The Best Ceramic Cookware Sets, Tested by Allrecipes

Price at time of publishing: $395

5 Best Ceramic Cookware Sets of 2023

Ceramic cookware is a type of nonstick cookware that’s made with a different set of water- and grease-repelling materials than traditional nonstick cookware. It can typically handle higher temperatures than cookware made with PTFE (a.k.a. Teflon), but the downside is it wears faster, so it won’t be as nonstick for as long. When compared to stainless steel cookware, it offers the benefits of higher-heat searing and more even heating, often without the heft and the burdensome cleanup. Some types of ceramic cookware are made from clay, baked in a kiln and glazed, but the majority are made of metal that’s been glazed with ceramic.

In the Good Housekeeping Institute, we’ve been testing ceramic cookware sets for years, in addition to traditional nonstick cookware and nonstick pans, stainless steel cookware, Dutch ovens and more. We test them the same way we test traditional nonstick cookware: we see how evenly they heat and how well they can cook eggs with no grease, brown a steak, simmer sauce, boil water and clean up. The ceramic pots and pans that stand out have good nonstick properties, are easy to clean and handle and can stand up to our rigorous tests. Here are the best ceramic cookware sets you can buy in 2023, according to our tests.

Our top picks:

Best Overall Ceramic Cookware Set

GreenPan SearSmart Ceramic Cookware Set

Best Value Ceramic Cookware Set

Farberware EcoAdvantage Ceramic Nonstick Cookware Set

Most Stylish Ceramic Cookware Set

Caraway Ceramic Cookware Set

Best Lightweight Ceramic Cookware Set

GreenPan Valencia Pro Ceramic Nonstick 16-Piece Cookware Set

Best High-End Ceramic Cookware Set

GreenPan Stanley Tucci Ceramic Nonstick 11-Piece Cookware Set

After our recommendations, you can read more below about how we test, what to look for when shopping and whether ceramic is healthy to use.

GreenPan SearSmart Ceramic Cookware Set

GreenPan SearSmart Ceramic Cookware Set

Pros

• Sturdy design with high oven-safe temps make these pots and pans very versatile
• Fry pans have large surface area and short edges that aren’t as sloped as others

Cons

Our best overall ceramic cookware set replaces a discontinued set from the same brand. The pieces feature many of the same great qualities like a dark interior and exterior that hide stains, a sturdy design and glass lids. They can stand up to high heat — they’re oven-safe up to 600ºF. Even their tempered glass lids are oven-safe up to 425ºF. The pots and pans are strong but easy to move around with thick, stay-cool handles.

In our sear test, steak browned quickly and evenly in the skillet and formed a nice, flavorful crust. Eggs fried up well with no oil and were easy to release with just a tiny nudge from our spatula. The pans have a textured surface that makes them more durable than smooth ones. One might think that would make them harder to clean, but we were pleasantly surprised to see that the pans only needed to be rinsed with water after scrambling eggs. We also really liked the pans’ wide surface area that offered more cooking space.

Farberware EcoAdvantage Ceramic Nonstick Cookware Set

Farberware EcoAdvantage Ceramic Nonstick Cookware Set

Pros

• Lightweight and easy to handle
• Heat quickly – great for browning and boiling water quickly

Cons

Heft is often used as a marker of good cookware, but these lightweight and well-priced pots and pans performed great in our tests. They have large, comfy handles that were easy to grasp and stayed cool during cooking. The 10-inch skillet heated quickly and evenly in our heat distribution test, and it also produced a nicely browned and tender steak. It had good nonstick properties. Our eggs didn’t stick, and the pan cleaned up beautifully. The saucepans heated quickly as well, and they feature pour spouts that came in handy when we poured out our sauce.

The pots and pans are made from recycled aluminum. They stack relatively neatly and come with four plastic cooking tools as a nice bonus, especially for the price. The set costs less than other ceramic cookware sets on our list but doesn’t skimp on how well they cook.

Caraway Ceramic Cookware Set

Caraway Ceramic Cookware Set

Pros

• Come in an array of eye-catching colors
• Designed to be displayed

Cons

This seven-piece set from Caraway offers the basics you need to get started outfitting your kitchen. It comes in an array of colors that make them pretty enough to leave out on your stovetop when they’re not in use. In our tests, the skillet offered good nonstick properties that made cleanup easier. They did, however, become less nonstick over time, which is common, so don’t be afraid to use grease as needed.

