Nothing works harder in your kitchen than the humble cookware set. Thankfully, to get high quality frying pans or saucepans from the best cookware brands, you don't necessarily have to spend a fortune. If they're well looked after, they should last decades.
Buying the whole set in one fell swoop is usually the more cost effective option, but that might not suit you (or your kitchen space). If you want the full matching set of a particular brand, but your budget doesn't extend that far, you can always grow your collection over time, adding the necessary pots and pans as you go. If you're okay with mixing and matching, and simply want the best in each category, we've handily picked out our favourite item from each brand below, to help you decide what to buy and from where. Our curated selection includes some of the best nonstick pans, ceramic cookware, cast iron cookware and multiple piece sets, at a range of price points.
For us, no kitchen is complete without a Dutch oven–whether you choose to to buy a classic Le Creuset cast iron skillet, or opt for a brand like Staub, they're one of the most versatile purchases you'll make. If you look after it, it will probably outlive you, and can be passed down the generations.
What to buy?
If you're new to the world of cookware and you're not sure what to buy, take a look at our helpful tips at the bottom of this page. They'll help you figure out what you need and what to look out for.
Whether you love the look of a stainless steel cookware set, need an enamelled cast iron casserole pot in your life, or you're hankering after some non-stick cookware, we've scoured the market for the very best pans. Scroll on for everything from stackable pots and pans to an impressive nine-in-one high-performance pot like the Always Pan.
Best cookware brands
Range includes: Cast iron, stainless steel pots and pans with excellent heat retention, non-stick skillets, bakeware, plus smaller items like mugs, salt and pepper shakers, ramekins.
- Heat sources: All types of heat conductivity, including induction
- Non-stick: Yes
- Dishwasher safe: Yes
- Price range: From £72 for a grill dish
- Colours: Stainless steel pans, and 12 cast iron pots colours
- Pros: Well-designed, high quality, very versatile, lifetime guarantee, plenty of colours to choose from
- Cons: Expensive and heavy
This brand needs no introduction. It's the poster child for Dutch ovens and their products are some of the most coveted items in any keen cook's kitchen. Available in the brand's signature shiny colours (we love the original volcanic orange), they're easy to spot, look stylish on a stovetop and, to put it simply, are just really, really good. They can be used for everything from braising to slow cooking stews and baking bread. It's surely an investment, but the French brand gives its iron cast casserole dishes a lifetime warranty, so it's one that'll be spread over your whole life, if not longer. Your writer has one that's well into its 30s and is doing well, and we're sure it can be passed down further. They also make excellent gifts for cooks, both professional and amateur.
What to buy:
Range includes: Stainless steel pots and pans with lids
- Heat sources: All types of heat conductivity, including induction
- Oven safe: Up to 260C
- Non-stick: Yes
- Dishwasher safe: Yes
- Price range: From £59.99 for a non-stick frying pan
- Colours: Grey/black
- Pros: Unique excellent non-stick cross with steel-like cooking, good even cooking, metal utensils can be used, fine to use in the oven
- Cons: Food can get stuck in between the circular ridges, lids don't have steam vents
The Circulon C-series cookware is well loved by professional cooks, as it offers a unique cross between non-stick and steel. You get all the benefit of non-stick, but it cooks as if on steel. How? Well, it has its own special type of non-stick, where slightly ridged rings spiral out from the centre of the pan, covering the entire inside. It's highly durable non-stick, which is even compatible with metal utensils. We love their sturdy, anti-scratch wok.
Circulon's heat conduction is also top notch and the pans are fine to use on all cooking conductions, as well as in the oven. The pans are lightweight and the slim, ergonomic handles don't get too hot to use, whether they're stainless steel, or silicone covered. Circulon is so confident in its offering, that it also comes with a lifetime guarantee.
