The Best Stainless Steel Pots and Pans

Our Pick

Best Kitchen Gear's pick for the best stainless steel pots and pans for home use is All-Clad's D3 Everyday line.

What went into this recommendation?

I did a TON of research on stainless steel pans before landing on the All-Clad D3 Everyday line, both online, and in retail stores.

As I mentioned in the DeBuyer Carbon Steel Skillet review I wrote, we're moving away from a set of non-stick saucepans and skillets we've been gifted over the years, as they have finally hit the point where we don't feel safe cooking in them. They're no longer non-stick and are starting to flake, despite following all the rules about only using low heat and no metal utensils. It's just time to move on.

I wanted to make sure we were covered on the saucepan front, since we already have a few cast iron skillets and now a carbon steel pan to tide us over in the "shallow pan" category for now. When shopping, I was envisioning having one larger saucepan for cooking plenty of pasta, and a smaller one for things like cans of soup, gravies, instant noodles, etc.

I looked into many competitors including Demeyere and Tramontina, spending many hours online as well as visiting the local Sur La Table to pick the brains of the kind staff there.

One big factor for me with these pans was that the price is great for the product you get. Many of the other options out there start out much more expensive, or don't come with a nice lip, or a comfortable handle. These pans are the perfect maximalization of quality for the price they are.

What sets these pans apart

I want to talk about the background behind this line of products and what makes them unique (and what doesn't) among All-Clad's many product lines.

The handles are unique, and very easy to hold. All-Clad has an iconic handle on most of their other cookware lines, but for the D3 Everyday line they've adjusted this to a more rounded handle. The new handle is really easy to grip and manipulate in a home kitchen, and does not assume you have a kitchen towel in your hand.

The pan's bodies are All-Clad D3, same as their original line (now called D3 Stainless), and are without a doubt the most even heating pans I've ever owned. They are fairly quick to heat up, and extremely even across the whole pan. This is noticeable when boiling water.

All-Clad D3 Everyday has a tri-ply construction, which is a layer of aluminum with stainless steel cladding bonded on both sides of it. This allows for even and fast heat transfer, with a durable exterior.

Caring for stainless steel

Barkeeper's Friend or Bon Ami are recommended by All-Clad if you want to keep your stainless cookware looking fresh. I am okay with my pans looking imperfect, as they're tools meant to be used.

Hand washing is recommended, although you might see some things online saying All-Clad's D3 pans are dishwasher safe. This is no longer a recommendation as it can corrode the edges where the three layers meet and form sharp edges.

One recommendation from All-Clad and other stainless steel manufacturers is to not let salt or salty water sit on the pan's surface. This can cause pitting or spotting. The recommendation I've seen is that if you're salting water, for example for boiling pasta, that you wait to salt until the water is boiling.

Where can you get them?

The D3 Everyday collection is only sold directly from All-Clad.

I currently own the 1.5 quart sauce pan and the 3 quart sauce pan.

The 1.5 quart sauce pan costs $99.99 at time of writing.

The 3 quart sauce pan costs $119.99 at time of writing.

Since originally writing this, I have added the 6 quart stock pot and the 10.5 inch skillet to the collection.

The 6 quart stock pot costs $199.99 at time of writing.

The 10.5 inch skillet costs $99.99 at time of writing.

All of these pots and pans have been an absolute treat to use.