The pots have beautiful flat lids that match the color of their base. While they’re not transparent, they each have a small steam vent that serves as a good indicator of what’s happening inside (high steam = rolling boil; low steam = about to boil). The lid handles can get hot and condensation can build up on the inside, so beware when opening hot pans.

The set comes with a canvas storage sleeve for the lids, as well as magnetic pan racks that proved useful but could be bulky for some homes. The set is oven-safe up to 650ºF.

GreenPan Valencia Pro Ceramic Nonstick 16-Piece Cookware Set

GreenPan Valencia Pro Ceramic Nonstick 16-Piece Cookware Set

Pros

• Light-colored interior
• Comfortable to hold

Cons

This ceramic cookware set stands out for being lightweight but sturdy with a nice variety of pots and pans that you’ll find yourself using all the time. Plus, the pans are comfortable to hold with their signature handle contours to rest comfortably in your palm. The light-colored interior is pleasant to look at and resists stains, while the dark exterior hides them completely. During testing, we also noticed that the light interior made it harder to see any scratches on the rim that often occur with coated cookware.

In our tests, our eggs released easily with the help of a spatula and the sauce we simmered barely stuck to the bottom in our scorch test, and it cleaned right up. We particularly like the size and shape of the casserole pot, which has a 5-quart capacity — large enough to boil pasta and soup, but not overwhelmingly heavy. Most of the pieces nest inside of each other with the exception of a few lids, and the included pot protectors help guard against scratching.

GreenPan Stanley Tucci Ceramic Nonstick 11-Piece Cookware Set

GreenPan Stanley Tucci Ceramic Nonstick 11-Piece Cookware Set

Pros

• Beautiful modern design
• Sturdy construction

Cons

• Handles can get hot
• Exterior of some pots scratched

Stanley Tucci just collaborated with GreenPan to create this gorgeous, ceramic-coated pot and pan set. Each piece is sturdy with wide handles that are comfortable to hold. They come in three colors: the cream color pictured here, teal and a stainless steel option with black accents. We’ve started testing the cream set in our Lab and are pleased with the results so far. They’re heavy but balanced, and the 10-inch skillet has a wide surface area; it produced a nicely browned steak, and eggs were easy to flip with a spatula without the use of any oil.

The stock pot boiled water relatively quickly compared to other stockpots we tested. It comes with a pasta insert that made it easy to drain our ziti. The lids are flat and chic with oversized handles and are made of transparent glass. The lids are oven-safe up to 425ºF and the cookware is oven-safe up to 600ºF.

How we test the best ceramic cookware

In the Good Housekeeping Institute Kitchen Appliances and Innovation Lab, we’ve tested more than 150 cookware sets over the years. We test each set to see how well the pots and pans distribute heat, if they can evenly sear a steak, how quickly they can bring water to a boil and how good they are at simmering sauce without burning it. We also assess ease of use by evaluating their handles and how much effort is needed to clean them.

For nonstick and ceramic pans, we also test their nonstick ability by cooking eggs and pancakes with no grease. The best ceramic cookware can handle all tests.

What to look for when shopping for ceramic cookware

✔️ Material: Ceramic cookware can be made of a variety of materials: Ceramic that’s glazed to make it nonstick can be quite heavy and slow to heat. Coated aluminized steel is lighter and quicker to heat, and coated stainless steel is heavier and more sturdy. The heavier the pan, the better it will likely sear and retain heat without overheating, but lighter pans are appealingly quick to heat and offer easy maneuverability. In our tests, we found that ceramic cookware generally heats very quickly, especially compared to stainless steel cookware, so whether your pan is on the heavier or lighter side, you’ll want to use lower temps and keep a close eye on it.

The type of coating determines how nonstick it is and how long it will last, though most will only last a couple of years. Those with reinforced coatings and multiple coatings, which are often marketed on the packaging, are designed to last longer.

✔️ Cookware set size: Most of the sets on our list come with about 10 pieces, including an assortment of fry pans, saucepans and small stock pots. Opt for a set that has the most useable pieces for you. Ten-inch fry pans are great go-to’s for all-day use, while 12-inch fry pans come in handy for cooking larger meals. A small 2- to 3-quart saucepan is helpful for boiling eggs and heating up soups, while larger ones are good for boiling pasta.

