The 3 Best Cookware Sets of 2025, According to Our Testing

This is not a comprehensive list of everything we’ve tested, just the models that are still available and meet our current criteria.

$80 to $550

The Cuisinart MultiClad Pro Stainless Steel 12-Piece Cookware Set was our previous runner-up. However, after a new round of testing, we found the skillets warped over high heat. The bottom of the pans bowed so much that they wobbled on a flat surface. We tested multiple skillets to be sure this wasn’t a fluke, but all of them had the same results. Though the Cuisinart manual said to use the cookware only over low to medium heat (and most cookware manufacturers have the same recommendation), our picks haven’t warped like the Cuisinart set, even after years of cooking over high heat.

The Cuisinart 77-7 Chef’s Classic Stainless 7-Piece Cookware Set was our former budget pick. However, this set is prone to hot spots because it’s not fully clad. The single layer of stainless steel around the perimeter of the pan is too thin to evenly distribute heat and causes food to burn.

The skillets in the Cuisinart French Classic Stainless 10-Piece Cookware Set have higher sides, so tossing vegetables is a bit more challenging than with our top picks. And for the price of this set, we wish it came with a second skillet.

The Henckels Clad Impulse set includes a 6-quart stock pot, which is smaller than the 8-quart ones we recommend. It also only includes 1- and 2-quart sauce pans, which are a bit small, so we’ve decided not to test it.

The Quince 5-Ply Stainless Steel 10-Piece Cookware Set is made of five-ply stainless steel, which falls outside the parameters we’ve set for this guide.

We like the sizing of the pieces included in the Heritage Steel Eater Series 8-Piece Core Set, but we’ve ruled out five-ply cookware, so we decided not to test it. It also comes with one less saucepan than the All-Clad set we recommend.

The Duxtop Whole Clad Tri-Ply Stainless Steel Premium 10-Piece Cookware Set did poorly in our caramel test, as areas of the saucepan started to burn the sugar before the center had fully dissolved. This set also dripped the most when we poured liquids.

We dismissed the Cooks Standard Multi-Ply Clad Stainless Steel 12-piece Cookware Set because the rivets weren’t secure on some of the pot handles, causing them to wiggle.

After testing the Misen 3QT Saucier in our guide to the best small saucepan, we ruled out the cookware sets from Misen. Its five-ply construction made the pan slower to heat up, and its tubular handle was hard to hold onto. We’ve also watched Misen’s cookware go in and out of stock frequently.

The Great Jones Family Style set is unusual among the cookware sets we looked at in that it includes a nonstick pan and an enameled cast-iron Dutch oven. However, we decided not to test it for a few reasons. For one, when testing the Great Jones Saucy for our guide to the best small saucepan, we found the loop-shaped handles uncomfortable to hold. Also, the nonstick pan is only 8.5 inches, so it’s not as versatile as the 10-inch pans we recommend in our guide to nonstick skillets. And it has a ceramic coating, which we’ve found quickly loses its nonstick properties. The set’s only other skillet, a 10.25-inch skillet-sauté-pan hybrid, is also on the small side.

The Open Kitchen by Williams-Sonoma Stainless-Steel 10-Piece Cookware Set has a small, 6-quart stockpot (we recommend at least an 8-quart stockpot), so we opted not to test.

$600 to $800

All-Clad’s D3 Stainless Everyday 3-Ply Bonded Cookware (10 pc) is a tri-ply set similar to our All-Clad upgrade pick. It includes the same basic pieces, but all in slightly different sizes. The handles on these are slightly curved, which some may find more comfortable than the stick handles on our upgrade pick. The pans performed as well as our top pick, but we noticed a loose piece of metal in the handle of the 3-quart sauté pan, which caused it to rattle while sautéing vegetables (the representatives we spoke to at All-Clad said they’d never heard of this being an issue before). This may have been a one-off manufacturing error, but we’ll keep an eye on customer reviews to see if others experience a similar problem with the handle.

Since the skillets and stockpot in the All-Clad D3 Curated 10-Piece Set (sold exclusively at Crate & Barrel) are smaller than we recommend, we opted not to test this full set.

The Sardel Stainless Steel Set includes too few pieces for such a high price, so we opted not to test it.

Over $800

The Le Creuset Tri-Ply Stainless Steel Cookware Set is more expensive than our current picks and comes with one less skillet, so we didn’t test it.

The Liberty Tabletop 360 Cookware is one of the few manufacturers that makes its cookware in the US. However, it’s prohibitively expensive for most. Our recommended sets are a better deal, in both quality and price, so we’ve opted not to test this collection.

Because copper is such an excellent conductor of heat, we decided to test the All-Clad Copper Core 10-Piece Set to see how it would perform against regular tri-ply stainless steel cookware. In our tests, the Copper Core cookware heated up so fast we had to swirl the pan more when making caramel to prevent it from burning. Unlike the tri-ply All-Clad set we recommend, the Copper Core skillets discolored badly over high heat.

The skillets in the Williams-Sonoma Signature Thermo-Clad Stainless-Steel 10-Piece Cookware Set have a very small cooking surface. 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.

We tested the Hestan 12.5″ Open Skillet to see if its NanoBond Technology made it less prone to discoloration than other cookware. The pan discolored slightly in our tests, but it was easy to clean with the Hestan brand stainless steel cleaner. However, because the skillet concentrated heat in the center of the pan, we opted not to try the full Hestan 10-Piece Set.

We also tested the Hestan 12.5″ Probond Forged Stainless Steel Skillet, but it discolored and warped the first time we used it. So we decided not to test the Professional Clad Stainless Steel 10-piece Ultimate Set. Also, this set costs a whopping $1,500.

The Hestan Thomas Keller Insignia 7-Piece Cookware Set has only two universal pot lids and is quite expensive, even when it’s on sale. We think most everyone would be happier with our recommended All-Clad set, which costs significantly less.

This article was edited by Marilyn Ong and Marguerite Preston.