We’ve sung the praises of Caraway’s nonstick cookware around here for years. It’s no secret that the brand knows how to execute on great-looking, high-performing pots and pans with glossy surfaces that fried eggs wouldn’t bother trying to stick to. In fact, their nonstick cookware took a prime spot on both of our 2025 lists of the 8 best non-toxic cookware sets and the 9 best ceramic cookware sets. But what if we focused on a different cooking material altogether?
Beyond their crowd-pleasing nonstick pans, Caraway also offers premium stainless steel cookware that promises the Executive Chef experience at home. The 5-ply stainless pots and pans are a great option to quiet any nagging concerns about the chemicals in nonstick coatings, including PFAS ‘forever chemicals’ like PTFE. Stainless steel is a classic and trusted culinary material for a reason. It’s oven-safe, highly durable, and well, stainless (that’s always a good thing).
Of course, not all gleaming silver cookware is created equal. Beyond looking great and coming with several smart storage solutions, the Caraway stainless cookware has to perform under pressure, too — especially at that price point. I put the full Caraway stainless steel cookware set to the test. Here’s how it went and what you should know if you’re in the market for new pots and pans. Plus, we’ve got an exclusive 10% discount for Organic Authority readers when you shop from our links!
If you’re still debating between stainless steel and ceramic cookware, or even stainless steel vs. carbon steel or cast iron, we’ve got you covered there too.
TL;DR: Key Takeaways
- Caraway’s 5-ply stainless steel construction offers exceptional heat distribution with minimal hot spots
- The chemical-free material eliminates PFAS concerns — plus, after a bit of a learning curve, offers solid nonstick performance
- Caraway comes at a premium price point, but the professional-grade durability may justify the investment for serious home cooks
- Smart handle design includes heat-indicator bumps for safer cooking
- Sets include organization tools for neat storage
Want more top cookware picks? Sign up for the newsletter for more well-researched, non-toxic living guidance and smart wellness advice.
Criteria Breakdown
I focused on six factors when testing the Caraway stainless steel cookware set to evaluate performance, durability, and long-term value.
| Criteria | Rating | Key Factors | |||
| Construction Quality & Heat Distribution | 4.5/5 | 5-ply aluminum core construction reduces hot spots | |||
| Non-Toxic | 5/5 | Free of lead, plastic, and nonstick coatings with PFAS like PTFE and PFOA | |||
| Durability & Longevity | 4.5/5 | Professional-grade 18/10 stainless steel is built for decades of use and includes a lifetime warranty | |||
| Ease of Use & Maintenance | 5/5 | Dishwasher-safe, oven-safe up to 550°F (including lids), induction-compatible | |||
| Value Proposition | 4/5 | 16-piece set is a one-and-done option to outfit most kitchens | |||
| Brand Reputation & Support | 4/5 | 5-year track record of producing durable, highly-rated cookware | |||
What Caraway Stainless Steel Is Best Known For
It feels like ceramic nonstick cookware gets most of the attention these days. And I get it — who can resist a colorful skillet with a pretty, smooth finish that requires minimal cooking fat, if any? But while nonstick has its upsides, let’s not overlook the OG: stainless steel.
One of the most obvious benefits of this chemical-free material is how durable it is. Unlike nonstick coatings that require careful handling, there’s no risk of chipping or scratching stainless steel, no matter how many metal spatulas you take to your skillet. The heftiness of this material also means it offers excellent heat distribution and retention. This particular stainless steel cookware set from Caraway also features an aluminum core layered with stainless that heats quickly and evenly, and retains heat well. Plus, the aluminum makes these pots and pans induction cooktop-approved.
Each piece in the 16-piece set is made from 5-ply stainless steel, meaning it’s constructed with five bonded layers of metal: two outer layers of stainless and three inner layers of aluminum. Aluminum is a great heat conductor. It’s also more lightweight and less expensive than steel, which helps balance out the heft and the price of the cookware. Together, these five layers create incredibly strong pans that are resistant to warping, corrosion, and scratches. Cheaper stainless steel options tend to be made from 3-ply stainless.
