Nonstick pots and pans are kitchen essentials for any cook who likes easy clean-up with minimal elbow grease. They're also a great option for beginners who may be intimidated by more traditional, less forgiving cookware materials like cast iron, stainless steel, and carbon steel.
To find the best nonstick cookware sets, we fried eggs and browned pancakes in pieces from 15 sets. The Le Creuset Toughened Nonstick PRO Cookware Set was our top pick because the nonstick surface is outstanding, and it heats quickly and evenly.
Many nonstick skillets, including our pick from Le Creuset, have coatings made with PFAS, chemicals that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has said may be harmful to health. It's generally safe to cook in a pan with a PFAS coating, as long as you take some precautions to avoid overheating or scratching the surface. If you'd like to avoid a set with PFAS, we recommend the Blue Diamond Diamond-Infused Ceramic Nonstick 11-Piece Cookware Set. It's our top pick for under $100, PFAS-free, and lightweight, though its nonstick properties were less impressive.
Our top picks for the best nonstick cookware sets
Best overall: Le Creuset Toughened Nonstick PRO Cookware Set — See at Amazon
Best budget: Blue Diamond Diamond-Infused Ceramic Nonstick Cookware Set — See at Amazon
Most durable: HexClad Hybrid Perfect Pots & Pans Set — See at Amazon
Best for just essentials: Our Place Cookware Set — See at Our Place
How we test nonstick cookware
We gauged the most important properties of a good nonstick set by testing 10-inch fry pans through several tests. Our testers look for heat retention, heating efficiency, and a slick nonstick surface. We will continue to use our top picks to see how they stand the test of time and update this guide with our observations.
| Our criteria | How we test | What we look for |
| Nonstick surface | Cook one sunny-side-up egg without oil | Egg slides off the pan smoothly and with a whole yolk |
| Heating efficiency | Boil 8 ounces of water | How long the center takes to reach boiling |
| Heat retention | Make three pancakes | Evenly browned pancakes, suggesting even heating across the pan surface |
Cleaning: We cleaned the pans by hand, and if they were dishwasher-safe, we put them through the dishwasher as well. We noted how easy they were to clean.
Durability: No nonstick pan will last forever; in fact, you should replace them when they start to show wear and tear, often around a year of heavy use. We looked for wear and tear after testing and, for the most part, the nonstick surfaces remained in excellent condition. However, some had minor nicks around the rim.
Useful pieces: Brands love to stuff superfluous pieces into cookware sets to beef up the price and perceived value, and lids are also usually counted as pieces in the total number of items in the set. We think most kitchens onlyneedsix pieces: small and large skillets, a medium saucepan with a lid, and a Dutch oven or stockpot with a lid. We tried to find sets with the pure essentials in useful sizes, with minimal extras.
Best overall
The skillet had the slickest surface of all the frying pans we tested. Le Creuset makes the best nonstick pan in our guide, so it's no surprise that the full cookware set also comes out on top. Without oil, sunnyside-up eggs came loose with a gentle shake and slid onto the plate with the yoke undisturbed, thanks to the perfectly flared sides of the frying pan.
The hard-anodized aluminum construction heats evenly and quickly, retaining that heat while cooking pancakes or simmering sauces. During our skillet testing, the Toughened Pro material was also among the fastest to heat up. If you're looking for efficiency, this is a prime example.
The set has a reinforced nonstick coating that is metal utensil-safe. Even the best nonstick cookware isn't as durable as, say, stainless steel. We liked that the Le Creuset added an extra layer of durability, but we'd still avoid using metal utensils on the pieces.
The set has all the essentials, plus a few extras. At the bare minimum, your kitchen should have a Dutch oven, a medium saucepan, and small and large skillets. The Le Creuset set has all of these, plus a covered sauté pan and a small saucepan. These extras don't feel superfluous, but cooks who are short on storage space may want to consider the 6-piece set. Unfortunately, that set does not come with a Dutch oven.
If you're looking to avoid PFAS, this isn't the set for you. The Le Creuset Toughened Nonstick PRO cookware set contains PFAS. See our pick for the best ceramic nonstick set as a PFA-free alternative.
Best budget
For under $100, I actually like the extras — a steamer, ladle, and turner — included in the Blue Diamond Diamond-Infused Ceramic Nonstick Cookware Set. The brand actually makes a set with fewer extras, but it's surprisingly more expensive — might as well get the extra tools for less money, especially if you're outfitting a kitchen from scratch or are on a budget. The actual pots and pans included in the set — five total — hit the mark when it comes to the true essentials. I do wish the set came with a larger fry pan, but it's an excellent selection for the price.
Despite being the lightest nonstick pan I tested, the Blue Diamond skillet did a great job of cooking evenly. It brought a cup of water to a boil in under two minutes, the fastest result from our testing. The aluminum material has hot spots (pancakes cooked near the handle were unevenly browned), but the heat retention is good. The slight flare on the frying pans is conducive to sliding food onto a plate.
The cookware set features a PFAS-free ceramic coating that isn't as slick out of the box as other nonstick cookware we tested. We also noted some wear around the rim of the frying pan after use and a trip through the dishwasher.
