The 6 Best Cookware Sets for Glass Stoves

Best Overall

Caraway Nonstick Ceramic Cookware Set

$395 at Amazon $395 at Target $395 at Home Depot

Caraway's buzz-worthy, Instagram-ready cookware set lives up to the hype. With its sleek design, available in an array of colors, it not only looks beautiful on the stovetop but performs extremely well. It features an aluminum core with a mineral-based ceramic coating, allowing 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.

In our tests, the nonstick surface worked like a dream, allowing for fuss-free sautéing, frying eggs, searing steaks, making rice, and simmering sauces. The pans also distributed and retained heat on low to medium settings, allowing us to cook foods evenly and quickly. We did notice that the straighter sides of these pans made pouring a bit challenging and the handles get hot when in use, but these didn't detract from the overall performance of this set. 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 includes a 10.5-inch fry pan, 3-quart lidded saucepan, 4.5-quart lidded sauté pan, and a 6.5-quart Dutch oven, as well as a magnetic storage rack and canvas lid sleeve that you can hang inside a cabinet door. As with most nonstick cookware, hand washing is recommended in order 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 $779 at Madeincookware.com

Made In is known for its professional-quality cookware designed with serious cooks in mind. This 10-piece set comes with six 5-ply stainless steel pieces and four lids, giving 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 these seared scallops and steak, resulting in beautiful color and crust. The design here is especially useful in the kitchen. The bottom surface of the cookware is wide enough to allow for a lot of food—we never felt the pan was overcrowded. We don't recommend them for cooking eggs as they tend to stick to stainless steel, but that's where picking up Made In's nonstick pan comes in handy. These pans felt balanced in the hand and like they would last for a very long time, noting that 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.

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

$200 at Amazon $249 at Walmart $200 at Wayfair

While this set isn’t super cheap, it’s very affordable considering the number of pieces that are included. Made from stainless steel with a bonded aluminum base for high performance, 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 that make it easy to drain the water from your pasta or strain the bones from homemade stock.

Both times we tested this set it not only heated quickly but also 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 slightly 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. Every time it launches a new line, it's not only beautifully designed, it performs exceptionally well. 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. And 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

$879 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 marks and provides a smooth cooking surface that also helps prevent sticking. The pans are heavy, which means they won't move around on the cooktop, and they are thick enough to prevent warping.

We've tested these in our Lab three times, and each and every 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 that's sauce or soup. We found the contoured handles made them comfortable and easy to grip for some, but not for others. The long handles might also make them 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

Best With Copper Exterior

Lagostina Martellata Hammered Copper 10-Piece Cookware Set

$650 at Amazon $443 at Wayfair View on Perigold.com

For those who appreciate aesthetically appealing cookware, this set from Lagostina is surprisingly affordable as far as copper cookware goes (though it is pricier than sets made from other materials). Made from a layer each of stainless steel and copper surrounding an aluminum core, this solidly built set offers fantastic heat retention and distribution that allows you to sauté, sear, or simmer a variety of foods.

We found these pans to heat up quickly, cook very efficiently, and can be used on a lower heat than typical stainless or aluminum pans. We appreciated how red sauce came to a smooth slow boil, and when we took temperature readings, the bottom was even with a slightly cooler wall (as one should expect). One caveat from all the testing is that this cookware is not particularly nonstick—you may need a regular nonstick pan to cook items that tend to stick, like eggs.

This 10-piece set includes an 8-inch skillet, a 10-inch skillet, a 2-quart saucepan with lid, a 3-quart saucepan with lid, a 3-quart deep sauté pan with lid, and a 6-quart stockpot with lid—everything you'll need to cook up several courses at once. There is an 11-piece version available that comes with a pasta insert. The cookware does require special care for maximum performance and following the instruction pamphlet will help you get used to cooking with these pans at first.

Material: Stainless steel with copper exterior | Oven Safe Temperature: 500 degrees Fahrenheit | Piece Count: 10 pieces including lids