Thanks for signing up!
Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go.
The best cookware sets of 2025, tested by our experts in their home kitchens
The Tramontina set stocks your kitchen without cluttering it, and features useful pieces in a durable material.
What we like
- Includes essential pieces
- Durable tri-ply construction
- Dishwasher safe
What we don’t like
- Oven safe temperature is on the low end
When we asked King Phojanakong, chef at the Institute of Culinary Education, which pots and pans were must-haves, he listed a 5-quart Dutch oven, 12-inch saute pan, and 3-quart saucepan, all of which (or similar versions of) are included in Tramontina's cookware set. The versatility of these pieces is the selling point: Phojanakong uses the saute pan for chicken dishes or baby bok choy, and takes out the 3-quart saucepan when he needs to heat up leftover soups and sauces and cook rice or small portions of pasta.
Not only is the Tramontina set's practical range of sizes — with cookware scaled for both individual meals and large gatherings — one of its major assets, but so is its durable construction.
"Stainless steel is the most universal material. You don't have to treat it gently," said Lisa Chernick, author of "Your Starter Kitchen." Each piece in the Tramontina set is made up of an aluminum core sandwiched between 18/10 stainless steel layers. This tri-ply construction gives you the excellent heat conductivity of aluminum with the strength of stainless steel.
You can purchase the individual components separately, though the set offers the best deal. There are also smaller and larger sets, but the 10-piece has all the essentials and no unnecessary extras. While the set is dishwasher safe, hand washing your cookware will maintain its shine longer.
The Le Creuset Toughened Nonstick PRO 13-Piece Cookware Set is the best nonstick cookware set we've tested. It heats quickly and evenly, and its impressive nonstick surface easily releases eggs without needing oil.
What we like
- Even heating
- Outstanding nonstick surface
- Heats faster than most
- Impressive heat retention
What we don’t like
- Contains PFAS
- Stock pot is only 6 quarts
After a new round of testing for the best nonstick pans, we fell in love with the Le Creuset cookware set. The brand is best known for its cast iron (a set is even featured in this guide), but the Toughened Nonstick Pro line is just as impressive.
When we tested the skillet, sunnyside-up eggs slid out of the pan without any oil or risky shaking — the yolk was undisturbed. The nonstick surface is slick and heats up quickly. We found the Toughened Pro material to be one of the fastest to boil water and maintain an even temperature.
This set features three skillets (8, 10, and 12 inches) for ultimate versatility. The saute pan and larger saucepan have helper handles that make it easier to move pieces from the stovetop to the oven to the table.
Our main qualm with this set is the presence of PFAS. If that's a dealbreaker for you, consider our previous top pick: the MadeIn Nonstick Set. We also have a guide to the best ceramic nonstick cookware.
If you splurge on an All-Clad Stainless Steel set, your kitchen will be stocked with essential pieces that stand the test of time.
What we like
- High oven safe temperature
- Thick gauge aluminum core
- Stock pot serves as Dutch oven
What we don’t like
- Not dishwasher safe
- No 12-inch fry pan
Our best overall pick, which is also stainless steel, is less expensive and offers much of the same benefits as this All-Clad set. However, the longevity and durability of the All-Clad D3 line may make it worth spending the extra money, depending on your cooking needs.
The All-Clad D3 cookware set has the highest oven-safe temperature in this guide: 600 degrees. The ability to withstand such high heat also improves the performance of the casserole dish or stock pot as a substitute Dutch oven. And as Chernick mentioned, more experienced cooks may want to brown something on the stovetop and then put it in the oven.
We should note that while these All-Clad pots and pans hold up in the oven, you're better off hand-washing them than putting them in the dishwasher, which is something to consider if keeping cleanup time to a minimum is important.
A gorgeous aesthetic and available colorways might be what catches your attention, but these pans by Caraway have more to offer. They combine great performance with excellent heat conductivity and ease of cleaning. The set also comes with a smart storage solution.
What we like
- Great heat retention and slick, PFOA-free coating
- Even heating across the surface
- Available in six rich colors
What we don’t like
- Storage system doesn't work in every kitchen setup
- Slow to heat up
In our guide to the best ceramic cookware, we selected an Our Place Set as our top pick. Since we still love Caraway and value the Dutch oven and versatile lids, we're keeping the set in this guide as an alternative to Our Place.
Though this set is on the smaller side, Caraway's set has everything you need to get cooking. The 6.5-quart Dutch oven can be your pasta pot or serving dish for large meals, and the 4.5-quart saute pan is perfect for large fry-ups. I tested the Caraway Home set and found each piece to have excellent heat retention and useful design details. However, I don't think the included storage system adds much to the set.
Caraway's signature, and part of why it earned a spot on our list of the best cookware sets, is its ceramic nonstick coating. Ceramic coatings offer the same nonstick properties as traditional ones, but contain no trace elements of PFOA, PFTE, lead, or cadmium. Caraway cookware has an aluminum core that ensures rapid and even heating, while the coating decreases your need for oil and makes the surface easier to clean.
