Expert consulted: 
If your Instagram feed is anything like mine, chances are you've scrolled past a lot of posts featuring the pretty pots and pans from Caraway. The kitchen brand is known for its cookware, bakeware, and food storage sets that are beautifully designed and functional.
Given the popularity of Caraway's best-selling cookware set, we had to see firsthand how these pots and pans perform in the real world, beyond social media. The Good Housekeeping Institute Kitchen & Cooking Lab analysts have been rigorously testing and evaluating Caraway products since 2021, and our panel of consumer testers and food editors (myself included!) have been trying them out at home, too. Here's what we think.
What is the Caraway Cookware Set all about?
While you can purchase pieces individually on its site, Caraway's Cookware Set includes a solid assortment of pots and pans in colors ranging from classic (i.e., cream, navy, sage) to bold (black, white, marigold). Each complete set includes:
- 10.5-inch fry pan
- 3-quart saucepan
- 4.5-quart sauté pan
- 6.5-quart Dutch oven
- Matching lids and a storage system
You can also purchase a Cookware & Minis Set that includes a mini fry pan and a mini sauce pan.
Pros
- Come in an array of eye-catching colors
- Distributes heat evenly, for the most part
Cons
- Heavier than many other nonstick options
- Lid handles get hot
The brand says the cookware works on gas, electric, and induction cooktops and is oven-safe up to 550°F (though it’s unlikely you’ll ever need to cook at that high a temp). They are not suitable for the broiler.
All of the pans included are ceramic-coated, which gives the cookware some nonstick properties and makes clean-up relatively easy. Caraway says it's committed to using no potentially toxic materials, such as PTFE, PFOA, PFAS, and heavy metals.
PTFE, also known as Teflon, is a material commonly used in nonstick cookware. It used to largely be made with PFOA, a fluorinated compound that’s part of the PFA family, which has been linked to some health concerns. PTFE cookware has been phased out in the United States. However, according to the American Cancer Society, “Its replacement[s] haven’t been around long enough for researchers to fully understand if they might have the same (or even different) health effects.”
Ceramic-coated cookware, like Caraway, is an alternative to Teflon. That said, these coatings tend to lose their nonstick performance more quickly. And while you’ll often see brands touting “toxin-free” claims, those are tricky to verify—there’s no clear regulation around that term from agencies like the FDA.
How we tested the Caraway Cookware Set
The gear experts in the Kitchen Lab have tested over 200 cookware sets across a range of materials, including stainless steel, ceramic, and carbon steel. Our pros also used their well-established testing protocols to assess the performance and ease of use of the Caraway Cookware Set.
We cooked steak, eggs, and sauces, and compared the results to other pots and pans currently on the market. We evaluated each pot and pan for:
- How quickly it heated
- How evenly it distributed heat
- Nonstick properties
- Ease of cleaning
We also sent the pans to GH consumer product testers for testing at home. We incorporated this data into the final scores.
At the same time, I switched up my pots and pans and cooked the majority of my meals for two months with the Caraway Cookware Set. I tried a range of recipes to test the cookware's functionality, durability, and convenience in the real world—from scrambled eggs, pancakes, and frittatas to soups, pastas, sauces, fried rice, chicken, and tacos.
Our honest review of the Caraway Cookware Set
Performance
In the Kitchen Lab’s heat distribution test, the pans heated evenly for the most part, though they tended to brown more in the center than near the handles. When searing a steak, the meat browned evenly.
When the team conducted the egg test, “frying” three eggs in a row with no grease, the first egg flipped pretty easily, but the subsequent eggs started to stick and eventually became difficult to flip with a spatula, leaving behind residue. (In a really good egg test, every egg should flip effortlessly and slide right out of the pan.)
But what did the consumer testers think? The pans received high scores from in-home testers for their ability to distribute heat and cook food evenly, though some found it was important to cook at lower tempsfor the best results. This was a point of frustration for me, too (I love a good seared steak, which you can only achieve by hitting those higher cooking temps). However, with a solid cast-iron skillet, you can easily solve that issue.