A Closer Look at The 16-Piece Caraway Stainless Steel Set: What’s Included
If you’re looking to nix nonstick cookware altogether or want a professional-grade set of pots and pans to tap into your inner chef, the 16-piece Caraway stainless steel cookware set is an excellent choice.
The set includes:
- 8-inch Stainless Steel Fry Pan
- 10.5-inch Stainless Steel Fry Pan
- 1.75-quart Stainless Steel Sauce Pan with lid
- 3-quart Stainless Steel Sauce Pan with lid
- 4.5-quart Stainless Steel Sauté Pan with lid
- 6.5-quart Dutch oven with lid
- Magnetic storage organizer (x5)
- Hanging canvas lid holder
Price: $865 at time of publish
Other Purchase Options:
Exclusive Organic Authority discount! Save 10% when you use our code: organicauthority.
The Fry Pans
If you ask me, an everyday frying pan must be lightweight. I want it to feel nimble enough to quickly transfer my eggs from stove to plate, and maybe even throw in a mid-air flip if I’m feeling cheffy. While 5-ply stainless steel will never be as lightweight as most ceramic-coated skillets with aluminum cores, I love that the Caraway pans are on the lighter side of stainless steel cookware.
The 16-piece set includes a 10.5-inch and 8-inch fry pan, which are great sizes for most kitchens. The smaller pan accommodates a couple of fried eggs or burgers, while the 10.5-inch pan offers enough surface area to sear steaks or roast chicken thighs for four.
During testing, the pans showed off their excellent, even heat distribution. You’ll always need a small amount of cooking fat to avoid sticking when you’re frying eggs in stainless steel, but just a thin coating of olive oil or butter meant the eggs cooked evenly and left behind nary a trace. I did run into some issues with high-heat cooking, though. I seared a nicely crusted, perfectly-cooked medium-rare steak — but after dinner, I struggled to remove cooked-on oil, even with hardcore scrubbing. For some extra guidance on how to remove stubborn stuck-on food or even rust from stainless steel, check out our tips here.
Other Purchase Options:
The Sauce Pans
Sauce pans are a must in any kitchen, and this Caraway set has you covered with a highly versatile 3-quart pan and a cute and compact 1.75-quart pan. Both include compatible, tight-fitting lids that trap moisture and help things boil faster. These are great for your standard kitchen tasks of boiling water, simmering grains, and making sauces and soups.
The Caraway sauce pans feature attractive rounded edges along the base that conduct heat up the sides for faster, more even heating — plus long, riveted handles that feel sturdy and well-balanced. These stay cool enough to handle, even after simmering for half an hour. Each handle has a small safety bump on the underside that indicates you may be too close to the pot for comfortable holding. You’ll need a pot holder to remove the lid after 15 to 20 minutes of simmering.
Rice cooked uniformly and came out fluffy and tender in the 3-quart sauce pan, and the mini is a great size for oatmeal and sauce-making.
Other Purchase Options:
The Sauté Pan
A sauté pan may not be considered a kitchen standard or must-have, but once you have one, you’ll use it all the time. The 12-inch Caraway sauté pan can go seamlessly from the stovetop to the oven, making it a great choice for braises and casseroles as well as pan-frying and, well, sautéing. It’s just as handy for quick stir-fries as it is for one-pot recipes that are finished in the oven. You could even use this versatile long-handled pan for a holiday roast for a small group.
The 4.5-quart pan has a large surface area that’s great for searing. The sides are higher than the frying pans, so you can stir and toss without worrying that your sauce will make a mess or the peppers in your stir-fry will go flying. This pan also has a large surface area for quickly reducing liquids. Or, if you want to trap all that moisture inside, just pop on the lid.
Other Purchase Options:
The Dutch Oven
A Dutch oven is a true kitchen workhorse (we’re big fans of ceramic Dutch oven options too), and the Caraway stainless oven is no exception. The tight-fitting lid traps steam and moisture for low-and-slow oven braising, plus it’s the right size for simmering corn on the cob or boiling pasta on the stove.
Like all of the items in this stainless steel cookware set, both the pot and the lid are oven-safe up to 550°F. Stainless steel is an excellent heat conductor and retains heat well. It won’t stay hot quite as long as cast iron, but it also means this Dutch oven is significantly lighter and easier to maneuver from stove to sink to oven to table. It’s also attractive enough to serve from, and easier to clean and maintain without regular seasoning.