The Caraway Home set is shipped in recycled cardboard with no plastic bags. Plus, the ceramic coating releases less CO2 when manufactured than traditional nonstick coatings. (Though keep in mind that all nonstick coatings, including ceramic, are less durable than stainless steel and other metals.)
Read our full Caraway Home Cookware Set review.
If high prices are keeping you from investing in some hard-anodized cookware, T-fal's set will be perfect for you.
What we like
- Includes two serving utensils
- Roomy handles make dishes easy to handle
- Vented lids allow for steam release
What we don’t like
- Low oven-safe temperature
The exteriors of all the pots and pans in T-fal's cookware set are hard-anodized aluminum, a material resistant to scratches, while the interiors are glazed with nonstick coating and reinforced with strengthening titanium. This durability (plus the low price point) is part of the reason why we named a similar set by T-Fal the best budget pick in our guide to the best hard-anodized cookware.
Business Insider reporter James Brains has used a comparable T-fal set since 2018. He said that the pieces have held up well through daily use, though he recommends hand washing the fry pans to preserve the nonstick coating.
The largest pot in this 12-piece collection is only five quarts, but if you're not hosting a party, that should be big enough for pasta night. Plus, the set includes a serving spoon and a slotted spatula, so you'll be ready to dole out dinner.
Ring-shaped thermo spot indicators turn red when the pans get hot, which can take some of the guesswork out of properly preheating — especially for less experienced cooks.
Check out our guide to the best hard anodized cookware sets.
Le Creuset’s cast iron cookware set comes in a wide variety of colors with one saucepan, one skillet, and one Dutch oven. The brand’s signature enameled coating eliminates the need for seasoning, making cooking and clean-up easier.
What we like
- Enamel exterior boosts heat retention
- Stain resistant
- Includes two of our top-tested pieces
What we don’t like
- No larger saucepan
Le Creuset has been a household name for over 100 years, and the brand's cookware set offers a combination of approachable pieces to get started with cast iron cooking. Cast iron pans are incredibly versatile, allowing you to sear meats, make hash browns, and even bake bread.
This set comes with a Dutch oven, one small saucepan, and a large skillet. We've tested the skillet and the Dutch oven, and both pieces are top picks in our guides. The Le Creuset Dutch oven can be utilized on the stovetop for big pots of soup or stew, as well as in the oven up to 500 degrees, whether you're baking homemade sourdough or prepping braised pot roast. All of the lids are safe for oven use as well, so moving from stovetop to oven is easy.
With the enamel coating, there's no need to season the cast iron. Each piece in the set is easy to clean and can be washed either in the dishwasher or by hand. Plus, you can choose from a wide variety of colors to match your kitchen's design. The brand also offers an 11-piece set, but this smaller set offers the best overall value for essential cast iron pieces.
Check out our guide to the best cast iron skillets we've tested.
The Williams Sonoma set is an accessible way to bring copper cookware into your kitchen, pairing the benefits of copper with the ease of stainless steel.
What we like
- Double-wall insulated lids
- Nonreactive interior
- Includes essential cookware pieces
What we don’t like
- Copper gauge could be thicker
- Stainless steel lining limits some heat diffusing
Copper provides the most efficient and even heating of any metal used in the best cookware. Since copper is a reactive metal, most cookware is lined with a nonreactive interior like tin or stainless steel. The Williams Sonoma Thermo-Clad Copper Set has a stainless steel interior, so you can worry less about cooking acidic foods.
This set includes all the pieces we think are necessary for a well-stocked kitchen, and the 1.2 mm copper exterior is striking enough to display when you're not cooking. The Thermo-Clad cookware is oven-safe to 450 degrees, but you should never heat up an empty copper pan.
For more guidance on how to take care of your copper pots and pans, check out our guide to the best copper cookware.
Pieces: The first thing we did was establish a list of essential pieces all cookware sets should have. Our three experts agreed that quality is more important than quantity when it comes to cookware. Chernick, Battiliana, and Phojanakong each suggested a pared down list of essential pieces.
Cooktop compatibility: Most kitchens come with gas or electric stoves, but the best induction cooktops are becoming more and more popular. We looked for sets that work on the largest variety of stovetops, giving extra points to those that worked on induction.
Materials: We identified the pros and cons of different cookware materials, which you can see here. Chernick recommended stainless steel for cookware sets because it can handle the wear and tear of a busy kitchen, and we agree. Stainless steel is durable, doesn't require special maintenance, and cooks most things well.
Construction: We considered the construction of each cookware set. Besides cast iron, most cookware is made by layering different metals. This increases the heat conductivity of less conductive metals; for instance, stainless steel pans often have aluminum cores because aluminum heats up much quicker. Having multiple layers also makes the cookware more durable. Battiliana said there is a connection between performance and quality, as thinner metal pans will wear out faster than better-constructed pans.
You can purchase logo and accolade licensing to this story here.
Disclosure: Written and researched by the Insider Reviews team. We highlight products and services you might find interesting. If you buy them, we may get a small share of the revenue from the sale from our partners. We may receive products free of charge from manufacturers to test. This does not drive our decision as to whether or not a product is featured or recommended. We operate independently from our advertising team. We welcome your feedback. Email us at reviews@businessinsider.com.