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Mamavation » Blog » Product Investigations | Mamavation » Safest Cookware in Simple Terms–Stainless Steel, Cast Iron, Ceramic, & Bakeware 2022
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We know, our Mamavation Cookware & Bakeware Investigation is long and perhaps confusing. You may be here because you just want the product list of what to buy. We’ve responded by creating a post for you all about cookware and bakeware in the simplest of terms. So let’s get to the point and help you find the safest cookware! You’ve trusted Mamavation to bring you topics like safest air fryers without PFAS “forever chemicals,” safest toasters & toaster ovens without PFAS “forever chemicals,” & safest blenders without BPA plasticizers chemicals, now join us for our safest cookware in the simplest of terms, including stainless steel, cast iron, ceramic, & bakeware brands.

Disclosure: This post was medically reviewed by Sondra Strand, RN, BSN, PHN. This post also contains affiliate links. Make sure to do your own research before purchasing because brands and products can change without notice. California’s AB 1200 cookware disclosure law has forced many brands to disclose materials, however, not all brands are in compliance, so these ranks may change as new information comes out. 

non-toxic stainless steel cookware

Stainless Steel Cookware

“Not Our Favorite” Stainless Steel Cookware

This category of stainless steel cookware is not our favorite. It may have some type of “non-stick” coating on either one nonstick skillet or the entire set. Problematic coatings can be made of PFAS, nano titanium, or silica. This cookware brand may also not be disclosing what type of stainless steel they are using or how many plys (or layers) they contain. This category can also contain cookware that has an aluminum bottom layer. In short, we are not confident about the quality of these products either because of the coatings they are using, a lack of transparency on the materials used, or because it has an aluminum bottom.

  • Amazon Commercial Tri-Ply Stainless Steel Fry Pan, 12 Inch
  • Amazon Commercial 60 Qt. Stainless Steel Aluminum-Clad Stock Pot with Cover
  • Amazon Commercial 3-Piece Stainless Steel Aluminum-Clad Fry Pan Set (8″, 9 1/2″, & 12″ Pan)
  • Amazon Commercial 4 Qt. Stainless Steel Aluminum-Clad Straight Sided Sauce Pan with Cover
  • Chantal Induction 21 Cookware (Note: 18/0 nickel-free)
  • Cook N Home Stainless Steel Cookware
  • Cooks Standard Professional Stainless Steel Cookware
  • Demeyere Resto Stainless Steel Cookware
  • Faberware Millennium Stainless Steel Cookware Pots & Pans Set.
  • Fissler Bonn Stainless Steel Cookware
  • Fissler Hamburg Stainless Steel Cookware
  • Fleischer & Wolf London Tri-Ply Stainless Steel Cookware
  • Great Jones Family Cookware Set
  • Green Pan Venice Pro Tri-Ply Stainless Steel Healthy Ceramic Nonstick 7 Piece Cookware
  • Healthcraft Ultra-Tech II Stainless Steel Cookware
  • Heritage Steel 10 Piece Cookware Set
  • Hestan Nanobond 10-Piece Cookware Set
  • Hexclad Hybrid Stainless Steel Cookware
  • Kitchenaid 3 Ply Stainless Steel 10 Piece Cookware Set
  • Le Creuset 7 Piece Stainless Steel
  • Le Creuset Non-Stick Stainless Steel Fry Pans
  • Pampered Chef Stainless Steel Non-Stick Cookware
  • Salad Master 316Ti Stainless Steel Cookware
  • Sardel Stainless Steel Cookware Full Set
  • TeamFar Stockpot
  • Tools of the Trade Stainless Steel 13-pc Cookware Set
  • Viking 7Ply Titanium 10 Piece Cookware Set

Better Stainless Steel Cookware

This category of stainless steel is completely fine for most people. These pans are not likely to leach aluminum from the core overtime because they are 5ply and above. They are also more durable because they are made with mostly 304 stainless steel (also referred to as 18/10 or 18/8 stainless steel because it’s composed of 18). The 18/10, which means there is 18% chromium and 10% nickel and the 18/8, which refers to 18% chromium and 8% nickel. This category for people without nickel sensitivities.

