The Tramontina set stocks your kitchen without causing clutter and features useful pieces in a durable material.
Pros: Includes essential pieces, tri-ply construction for durability
Cons: Oven safe temperature 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 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. While the set is dishwasher safe, hand washing your cookware will maintain its shine longer.
You can purchase the individual components separately, though the set offers the best deal. There are also smaller and larger sets, but the 12-piece has all the essentials and no unnecessary extras.
If you need to stock your kitchen quickly and on a budget, the T-fal Hard-Anodized Set is easy to maintain, scratch resistant, and comes with three serving utensils.
Pros: Dishwasher safe, large frying pans, stewpot can act as a Dutch oven
Cons: No pot larger than 4 quarts, saute pan does not have a lid
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 this set by T-Fal the best budget pick in our guide to the best hard-anodized cookware.
Insider reporter James Brains has used a similar 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 four quarts, but if you're not hosting a party, that should be big enough for pasta night. Plus, the set includes a serving spoon, spatula, and a slotted spatula, so you'll be ready to dole out dinner. And if you have leftovers, the 2-quart pot comes with a refrigerator lid so you can store them.
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. Once you're done, these stackable pieces nest easily into one another.
If you splurge on an All-Clad Stainless Steel set, your kitchen will be stocked with essential pieces that stand the test of time.
Pros: High oven safe temperature, thick gauge aluminum core
Cons: Fry pans on the small side, not dishwasher safe
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.
The Caraway Ceramic Coated Set is an eco-friendly alternative to traditional nonstick pots and pans — and it's available in six attractive colors.
Pros: Includes storage system, aluminum core for rapid heating
Cons: No larger fry pan, ceramic coating isn't as durable as stainless or other metals
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 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.) Altogether, this set is designed to limit clutter and keep your kitchen functional as well as well-stocked.
The Williams Sonoma Thermo-Clad Copper Set is a great intro to copper set, offering the heating abilities of copper and the accessibility of stainless steel.
Pros: Double-wall insulated lids, nonreactive interior
Cons: Not the thickest gauge copper, stainless steel lining limits some of the diffusivity
Copper provides the most efficient and even heating of any cookware metal. 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 copper cookware.
While we haven't yet tested the sets in this guide firsthand, our picks are based off of extensive research and expert interviews. Here are the factors we considered when putting together this guide:
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. With this input and our own experience in the kitchen, we created the guidelines found at the top of the page.
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 can increase the heat conductivity of less conductive metals; for instance, stainless steel pans often have aluminum cores because aluminum heats up much quicker. Additionally, having multiple layers 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.
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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@insider.com.