5 Best Stainless Steel Cookware Sets, According to Food Network Kitchen

This classic cookware is prized by pros and home cooks alike and with good reason. It browns perfectly evenly and keeps stews and sauces at a steady simmer. When you use it, you won’t have to constantly rearrange your chicken, stir your chili, or adjust the heat under your soup. While it’s shiny stainless inside and out, it has a core of aluminum that accounts for its great results. The classic sloped shape on the skillets makes it easy to roll out omelets or pour sauces.

As the handles are riveted onto the base, they’ll never loosen or fall off. D3 can be used at temperatures up to 600 F so you can run a skillet cobbler under the broiler to brown off its biscuit topping. This set includes a good assortment of essential pots and pans, including an 8-quart stockpot for a crab boil or pasta water.

You can go ahead and place these pots and pans in the dishwasher or easily wash them by hand. We recommend that you don’t use them to sear a sirloin over high heat or you could find yourself with cooked-on spatters that will take a bit of work to scrub off. The size of each pan is etched on the bottoms, so you always know whether you’re grabbing the one specified in your recipe. If you prefer to buy American products, you’ll be happy to know that All-Clad is manufactured in the USA.

With this set you get the professional look of our top choice and more pieces at less than half the price. You can depend on this cookware with an interior layer of aluminum for solid performance whether you’re sautéing peppers and onions or simmering beef stew. Plus, with their rounded handles, these pots and pans are a pleasure to grip.

This collection is perfect if you cook for a large family. It includes generously-sized pieces like a 12-inch frypan, a 5-quart saute pan, a Dutch oven, and an 8-quart stockpot. Tramontina can be safely be used in the oven up to 500 F. That’s more than adequate for braising a pork shoulder, finishing off a frittata, or crisping up a tuna noodle casserole. While you can clean this cookware in the dishwasher, it is prone to some discoloration over time so we recommend you keep a container of Bar Keepers Friend on hand.

You can’t beat this large set for value. It includes pots and pans for just about every cooking situation imaginable from small ones for heating a single serving of soup or frying an egg to huge ones for braising one-dish dinners or boiling lobsters. On the bottom of these stainless-steel pieces there’s an aluminum disc which provides absolutely even browning whether you’re using them on an electric or induction smoothtop or a gas cooktop. In testing, we also found that unlike some disc-bottomed cookware, the Dutch oven didn’t scorch when we simmered marinara sauce.

All of the saucepans have measurement markings so you know how much water to add when you’re making mac ‘n cheese. Helper handles on the large skillets are useful for carrying a pan of saucy meatballs to the countertop or table. Chef’s Classic can go in an oven up to a temp of 500°F. You can pop it in the dishwasher but one of the things we love about this line is that it requires less scrubbing than other stainless-steel cookware to remove splatters.

The moment you unpack this pricey cookware and feel it in your hand, you know it’s special. A brushed stainless-steel finish with a band of polished stainless below the rim, flared lips, and rounded edges give it a more elegant, less commercial look than other luxury brands. While it’s not lightweight, it feels well balanced and the curved handles give you a comfortable grip when you’re carrying a pot to the countertop, pouring out a gravy, or flipping out a crepe. Made of forged stainless steel with a core of aluminum, Hestan Pro provides beautiful browning and exceptionally even simmering. Put up a batch of tomato sauce and you can let it cook for an hour without stirring.

While the handles are riveted on for durability, the rivets are flush with the interior surface so cleaning around them requires no extra work. These pieces can be used at temperatures up to 600 F which means you can run a skillet under the broiler to brown off a piece of fish. Hestan is manufactured in Italy.

If you’re not looking for a huge assortment of cookware but want what you do buy to be of the highest quality, this pro-styled brand is an excellent choice. It’s sold directly by the manufacturer which helps to keep the price reasonable for pieces that compete with the best cookware out there. Constructed of three layers of aluminum that are completely encased in stainless steel, Misen is heavier than its competitors which means it takes longer to heat up but is also less likely to burn or scorch foods. You’ll love using it for tasks like caramelizing onions where you want even results but don’t want to stir constantly.

The pans have a brushed finish while the riveted handles are polished. On the saute pan, there’s a helper handle that makes it easy to maneuver when it’s full. Considering the weight of this cookware, we wish there was one on the 3-quart saucepan and 12-inch skillet as well. You can place Misen in the oven up to 500°F and wash it in the dishwasher.