The Best Nontoxic Pans Rated
This website uses affiliate links, which means I may earn a commission if you click on the link and make a purchase.
With the new year here, you are probably writing down your New Year’s resolutions or thinking of ways to better yourself and your life. One of the top resolutions people make is to eat healthier in the new year. But, what about the vessels used to cook all those healthy meals? That may have you wondering what are the best nontoxic pans? So today I’m sharing the best nontoxic pans rated!
Now, let’s be clear. I bought all these pans. No one gave me pans or bribed me with pans. Trust me, I tried to get people to give me pans haha, but no one even responded! So, you can be sure that my opinions are 100% my own and are not swayed by any of these brands! So, let’s dive in. What are the best nontoxic pans?
Table of Contents
I tried out different nontoxic pans from 4 different companies, Caraway, Green Pan, Carote, and Rock Ur Wok, all ranging in price, color, and style. What all these pans have in common is they are all made of nontoxic ceramic, they are all nonstick, and they are all oven safe. So, which ones do I think are the best? Find out below.
I used a rating scale of 1 to 10 for four different categories so I could rate each pan with the same category. The categories I chose that are important to me when choosing a pan set are: design, durability, nonstick, and feel. While all of these pans are nontoxic, all oven safe, and all made of ceramic, I felt these things were kind of a draw. So, I added up my ratings for each category and gave each brand an average. So, see for yourself, the best nontoxic pans rated!
Caraway 12-Piece Nonstick Ceramic Cookware Set
Rating: 9 / 10
Price: $399 for a 12 Piece Set
Free Of: PFOAs, PTFEs, PFAS, lead, cadmium and other toxic materials that can leach into your food
Design 10/10
Caraway has my heart with design. They were the first pans I bought after we built our house and I had a brand new kitchen to stock. So, I’ve had these for a few years. They have amazing colors and I love their stainless steel handles and modern look.
Durability 8/10
This seems like the most durable pan, aside from a cast iron. It’s got a really good weight to it. It’s comfortable to hold and I don’t feel like it’s light weight or cheap in any way. The problem lies with the frying pans burning on the bottom. This ruins the beautifully colored pans! I don’t seem to have problems with the pots as we’re mostly cooking in water in the pots I believe, but the frying pans get ruined very quickly.
Nonstick 8/10
Here’s where Caraway needs some work. Yes, their pans are nonstick, but not completely. I’ve gone through a couple frying pans in the few years. I know you’re supposed to cook on medium heat with these, they say it all the time. But, I have a gas stove and I do cook on medium. So, I don’t know if my range is just hotter than they are expecting it to be because its gas? But, there’s issues with sticking on the frying pans. Not on any other pan — just the frying pans!
Feel 10/10
These pans feel like butter in your hands. The handles are round and they are heavy duty. The pans feel premium, expensive, and like they can handle anything!
Extra Notes
Every pan comes with a lid in this set. This is key as even all the frying pans come with a lid, even if you buy the set. Not all pan sets have lids for frying pans, so this is a huge plus that Caraway does. The downside is these lids are solid, so you cannot see inside them, so you have to remove the lid to check your food if you are using a lid.
Another ding for Caraway is that the outsides of the pans will burn and stain easily, mainly the frying pan. Probably because that’s what we use the most! But Delaney jokes that if you just look at the Caraway pan, it burns, haha. So, while they’re beautiful pans, they don’t really stay pretty for long. I even have two frying pans so I can keep one nice and use it only for photos or shoots, and my other one is definitely not very pretty anymore!
Carote 12-Piece Ceramic Cookware Set
Rating: 8.5 / 10
Price: $149 for a 12 Piece Set
Free Of: PFOA, PFOS, cadmium, lead, and the most harmful chemicals
Design 10/10
I love the design of these pans. They are very modern! I love that they have glass lids so you can see what you are cooking. They also have rubber knob on the lids, so they don’t get hot. This is genius as you don’t need an oven mitt, which I really like! I like that they have their own design, and they aren’t copying any of the other brands, so big points for that! As I feel like the Green Pan is just a copy of the Caraway that isn’t as well done. So, I like that these pans have their own design.