Other Purchase Options:
The Storage System
The Caraway storage system helps distinguish this set from other cookware collections. It’s hard to find a functional way to store pots and pans (and their lids!) that also looks great. The 16-piece set comes with five magnetic pieces that lock together to form dividers between each pot and pan. The three larger lids don’t fit into the slots, so there’s also a hanging canvas lid holder that fits on the inside of a door or large cabinet.
More than just being convenient and visually pleasing, the vertical organization system also protects the longevity of your pans. When you don’t have to stack them, you avoid potential scratches and dings. The system also keeps your collection visible at a glance, so it’s quick and easy to grab the pan and lid you need without unstacking and restacking everything.
The Glass Lid and Steamer Add-Ons
Caraway offers a couple of add-on accessories that can make your stainless steel set even more functional. The set already comes with stainless lids, but if you like to get a good look at your food while it cooks, a glass lid gives you that visual control. This add-on is great for simmering, steaming, and braising — you won’t have to constantly remove the lid to check on things, letting out all the hot air. The 10.5-inch glass lid ($55 at time of publish) fits the 6.5-quart Dutch oven and the 10.5-inch Fry Pan, while the 8-inch glass lid ($50 at time of publish) fits the 3-quart Sauce Pan and the 8-inch Mini Fry Pan.
The Steamer Duo
The Caraway Steamer Duo ($130 at time of publish) turns your sauce pans into more multipurpose tools. The two steamer inserts nest seamlessly into the 3-quart sauce pan and 6.5-quart Dutch oven, and are great for blanching vegetables, cooking pasta, or steaming dumplings and fish. The steamers have a ceramic nonstick coating that’s free of PFAS like PTFE and PFOA.
Features Breakdown
Caraway’s stainless steel line includes several thoughtful design elements that make cooking more straightforward, regardless of your experience or skill level.
The steam vents in the lids prevent pressure from dangerously building up inside the pots, but are small enough that you don’t lose necessary moisture inside the pot. The magnetic organizing system is a game-changer for anyone who’s struggled with a daily game of kitchen Jenga, dealing with an unwieldy stack of pots and pans that never seem to nest nicely.
The five-ply stainless and aluminum construction means excellent heat distribution and retention on the bottoms of the pots and pans, which extends up the sidewalls.
The comfortable, ergonomic handles are well balanced for easy transport around the kitchen. They also stay cool while simmering and have a smart heat indicator bump on the undersides that helps prevent burns. The tight-fitting lids have attractive curved handles for easy grasping, and like the pots and pans, they’re oven-safe up to 550°F.
| Pros | Cons | ||||||
| Exceptional heat distribution with 5-ply build that prevents hot spots and ensures even cooking | High price point | ||||||
| 100% chemical-free with no PFAS coatings — safe even at high heat | Heavier than nonstick cookware | ||||||
| Tactile heat indicator bumps on handles help prevent accidental burns | Smallest saucepan is 3 quarts, which may be bigger than some households need | ||||||
| Built for long-term use with professional-grade durability | Properly preheating stainless steel comes with a learning curve | ||||||
| Includes magnetic organizers and a canvas lid holder for better storage |
Exclusive Organic Authority discount! Save 10% when you use our code: organicauthority.
Community Reviews and Expert Recommendations
Customers who have reviewed Caraway’s stainless steel cookware consistently point to the products’ exceptional performance, especially when it comes to searing proteins and making sauces without burning. Reviewers who are avid cooks — including professional chefs! — love that the pans offer great heat distribution. On the other hand, less experienced home cooks mention that the pans have a learning curve to understand when they’re properly preheated, and the hand washing recommendation isn’t always popular.
Where to Find Caraway Stainless Steel Cookware
You can purchase all Caraway stainless steel cookware on the Caraway website and Amazon, although we always recommend purchasing directly from Caraway for the best deals (seriously, there’s a big price difference!) — free shipping (orders over $90), free returns, better customer service, and their lifetime warranty.
Exclusive Organic Authority discount! Save 10% when you use our code: organicauthority.