Best Stainless Steel Cookware

This category is for people with nickel sensitivities and people without nickel sensitivities so please pay attention to the sub categories. The 304 stainless steel pans are for people who are not sensitive to nickel. These pans are 5 ply and made from the best quality stainless steel. This makes them more durable and less likely to leach aluminum from the core over time. You should not have to replace them.

The 430 pans are for people with nickel allergies and sensitivities. However, because of the lack of nickel, they are less durable than the “better” category. This is the tradeoff. Eventually, you will need to replace them. These pans are considered 430 stainless steel (also referred to as 18/0 stainless steel because of it is composed of 18% chromium and 0% nickel.

Best 304 Stainless Steel (with Nickel)

This cookware is for everyone!

Best 430 Stainless Steel (without Nickel)

This cookware is a lower quality stainless steel and should only be purchased by people with allergies or sensitivities to nickel. But if you have a sensitivity to nickel, this is your list.

Cast iron skillet on a rustic wooden background

Cast Iron Cookware

Not Our Favorite Cast Iron Cookware

Ceramic-enameled and non-stick cast iron should be avoided. Over time, they expose you to heavy metals or other hormone-disrupting chemicals. Most of the following brands offer more than one type of cookware, so be sure to shop carefully and choose only uncoated cast iron. Here are the brands that offer ceramic-enameled and non-stick cast iron:

  • Aidea 
  • Bruntmor
  • CrockPot
  • Cuisinart
  • Essenso
  • Hamilton Beach
  • Kenmore
  • Landhaus
  • Le Chef
  • Le Creuset
  • Le Cuistot
  • Lodge Enameled Cast Iron (other options are fine) 
  • Martha Stewart
  • Staub
  • Tramontina
  • Zelancio

Best Cast Iron Cookware

Cast iron and carbon steel both contain ferric iron (non-absorbable) vs ferrous iron (natural form in foods). They’re safe to use, but be sure to rotate your pans as recommended because too much ferric iron uptake is bad for the body and can deplete vitamin C levels. Note that cooking acidic foods in iron cookware increases the release of iron, so be mindful of that. It may be better to use stainless steel pots if you are cooking tomato sauces.

Set of clean cookware, utensils and products on table in modern kitchen

Ceramic Cookware

Not Our Favorite Ceramic Cookware Brands

These brands were not responsive to consumer emails or did not answer our specific questions when asked. Brands that were not responsive, were not given a passing grade. Then other brands in this list DO contain nanoparticles and are open about that via emails. And finally, brands below could have received a letter of intent from an attorney in the State of California to sue them under Prop. 65 consumer protection laws, meaning they allegedly found something toxic during lab testing. Here are those brands:

  • Anolon Ceramic Cookware
  • BulbHead Ceramic Cookware
  • Calphalon Ceramic Cookware
  • Caraway Cookware (Updated: Recently disclosed nanoparticle coatings)
  • CookLover Ceramic Cookware
  • Cook-n-Home Cookware
  • Cooksmark by Americook Cookware
  • Cuisinart Ceramic Cookware
  • Equal Parts Cookware
  • Farberware Ceramic Cookware
  • Gotham Steel Cookware
  • Hexclad Cookware
  • Kenmore Arlington Nonstick Ceramic Cookware
  • Le Creuset Ceramic Cookware
  • MICHELANGELO Kitchen
  • Neoflam Retro Ceramic Nonstick
  • Nutrichef Nonstick Cookware
  • Our Place Cookware (Updated: Recently disclosed nanoparticle coatings)
  • Shineuri Diamond Hard-Anodized Cookware
  • Staub Ceramics
  • T-Fal Cookware
  • Vremi Cookware Set
  • WearEver Ceramics
  • Williams Sonoma
  • Deane and white cookware

Better Ceramic Cookware Brands

This category is for those people who want some coating, but want the least problematic ones. These brands are telling us they contain a mystery coating of something they say is not made of nanoparticles or PFAS. This category has a coating likely made from silicone or polyvinyl alcohol (PVA). However, these brands are not very transparent about what is actually inside the coating of their product. The Ecology Center released cookware testing of Green Pan, Bella Basics and confirmed they were coated with silicon dioxide ceramic and we stuck them here. We suspect the other brands are similar.