✔️ Cleanability: Most cookware is touted as dishwasher-safe, even ceramic cookware, but we recommend hand-washing to extend your cookware’s lifespan. High temperatures and abrasive cleaning detergents can cause them to wear quickly and become less nonstick.

✔️ Induction compatibility: If you have an induction cooktop, make sure your ceramic cookware can be used with it by checking the packaging. As a tip, look for sturdier cookware with wider bases that can make better contact with the heating elements for the best results.

Is ceramic the healthiest cookware?

Brands often tout ceramic cookware as being “healthy” because it’s supposedly PFOA- and PTFE-free. Here’s a breakdown of what that means: PFOA is a type of PFAS that was used to make the nonstick material PTFE a.k.a. Teflon. It has been linked to some health concerns and there’s growing concern for its prevalence in nature. It’s important to know that the use of PFOA has been phased out of the United States cookware manufacturing process, but keep in mind that “[its replacements] haven’t been around long enough for researchers to fully understand if they might have the same (or even different) health effects,” according to Cancer.org.

Stainless steel, cast iron, carbon steel, copper and aluminum are all cookware materials that don’t contain PFOA or PTFE, so according to the definition above, they’re also considered “healthy.” If you’re looking for nonstick cookware you can feel good about, consider cast iron or carbon steel; while they both require more care and maintenance than your typical cookware materials, they can naturally build up nonstick properties the more you use them.

How to extend the life of your ceramic cookware

• Avoid nonstick cooking sprays. They’ll gunk up the coating and make your pans less nonstick.
• Use lower temps and try not to burn your oil or food. These types of stains will also make your pans less nonstick.
• Use silicone, nylon-tipped or wooden utensils to help prevent scratches.
• Wash your ceramic cookware by hand even if it’s dishwasher-safe. This will help preserve the coating.
• Magic Erasers can be used occasionally to help rub off any build-up. Some ceramic cookware sets even started to come with them for this exact reason.
• Store your cookware with pan protectors, paper towels or tea towels in between them to help prevent scratches on the surface and around the rim.

Why trust Good Housekeeping?

Nicole Papantoniou is the Kitchen Appliances Lab Director and has been testing cookware for Good Housekeeping for nearly five years. She meets with cookware brands regularly to learn about new items and innovations and continues to put them to the test in both her home and at the Lab daily.

Nicole (she/her) is the director of the Good Housekeeping Institute’s Kitchen Appliances and Innovation Lab, where she has overseen content and testing related to kitchen and cooking appliances, tools and gear since 2019. She’s an experienced product tester and recipe creator, trained in classic culinary arts and culinary nutrition. She has worked in test kitchens for small kitchen appliance brands and national magazines, including Family Circle and Ladies’ Home Journal.

The Best Ceramic Cookware Sets, Tested by Allrecipes

Alyssa is an Editor and specializes in topics including intermittent fasting, gut health, and the keto diet.

Melanie Fincher is a Birmingham, Alabama–based food writer who covers everything from cooking techniques to gadget reviews. She has nearly 7 years experience writing news and lifestyle content.

If you have concerns about nonstick cookware, or you want the easy-to-clean surface of nonstick cookware with the high-heat tolerance of stainless steel, then ceramic cookware just might be the fit for you. Ceramic pans offer the best of all worlds, and it doesn’t hurt that their glazed finish looks stunning on any stovetop.

To help you choose the best ceramic cookware set for your kitchen, we asked Allrecipes product tester Alyssa Sybertz to put the top options on the market to the ultimate test. She considered each set’s overall feel, look, ease of storage, cleanup, cooking surface, and value.

Our Favorites

• Our Top Pick:Caraway 7-Piece Cookware Set
• Best Budget:Cuisinart 11-Piece Set Ceramica XT Nonstick Cookware
• Most Versatile:GreenLife Soft Grip Ceramic Nonstick Cookware Set, 16-Piece
• Most Stylish:Bialetti Ceramic Pro Hard-Anodized 10-Piece Cookware Set

What Is Ceramic Cookware?

Early forms of ceramic cookware date back thousands of years, but modern-day ceramic cookware has evolved greatly from its ancient predecessors. What most people call ceramic cookware is actually metal that has been glazed with a silicone-based nonstick coating derived from sand (the technical term for this coating is sol-gel). But you can also find ceramic cookware that is 100 percent ceramic (i.e. made from clay, baked in a kiln, and glazed).