What to buy:
Range includes: A range of different size cast iron pots, skillets, frying pan and tagines
- Heat sources: All types of heat conductivity, including induction
- Non-stick: No
- Oven safe: Up to 250C
- Dishwasher safe: No
- Price range: From £84.46 for a fish pan
- Colours: Seven
- Pros: Dutch oven is great for one pot dishes, quality and well made dish
- Cons: Quite small handles for moving the pots, dark interior cooking surface makes it harder to see the food and how cooked it is, more expensive than Le Creuset
Often seen as Le Creuset's cast iron Dutch oven's main competitor, Staub casserole pots are perfect for slow-cooking meat or making soups, although you can cook a variety of things in them. Made in France, the brand is slightly younger than Le Creuset, coming to life in 1974. Both brand's manufacturing process features a single sand mould.
The pots work hard at distributing heat evenly, conduct heat well and are able to retain it too. As another easy-on-the-eye pot, it's perfect for taking your feast from hob to table too. If you're a sucker for kitsch design too, Staub does some great vegetable shaped pots, including tomatoes, pumpkins and artichokes, which retain functionality without forgetting the fun.
What to buy:
Range includes: Six different pots and pans with lids with high heat tolerant, non stick ceramic coating, which can be bought in cost-effective bundles, plus nifty add ons
- Heat sources: All types of heat, except the oven
- Non-stick: Yes
- Dishwasher safe: No, hand wash
- Price range: From £95 for a small pot
- Colours: 6 to choose from
- Pros: It looks good, it can live on your cooker without having to store it away, 100 day trial, extremely versatile, add ons save having to buy multiple pots
- Cons: Can only use wooden or silicone utensils only
Our Place's Instagram famous pan has revolutionised the world of cookware, fast becoming the ‘must have’ pan of a generation. It's loved for its sleek matte all over colour and slick design which means you can take it from cooker to table and save on the washing up.
It doesn't just skate by on its looks though, as a great amount of thought has been put into the practical side of each product. The Our Place Always Pan is the brand's signature creation and for just a single item, it's incredibly versatile. It can be used as a frying pan, saucepan, steamer, skillet, sauté pan, to braise, to boil, to strain, and finally as a serving dish, meaning it can pretty much do the job of an entire saucepan set. If you need more from it, there are plenty of add ons you can choose from, such as an egg poacher or a tagine.
As it's made from aluminium rather than cast iron, it's definitely a lighter option than Le Creuset or Staub. Just remember to cook using the wooden spatula included to protect the ceramic non-stick free from scratches.
Read our full review of the Always Pan here.
What to buy:
Range includes: A range of different size pots and pans, cast iron pots, stackable pans and skillets with a non-stick surface
- Heat sources: All types of heat, but the basic ranges often don't work on induction
- Non-stick: Yes
- Dishwasher safe: Yes
- Price range: From £29 for a frying pan
- Colours: Black
- Pros: Affordable, very hard wearing traditional non-stick, can use metal utensils
- Cons: Not the most attractive pans, only comes in black
The king of innovation in non-stick is easily recognisable for its signature red dot. This shows you when it's hot enough to cook on and helps cook evenly, but it also lets you know if the non-stick stops working and it's time for a replacement, so you don't ingest any of the non-stick.
Its coating is pretty hardwearing, and the titanium anti-scratch technology can even withstand metal utensils. There are also plenty of space-saving stackable pot and pans sets available, including the Jamie Oliver collaboration pots, which even have removable handles.
What to buy:
Range includes: Wide range of pots and pans, including a stackable range
- Heat sources: All types of heat conductivity
- Oven safe: Up to 260C
- Non-stick: Yes
- Dishwasher safe: Yes
- Price range: From £37.99 for a small frying pan
- Colours: Depends on the model, but black, stainless steel, cream and blue available
- Pros: Wide range of finish choices, high-grade non-stick,
- Cons: The handles can get hot
No doubt best known for its impressive multi cookers, air fryers, blenders and smoothie makers, Ninja also makes excellent pots and pans.
It's another highly confident brand, so much so that its range is called ‘Neverstick’ and Ninja promises its non-stick won't flake off. The range includes plenty of pans sets, from hard anodised to stainless steel and its stackable collection, but what's most exciting from the brand is its 'Possible' collection, which is made from forged aluminium ensuring it's strong and lightweight.
The ‘Possible’ frying pan is a worthy rival to the Our Place Always pan. It comes with a glass lid, steamer/strainer basket and integrated silicone spatula, has nine uses and can be used on all heat sources and taken from the cooker to the table, too. Where it differs is that the Ninja is oven safe and also fine to put in the dishwasher, which very much appeals to our lazy side.
