The Best Budget Cookware Sets of 2021

Overall, we were really happy with the cookware set from Cuisinart’s new eco-friendly line, the Cuisinart Green Gourmet Hard Anodized 12-piece set. According to Cuisinart, their ceramic nonstick coating is PTFE and PFOA free, so it helps conserve existing oil supplies compared to petroleum-based coatings. The pans all heated evenly, and the widely-spaced handle rivets made the pans easy to clean. We had no issues with the nonstick properties, and this set scored well on most of our performance tests.

Unfortunately, there were a few things we didn't like compared to some of our top nonstick cookware performers. The two saucepans don’t stack well for storage, and the small saucepan kept getting stuck inside the larger pan, leading to scratched edges. While the set includes a lot of value for the price tag, the sauté pan is smaller than we’d like, so we felt this set missed out by not providing a 12-inch skillet.

This ceramic nonstick cookware set comes with 8- and 10-inch frying pans, 1.5- and 2.5-inch saucepans, a 3-quart sauté pan, and a 6-quart Dutch oven. As a bonus, it also comes with a steamer basket that fits inside the 2.5-quart saucepan. It’s also one of the few nonstick pan sets we tested that comes with metal lids, something we appreciate since they’re more durable and easier to store.

It’s hard to beat the price on the T-Fal Endurance Platinum Nonstick 14-piece set, but when it came to performance, we preferred the Titanium Advanced set. This set was a little heavier, and we didn’t love the tall buttons on top of the glass lids, which made them hard to store.

As far as performance goes, this set met our expectations, but they did tend to get hotter faster than some of the other sets. That means you’ll need to be careful when using them over medium-high heat. The handles will get hotter, too, so be sure to have a set of oven mitts ready.

This nonstick set comes with 8- and 10-inch frying pans, 1- and 3-quart saucepans, a 3-quart deep sauté pan, and a 5-quart stockpot. In addition to the pans, this nonstick set includes three metal utensils: a spatula, a stirring spoon, and a pasta spoon. That said, we generally don’t recommend using metal on nonstick, as it can wear down the coating (even on pans rated for use with metal utensils).

The Anolon Advanced Hard-Anodized Nonstick 11-Piece Cookware Set is a joy to work with thanks to the pans' soft, padded handles. It was one of the few sets that didn’t have blazing-hot stockpot handles after boiling water for 30 minutes! The hard-anodized nonstick coating is even utensil safe (although, it was one of our least favorite nonstick surfaces to use without added oil).

The set contains two saucepots (1.5- and 3-quart), an 8.5-quart stockpot, and a medium-sized 3-quart sauté pan, and a small and a large skillet (8.5- and 12-inch).

The OXO Non-Stick 10 Piece Cookware Pots and Pans Set excelled when it came to nonstick abilities. In fact, we named the 10-inch egg pan as our best overall nonstick pan for its ability to cook eggs and pancakes without sticking—even when we didn’t use any cooking oil! The rest of the pans in this set proved to have the same superior nonstick abilities, and we loved the ergonomic, silicone-coated handles.

That said, the pans didn’t heat as evenly as the other cookware sets in our testing group, causing some of our vegetables to burn before the rest cooked through. The handle rivets are placed too closely together, too, making these pans harder to clean.

Finally, the set comes with a great variety of pots and pans, but we wish the 3-quart sauté pan was wider, satisfying our desire to have a 12-inch pan in the set. However, the pans do stack very nicely for storage, which is an asset to anyone with a small kitchen.

This hard-anodized aluminum nonstick set includes 8- and 9.5-inch frying pans, a 2-quart saucepan, a 3-quart sauté pan, a 3-quart sauce pan, and a 6-quart stock pot.

You will certainly add a splash of color to your kitchen with the Vremi 15-Piece Nonstick Cookware Set. Each piece comes in a different color, which offsets the inexpensive look of its plastic handles a bit. Overall, we found the pieces in the set to be smaller and less functional than we’d prefer cooking a large dinner with. Also, it didn’t perform nearly as well as some of the other sets.

Inside the nonstick box set are three saucepots (1-, 1.3-, and 1.75-quart), a small 4.2-quart stockpot, two skillets (8- and 10.5-inch), and five nonstick kitchen utensils.

I wouldn’t necessarily recommend that you avoid the Cook N Home 12-Piece Stainless Steel Cookware Set, but you will certainly get what you pay for. These pots and pans were super-lightweight, heating up quickly but also losing that heat equally as fast. The handles were some of the hottest to the touch, too, so make sure you have those oven mitts handy!

We were also a bit disappointed in the contents, too. It lacked any skillets, providing one 10-inch sauté pan instead. It did include four saucepots—for some reason providing two 1.5-quart pots along with a 2- and 3-quart pot. The 5.5-quart stockpot was a little on the small end, too, but functional.