Durability 6/10
As far as nonstick and cleaning go, these are very durable. We’ve been cooking beef liver, pork, turkey, chicken, veggies — it’s all good in these pans! And that’s saying a lot for the beef liver! We make beef liver every week for John John and it stains the Caraway pan each time and the Green Pan doesn’t have a lid, so this pan is great for it! But, after having these pans for a while, the handles have started to burn! At first, I though these pans were perfect, but this has been a downside the more and more I use them. I'm reaching out to Carote to see if this is just a defect in the ones I have, or if this happens. I'm betting it's because we have gas, so the heat is hotter. I'm wondering if this would not happen with an electric stove.
Nonstick 10/10
These pans are the best nonstick I’ve used! When I cooked my Everything Bagel Turkey Sausages in them, they cleaned in just a minute, it was so fast and easy. Where with the Caraway pan, I have to soak this and let it sit for a while before I can clean it completely. Also, Delaney puts an ungodly amount of cheese in his pasta, and he cooks it in a pan and that literally sprayed right out!
Feel 8/10
These seem like very durable pans for cooking and cleaning; they have a nice weight to them. They are not as heavy as the Caraway, but they are not as light as the Green Pans either. They feel luxury for the price when you first get them! I wouldn’t say they feel like the most expensive, because to me, that’s Caraway. But, the fact that the handles are burning on the frying pans is really bumming me out. It's only doing it on the frying pans, and it may be because my gas stove is incredibly hot. But, that makes them feel not very luxury or nice anymore.
Extra Notes
This is a really good price for what you get. If you are on a budget this pan set is much less than Caraway and Green Pan and I feel they are very comparable in every other area! They also throw in two utensils with the pan set which is just an extra bonus.
Also, this may seem weird, but Delaney and I both swear that water boils faster in these pans above all else. Because we are at 8,000 feet in altitude, water does boil slower up here so I always plan and put on water well before it’s needed. When I did my usual water boiling time with these, I was surprised it was boiling way faster! They do say something about even and fast heating in their marketing pitch, and that is not a lie!
I also love the color, this fits in perfectly in my kitchen. This company makes some other pan sets that don’t have as pretty of a design, in my opinion. This specific one is the best looking one. I have not tried any of the other pans from Carote. If it weren't for the burning handles on the frying pans, these would be my top pick.
Green Pan Reserve Ceramic Nonstick 10-Piece Cookware Set
Rating: 9.25 / 10
Price: $399 for a 10 Piece Set
Free Of: PFAS, PFOA, lead, and cadmium
Design 8/10
I love the design of the new Green Pans Reserve! They look pretty and modern and they come in a slew of different colors. You can find one to match your kitchen and style! The only downfall is the frying pans are very shallow. I am quite frequently flinging food out onto my stovetop if the pan is full (and let’s be real, it's always full). So, that’s a big downside for me as I’m always cooking a lot of food and I hate cleaning the stove after cooking. They also don’t have lids for the frying pans which is a big miss in my opinion, I need lids for frying pans!
Durability 10/10
The durability of these pans is great. It’s a lighter weight pan than the Caraway pans, so if you don’t want a heavy pan, then that’s a huge bonus as this one still feels like you can cook anything in it, but it’s very light weight even though it looks heavy. I have the black right now, so I haven’t had any issues of the bottom of the frying pans burning. I’d be curious if it does this with the white though.
Nonstick 10/10
These have been incredibly nonstick, and at this point I’m just referring to frying pans because all the pots themselves were equal in their nonstick properties. And this is a huge shocker to me as I had the Green Pan Venice Pro Stainless Steel Healthy Ceramic Nonstick Pan Set many years ago that was complete garbage, they were terrible, so that’s when I bought Caraway!