What to buy:
Range includes: Wide range of pots and pans, both non-stick and carbon steel, including cast iron casserole pots
- Heat sources: All types of heat conductivity
- Oven safe: Up to 200C
- Non-stick: Yes (carbon steel pans aren't)
- Dishwasher safe: Non-stick pans are, but handwash is recommended
- Price range: From £19.99 for a small frying pan
- Colours: Five
- Pros: Very affordable making them great for students, lightweight, cook pancakes very well
- Cons: Can chip in the dishwasher
Salter is one of the more affordable brands when it comes to cookware, especially when you're buying a set, which can be as little as £30. The sets of non-stick pots and pans are ergonomically designed and lightweight. Their non-stick frying pan and griddle set comes in a stylish and unusual white and pale sage colour scheme.
If you're after carbon steel pans, they don't have a built in non-stick and are instead designed to be 'seasoned' with the cooking fat you use (oil, butter etc) which forms its own non-stick.
These pans are not dishwasher safe, and seasoned pans should be wiped clean only, as continually cooking on it means added flavour depth to the food you cook in it. They come with a life-time guarantee, which is even more impressive considering the low price tag.
What to buy:
Range includes: A range of different size cast iron pots, skillets, frying pan and tagines
- Heat sources: All types of heat conductivity, including induction
- Non-stick: Yes
- Oven safe: Up to 260C
- Dishwasher safe: Yes
- Price range: From £24 for a small saucepan
- Colours: Grey or stainless steel pans, and 8 cast iron pot colours
- Pros: Affordable set, ergonomically designed handles.
- Cons: Handles can get hot, pans are quite heavy
Made from forged, anodised aluminium, ProCook pans are strong, non-stick and highly durable. Pan handles have been ergonomically designed, although the pots are a little heavier than some of the brand's peers. On the plus side, at under £120 for a 4-piece cookware set, it is a bargain buy.
Their sets include all the sizes you could need, and the pans are slightly smaller in size than most standard pan sets, which start at 16cm, while their sets tend to start at 14cm.
What to buy:
Range includes: A range of different size stainless steel or hard anodised pots and frying pans
- Heat sources: All types of heat conductivity, including induction
- Non-stick: Yes
- Oven safe: 7000 range is, up to 210C
- Dishwasher safe: Yes
- Price range: From £14.95 for a small milk pan
- Colours: Stainless steel, grey or black
- Pros: Each pot has a lip for pouring and lids with small holes for straining
- Cons: Pan handles can get a little hot
Another household name, Stellar began life in the 1890s in Bristol and is best known for its stainless steel pan sets. They're professional looking, but are far more affordable than other similar stainless steel pots. The 7000 range are fully metal, meaning they can go in the oven to brown something off, while the 5000 range have some plastic on them and can't.
What we really like about the design of these pots are the ‘lip’ and the vent holes, which mean you don't need to reach for a colander when you want to drain water. The pan handles are nicely balanced, but can get a little hot, though it's nothing using a tea towel or oven mitt won't sort out.
What to buy:
Range includes: A variety of different size stainless steel, aluminium, cast iron or enamel pots and frying pans
- Heat sources: All types of heat conductivity, including induction
- Non-stick: Yes
- Oven safe: Up to 160C
- Dishwasher safe: Yes
- Price range: From £37.99 for a frying pan
- Colours: Black, stainless steel
- Pros: Very affordable, looks far more expensive than it is, dishwasher safe
- Cons: Oven safe only up to 160C
Another brand better known for kitchen gadgets than cookware, KitchenAid's stand mixer is absolutely its signature product. However, it's successfully branched out into cookware, producing forged aluminium frying pans with non-stick coating. They're both oven and dishwasher safe, ticking all the boxes you could wish for–they also look a lot more expensive than they actually are.
Whilst it wouldn't look out of place in a professional kitchen, these cookware sets would still be a good buy for smaller kitchens thanks to their stackable nature.