For the sake of our testing, we focus on the former. Ceramic-coated cookware, also called ceramic nonstick cookware, is often constructed with an aluminum or stainless-steel base for optimal heat conduction. The ceramic coating offers an easy-to-clean, nonstick surface, while the metal base offers excellent conduction capabilities. It’s often considered a safer alternative to nonstick cookware that is coated in PTFE, which at high temperatures (above 500°F) can release toxic fumes.

On the downside, ceramic-coated cookware is less durable than its traditional nonstick and stainless-steel counterparts: Its glaze tends to wear down faster. The more you use it, the more it wears down, and the more oil you’ll need to use with it.

Our Top Pick: Caraway 7-Piece Cookware Set

Why It’s Great: Food doesn’t stick, attractive looking, multiple colors available

Grain of Salt: Limited amount of pans, heavy

The only cookware set that had no sticking at all in both tests, Caraway lived up to its online reputation. The pans are incredibly modern and sleek, and are offered in multiple standard and limited-edition colors, along with different metallic accents. They are on the heavier side but still comfortable to hold. While the covers weren’t glass like the other sets, they fit snugly on the pots and released steam through a hole, which proved key during our applesauce test. The cooking surface is smooth, has an attractive ceramic look, and lived up to its nonstick claims.

Where this set falls slightly short is in the price. It’s the smallest set of all those tested at only seven pieces (four pans and three lids), while also one of the most expensive. It does come with storage solutions for both the pans (to stand and store them on their sides) and the lids (a hanging canvas holder), an extra not included in any of the other sets, which offsets the price a bit.

Price at time of publishing: $395

The Details: Oven safe up to 550°F; induction compatible; includes 10.5-quart fry pan, 3-quart saucepan with cover, 4.5-quart sauté pan with lid, 6.5-quart Dutch oven with lid

Best Budget: Cuisinart 11-Piece Ceramic XT Nonstick Cookware Set

Why It’s Great: Heats quickly, handles stay cool to touch, all the pieces you need

Grain of Salt: Some food stuck a little

If you’re looking to stretch your hard-earned dollars a bit more, this Cuisinart cooking set has a great price-to-piece ratio and throws in a steamer basket to boot. While the look isn’t flashy, it’s cohesive and the pieces nest well for easy storage. Rubber coverings on the handles are soft and comfortable, and they eliminate the need for an oven mitt to move the pans during and after cooking.

Both pans we tested heated up pretty fast, producing an over-medium egg that stuck a bit but came out of the pan in one piece and apples that were relatively soft but not necessarily to the point of sauce. However, if you take into account the speedy heating, this makes for a fine nonstick cookware set.

Price at time of publishing: $120

The Details: Oven safe up to 350°F; not compatible with induction; includes 8-inch skillet, 10-inch skillet, 1.5-quart saucepan with cover, 2.5-quart saucepan with cover, 3-quart sauté pan with cover, 6-quart stockpot with cover, 18-centimeter steamer insert

Most Versatile: GreenLife Soft Grip 16-Piece Ceramic Nonstick Cookware Set

Why It’s Great: Numerous pieces, lightweight, comes with utenils

Grain of Salt: Learning curve for controlling heat

While this wasn’t the only 16-piece set tested, these 16 pieces were the most useful. In addition to two frying pans, two lidded saucepans, one lidded sauté pan, and one lidded stockpot, this GreenLife set comes with a mini frying pan, a steamer basket, and four kitchen utensils, making it a great gift set or bundle of cookware for your kitchen collection. It comes in a rainbow of colors, and the pans are surprisingly light, which makes them very easy to use and handle (despite the fact that the handles on the stockpot have a rather odd shape).

As far as the testing, the apples were very soft and mashed easily. The frying pan heated up incredibly quickly, thus producing a stuck-on, subpar egg that was a bit disappointing, but the heating speed could be better accounted for on later uses.