So, honestly Green Pan cleaned up their pans because I was so skeptical to try these again. And Delaney was livid that I actually bought them as he hated the old ones so much, haha. But, I am happy that I did! I do have the black as I wanted a black option for photos, so I can’t tell for sure if they will stain if they are a lighter color. I should get a white one to test it and I will update this when I do.
Feel 9/10
The feel of this pan is lightweight. At first, I thought it was very lightweight as I was so used to my Caraway pans, but after trying some others, I feel it’s middle of the road. So, if you’re looking for a beautiful lighter weight pan, then this is it! I prefer a heavier pan, as I think it feels more premium and just stronger, I guess.
Extra Notes
The lids on this set are clear glass, that’s a bonus as you can see inside the pots. But the frying pans don’t have lids. The frying pans are shallow, so if you are constantly filling the pan, it can be annoying as food can fall out easily. Also, the frying pans don’t have lids, big miss! And these pans are the most expensive. I don’t believe they are worth the price tag of being the most expensive pan set. I’d much rather have the Caraway or the Carote over these. But, on the other hand, if you’re looking for a specific color with gold handles, then this is your pan set!
Rock Ur Wok 6-Piece Ceramic Nonstick Cookware Set
Rating: 8.25 / 10
Price: $89 for a 6 Piece Set
Free Of: PTFE, PFOA, PFAS, lead, cadmium and other toxic materials that can leach into your food
Design 7/10
I love the color of this cream set that I got and the pans themselves have a great design. The handles are where they got me. While it’s stainless steel, I don’t like the look of them as much as others as the edges are sharper and the handle is hallowed. This makes it feel cheaper and less premium. They also get hot so you need an oven mitt which is a big downside for me. There are also no lids for the frying pans, big miss in my opinion.
Durability 9/10
These are lightweight, very similar to the Green Pan weight. I don’t know if it’s just because I’ve been using the Caraway Pans longer that I feel a lighter weight pan feels less durable? But the inside of the pan is incredibly durable and they are the only pans that have a texture to the ceramic inside. And I think that this is a plus!
Nonstick Capabilities 10/10
The inside of these pans is not smooth, where the Green Pan, Carote, and Caraway pans are incredibly smooth. These have a texture to them, but honestly that is working for them! I cooked my dogs beef liver in this pan quite a few times, and it cleaned so incredibly easily! When I make beef liver in the Caraway frying pan, it’s difficult to get it clean and I have to soak it! But there’s no lid for this pan, so then that’s a downfall as I need that for cooking beef liver haha.
Feel 7/10
The pan itself has a good feel to it when cooking. This got a lower score from me because of the handles. While they are stainless steel, they are hallow, so they feel lighter and to me that makes them feel cheaper. If you want a lighter pan then you could look at this as a bonus. But they also get hot, so you’ll need a mitt if cooking for a while as you won’t be able to touch it without one. That’s not ideal for me!
Extra Notes This is the only pan set that I reviewed that has a texture, that helps these be insanely nonstick! This pan set also boasts a 10 year warranty which is so nuts! So, that’s a huge bonus for buying this brand. Plus, the price is very budget friendly. So, if you’re looking for a really good price and a long warranty, then this pan set is it!
Bottom Line
The bottom line is no pan set is going to be perfect! These pans are all nontoxic ceramic and they are all somewhat nonstick. My top pan choice is still Caraway, because I love the way they look and how heavy they are. While they are not the best for nonstick, they still have my heart. My second choice is Green Pan because they are durable, but I really dislike their frying pans as they are so shallow. Third, I'd chose Carote, even with the burning handles. These were my top pans until the handles started burning on the frying pans. I'm still using the pots all the time though! My last choice would be Rock Ur Wok, simply because of the way they feel in my hand when cooking. I really don't like the handles here as they are hallow, the most uncomfortable, and they get hot so you need an oven mitt.
Craving More?
Join Our Organic Community
Leave a Comment