Best Ceramic Cookware Brand

This brand does not contain any nano-coating and does not leach nanomaterials into food. This brand also passes California’s strict consumer Prop. 65 laws with laboratory testing on heavy metals and offer sample laboratory reporting of all runs of cookware. You can view them all here. We reached out to this small business to get a discount on their products.

carbon steel pan

Carbon Steel Cookware

Carbon steel is the sister of cast iron, but despite its name contains more iron and less carbon than cast iron. It’s lightweight, versatile and convenient to use, but still releases ferric iron so it should be rotated regularly between your other cookware options. Remember to avoid cooking with acidic foods in these pans. We have not done a complete investigation on this category but can make these recommendations.

Roasted Eggplant with Tomato and Buckwheat Groats

Bakeware

Glass is an inert substance if there are no coatings or decorations on the product. As we’ve seen, coatings, in general, are a huge problem, and we found that non-stick nanofilms are being developed for glass bakeware so be sure to purchase only uncoated glass products.

“Not Our Favorite” Bakeware

  • All-Clad Pro-Release Nonstick Bakeware
  • Amazon Basics Bakeware
  • Calphalon Nonstick Bakeware
  • Caraway 11 Piece Bakeware Set (update: recently disclosed nano-coatings)
  • Caraway 5 Piece Bakeware Set(update: recently disclosed nano-coatings)
  • Caraway Muffin Pan (Update: recently disclosed nano-coating)
  • Caraway Large Baking Sheet (Update: recently disclosed nano-coating)
  • Caraway Medium Baking Sheet(Update: recently disclosed nano-coating)
  • Caraway Rectangle Pan (Update: recently disclosed nano-coating)
  • Circulon Total Nonstick Bakeware
  • Farberware Nonstick Steel Bakeware
  • PERLLI Nonstick Bakeware
  • Rachael Ray Nonstick Bakeware

Better Bakeware

These bakeware sets are made from silicone-type materials instead of PFAS. These nonstick coatings are not perfect, but are non-stick and are less troublesome.

Best Bakeware

Blenders With the Safest BPA-Free Food Contact Surfaces 3

Other Mamavation Investigations Around the Kitchen

Here are our investigations on kitchen appliances & cookware:

Recent Product Investigations

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Michelle P

    This information is extremely helpful! My question is about GreenPan’s Venice Pro stainless steel collection. It has a ceramic coating with three ply material- 2 of which are stainless steel with an aluminum core.We know it does not have an aluminum bottom because the core is aluminumand based on the Ecocenter’s revised report, Greenpan’s ceramic coating does not contain any PFAs or nano particles. As such, Greenpan also made it onto your better ceramic cookware list. Why is the Venice Pro still on the not favorite list?

    Reply

  2. Lindsey

    I noticed that Bella Basics cookware is listed in the “Better” category. Do you know if Bella Basics is the same as Bella? In another article, you had “BELLA Classic Rotating Non-Stick Belgian Waffle Maker in the “Not Our Favorite” category.” Thanks for any help you can give!!

    Reply

  3. Diana

    I am feeling queasy, I’m sure that I saw Eater cookware in the summer and I invested in it, but now I don’t see it listed. I had never heard of that brand before and purchased because I thought it was toxin free, is it now a toxic brand?
    I don’t see any answers to people’s posts and am not sure we are reassured we have bought wisely.

    Reply

  4. Ronnie

    What is the difference to have aluminum incapsulated on the bottom of the pan to have it in the middle of the Tri-Ply layers pans? This warning makes no sense to me!

    Reply

  6. Diana

    I don’t know if anyone knows the answer to this, but on the cast iron skillets, there is one choice on the Lodge and it is a set – my question is, is only the set clean and the other Lodge skillets not?

    Reply

    • Matt

      All Lodge products made in the USA that are bare or pre-seasoned cast iron are going to be 100% safe. Lodge only sources USA based IRON for it’s forges and uses no coatings on the bare cast iron other than soybean oil which is used for the “seasoning”. The soybean oil is sprayed on the raw finished iron vessel and then baked in a large oven to polymerize/carbonize the oil. This is “polymerized oil” is what makes cast iron mostly non-stick. This exact same process happens every time you add oil to a cast iron pan when you cook in it. The black color of the pans is actually the oil that has been cooked on. Natual cast iron is grey in color.