Most durable
Of the cookware sets we considered, this was the only one that included a 12-inch frying pan and an 8-quart Dutch oven. In our research into cookware sets, we've found that brands tend to go small on the size of pieces to save on materials — not HexClad. You'll get full-size pieces, along with some nice-to-have pans. Unfortunately, there are a couple of superfluous pieces in this set — namely, lids for every skillet size. Skillet lids aren't used very often, and are a pain to store. I think most cooks are better off with a universal lid that will fit all their skillets.
The cooking surface is made up of nonstick hexagons with stainless steel borders to create a more durable and heat-retaining nonstick surface. I found it was more like using cast iron than traditional nonstick. The plus side is that HexClad cookware retains heat extremely well, cooks evenly, and is durable, even with the use of metal utensils. However, the cookware requires seasoning, and delicate items like eggs or fish are more likely to stick without liberal amounts of oil.
The fry pan has good heft and flares well to make transferring items to a plate easier. The ergonomic handle stays cool. The pieces are dishwasher safe, and I found they cleaned up easily in the washer and by hand.
Read our HexClad Fry Pan review.
Best for just essentials
Our Place's beloved Always Pan is advertised as the only pan you'll ever need, and the brand's cookware set is similarly well-engineered to give maximum versatility with minimal pieces. It comes with just four pans that align nearly perfectly with the true essentials I think every kitchen needs: small and large killers, a stockpot, and a Dutch oven. The skillets are more evocative of a sauté pans, but this only adds to their versatility. The only extras I don't love are the two identical spatulas and two identical spoons you get with this set — I think one of each would have sufficed — but at least those are small enough to store (and don't significantly impact the price of the set).
Aside from utility, this set has unparalleled nonstick properties and modern aesthetics. It even earned the top spot in our best ceramic cookware guide. The PFAS-free ceramic coating is as slick as other nonstick coatings. In the Always Pan, we saw sunny-side-up eggs skating across the pan's surface with just a little shake. For a premium set in which the pans have multiple use cases (think pasta night or just one egg for breakfast), we think the $350 price tag is reasonable.
The pans have held up remarkably well to long-term use. As have the tools, which I've found myself reaching for often to break up ground turkey, maneuver bread dough, and more. They're sturdy and versatile, but after months of use, they have developed a rougher texture.
Read our full Our Place Cookware review.
What to look for in a nonstick cookware set
The nonstick cookware we tested has either a ceramic or PFAS coating, so if you're concerned about PFAS, turn to ceramic cookware.
James Brains/Business Insider
Materials: If you're concerned about PFAS, look for PFAS-free labeling or consider ceramic cookware, which is still nonstick but uses different materials. We also considered the materials underneath the coatings: our top pick is constructed with hard-anodized aluminum, which offers durability and great heat conductivity.
Cleaning: If you hate washing dishes by hand, look for dishwasher-safe sets. Remember that all nonstick surfaces eventually wear down, and the dishwasher shortens this lifespan. We recommend handwashing all pots and pans.
Pieces: Manufacturers love to cram small or specialty pieces into their cookware sets to boost the piece count. Look at the different pieces in the set and gauge how likely you are to use them. We came up with a list of the four most useful pieces: 10-inch fry pan, 12-inch fry pan, 3 or 4-quart covered saucepan, and 6-quart covered Dutch oven.
Is nonstick cookware safe?
I made mountains of pancakes to test the heat retention and even browning of the cookware sets.
James Brains/Business Insider
When used properly, yes. That means adhering to the following:
- Use only light to medium heat (max 400 to 450 degrees)
- Do not preheat empty nonstick pans
- Avoid metal utensils to prevent scratching the coating
We asked Yunlong Luo, a researcher at Macquarie University School of Natural Sciences and author of articles on microplastics in nonstick cookware, for his advice. He told us, "Concerns arise regarding the potential release of microplastics and nanoplastics, particularly from scratched surfaces of Teflon-coated cookware." Luo warned against overheating or preheating empty Teflon (PFTE) coated cookware, as it can emit harmful fumes into the air.
Nonstick cookware FAQs
What is the very best nonstick pan?
The Le Creuset Toughened Nonstick Pro is hard to beat. Thanks to its slick surface and quick-heating construction, it outperformed every other nonstick skillet we tested. Our previous pick for the best nonstick pan was the Tramontina Nonstick Restaurant Fry Pan; we still recommend that piece as a cheaper alternative to the Le Creuset.
How long does nonstick coating last?
Quality and type of coating, proper maintenance, and how you use your nonstick cookware will determine how long the coating lasts. "With proper care, nonstick coatings can last for several years, but they may wear off over time, especially if scratched or exposed to high heat," Luo added.
Can nonstick cookware go in the dishwasher?
Usually yes, though this varies from brand to brand. Your best bet is to read your cookware's care instructions. Either way, we recommend hand washing nonstick pans: Luo warned, "Frequent dishwashing may contribute to the deterioration of the nonstick coating due to water pressure and harsh chemicals in detergent."
A few minutes of hand washing might give you a few more years of using your favorite skillet.
When should I replace my nonstick cookware?
"When it's not shiny," said Jeremy Houghton, Associate Professor at Johnson & Wales University College of Food Innovation & Technology. "Once it starts to get very gray and dull in color, that's probably when a lot of the coating has come off." He added that when you see chipping, it's time for a new set.
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