You can buy a prepackaged cookware set (we reviewed them here), but creating your own customized a la carte set lets you focus your space and resources on the pans you need most.
How to Build Your Own Cookware Set
Instead of a prepackaged set, why not pick your own perfect pan lineup? Here’s our expert guide.
By Published June 14, 2019.
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To help you get started, we’ve organized choices into three categories:
- The Essentials: These are the absolute basics we think a home cook needs to prepare the widest selection of recipes with the fewest pans.
- The Add-Ons: With a little more money to spend and space to spare, you can add these pans next. We consider them to be great choices to build out your core set of essential pans.
- Awesome Extras: We admit that we love certain pans that may not be utterly essential, but they make us happy. And, truth be told, we find ourselves reaching for them more often than we expected. Some are a bit of a splurge, but we think they’re worth it.
All of the specific products we list below are winners of full testings we conducted here at America’s Test Kitchen. Where relevant, we’ve also included the best inexpensive version of each piece—what we call our Best Buys—to give you more budget flexibility.
The Essentials
These are the absolute basics we think a home cook needs to prepare the widest selection of recipes with the fewest pans. With these four pans, you can make almost any stovetop recipe.
1. DUTCH OVEN
If we had to choose to cook in only one pan forever, this would be it. We use these large, 6- to 7-quart, heavy-duty pots for boiling, searing, frying, braising, and baking, and for sous vide cooking. We turn them into smokers, steamers, coolers, and panini presses. They might just be the busiest pots in our kitchen.
Winner: Le Creuset 7¼ Quart Round Dutch Oven
Best Buy: Cuisinart Chef’s Classic Enameled Cast Iron Covered Casserole
2. LARGE SAUCEPAN WITH LID
You’ll use this pan for everything from soups and sauces to pasta and grains to custards and puddings. (The large size gives you more versatility than a smaller saucepan; it’s less likely to boil over, and you can always use the extra room.)
Winner: All-Clad Stainless 4-Qt Sauce Pan
Best Buy: Tramontina Gourmet Tri-Ply Clad 4 Qt. Covered Sauce Pan
3. TWO 12-INCH SKILLETS
A 12-inch skillet gives you flexibility to cook smaller or larger portions as needed. Select two of these four styles, preferably one with a nonstick surface, whether it's coated with a nonstick material or it's a well-seasoned cast-iron or carbon-steel pan, and one for heavy-duty browning and searing. You can pick based on the best material for the way you prefer to cook. Here are the pros and cons of each:
A. NONSTICK
Pros: inexpensive, lightweight, and quick to clean, they make it easy to cook fish, eggs and other delicate foods.
Cons: Not durable. You’ll need to replace every few years. Shouldn't be used with high heat.
Winner: OXO Good Grips Non-Stick 12-inch Open Frypan
Best Induction-Compatible Model: T-Fal Professional Non-Stick Fry Pan
Read Our Full Review of 12-Inch Nonstick Skillets
B. STAINLESS STEEL
Pros: Excellent, uniform searing and browning, best for pan sauces, versatile: can use on stovetop or in oven for frying, roasting, baking, too.
Cons: Food sticks, but you can use the stuck browned bits to add flavor to pan sauces.
Winner: All-Clad d3 Stainless Steel 12″ Fry Pan with Lid
Read Our Full Review of 12-Inch Stainless-Steel Skillets
C. CAST IRON
Pros: Excellent heat retention for deep searing, becomes increasingly nonstick with time, lasts forever.
Cons: Heavy to lift, and requires minor upkeep of seasoning.
Best Traditional Cast-Iron Skillet: Lodge Classic Cast Iron Skillet, 12"
Best Enameled Cast-Iron Skillet: Le Creuset Signature 11 3/4" Iron Handle Skillet
Read Our Full Review of Cast-Iron Skillets
D. CARBON STEEL
Pros: Works like cast iron, but lighter weight; excellent for deep searing. Becomes increasingly nonstick with time, lasts forever.
Cons: Requires minor upkeep of seasoning.
Winner: Matfer Bourgeat Black Steel Round Frying Pan, 11 7/8"
The Add-Ons
With a little more money to spend and space to spare, you can add these pans next. We consider them to be great choices to build out your core set of essential pans.
1. STOCKPOT
A generous stockpot, 8 to 12 quarts, is an excellent vessel for big batches of pasta, corn, lobster and of course, making soup and stock.
Winner: Cook N Home Stainless Steel Stockpot with Lid 12 Quart
2. SMALL SAUCEPAN, 2 QUARTS
These petite pans are handy melting butter, heating soup, or preparing smaller servings of vegetables and side dishes.
