Good place to buy pots and pans

Same as if you’re buying cookware individually, you should have some cast-iron or carbon-steel, some nonstick, and some stainless-steel pieces in your kitchen. (You can also splurge on copper, which is basically like an even more reactive stainless steel, but that will cost you a very pretty penny.) For this, I’ve stated whether the set is all one material or a mixed batch.

The majority of these are smaller-sized sets (four to five pieces). The exceptions to this are: our experts’ first pick, which has 11 pieces of varying types and materials and therefore would be a great choice for someone starting completely from scratch; the Zwilling set, made totally from nonstick material, has ten pieces; and the Mauviel set, made totally from copper, has seven. It’s also important to say here that “pieces” sometimes includes accessories (in this case, just the first one from Made In) and always includes lids (all of them) — so, for example, a five piece set might be made up of three different pots and pans and two lids.

Beyond just the number, you should of course look at the shapes and sizes of all of the parts in each set you consider. Here, I’ve listed them out so you can take a quick look and know whether or not it might be a fit for you (though it’s also worth noting that I’ve linked to some other options within the descriptions of each one if you take a more careful read through).

Material: Mixed | Number of pieces: 11 | Types: Nonstick frying pan, stainless-clad frying pan (both 10”); 12” carbon-steel frying pan; 2 qt. saucepan, 4 qt. saucepan, 3.5 qt. sauté pan, 8 qt. stock pot (all stainless-clad with lids) 2 oz. can carbon steel seasoning wax

This is the largest, most comprehensive set on this list, and it comes recommended by culinary producer Kiano Moju. As with Made In’s knife set, she first bought it when she was stocking her creative studio in Los Angeles, a kitchen she needed to outfit from scratch. “They have been used and abused since 2019, and I’ve never had to replace them,” she says. “They’re properly made. They literally still look brand-new. Especially the fact that the nonstick is still in good shape is shocking to me. I cook on pretty fast and high heat and have destroyed some other pans in, like, a month.” They even got her to cook on stainless steel, something she hadn’t done so much before. “Stainless steel always seemed so chef-y to me, and I’m really a home cook,” she says. “I bought the set because of the price — it’s discounted — but then I learned how to use them, and they’re so well built.” Strategist editor Maxine Builder agrees. A few years ago, she tested a bunch of cookware sets from direct-to-consumer start-ups, and though Made In’s was a slightly different grouping that the brand doesn’t sell anymore, it had the stainless-steel pots and pans she naturally gravitated toward the most in her two-week trial period. She described them as having “heavy bottoms with well-designed, easy-to-lift handles” and that because “the cookware is made of brushed stainless steel rather than polished, it was easy to clean and keep clean.” (She also loved the nonstick.)

The Sous Chef set also includes a 12-inch carbon-steel frying pan (sort of like a lighter cousin to cast iron), something that journalist and cookbook author Lesley Téllez especially appreciates. In fact, she owns most of the pieces in Made In’s all-carbon-steel set, which includes that frying pan, a wok, and a roasting pan (plus a couple of accessories). “This line is super-sturdy,” she says, “Your pans get blazing hot, and it cooks super-evenly. You get the same high-heat conduction as you would with cast iron, but because it’s not as thick, you have more control.”

Material: Mixed | Number of pieces: Five | Types: 10.5” nonstick pan, 10.5” sauté pan with lid, 3 qt. sauce pot with lid

Material’s only cookware set is also a mix of types and materials — only fewer. In fact, I’ve added all three pieces individually to my own collection over the past few years (yes, I should have just bought the discounted bundle, but you live and you learn). In the end, they come in handy all the time. The pieces all have a copper core overlaid by other materials (self-explanatory for the nonstick, and in the case of the sauté pan and sauce pot, a stainless-steel and aluminum coating). Copper conducts heat particularly well but is notoriously expensive, so by using it only at the center, Material’s pots and pans reap the benefit while staying at a reasonable price. I particularly love the nonstick (which, for what it’s worth, I think is one of the nicest-looking skillets of its kind out there). So does recipe developer and cookbook author Hetty McKinnon. “This is by far the most durable nonstick pan I have owned,” she says. “It heats up super-quickly and cooks evenly. It also feels balanced and light in my hand, which is such a nice change from my cast-iron skillet. Importantly, it has not warped after extended usage, which is an issue I always face with nonstick pans.”

Material: Nonstick | Number of pieces: 10 | Types: 8” fry pan, 10” fry pan, 1.5 qt saucepan with lid, 3 qt. saucepan with lid, 2.6 qt. sauté pan with lid, 5 qt. nonstick dutch oven with lid

Zwilling, maker of our favorite nonstick skillet, has an exclusive collection with Food52, in which each piece is made from the same materials as its signature pan: an aluminum core that heats quickly and evenly, and a surface that recipe developer and cookbook author Andy Baraghani says releases anything that goes on it easily. They’re also all scratch-resistant, a quality that recipe developer and writer Rebecca Firkser appreciates. “I still try to be cautious when flipping things with my metal fish spatula, tongs, and slotted spoons,” she says, “but even when I’ve scraped the pan accidentally, I’ve never seen a scratch on the surface.”