      Anything made in China for lodge, including their enameled vessels, COULD have heavy metals in the glaze OR the iron could be contaminated (Due to recycled iron that could have impurities). Several individuals have had leach testing AND XRF composition testing done and found heavy metals both inside and outside of China made Lodge vessels. These COULD potentially leach into your food if the glaze is damaged (Chipped, Cracked, etc.) or by cooking acidic foods (Tomato or Vinegar containing foods).

      Any color that is red, orange or yellow and has a ceramic glaze has a high likelihood to contain cadmium. The reason is that it has a naturally red color and does not break down due to the heat used when applying the ceramic glaze. So ANY breakdown in the glaze has the potential to leach this heavy metal into your food. Being on the OUTSIDE of the vessel does not help as many people stack pots inside of each other. This can cause small amounts of glaze or coloring to scrape off into other vessels which then wind up in your food. Best to avoid vessels that use heavy metals wherever possible. Lots of other alternatives.

      The key take away is to NEVER trust any ceramic vessel made in china. It was made there for ONE simple reason, cost. The manufacturer is capitalizing on it’s NAME and seeking to manufacturer the vessel at the cheapest price, not necessarily using the best method and materials. Staub or Le Creuset COULD make these vessels in France, but I bet it makes them a LOT more money to outsource to China and just put their NAME on it. I would rather pay for QULITY that I can trust. France, the country, is also going to be a lot stricter on the materials going into the vessel than one made in China.

      The same goes for Lodge. They now have Made in USA ceramic coated cast iron. It is a LOT more expensive, and I would bet there is a very good reason for that.

      Reply

  7. Kaitlyn

    It’s unclear to me if you’re saying that cookware that has ceramic coating on the OUTSIDE but not on the inside is dangerous. For examples: a Dutch oven that’s cast iron with no inside enamel or a stainless steel pan that has a coating only on the outside. Could you elaborate? Thank you kindly!

    Reply

  8. Kelly

    Thank you so much for all this valuable information. Under “Not Our Favorite” Stainless Steel Cookware section you list “Heritage Steel 10 Piece Cookware Set” but then list Heritage Steel Cookware under your “Best” Cookware. Can you please clarify which pieces of the Heritage 10 piece are unacceptable? On Heritage’s website they offer both Eater and Titanium series which I believe are both approved. Sorry, I’m a little confused and want to make sure I’m purchasing the correct cookware.

    Reply

  11. Chanchal

    Thank you for the review.
    Have you compared 304 vs 316 stainless steel? 316 variant has Molybdenum and titanium which is meant to strengthen the bond and decrease leaching. Is this considered safer? I see heritage steel in the avoid list which is providing this. Would be helpful if you post reason to avoid for each brand.

    Reply

    • Shrey

      I believe the 316 variant alone only has the extra molybdenum. If it says 316ti then it has titanium (which is the heritage steel)

      Please correct me if I’m wrong.

      Reply

  13. Meg

    In the “Better Cookware” list, it states that those on the list are 5-ply. However, several listed are only 3-ply. Are these acceptable, or is this an error?

    Reply

  14. BayMom

    Some of these would not be approved by Tamara Rubin (LeadSafeMama)- for example Finex which has brass decor that has lead.

    Reply

  15. Thanks

    On that list of ‘not our favorite ceramic cookware’, could you note which ones have nano particles, which ones didn’t reply & which ones have a prop 65 issue? I’m seeing other links that say there’s nothing toxic in the Gotham cookware, although I didn’t read the links yet, wondering if A few very cheap pans are safe enough for camping…

    Reply

  16. William Miller

    I received test results directly from Caraway regarding testing of their ceramic cookware. Testing was done by State of California, and results show passing grades for all tested contaminants, including PFAS/PFOS, lead and cadmium. They may not have responded to Mamavation, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t safe.

    Reply

    • Gayla Williamson

      I’m stalking the comments. Did you find out anything in your Saladmaster? I have waterless ‘Lifetime Permanent’ since 1992 so I’ve been searching for info here as well.
      I did see Saladmaster on the list here above. T61 I think?

      Reply

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