Winner: All-Clad Stainless 2-Quart Saucepan
Best Buy: Tramontina Gourmet Stainless Steel Induction-Ready Tri-Ply Clad Covered Sauce Pan, 2-Quart
3. 10-INCH SKILLET
This size skillet is ideal for an omelet, shepherd’s pie, or anytime you’re cooking for two. Select two of these four styles, preferably one with a nonstick surface, whether it's coated with a nonstick material or it's a well-seasoned cast-iron or carbon-steel pan, and one for heavy-duty browning and searing. You can pick based on the best material for the way you prefer to cook.
A. NONSTICK
Winner: OXO Good Grips Non-Stick Pro 10-inch Open Fry Pan
B. STAINLESS STEEL
Winner: All-Clad d3 Stainless 10” Fry Pan with Lid
C. CAST IRON
Best Traditional 10" Cast-Iron Skillet: Lodge 10.25-Inch Cast Iron Skillet
Best Enameled 10" Cast-Iron Skillet: Le Creuset Signature 10¼ Inch Iron Handle Skillet
Read Our Full Review of 10-Inch Cast-Iron Skillets
D. CARBON STEEL
4. 8-INCH SKILLET
Whether you’re making a single egg, toasting spices, browning butter or breadcrumbs, this small, lightweight skillet comes in handy. Select two of these four styles, preferably one with a nonstick surface, whether it's coated with a nonstick material or it's a well-seasoned cast-iron or carbon-steel pan, and one for heavy-duty browning and searing. You can pick based on the best material for the way you prefer to cook.
A. NONSTICK
Winner: OXO Good Grips Hard Anodized Pro Nonstick 8-Inch Fry Pan
Read Our Full Review of 8-Inch Nonstick Skillets
B. STAINLESS STEEL
Winner: All-Clad Stainless 8" Frypan
C. CAST IRON
Best Traditional 8" Cast-Iron Skillet: Lodge 8-Inch Cast Iron Skillet
Best Enameled 8" Cast-Iron Skillet: Le Creuset Signature 9-Inch Iron Handle Skillet
Read Our Full Review of 8-Inch Cast-Iron Skillets
D. CARBON STEEL
Awesome Extras
We admit that we love certain pans that may not be utterly essential, but they make us happy. And, truth be told, we find ourselves reaching for them more often than we expected. Some are a bit of a splurge, but we think they’re worth it.
1. STOVETOP GRIDDLE
Whether you’re cooking pancakes, eggs, grilled cheese, or smashburgers for a crowd, a stovetop griddle gives you plenty of room to cook big batches.
2. SAUTÉ PAN
We like these deeper, lidded frying pans for recipes that require extra space, such as cooking down heaps of greens, shallow-frying, and braising, where you brown food, add liquid and simmer it covered.
Winner: All-Clad Stainless 3-Quart Tri-Ply Sauté Pan
Best Buy: Cuisinart MultiClad Pro Stainless 3 1/2-Quart Sauté Pan with Helper and Cover
3. SAUCIER
These bowl-shaped saucepans pans with their flared walls and rounded corners were designed for reducing sauces, but they’re also perfect for oatmeal, risotto, and polenta, where the food is prone to getting lodged in corners, as well as custards and sauces that require frequent stirring.
Winner: Le Creuset 3 1/2 Quart Stainless Steel Saucier Pan
Best Buy: Zwilling J.A. Henckels Aurora 3.5 qt Stainless Steel Saucier
4. PAELLA PAN
Even if you only occasionally make paella, you’ll find plenty of use for this round, shallow carbon-steel vessel. It’s terrific on the grill or stove, anytime you might otherwise use a skillet or griddle.
5. STOVETOP PRESSURE COOKER
More compact to store, and not requiring any electricity or counterspace compared to multicookers, this pot makes excellent food, fast. It also doubles as a large saucepan.
Winner: Fissler Vitaquick 8½-Quart Pressure Cooker
Best Buy: Zavor Duo 8.4 Quart Pressure Cooker
6. GRILL PAN
When you want flavorful char marks on meats, sandwiches, and vegetables, and the ability to sear meats while draining fat away, grill pans offer an indoor option to outdoor cooking.
Winner: Staub 12-Inch American Square Grill Pan and Press
Best Buy: Lodge Square Grill Pan and Lodge Ribbed Panini Press
7. SMALL DUTCH OVEN
When you’re making smaller portions or need a pot that’s easier to lift and maneuver, these lighter, smaller 3-quart enameled cast iron Dutch ovens come in handy and are attractive for serving.
Winner: Le Creuset 3.5 Quart Round Dutch Oven
Article
The Best Cookware Set
Our advice has always been to skip sets and just buy the pans you need. But if you're interested in buying a pre-packaged cookware set, these are the ones you should consider. Winner: All-Clad D3 Tri-Ply Bonded Cookware Set, 10 Piece Best Buy: Tramontina Gourmet 12-Piece Tri-Ply Clad Cookware SetRead Full Review
