9 Best Pots And Pans For Your Kitchen
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One of the most common questions I get in my inbox is: “What pots and pans do you recommend?” With so many brands, materials, sizes, and sets out there, buying new cookware can feel overwhelming. As a professional cook, I own enough cookware to stock an entire kitchen store, but in reality, I return to the same pieces again and again.
My advice? Skip the cookware sets and mix and match exactly what you need. While sets might seem like a good deal, they often include items you’ll rarely use—and you really need a variety of materials for different cooking tasks. In the long run, investing in individual pieces will give you more versatility and better value. These are the 9 essential pots and pans I recommend, whether you’re stocking your first kitchen, cooking for a large family, or downsizing to a smaller space.
Table of Contents
Stainless Steel Pans
Stainless steel pans are your everyday workhorses. They heat food evenly, handle all types of cooking, go from stove to oven, and, depending on the brand, withstand temperatures up to 600°F. Stainless steel pans are also highly durable (i.e., safe to use with sharp or metal utensils) and dishwasher-safe—plus, they last a lifetime. I’ve been using the same stainless steel pots and pans since I got married in 2001, and they are no worse for the wear. These four stainless steel pans will give you the most versatility:
Medium Stainless Steel Pan
This 3-quart medium saucepan is perfect for everyday tasks like cooking rice, couscous, or other grains; making sauces, small batches of soup, puddings, and custards; boiling eggs; or reheating leftovers.
❤️ My Fave: All-Clad Stainless Steel 3-Quart Saucepan
Large Stainless Steel Skillet
This 12-inch skillet is perfect for everyday tasks like sautéing, stir-frying, pan-searing, shallow-frying, and making pan sauces. It can also can safely go from stovetop to oven, making it ideal for recipes that require both methods. Note that this pan can often be swapped with nonstick or cast iron skillets, but nonstick should only be used when specifically required, and stainless steel is often preferable to cast iron for ease of handling.
❤️ My Fave: All-Clad 12-Inch Stainless Steel Skillet
Large Stainless Steel Stockpot
This is my go-to “big pot” that I use daily for boiling pasta (it holds up to 2 pounds), blanching vegetables, making large batches of stock, or simmering warm cocktails.
❤️ My Fave: All-Clad 8-Quart Stock Pot
Large Stainless Steel Roasting Pan
This sturdy, functional pan is perfect for roasting Thanksgiving turkeys, large cuts of meat, and whole chickens. It includes a roasting rack for even cooking, while the high sides make basting easy. Plus, it’s stovetop-safe, so you can deglaze it for quick gravies. While ideal for savory dishes, it also doubles as a water bath for custard-based desserts.
❤️ My Fave: All-Clad Large Stainless Steel Roasting Pan
Nonstick Skillets
Nonstick cookware is lined with a special coating that prevents food from sticking, making it ideal for delicate foods like omelets, fish, or anything particularly wet or cheesy. It’s also great for healthier cooking since nonstick pans require less butter or oil to prevent sticking.
In the past, there were concerns about health risks from nonstick coatings. Today, manufacturers use safer alternatives, and any chemicals released during cooking fall within safety standards. To maintain your nonstick pans, avoid high heat and metal utensils, which can damage the surface—opt for wood, plastic, or silicone instead. Hand wash them with dish soap and a sponge, and replace them when the coating shows wear. I recommend these two nonstick skillets for everyday cooking (usually sold as a set):
Small Nonstick Pan
This 8-inch nonstick pan is ideal when you’re cooking delicate foods for one or two—think scrambled eggs, sunny side up eggs, or omelettes—or recipes that require cooking one at a time, like crepes.
❤️ My Fave: All-Clad 8-Inch Nonstick Pan
Medium Nonstick Pan
This 10-inch nonstick pan is perfect for cooking larger quantities of delicate foods that tend to stick, such as fish, scrambled eggs for a crowd, quesadillas, frittatas, pancakes, bacon, or grilled cheese.
❤️ My Fave: All-Clad 10-Inch Nonstick Pan
Enameled Cast Iron Cast Iron
Dutch ovens and cast iron skillets are not as essential as your stainless steel and nonstick pans, but if your budget allows, it’s nice to have at least one of each. Not only are these pans functional but they are also heirloom-worthy.
Dutch Oven
Made from enameled cast iron, Dutch ovens conduct heat beautifully, making them perfect for slow-cooking and searing followed by gentle cooking. They can go from stove to oven to table and are easy to care for—plus, they come in a variety of vibrant colors to add a little personality to your kitchen. Use them for recipes that call for a heavy-bottomed pot, such as beef stew, braised short ribs, coq au vin, chili, or risotto.
❤️ My Fave: Le Creuset 5.5 Quart Dutch Oven
Cast Iron Skillet
There’s a reason these old-school skillets have been around forever. They actually improve as they age (and if you care for them correctly, they last a lifetime). Cast iron pans are ideal for searing, sautéing, and even baking. They’re affordable, develop a natural nonstick surface, and can be used on the stove, in the oven, or even on the grill. Use your cast iron skillet for searing steaks or scallops, making smash burgers, or baking cornbread, soda bread, and skillet cookies.