4 Alternatives to Caraway Stainless Steel
The All-Clad D3 Everyday Stainless Steel Set is more budget-friendly than Caraway’s offering, but it doesn’t offer the same attractive design or storage solutions.
The Made In Stainless Steel 10-piece Cookware Set is another restaurant-quality choice at a slightly lower price point, just without the organizers.
Cuisinart’s Multiclad Pro Stainless Steel Set includes a pasta strainer, which some might find more valuable than others. It’s less expensive than Caraway’s 16-piece set and is made from slightly less durable 3-ply stainless.
The GreenPan Stainless Steel 10-Piece Cookware Set is about half the price of the Caraway set and a great option for less frequent home cooks, as the 3-ply stainless and handle construction aren’t quite as durable as Caraway’s materials and design. GreenPan is a better choice for ceramic-coated nonstick options.
Frequently Asked Questions
How valuable you find this cookware set will depend on how much you cook and how important it is to you to have non-toxic cookware. If you’re a regular home cook who values using chemical- and coating-free tools in the kitchen, the premium pricing of the Caraway cookware is worth it.
These pots and pans are built with highly durable, sturdy materials that last. They also work with any type of cooktop, so they can move with you if you switch to induction, for example. Plus, they do double duty as oven-safe bakeware and are pretty enough to bring to the table for service.
The magnetic storage solution is also a major value-add if it works in your kitchen. The system is flexible, functional, and keeps your cookware organized and in good shape.
Bottom line: the high-quality construction, non-toxic materials, and highly practical inclusions make this set a worthwhile investment for avid home cooks.
The number of “ply” in stainless steel cookware refers to the layers of metal (in this case, steel and aluminum) that are compressed to make the pan. A higher ply means more layers, which translates into better heat conduction and retention. This means fewer temperature fluctuations and a lower risk of hot spots, so less chance of any uneven cooking and burning. For this reason, 5-ply stainless is a better choice for searing, toasting, and making sauces.
The key to having stainless steel cookware that performs like nonstick is to properly preheat the surface and use the right amount of cooking fat. To test if your pan is sufficiently preheated, sprinkle a flick of water into the pan. It should immediately bead up and skitter across the surface. If so, then you’re ready to add a drizzle of oil or a pat of butter and get cooking.
Once you’ve done the water dance test a few times, you’ll have a good sense of how long the pan takes to preheat, and eventually you won’t need to do it every time.
Caraway recommends hand washing these pots and pans for less serious messes. If you end up with stubborn stains that won’t scrub off, they are dishwasher-safe. Hand washing anything in the kitchen is a gentler option that’s more likely to keep your precious goods in tip-top shape — but there’s no shame in popping this sturdy stainless cookware in the dishwasher on occasion.
During testing, the pots and pans cleaned up easily by hand. The one exception was after using high heat to sear steak. The frying pan held on to some cooked-on oil in the grain of the stainless that was nearly impossible to scrub out.
Exclusive Organic Authority discount! Save 10% when you use our code: organicauthority.
Is It Worth the Investment?
Caraway’s stainless steel cookware is a great choice for health-conscious cooks who want to invest in long-term kitchen performance, style, and functionality. The 5-ply construction delivers restaurant-quality heat distribution without concern over potential toxins. The pans’ ability to go into the oven and the timeless, attractive design make these pots and pans the kind of highly versatile cookware you can use for a lifetime.
If you’re new to stainless steel cookware, there is a slight learning curve to achieving nonstick performance, but it likely won’t take more than a few fried eggs to master. And although these pieces are all dishwasher-safe, your best bet for maintaining their high-quality finish is to hand wash them as much as possible, which may not be ideal for everyone.
Ultimately, if you’re committed to building a non-toxic kitchen environment, the investment in quality cookware like Caraway represents just one piece of the puzzle. Considering other non-toxic cookware options, opting for non-toxic utensils, and purging your kitchen of sources of microplastics are all critical pieces of your non-toxic environment (and have we mentioned that Caraway also offers great non-toxic food storage options?).
At Organic Authority, we’re committed to helping you navigate these choices with expert-backed guidance that goes beyond individual product recommendations to create comprehensive healthy living strategies.
