We’ve Tested Over 130 Options and These Are the Best Cookware Sets for Glass Stoves

Best Overall

Caraway Nonstick Ceramic Cookware Set

$395 at Amazon View on Carawayhome.com $395 at The Container Store

Caraway's buzz-worthy, Instagram-ready cookware lives up to the hype. Its sleek design and array of colors means it looks beautiful on the stovetop, but it also performs extremely well. An aluminum core with a mineral-based ceramic coating allows for responsive, even heating, and a nonstick surface. This cookware is free of PTFE (the main compound in Teflon), PFOA, lead, and cadmium. The stainless steel handles are riveted on for security, so you can confidently grip your pans to bring them on or off the stove.

The nonstick surface works like a dream whenever we test Caraway cookware, allowing for fuss-free sautéing, frying eggs, searing steaks, making rice, and simmering sauces. The pans distribute and retain heat on low to medium settings, allowing us to cook evenly and quickly. We have noticed that the straighter sides of these pans made pouring a bit challenging and the handles get hot, but these issues don't detract from the overall performance. One thing to note is that the pans border on heavy, so anyone with limited strength or mobility may find them awkward to use with one hand.

This cookware calls itself "stovetop agnostic," and works with just about every cooktop, including induction. The pans are oven-safe up to 550 degrees Fahrenheit, allowing you to finish dishes in the oven if needed. The set comes with a 10.5-inch fry pan, a 3-quart lidded saucepan, a 4.5-quart lidded sauté pan, and a 6.5-quart Dutch oven, as well as a magnetic storage rack and a canvas lid sleeve. As with most nonstick cookware, hand-washing is recommended to prolong the life of the ceramic interior, and we've found the pans incredibly easy to clean with just dish soap and warm water.

Material: Ceramic-coated aluminum | Oven Safe Temperature: 550 degrees Fahrenheit | Piece Count: 9 pieces including lids and extras | Accessories Included: Magnetic storage rack, lid sleeve

Best Stainless Steel

Made In 10-Piece Stainless Set

$779 at Amazon $779 at Walmart Orig. $904 $779 at Madeincookware.com

Made In is known for its professional-quality cookware designed with serious cooks in mind. This 10-piece set of six 5-ply stainless steel pieces and four lids gives you all the basics to get started in the kitchen. Each pan features rolled rims to help you pour without spilling and securely riveted handles that stay cool even while in use.

We like how well this cookware seared scallops and steak, resulting in beautiful color and crust. The design was especially useful in the kitchen since the bottom surface of the larger frying pan is wide enough to allow for a lot of food. We never felt the pan was overcrowded! These pans consistently felt balanced when cooking and the cookware should last a very long time since they passed our durability tests (twice!) with flying colors.

The set includes 8-inch and 10-inch stainless frying pans, 2-quart and 4-quart saucepans with lids, a 3-quart saucier with a lid, and an 8-quart stockpot with a lid. All pieces are dishwasher safe and have a lifetime warranty. If you're still getting the hang of making your stainless steel as slick as nonstick, also pick up Made In's nonstick pan for your weekend eggs.

Material: Stainless steel | Oven Safe Temperature: 800 degrees Fahrenheit | Piece Count: 10 pieces including lids | Accessories Included: None

Best Budget

Calphalon Classic 10-Piece Stainless Steel Cookware Set

Orig. $240 $200 at Amazon $200 at Walmart $200 at Wayfair

While this set isn’t super cheap, it’s very affordable when you consider the number of pieces included. Made from stainless steel with a bonded aluminum base, each pot and pan has interior measuring marks so you can see how much water you’ve added or how much leftover soup needs to be put away. The integrated pouring spouts and straining lids make it easy to drain the water from your pasta or strain the bones from homemade stock.

Both times we tested this set it heated quickly and maintained the heat amazingly well. We whipped up an omelet with minimal sticking and created a great sear on a steak. When we did notice some sticking after cooking rice, a quick wash was all it took to get the pan back to new. All the while, we could grab the handles without fear of burns or needing a mitt (just be a little cautious with the short saucepan handle). An even better part of this set is everything can be used in the oven, up to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.

Some downsides are these haven't been the most durable of pans. When used in one of our test kitchens for six months, the surface discolored quickly and nothing we did could get back the sheen. It also never stacked just right, making them difficult to store.

Material: Stainless steel with bonded aluminum base | Oven Safe Temperature: 450 degrees Fahrenheit | Piece Count: 10 pieces including lids | Accessories Included: None

Best Nonstick

OXO Ceramic Professional Non-Stick Cookware Set

$400 at Amazon $400 at Wayfair $400 at Home Depot

Oxo was already a highly trusted brand when it started dipping into cookware. Its new products are always beautifully designed and perform exceptionally well. And this ceramic nonstick cookware set is everything the everyday cook needs.

Its hard-anodized aluminum base is coated with a durable ceramic coating and yes, it really does stand up to utensils (we've tried!). The stainless steel knobs and trim are echoed in the brushed stainless steel handles, which are securely riveted in place and so flush against the side, you won't get food stuck in a hard-to-clean place. Amazingly, the pans are safe in the oven up to 600 degrees Fahrenheit, though the lids can only handle up to 425 degrees.

We were very impressed with the nonstick performance of these pans. Whether we fried eggs, caramelized onions, or made rice pilaf, we experienced little to no sticking. We liked that the pans heated fairly evenly, but noticed that heat didn't distribute as well around the edges of our skillet, which may have meant that our pan was a little too wide for our burner. That issue aside, we think this is a fantastic assortment of cookware at a fair price and would be ideal for a family of four or a couple who likes to meal prep—but just note that each item is fairly heavy. Cleaning these pieces by hand was a breeze, requiring just a little light scrubbing on the textured bottom to remove food debris.

Material: Hard anodized aluminum, stainless steel base | Oven Safe Temperature: 600 degrees Fahrenheit (425 degrees with lids) | Piece Count: 10 pieces including lids | Accessories Included: None

Best Splurge

All-Clad D5 Stainless Brushed 5-Ply Bonded Cookware Set

$900 at Amazon $900 at Wayfair $900 at Williams-Sonoma

All-Clad's reputation for high-quality cookware is well deserved, and this professional-grade set is no exception. Made from multiple layers of stainless steel and aluminum, these pans heat evenly and have excellent heat distribution. The brushed stainless steel finish is resistant to fingerprints and water spots, and provides a smooth cooking surface to help prevent sticking. The cookware's weight means it won't move around on the cooktop.

We've tested these in our Lab three times, and each time they heat evenly, with very little sticking and can create a great sear. The starburst finish on the cooking surface is for stick resistance, and the flared rims make it easy to pour from, whether it's sauce or soup. We found the contoured handles comfortable and easy to grip for some, but not for others. The long handles might also make the set somewhat difficult to store.

This set includes all the most essential pans and then some: an 8-inch fry pan, 10-inch fry pan, 1.5-quart saucepan with lid, 3-quart saucepan with lid, 3-quart sauté pan with lid, and 8-quart stockpot with lid. The flared edges make for easy pouring, and the pans are oven-safe up to 600 degrees Fahrenheit. If you can splurge on a cookware set, this is a fantastic choice.

Material: Stainless steel | Oven Safe Temperature: 600 degrees Fahrenheit | Piece Count: 10 pieces including lids | Accessories Included: None