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Before you can fill your kitchen with trendy gadgets and infomercial knickknacks, you need to nail down the essential equipment. With just these well-chosen pots and pans, you’ll be set for a lifetime of cooking.
SAUCEPANS
WHY YOU NEED THEM:
Saucepans are just the right size and shape for many common kitchen tasks. They are easy to maneuver and stay out of your way on a crowded cooktop.
WHY WE LOVE THEM:
We use these multitaskers to make rice, sauces, vegetables, gravy, pastry cream, pudding, and poached fruit, to name just a few.
SAVVY SHOPPING TIP:
Buy at least two. One with a capacity of 3 to 4 quarts (for sauces and vegetables) and a second 2-quart nonstick saucepan (for foods that stick easily and reheating leftovers).
Check out our full review of saucepans, both big and small.
ROASTING PAN
WHY YOU NEED IT:
This pan’s low sides and open design provide roasts with maximum exposure to the oven’s hot air for even browning. (High-sided covered roasters cook faster and hotter but cause meat to steam and inhibit browning.)
WHY WE LOVE IT:
This holiday staple is also incredibly useful year-round. Besides roasting our favorite bird in November (with a V-rack inserted), this pan shows up whenever we want to roast large cuts of meat. It can also be used to deglaze drippings for gravies and sauces on the stovetop. It comes in handy for things like making a triple batch of beef stew (which won’t fit in your Dutch oven) and making desserts that require a water bath, like some cheesecakes and many custards.
SAVVY SHOPPING TIP:
Make sure the pan fits into your oven. Be sure to measure your oven before shopping for a roasting pan; it should fit with about 2 inches of clearance on all sides. The large roasters we’ve tested were between 15 and 18 inches long, 11 inches wide, and would hold a turkey weighing up to 25 pounds. Also, note that oval-shaped models may not accommodate roasting racks.
See our full review of roasting pans to find out which $50 model performed almost as well as one twice as expensive.
DUTCH OVEN
WHY YOU NEED IT:
Built for both oven and stovetop use, a Dutch oven is generally wider and shallower than a conventional stockpot. It’s easy to reach into and provides a wider surface area for browning. Its heft translates into plenty of heat retention—perfect for keeping frying oil hot or maintaining a low simmer.
WHY WE LOVE IT:
Our kitchen would stop running without this pot. The best choice for soups, a Dutch oven is also ideal for frying, stewing, braising, steaming, and boiling.
SAVVY SHOPPING TIP:
Buy big and wide. We find the most useful size to be 6 to 8 quarts. Also, our favorite pots measure more than 9 inches across—any less and you’ll be stuck browning meat in several batches.
Our favorite Dutch ovens are made of enameled cast-iron, which does a good job of holding onto heat and cleans up easily.
RIMMED BAKING SHEETS
WHY YOU NEED IT:
Rimmed baking sheets are serious multitaskers. Fitted with the right-sized wire cooling rack, this versatile pan can stand in for a roasting pan.
WHY WE LOVE IT:
We use rimmed aluminum baking sheets (aka jelly-roll pans or half-sheet pans) for everything from roasting vegetables and baking cookies to cooking meat, to, yes, baking the occasional sheet cake.
SAVVY SHOPPING TIP:
Keep it light and thick. A thick-colored surface will heat and brown evenly, making for perfectly cooked meat, vegetables, or cookies. And a pan that isn’t thick enough can buckle and transfer heat too intensely, burning the food.
Want to avoid warping? Our full review of rimmed baking sheets contains useful preventative measures.
STOCKPOT
WHY YOU NEED IT:
This pot can tackle big jobs easily while being small enough to store easily with other pots and pans.
WHY WE LOVE IT:
This big pot is perfect for handling a variety of big jobs—from steaming lobsters and cooking pasta and bushels of corn to making huge batches of homemade stock.
SAVVY SHOPPING TIP:
Heavier pots perform better. Lighter pots do a fine job cooking corn and pasta—in fact, they heat up faster than heavier pots. But for cooking applications where sticking and scorching are risks (such as chili), a heavier pot, especially one with a thick bottom, is a must.
This pot might be one of the biggest in your kitchen, but, as our inexpensive stockpot testing proves, it doesn’t have to be the most expensive.
TRADITIONAL SKILLET
WHY YOU NEED IT:
The flared, shallow sides encourage rapid evaporation of moisture, so foods sear and brown, rather than steam, and pan sauces reduce quickly.
WHY WE LOVE IT:
We reach for our 12-inch traditional skillet to pan-sear steaks, chops, and cutlets and pan-roast chicken parts. The finish (not nonstick) helps develop fond—the crusty, brown bits that are used to make pan sauces.
SAVVY SHOPPING TIP:
Clad construction performs best. For the best conduction of heat, the pan should be clad, meaning the entire pan is made of three or more metal layers and does not have a disk bottom (an attached disk of metal). A heavy, clad base will distribute heat evenly.
Our favorite traditional skillets have large cooking surfaces, controlled heat, and the ability to withstand our abuse tests.
NONSTICK SKILLET
WHY YOU NEED IT:
Delicate foods cook well without sticking and get nicely browned, and flared sides allow for the quick redistribution of food—think omelet—by jerking and sliding the pan. Plus, cleanup is a snap.
WHY WE LOVE IT:
We use this pan to cook or sauté delicate items that tend to stick or break apart during cooking, like fish, stir-fries, pancakes, and egg dishes.
SAVVY SHOPPING TIP:
Look for a comfortable, ovensafe handle. The handle should feel comfortable and sturdy, and stay cool during cooking. Look for an all-metal or mostly metal handle that can go into the oven since many recipes start on the stovetop and finish in the oven.
Check out our favorite nonstick skillets that you won’t feel bad about throwing away after a couple of years.
CAST-IRON SKILLET
WHY YOU NEED IT:
In our lineup of winning pans, this is our heavy hitter—accept no substitutions. We don’t use it every day, but It absolutely makes a difference when we do. No other metal in the cookware arena retains heat as well as cast iron. Plus it’s dirt cheap.
WHY WE LOVE IT:
Cast iron is just the thing for searing food quickly over very high heat. It heats evenly to high temperatures and stays hot and, if well seasoned, it releases food just as well as a nonstick surface. Also, cast iron helps oil stay hot, so this skillet is great for shallow frying.
SAVVY SHOPPING TIP:
Buy a preseasoned pan. We prefer factory-preseasoned pans because they perform better than unseasoned pans, which must be seasoned in an oven before use (a messy process that creates fumes). But both pre-seasoned and unseasoned cast-iron skillets must be lightly oiled to keep them in good working order and prevent rust.
We also prefer preseasoned cast-iron skillets. Check out our full testing to find out why.
About the Author: America's Test Kitchen
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Any suggestions for smaller non-stick skillets, like an 8-inch? When I’m cooking eggs for 2 a smaller skillet would be nice.
any suggestions for mid level pan sets? was going to go better than the best buy tramontina price point, about double, but don’t have the budget for all clad. what about circulon? have you any opinion on these? thanks! (finally have my mechanic husband convinced that i need the right tools, just as he does, so i want to find the right things before he changes his mind~his snap on tools are very expensive and i need to get “mine” before he finds another “must have”)