❤️ My Fave: Lodge 10-Inch Cast Iron Skillet
Cast Iron Grill Pan
If you’re craving grilled food but don’t own a grill—or it’s too cold to fire it up—a cast iron grill pan is a great alternative. It’s nonstick, cooks evenly, and can withstand high heat. The ridges mimic grill grates, giving you those desirable grill marks. Use it for indoor grilling of steaks, burgers, chicken, shrimp, veggies, and even stone fruits.
❤️ My Fave: Lodge Cast Iron Grill Pan
Final Thoughts
Keep in mind that you don’t need to run out and buy all of these pots and pans at once! Start by purchasing one or two based on your cooking needs or the items in your kitchen that are in need of a refresh. I think you’ll find that cooking will be easier and you’ll get better results with the right tools. If you have any questions about which options may be good to start with, feel free to email me at jennifer@onceuponachef.com. Happy Cooking!
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I’ve mixed and matched over the years too and have my favs. Can’t go wrong with All-Clad but it is spendy. I’ve purchased seconds using their auto email. It’s a big savings.
After a lifetime of buying sets of pots and pans, I finally came around to purchasing individual pieces, just as you’ve recommended here. I love knowing I have invested in good quality no matter what the item. I’m an All-Clad and Lodge devotee because they are not only fantastic, but also US-made. Exceptions are most of All-Clad’s non-sticks. Just purchased my first Le Creuset from Ebay and saved a ton of money! Also All-Clad. Highly recommend it!
Good list. Will just add that a 5.5 qt cast iron/enameled Dutch oven is also indispensable for baking sourdough bread. Lid on, very hot oven, it creates a mini-steam oven for the first 20 minutes of baking. The result is a glorious oven spring and beautiful, tasty loaf.
You picked the best of the best. I agree with all of your choices except for the non-stick. All of the non-stick pans you chose should last a lifetime. However, I find even top notch non-sticks tend to wear out in a few years, even with good care. I tend to buy moderately priced non-stick pans and replace them every few years. I usually buy an OXO 12 in. I feel better about that than tossing an expensive pan that I feel should last “forever”.
P.S. Love the books and the great recipes!
I still use my Farberware pots i got when married 1976 EVERY DAY. LASTING A LIFETIME ♥️
Best
Wendy
Thanks. This is a great checklist. Since you seem to enjoy all-clad pans I am wondering how you clean the area around the two screws. I can not for the life of me keep this area clear of “food residue” and it’s so gross and perhaps unhealthy (bacteria)? Am I obsessing? I have tried bar keepers friend and baking soda with no success. Thanks. Love love the recipes!
Hi Ann, I have the same issue – first bar keepers friend and a scrub brush, then a toothpick to scrape around the screws (it’s good for getting inside the logo, too).
Thank you for the list! I’ve got most but not all. Question about non-stick pans. I’ve had cheap ones and expensive ones and the coating eventually got damaged on all of them. I’ve begun buying cheap ones exclusively so I can get rid of them when they scar without wasting a lot of money. I have plastic and silicone utensils to use with them but somehow those non-stick surfaces always get dinged. Is there a big difference in cooking results between cheap and expensive non-stick?
Hi Mary, In my opinion, there is not a big difference between nonstick pans from the well-known brands (All-Clad, Calphalon, OXO, etc.), and there are plenty of good options. If you read reviews of these nonstick pans, the pros/cons are more about the shape/weight of the pan rather than how they cook or durability. None of them last long; I replace my All-Clad every few years, but mine get more use than most! I haven’t tried super inexpensive options or lesser-known brands so can’t speak specifically to that.
For everyone out there who bakes & cooks in a small (less than 100 sq. ft.) kitchen, you know that storage is a big issue. I got rid of my wok, Dutch oven and roasting pan and purchased a heavy oven-proof deep stainless steel 12″ Sautee pan with a lid. I can stir-fry, roast, fry, make casseroles, use it as a tangine, etc… Best think I ever did! I have 2 other anti-stick ceramic coated frying pans (8″ & 10″). My old ones lasted almost 10 years and these are of better quality. They will also take a bit more abuse than the regular non-stick pans.
I’m definitely going to have my husband read this article. He keeps buying pans, trying to find the perfect non-stick pan, skillet, griddle. Plus, we have an enviable collection of Lodge cast iron – the most recent addition is a pizza pan – which we can’t even use on our glass top stove (house is all electric). The Lodge goes on the grill or in the oven. Storage is the issue and I would like to pare down. Thank you for the suggestions. PS: Made your salmon cakes the other evening. They were delicious and I will never use canned salmon for them again! Tartar sauce, too.
You can save several $$ on a Dutch Oven from Tramontina and they great!