Price at time of publishing: $120

The Details: Oven safe up to 350°F; not induction compatible; includes 4-inch mini frying pan, 7-inch frying pan, 9-inch frying pan, 1-quart saucepan with lid, 2-quart saucepan with lid, 5-quart stock pot with lid, 2.5-quart sauté pan with lid, 7-inch stainless steel steamer, 4 kitchen utensils

Most Stylish: Bialetti 10-Piece Ceramic Pro Hard Anodized Cookware Set

Why It’s Great: Sleek and elegant looking, slippery nonstick surface, good array of sizes

Grain of Salt: Lids don’t fit well

If you like a modern, trendy look to your cookware, the Caraway set might be more up your alley. But if you like a streamlined, professional, classic look, this Bialetti cookware set is the clear winner.

Gray-on-gray bodies, slim stainless-steel handles, and glass covers with stainless-steel rims give these lightweight sleek pans a much more expensive look than their relatively reasonable price tag. What’s more, the frying pan produced a perfect over easy egg with no sticking at all. The only knock: Despite having a hole to release steam, the cover of the Dutch oven jiggled rather noisily on and off throughout the applesauce test, suggesting that perhaps it should have been a little heavier or fit a little tighter.

Price at time of publishing: $220

The Details: Oven safe up to 400°F; not induction compatible; includes 8-inch fry pan, 10-inch fry pan, 1.5-quart saucepan with lid, 3-quart saucepan with lid, 3-quart deep sauté pan with lid, 6-quart Dutch oven with lid

Our Takeaway

With the essential pieces, great performance, and even greater looks, our top pick is the Caraway 7-Piece Cookware Set. If you want to fully equip your kitchen with one matching set, we recommend the Cuisinart 11-Piece Ceramic XT Nonstick Cookware Set.

How to Pick the Right Ceramic Cookware Set

Construction

Most ceramic cookware sets have an aluminum core which should conduct heat evenly. This combined with the outer coating makes for an ultra-lightweight pan, another advantage to ceramic, especially if you have limited grip-strength or arthritis. Look for cookware with handles that are securely riveted to the pan, and have tempered glass lids. These are both indicators of well-made cookware.

Size and Quantity

Since we’re talking about cookware sets here, consider the number of pieces and which pieces in particular, you’re looking to add to your collection. Most pieces will include, at minimum, a saucepan, fry pan, Dutch oven or stockpot, and sauté pan. From there you can get varying sizes of saucepans and fry pans, as well as a number of lids, utensils, and even accessories like steamer baskets. The sets tested in this review range in size from seven pieces to a whopping 16 pieces.

About Our Tests

After rounding up a collection of top-rated ceramic cookware sets, Allrecipes product tester Alyssa Sybertz tested two pieces in each set: the frying pan or skillet, and the Dutch oven or stockpot. Here’s how:

1. Frying an egg: Alyssa heated each pan over medium heat for two minutes. She then added an egg, cooked for two minutes, flipped, and cooked for an additional one minute before removing it from the pan (note that we chose not to use oil or butter in our testing in order to measure the nonstick capabilities; however some brands suggest using a little fat to prevent sticking). For each pan, she noted how well it cooked on the first side, ease of flipping/if it stuck, how much it cooked on the second side, and how runny the yolk was at the end.
2. Making applesauce: For each pot, Alyssa cooked the apples, water, and sugar for 25 minutes, then checked to see how much the apples broke down, how much mashing was required, how thick the applesauce was, and how easy it was to pour it out and clean the pot.

We Rated

• Overall Feel: Are the pieces heavy? Are the handles comfortable to hold? Do the covers fit snugly?
• Look: Is it attractive? Does it come in colors? Is the look cohesive?
• Ease of Storage: Are the pieces bulky? Can they nest and take up less space?
• Ease of Cleaning: Dishwasher safe or hand wash only?
• Cooking Surface: What do they recommend in terms of greasing the pan? How is the nonstick surface?
• Overall Value: How many pieces do you get for the price? Is it worth the money?

The Leftovers: Other Cookware Sets We Tested

The Blue Diamond 10-Piece Ceramic Nonstick Cookware Set narrowly missed out on a place above for two key reasons. First, the egg was over hard, despite the fact that it happened to have two yolks. And two, the solid cover jiggled quite loudly from steam pressure throughout the applesauce test. It’s an attractive set otherwise, though it comes with two cooking utensils instead of a second saucepan.

Why Take Our Word For It?

Alyssa Sybertz is a freelance writer and avid home cook with nearly a decade of experience writing about food, cooking, nutrition, and wellness. Melanie Fincher is an avid home cook and food journalist with experience writing news and lifestyle content.