time for us to make caramel and achieve nicely golden-brown chicken.

Cookware Sets

It comes with 16 pieces total, which is the most out of all the options in this round-up and gives you the best bang for your buck. The GEM series is a versatiel set that can go from stovetop to oven to countertop. The snap on handles are easily removed for quick transfer into t… Whether you want to make a chicken stock or a savoury soup, this stockpot will help you bring your recipe to perfection.

The full six-piece Caraway non-stick set is ceramic coated, so it won’t release harmful chemicals if it overheats. And it’s available in five elegant shades, such as sage and “perracotta” . Though we think it’s pretty enough to show off on your kitchen’s open shelving, the set does come with magnetic pan racks and a canvas lid holder for optimal cabinet organization. Its tri-ply construction that sandwiches a layer of aluminum between two sturdy stainless steel for extra heat conductivity is also a big hit among consumers. Top that up with an amazing design that’s enough to grace your kitchen. Cook in style with the best cookware set that ensures durability and cooks food faster.

Their core set consists of a 10.5-inch frying pan, a 12-inch sauté pan, a 3-quart saucepan, and a 6.5-quart Dutch oven. Editor Lauren Joseph is a fan of the sauté pan for its oversized dimensions, which are ideal for big-batch cooking. The 20-piece Beautiful cookware set with a ceramic non-stick coating is oven safe to 500ºF and compatible with induction cooktops. It includes an 8-inch fry pan, 10-inch fry pan, 3-quart sauté pan, 3-quart saucepan, 2-quart saucepan, 5-quart Dutch oven and steamer insert, five cooking utensils and four cookware protectors. It is made from top-quality aluminum, ensuring durability and longevity.

Cookware only works on induction cooktops if it contains ferromagnetic materials, meaning either it has iron or a layer with magnetic properties. Cast iron and magnetic stainless steel sets are induction compatible, but aluminum, all-copper, and glass sets are not—unless they have an added layer on the bottom with magnetic properties. cuisinart knife Be careful when it comes to stainless steel as it can be made with a variety of materials that may block the magnetic field. Most manufacturers will specify on the packaging or pans themselves if they are induction compatible. Stainless steel cookware is one of the most common types you’ll find, and for good reason.

This collection boasts a ton of different sets offering various pots, pans and more so you can cook exactly the way you want to. Discover sets from industry leaders like Gotham, Cuisinart, Farberware and other big brands, all priced low exclusively for Club Members. Check out sets that make it a breeze to sauté, simmer, brown, fry and otherwise cook multiple dishes at once. These pieces feature durable stainless steel construction for longevity and aluminum encapsulated bases for even heating. Browse nonstick cookware sets that are oven safe to 350°F and dishwasher safe.

Testers did not that the stock pot felt a bit small for batch cooking, however they liked that the set had glass lids that make it easy to monitor your food. During cooking testers, our testers liked that this pan heated up fast and reached 400 degrees—it cooked both the scallops and frittata perfectly, without any sticking. It’s worth noting, however, that while testing durability, there was some discoloration and flexing of the material.

Whether you entertain often or just dislike doing the dishes, this Tramontina set is the best stainless steel cookware set for your need. This comprehensive set won over our testers with how easy it was to clean, making it a must-have for any kitchen. I’m a professionally trained baker with 15 years of cooking experience. I’ll admit, years of bad press about nonstick cookware producing subpar food, being shoddily made and even potentially harmful gave me pause on whether to recommend a brand at all. But after my rigorous testing process, I concluded that there really are many excellent options on the market—and there have been incredible advancements in nonstick coating in recent years as well.