Best Cookware Sets of 2023

CR’s take: An internet sensation, this Caraway ceramic-coated cookware set turned out to be a sensation in our tests, too, rising to the top of our nonstick-set ratings. It comes with 14 pieces, but only half of them are pots or lids. The rest are various racks, hooks, trivets, and things you might not want or have space for. Of course, if this is your first cookware set, why not? It excels in all four of our key cooking tests, and the handles are sturdy and stay cool to the touch while you’re cooking. It comes in six colors, including the Perracotta set pictured here.

CR’s take: With its pink blush exterior, white ceramic interior, and gold handles, the GreenPan Padova Reserve certainly makes a style statement. But how is it on substance? Not too shabby. In fact, its scores on all of our major cooking tasks were top-notch, including an excellent rating for speed of heating. Its handles are sturdy and stay fairly cool to the touch. The nonstick coating is durable, although some of the nonstick pans we tested did even better on that test. The 10 pieces are two frying pans, two saucepans, a sauté pan, a stockpot, and four lids.

CR’s take: If you do the math, you’ll see that at about $140 for the set, the 15 pieces in the Member’s Mark Hard Anodized Aluminum cookware set from Sam’s Club cost less than $10 each. That might make you doubt that this set can measure up against pricier cookware, but it does. It aced our cooking evenness, simmering, and speed of heating tests and did almost as well on the food-release task (because a few eggs needed nudging out of the pan). The handles stayed relatively cool and held their own in the sturdiness test. The set has three frying pans, three saucepans, a sauté pan, a Dutch oven, a stock pot, and six lids.

CR’s take: This 10-piece Oxo Ceramic Professional nonstick set is all business, with no extras added to the count, just pots and lids. Cooking evenness is top-notch, earning an excellent rating in our tests, and it brings water to a boil in no time flat. It’s very good at simmering sauces and releasing eggs fried in quick succession. The handles are super-sturdy and stay cool to the touch.

CR’s take: Ironically, this 10-piece Vitale 66830-010 nonstick set from the reliable Zwilling J. A. Henckels brand gets its poorest rating, only a middling score, on nonstick food release in which we cook one egg after another in the frying pan. Everything else was impressive, including quickly heating water, providing an even cooking surface without hot spots, and simmering without scorching. The handles get our top rating for sturdiness and stay cool to the touch as you cook. Every piece is a pot, pan, or lid, with no extraneous add-ons.

CR’s take: Called the Smartnest, this Cuisinart set has six pans that can be stacked for storage. It’s an 11-piece set and the 11th piece is a lid organizer, which comes in handy for the four lids that fit multiple pans. The pans were consistent performers across our tests, earning top marks in cooking evenness and egg release. And the tests for simmering and bringing water to a boil were almost as good. The handles are sturdy and stay cool to the touch.

CR’s take: The eight-piece Fissler Original-Profi collection set earns a top mark for cooking evenness and aces our tests for heating water quickly. The handles stay cool to the touch and are sturdy, so this set should serve you well for a long time. The pans do very well at releasing food but aren’t as impressive when it comes to sautéing or simmering. The eight-piece set has a frying pan, three saucepans, a stockpot, and three lids.

CR’s take: This eight-piece Made By Design set from Target has no extraneous pieces like spatulas or trivets. You’re getting five pans and three interchangeable lids. Cooking evenness is excellent, and this set performs very well on our other cooking tests—simmering sauces, frying eggs, and bringing water to a boil quickly. The sturdiness of the handles is so-so, but they stay cool to the touch as you work.

CR’s take: While we liked how evenly this set from The Cellar (Macy’s) cooked, how fast it heated water, and how easily a series of eggs slipped out in quick succession, we found the handles to be a bit wobbly. That’s typical for cookware in this price range and could be a drawback if you are investing in a set for the long haul. It’s advertised as an 11-piece, set but the 11th piece is a trivet. The lids for the six pans are glass, so you can see what you’re cooking without lifting the lid and releasing heat.

CR’s take: The Tramontina Tri-Ply Clad set has enough pans to satisfy most of your cooking needs while not taking over an entire kitchen cabinet. It excels at cooking evenness and simmering, and earns a very good rating on both the speed of heating and food-release tests. The handles stay safely cool to the touch and are very sturdy. The eight-piece set has two frying pans, two saucepans, a Dutch oven, and three lids.