To find the absolute best nonstick cookware sets, we subjected a handful of popular, top-rated brands to rigorous testing, from frying eggs to simmering marinara sauce. If you’re looking for the best overall set, you can’t beat the superior cooking abilities of the All-Clad D3 Stainless Nonstick. For the best value, the T-fal Unlimited Cookware Set is perfect for beginners and those with smaller kitchens. This 10-piece set includes an 8-inch skillet, 10-inch skillet, 2-quart saucepan with lid, 3-quart saucepan with lid, 3-quart deep sauté pan with lid, and 6-quart stockpot with lid.
Additionally, we limited our search to cookware with sloped sides. Some skillets, such as this Viking Contemporary Frying Pan, have sharply angled sides that make tossing vegetables while sautéing difficult. This well-constructed, affordable, fully clad tri-ply set distributes heat evenly, and it’s durable enough to take some abuse in a busy household. We seared, flipped and scrambled to find our favorite nonstick pans. Keep in mind that some of the items are lids and sometimes the manufacturer throws in a few plastic utensils and adds them to the piece count.
And we believe the Tramontina Gourmet 12-Piece Tri-Ply Clad Cookware Set is the best for most home cooks because it offers solid construction at an affordable price. Before you balk at the price, the editors at Cook’s Illustrated point out that this set will last you a lifetime. And the set price is actually Cookware Sets a bargain compared to adding up even just a few of the pieces separately. The testers said the cookware browns food perfectly, feels balanced, has stay-cool handles, and holds up very well over time. For what it’s worth, we’re big fans of this set and it was also Wirecutter’s choice for an upgraded pick.
But there are distinct advantages to buying a full set of cookware in one fell swoop. For one, you’ll save money since most brands offer a discount for the set versus buying each piece individually. Finally, there’s an aesthetic bonus since all your cookware will match in whichever style you choose. There’s also a seven-piece version of this same set at Walmart for $190 if this feels like too much cookware. The smaller set is the fry pan, chef’s pan and stockpot with lids and a few utensils.
Their rounded, ergonomically shaped handles are also comfortable to hold. We’ve long-term tested an older (now-discontinued) version of this set for two years, and we’re confident that this durable cookware set will provide you with many years of use. Blue Diamond is made of aluminum that’s coated inside with a ceramic finish, rather than a traditional one made of PTFE. While you many not find it as stickproof, you will get the benefit of easy cleanup. Testing has revealed that Blue Diamond heats evenly, so if you’re slinging pancakes you don’t have to keep moving them around in the pan to get them all done at the same time. Great Jones DTC cookware began in 2018 with “the Dutchess”, an oval-shaped Dutch oven designed as the millennial answer to Le Creuset and Staub.
Unfortunately, it’s also reactive to acidic foods and will discolor with use and time, so it requires maintenance to keep it looking shiny. True copper cookware is not compatible with induction cooktops, but stainless cookware with a decorative cuisinart knife copper coating should be induction compatible. Although the Mauviel M’Cook Stainless Steel 9-Piece Cookware Set performed well in our tests, it includes a small, 1-quart saucepan, which we found more limiting than a 1½- or 2-quart saucepan.