Above you will find everything from a 2-piece frying pan set to a complete 7-piece set: with or without non-stick coating, in stainless steel, with ceramic layer or in cast iron. Which one suits you depends on your situation, and that’s where our advice begins. We help you choose just like we do in the store, with five questions: what do you want to cook, how much effort do you want to put into your pans, how big is your household, does the set need to be dishwasher safe, and what is your budget? And we only recommend pans based on our own experience. Start below with the question of whether a complete set is the smartest purchase for you; it can save a lot of money and cupboard space sometimes.

Do you need a complete cookware set or are individual pans smarter?

The basis of a good set is a frying pan, a sauté pan, and a cooking pot. Two cooking pots are handy: a smaller one for sauce or rice, a larger one for vegetables, pasta, and soup. What we see daily in the store: most people think they need more pans than they actually use, and the extra pans from large sets mostly sit in the cupboard at home.

A complete set is especially smart if you have (almost) nothing, such as in your first own kitchen, or after a move when you need everything at once. If you already have pans that you like, then adding individual pans is often the better option. In that case, look at the individual frying pans, individual sauté pans and individual cooking pots: this way you only buy what you are missing.

On forums, "buy individual pans in the right sizes instead of a set" is a commonly given advice, and there is some truth to that. More pieces is not automatically better: in a large set, you also pay for the pans you never use. If you choose those three basic pans well, you have enough for almost everything you cook.

Choose your set with the five questions from the shop floor

In the store, we always ask the same five questions, and you can choose here too. The choice stress is real: we often get people in our store who can’t see the forest for the trees.

What you mainly want to cook and bake: eggs and fish require a different pan than steak, and which layer belongs with that, you can read further on in the choice of with or without non-stick coating.
How much effort you want to put into your pans: convenience really counts, because with a non-stick coating it’s simply easier.
How big your household is: that determines which sizes you need, and the advice about the three basic pans above helps you with the right composition.
Whether the set needs to be dishwasher safe: not every material can withstand that, and the dishwasher column in the material table further on gives the answer per type.
What you want to spend: what a good set costs, and when cheap is a waste, you can read further on in the prices.

From gas to induction: don’t buy a new set right away

If you are switching from gas to induction, you don’t have to replace everything immediately: first try your old pans on the new cooktop. Whether you need to replace everything is the question we often hear with a new induction plate. The answer is reassuring: only warped pans are a real problem. If a pan doesn’t work well on the new plate, it has probably warped over the years and makes too little contact.

If you are in doubt about an individual pan, the test is simple: if a magnet sticks to the bottom, it works on induction. The other way around doesn’t apply: an induction pan is never a problem on gas. If you want to check in advance, read how to check if your pans are suitable for induction. And if it needs to be replaced, or if you want a set that definitely fits at once, look at the cookware sets for induction.

This is how you recognize a set that stays flat on induction

A bottom that warps after a few months: that is the biggest fear with a new set, and that fear is not unfounded. In reviews and multiple topics on various forums from buyers, a warped bottom is the recurring complaint pattern. When choosing, you can steer on two points. Choose a set with a weighted, thick bottom, because that warps less quickly and heats evenly everywhere. And make sure that the diameter of the pans fits your cooktop.

Your own cooking behavior also counts, because induction cooks more aggressively than gas. Set the cooktop to about 60 percent power when heating up and switch back to about 40 percent once the pan is at temperature; a pan that is fully on the fire warps, even an expensive one. Warping is therefore not always the fault of the pan, nor always the user: a good bottom and gentle heating together make the difference.

With or without non-stick coating: choose based on convenience and lifespan

The biggest choice in a set is between pans with and without non-stick coating. See that as a choice between convenience and lifespan; there is no right or wrong side to that choice, because convenience is a valid reason to choose a coating.

If you already know which type it will be, you can further choose among the stainless steel cookware sets, the ceramic cookware sets, or the cast iron cookware sets.

Every non-stick coating wears out over time, even for people who handle them carefully. If everything sticks, it’s time for a new pan; the same applies as soon as you see scratches or look through the coating. Stainless steel and cast iron can last a lifetime with proper use. Do be careful with cast iron in the dishwasher: an untreated pan should never go in there, because dishwasher tablets break down the baked-on layer and the pan will rust; enameled cast iron does not have that baked-on layer.

Since the TV attention for PFAS, we see many people choosing their set primarily based on that. The ceramic non-stick coating is the PFAS-free standard, and to be fair: "PFAS-free" is also used as a marketing term. You can read the whole story in our explanation about pans without Teflon and PFAS; if you only want to see the offer, look at the PFAS-free cookware sets. The majority of this collection is stainless steel or has a ceramic layer, so you have the most choice; cast iron is a smaller, targeted offer.

What does a good cookware set cost and when is cheap a waste?

Cookware sets range here from small to large wallets and with such a difference, it helps to calculate as many buyers do on forums: in price per year. A stainless steel or cast iron set that lasts for decades is cheaper per year than a cheap set that you replace every few years.

Cheap is not automatically a waste. However, cheap sets often have a thinner layer that wears out faster, and a few extra bucks usually buys a thicker layer that lasts longer. How that plays out in practice varies: on a forum, someone told about an Action set of €35 that lasted 12 years, and another got pans from the same store that were "worn out" after a year and a half. If you know those two sides in advance, then even the cheap choice is a conscious choice.

The Blackwell Cast Iron Skillets 3-Piece Set gives you cast iron that lasts for decades for that amount, in exchange for some maintenance.
The Sola Pearl 7-Piece Stainless Steel Set is a complete stainless steel set for those who want to be ready in one go.
The DUCQ Copper 6-Piece Set is the most expensive set in this collection; such a copper set is often purchased by hobby cooks who want to upgrade their set.

If you want a discount, check the cookware deals: no B-choice, the same collection with a nice discount.

First tested by us, then in the advice

A new pan or cookware line first goes home with us: we try it out ourselves, and only then does it get a place in our advice. Here, 12 brands lie side by side, from Sola and our own Cookinglife house brand to WMF, BK, and KitchenAid. A brand store can only show you its own brand; we can lay brands side by side and advise against what doesn’t suit you. Cookinglife has been an online cooking store since 2014 and delivers to 24 countries. If you prefer to search by brand, there are two logical starting points: BK cookware sets, the brand about which buyers on forums most often share stories of pans that last for decades, and Sola cookware sets, the largest brand in this collection.

A cookware set as a gift: here’s what to look for

A cookware set is a classic gift for a wedding or a first own home, and gift buyers mainly pay attention to the recipient's requirements: whether the set can go in the dishwasher, whether it works on every heat source, and whether the design matches the kitchen. If you don’t know what cooktop the recipient has, choose a set for all heat sources; it will work everywhere. We see that the design weighs more heavily in the choice of a set; if the recipient is looking for a sleek design, look at these cookware sets.