What to buy:
Range includes: A range of different size stainless steel pots and frying pans
- Heat sources: All types of heat conductivity, including induction
- Non-stick: Yes
- Oven safe: Up to 250C
Dishwasher safe: Yes - Price range: From £52 for a saucier pot
- Colours: Stainless steel
- Pros: Very stylish, copper bases for even heat distribution, stackable
- Cons: Lids aren't glass
Perhaps better known for its cutlery than its cookware, Robert Welch's signature style run through its cookware line too. Of course, everything in the range comes in a sleek stainless steel. However, what sets these pans apart are their copper bottoms, which conduct heat brilliantly, making for a quick and more even cook. Its pans are weighty, which not only alludes to their high quality build, but makes them sturdy when in use–especially on what can be wobbly gas cookers.
The Campden frying pan and the Campden stainless steel pan sets are their signature products, all of which come with a lifetime guarantee. This is some of the best stainless steel cookware for the home. When the range launched more than 40 years ago, it was designed to be a premium offering for the home cook, which is exactly what it still is.
What to buy:
Range includes: From copper cookware to aluminium finishes, a range of different size pots and frying pans.
- Heat sources: All types of heat conductivity, including induction
- Non-stick: Yes
- Oven safe: Some are, up to 260C
- Dishwasher safe: Yes
- Price range: From £9.99 for a frying pan
- Colours: Black, grey, copper
- Pros: Very affordable, non-stick, larger sized pans
- Cons: Some pans can't be used in the oven
Tower is possibly one of the most affordable cookware brands there is. The set we've picked, the Cerastone Forged 5 Piece, would make a great beginner's set. It's currently on offer at Amazon at a reduced price of £58.99, and it includes two frying pans and three different sized pots, which are slightly larger sizes than most sets. Made from forged aluminium, they're super strong and have a coated non-stick interior. The handles stay cool thanks to the heat-resistant material, but this also means they can't be used in the oven or under the grill.
What to look for in pots and pan sets:
Heat conductivity is likely your number one deciding factor when it comes to buying cookware. Although most brands cater to every source, don't fall into the trap of just assuming all pans do. There's nothing worse than splashing out on quality cookware, only to find it doesn't work with your cooker. It's important to double check whether pans are induction-safe or only suitable for gas hobs or electric hobs. You should also consider if it's oven proof, which is helpful if you need to brown off the top of something.
Not all pans are oven proof. Why? Some pans have silicone or plastic handles that will melt if you pop them in the oven. No one wants a side of melted plastic with their meal, so be sure to double check this ahead of purchase.
What you really need to think about, if space is an issue, is the versatility of a product. Bar a more traditional Dutch oven, no one is doing this better than the Instagram-famous Our Place Always Pan which, much like a multi cook or air fryer, does the work of not just one piece of cookware, but nine.
Pans come in a variety of sizes, measured in centimetre across the diameter, which increase in size by a couple of centimetres. The smallest saucepans are best for heating up milk or making sauces, while smaller frying pans are great for pancakes.
The weight is also important, especially if you'll be taking your pot from the cooker to the table as you'll want to be able to carry it. However, you don't want something too flimsy either, so be sure to test this ahead of time.
To best preserve the life of your cookware, it should really be washed by hand, although a lot of the pans are dishwasher safe. Practically though, it's undeniable that a dishwasher is mega helpful, especially if you've got a lot of other non-dishwasher friendly items to do by hand. When it comes to seasoned pans though, it's non-negotiable that they shouldn't go in the dishwasher.
Pans are either non-stick or need to be seasoned. If they're already coated in a thin layer of non-stick, food should not burn and get stuck to the bottom of the pan. In years gone by, poor non-stick linings could easily be broken, or eventually flake off, which can be carcinogenic. This can still happen, but the layers tend to last much longer now.
Most non-stick pans need to be looked after by not using metal utensils in them (so stick to wood or silicone) and hand washing. Although lots of pots and pans with non-stick will say they're dishwasher safe, to ensure they last as long as they can, it's best to hand wash.
Pans that don't already have a non-stick coating will need to be seasoned or cured. To do this, you need a cooking fat, which is what forms a seal across the entire inside of the pan, so food won't stick. The seasoning of fats and food cooked in the pans adds a real depth of flavour to your food as time goes on too, and is the real beauty of this type of pan.
