The handles are wide and comfortable to hold, which makes flipping ingredients a cinch. The assortment of fry pans and pot sizes especially stands out in this set – they’re perfect when you’re cooking for one or an entire family. This easy-to-clean set from GreenPan is a personal favorite among our kitchen pros. It has a hard-anodized exterior and a ceramic nonstick interior, which the company claims is free of PFOA, PFAS, lead and cadmium. It includes a great assortment of cookware, including different-sized pots and pants for all your needs. Each is lightweight, strong and durable and can withstand high heat (up to 600˚F).
If you’d rather start with a few basics, you’ll be able to cook a lot with just a 3-quart saucepan, a 12-inch skillet, and an 8-quart stockpot. Time and time again, testing shows that All-Clad browns perfectly evenly and keeps stews and sauces at a perfect simmer. What that means to you is that you won’t have to vigilantly rearrange, stir and adjust the heat during cooking. All gleaming stainless steel inside and out, it has a core of aluminum that’s responsible for its great results. We love the sloped shape of the skillets which make it easy to roll out an omelet. In addition to considering how well pots and pans cooked and how easy they were to use and clean, we considered the assortment of pieces included in each set.
Subscribing to the Cristel USA website newsletter is an easy way to stay informed of the latest products and offers on our website. Donna Currie is a food writer and blogger specializing in recipes and kitchen gadgets. She covers kitchen tools and gadgets for gotham steel cookware sets The Spruce Eats and is the author of Make Ahead Bread. Reviewed and PureWow both picked the Cuisinart Multiclad Pro Stainless Steel 12-Piece Cookware Set. We independently research, test, review, and recommend the best products—learn more about our process.
The handles on this set are also very long, which we found awkward—especially on a crowded range. At 3 pounds, 14.8 ounces, the Signature Thermo-Clad pan was a bit hefty for some of our testers. If you’re partial to keeping your cookware looking bright and shiny, note that this was one of the only sets we tested that looked like new after we cleaned it. Of course, burned-on oil or grease can be more challenging to remove with just regular dish soap or a run through the dishwasher. But applying Bar Keepers Friend or a slurry of baking soda and warm water with a nonabrasive sponge gets the job done.
Still, be sure to check the materials of the nonstick cookware set before purchase. Even though I’m a professional cook, I only use the same two saucepans and skillet for every meal or a big pot if I’m boiling pasta. But if you’re someone who regularly cooks for a crowd or prefers to make more elaborate multi-component meals, you might feel a bit let down by the lack of variety in this set. The only major complaint the testers had with this set is the silicone handle covers.
For anyone looking for additional colors, Crate & Barrel carries four exclusive colors with gold hardware. It’s difficult to distinguish Caraway from Equal Parts in terms of mission and offerings. They boast of their chemical-free ceramic nonstick formula, and sell a small range of pans in on-trend colors with names like “perracotta” and sage. Caraway’s design is a little more modern in shape, with drawer-pull style handles and flat lids.