Finally, these pans are a bit heavier than other nonstick options. And while the slim lids with flat handles are pretty and functional, in Lab tests, the handles got noticeably hot while cooking, and the lids collected condensation. It's best to keep a kitchen towel or potholder nearby and grab it before lifting the lid.
Cleaning
As tempted as you may be to pop these in the dishwasher, the brand recommends giving these pans a gentle scrub with warm, soapy water and a non-abrasive sponge. Our Lab experts agree that nonstick cookware should always be washed by hand to help it last longer, as some dishwasher detergents can cause the coating to break down faster.
After our egg tests, the pans were difficult to clean and required some scrubbing. During the Lab's scorch test, where we simmer tomato sauce for 30 minutes to see how easy the pans are to clean, the reduced sauce wiped out with ease, but the pans turned pink inside. Fortunately, the dye vanished after a couple of washes.
Though the pans' exteriors stained during testing, we could easily remove new stains with Bar Keepers Friend. That said, it got harder to remove exterior stains the more we used the pots and pans.
Lab Tip: In addition to hand-washing, to keep your pans in tip-top shape and extend the life of the nonstick coating, avoid cleaning with aerosol sprays, using metal utensils, cooking over high heat, and drastic temperature shifts (don't rinse a hot pan under cold water).
Consumer testers gave the pans high scores for easy cleaning, and I was also impressed with how little effort it took to clean the fry pan after cooking scrambled eggs at home.
Storage
While I've found that some other cookware sets contain far too many pieces, especially if you have a small kitchen, this set is the right size, in my opinion. I found the pan sizes to be convenient, too. While I commonly cook for two, it wasn't stressful to cook for four on some nights or to meal-prep a big batch of soup on occasion.
Our consumer testers also appreciated the included storage system (one raved, "I loved the lid storage system," and another cited that the "sleek lid storage sleeve" was one of her favorite features), though some flagged that the rack took up too much space in their kitchens, and our Lab experts agree that it's bulky. As for me, the magnetic rack fit perfectly in the corner of my kitchen and easily stored all my pots and pans while protecting them from scratches.
The bottom line: Is the Caraway Cookware Set worth it?
If you're looking for a starter set of pots and pans that are pretty enough to display on your kitchen counter, you have found a match. (I think they'd make a useful gift for college grads or a nice addition to a wedding registry.)
"Overall, they're beautiful pans and would look good in anyone's kitchen," says Nicole Papantoniou, director of the Kitchen Lab. "That said, they require a little extra care than some cookware since you can't use them over higher temps, and we found that the exterior stains easily. The nonstick coating also doesn't last long, but that's common with ceramic cookware," she said.
The Lab included the Caraway Ceramic Cookware Set as its most stylish pick on the list of the best ceramic cookware sets. As for me, I'll continue to use these pots and pans at home, admiring their aesthetic as I make a big batch of soup or throw a frittata into the oven.
Why trust Good Housekeeping?
Trish Clasen Marsanico is GH's deputy food editor. She has more than a decade of experience writing about food for GH, Women’s Health, Prevention, Redbook, Woman’s Day, The Daily Meal, and Food Network.
Trish, who has been using the Caraway Cookware Set at home for over two months, worked closely with Kitchen & Cooking Lab Director Nicole Papantoniou to put together this review. Nicole, an experienced product tester and recipe developer, oversees all of GH's kitchen gear content and testing, including cookware. The Lab has been testing Caraway's Cookware Set for years, and continues to test the brand's products to evaluate long-term performance.
Nicole (she/her) is the senior director of the Good Housekeeping Institute Kitchen & Cooking Lab. She oversees all content and testing related to kitchen products, food, and recipes. She has worked at GH since 2019, and is a trained cook, published recipe developer, and seasoned product tester with nearly 15 years of experience. She has worked in test kitchens for national magazines and kitchen appliances brands, where she also helped develop products for the home cook. She earned a degree in journalism from SUNY New Paltz, graduated with a Grand Diplome in Classic Culinary Arts from the French Culinary Institute, and studied culinary nutrition at the Natural Gourmet Institute (both now part of the Institute of Culinary Education in New York City.)
