Whether you’re an expert in the kitchen or just starting out, a full set of great cookware can expand your culinary range. You can build a set yourself, but researching compatible pots and pan sets takes time—not to mention that piecemealing a set often ends up costing you more. To help simplify your shopping, we’ve tested sets from well-known brands such as Caraway, Cuisinart, GreenPan, and Le Creuset.

Cookware is usually sold in sets consisting of five to 15 pieces or as individual pots and pans. But be aware of the language manufacturers use. For example, a “12-piece set” won’t have a dozen pots and pans. “In boxed sets, manufacturers count a lid as a piece,” says Kelly Moomey, CR’s market analyst for cookware. “Even utensils and a cookbook may be counted as pieces.”

In our tests, we evaluate heating evenness, speed of heating, sauté performance, nonstick durability, handle sturdiness, and more. To evaluate how well various pieces perform in the kitchen, we fry eggs, boil water, and simmer tomato sauce.

We have 85 cookware sets in our ratings, including nonstick and stainless steel, which are the two most commonly used types of cookware, according to a nationally representative CR survey of 2,158 U.S. adults in April 2025.

Not sure which to choose? Nonstick cookware is exceptionally easy to clean but may contain harmful PFAS, known as "forever chemicals," including PTFE (Teflon). It’s an issue that 65 percent of home cooks we surveyed are at least somewhat concerned about. For those who wish to avoid PFAS, we note in our ratings which manufacturers claim their pans are PTFE-free. All the nonstick sets on this list come with PTFE-free claims.

Stainless steel cookware sets, on the other hand, are long-lasting and easy to care for but can be tough to clean. For more information, check out our comprehensive cookware buying guide, which includes a primer on different types of cookware and the materials they’re made of.

If you do decide to build your own set, take stock of the basic pieces you might need, including a frying pan or two, a saucepan, and a Dutch oven. And once you make your decisions, check out our tips on how to maintain your new pots and pans.

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In CR’s survey, a majority of people who recently used nonstick cookware said their top reasons for using it were that food doesn’t stick or that the cookware is easy to clean. One in four of them (26 percent) said their top reason for using nonstick cookware was that it allowed them to use less oil when cooking. The pans below, listed alphabetically, earn high marks for both nonstick food release and cooking evenness.

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Stainless steel cookware is incredibly versatile. It can tackle everything from pickling to pasta sauce and is a good choice for browning and braising. The sets below, sorted in alphabetical order, aced our tests for cooking evenness and food release, but they are typically more difficult to clean than nonstick cookware sets.