Material: Nonstick | Number of pieces: Two | Types: 9.5” fry pan, 11” fry pan

If you don’t need nonstick pots or saucepans, but are in the market for multiple nonstick skillets, we still think you should stick with Zwilling. In fact, it’s smart to buy a skillet set — different sizes come in handy for different purposes, and you’ll get two for $30 less than you would if you bought them separately. In this case, the 9.5-inch is perfect for feeding two to four people, but “you can also scramble eggs for one in it without it feeling ridiculously oversized and spare,” says recipe developer and cookbook author Molly Baz. The 11-inch can accommodate even more for when you’re cooking for a crowd or making something big-batch. Firkser and Baraghani are both just as big fans as Baz, noting the comfortable handle and the fact that you can put the pans in the oven and dishwasher without ruining their nonstick properties.

Material: Nonstick | Number of pieces: Four | Types: 2 qt. saucepan, 9.5” frying pan, 3 qt. sauté pan, one interchangeable lid

Cookbook author and broadcaster Yasmin Khan is a fan of GreenPan’s nonstick cookware. “They’re great,” she says, “The saucepan you can use for a stew, for pasta — it’s very versatile. You can use other ones for frying onions, for poaching eggs. Also, I’m half-Iranian, and in a lot of Iranian recipes, we use a nonstick pan, like for tahdig. At the end of the day, it’s just easier to cook things in a nonstick. You don’t necessarily need to splurge on fancy pans.” Other pros, like recipe developer and food writer Caroline Lange and cookbook author Vallery Lomas, have also sang the praises of GreenPan to us before. This four-piece set will get you pretty far, but GreenPan also makes an 11-piece one, should you really want to go all out.

Material: Cast iron | Number of pieces: Five | Types: 10.5” round griddle, 8” skillet, 10.25” skillet, 5 qt. Dutch oven, one interchangeable lid

If you want to go hard for cast iron, this set by Lodge is a real deal. For only $100, you get two different-size skillets, a griddle, and a Dutch oven. As I explained when I named Lodge’s skillet the best overall in this piece, cast iron can pretty much do it all: get really hot and retain that heat, go from the stove to the oven, and hold a nonstick surface if seasoned properly. You can sear, sauté, braise, fry, and bake with it — and having two sizes of skillet, plus the Dutch oven (good for things with more volume, like soups, stews, and pastas) and the griddle (nothing better for making pancakes, eggs, and bacon), just takes it over the top.

Material: Cast iron | Number of pieces: Five | Types: 10” fry pan, 1.75 qt. saucepan with lid, 4.5 qt. round Dutch oven with lid

If you want to get a bit fancier, the Le Creuset Dutch oven is broadly considered one of the best pieces of cookware you can buy — but the company also makes other equally useful cast-iron pieces. Both recipe developer and cookbook author Jessie Sheehan and cookbook author Erin Gleeson endorse it as a long-term investment that will truly never need to be replaced. “I’ve had my Le Creuset pieces for ten years and use the skillets daily,” Gleeson says. For her part, Sheehan uses her Dutch oven “all the time, for boiling water for pasta, for frying tofu or chicken fingers or donuts, for making bacon or hamburgers (the high sides of the pan means less mess when making greasy, splatter-y things)” — just to name a few examples. Not to mention, the signature colors are so pretty that all of the pieces can not only go from the stove to the oven, but also (stylishly) to the table.

Material: Stainless steel | Number of pieces: Five | Types: 10” fry pan, 3 qt. saucepan with lid, 3 qt. sauté pan with lid

If you’re looking to invest in new stainless steel, All-Clad is as classic as it gets. Matt Rodbard, food writer, editor, and cookbook author, uses his skillet all the time (and even commonly gifts it to people). “It’s my workhorse,” he says. “You get such an even temperature and it cleans up really nicely with Bar Keepers Friend. Plus, I think that having a piece of iconic culinary geer in your house feels great. The handle is iconic. If you look through most cookbooks in the last 20 years, you’ll spot the handle.” Jamie Knott, chef of Saddle River Inn in New Jersey, told us that he uses his three-quart saucepan because “it has a heavy bottom, heats evenly, and lasts forever.” As with the GreenPan nonstick, All-Clad also offers a bigger set with more pieces if that’s what you’re after.

Material: Copper | Number of pieces: Seven | Types: 10” fry pan, 2 qt. saucepan with lid, 3.5 qt. sauté pan with lid, 6.5 qt. sauté pan with lid

Copper pots and pans are always expensive, so if you’re going to invest, industry favorite Mauviel is the way to go. Daniel Cutler, the co-owner and chef of Ronan in Los Angeles, received his set as a wedding gift, but “if I had unlimited money, I would only use these pans,” he says. That’s because copper conducts and retains heat and cools down quickly; it’s the same principle as stainless steel but even more exacting. And if you take good care of your pieces, they’ll last a lifetime — keep them sparkling by polishing them with Bar Keepers Friend or let them develop a natural patina over time, as Cutler does. If you follow his lead, though, you need to “wash with hot soapy water and an abrasive sponge” as soon as you’re done cooking so food doesn’t stick.