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It’s safe to say that if you’re online, you know about Caraway. The cookware brand doesn’t only dominate our feeds by way of its very persistent (and effective) social ads, but it’s also in the kitchens of some of our favorite food creators on TikTok (For one, Hailee Catalano is a big fan.)
Promising better-for-you cookware, Caraway goods tout a ceramic non-stick coating that’s free from Teflon, lead, or any other nasties you don’t want getting in your food, welded in a cool, modern design that’ll actually get you excited about making meals. Its best-selling Cookware Set ($395) (which comes with two fry pans, a Dutch oven, and sauce pan, and is on sale for the fourth of July) launched Caraway into internet fame, but has since expanded to bakeware, food storage, and linens that instantly elevates any stovetop.
But there a lot of new, direct-to-consumer (DTC) kitchen brands out there claiming to be chef-worthy. To see if the famous pots and pans were up to snuff, I used the Caraway Cookware Set for all of my meal prep over the past two months—read on for my honest thoughts.
Caraway The Cookware Set — $395.00
Originally $545, now $395
The ideal starter kit for any home cook, the Caraway Cookware Set includes a 10.5” frying pan, a 3-quart saucepan, a 4.5-quart sauté pan, and a 6.5-quart Dutch oven—all generously sized to accommodate cooking for one and small groups alike. The pots and pans are crafted with an aluminum core that’s treated with Caraway’s signature ceramic non-stick coating, and comes replete with stainless steel handles. Plus, the pots and pans are stovetop agnostic—meaning you can use them on gas, induction, and electric stoves—and are oven-safe for up to 550 degrees Fahrenheit.
The Caraway Cookware Set: An honest review
Looks + first impressions
Let’s get the obvious out of the way—these pots are really pretty. Caraway cookware is as gorgeous in person as it looks on your social media feeds. Even the packaging the set was shipped in looked chic and carefully considered. Every pot and pan was securely tucked away in a cardboard slot and arrived in pristine condition. And there was zero plastic involved, so disposal was as easy as breaking down the cardboard and chucking into my recycling bin.
And then, there’s the colors. Caraway cookware is beloved for its variety of fashionable color options that double as decor—its warm “perracotta” and mustard hues as consistent best-sellers. I opted for the brand’s original gray color, which may sound old-fashioned, but trust that there’s nothing ordinary about this classy shade. The creamy greige was a stylish upgrade from my old pots and pans and instantly modernized the look of my dated kitchen.
Thanks to the matching lid organizer and magnetic pot holders, it’s a dream for small spaces. My cabinets were a bit short to hang the canvas holder as intended, but I was not about to lose out on organization, so I used a command strip to make it fit instead. Now my days of tirelessly searching for missing pot lids are over, and I couldn’t be happier.
It’s *actually* non-stick
After using my Caraway Cookware Set non-stop for a solid 2 months, I can confidently say that the ceramic coating lives up to its non-stick claims. My husband says making eggs in the fry pan is “an absolute dream,” and he’s totally right. We’ve made pasta sauces from scratch, veggie stir-fry, grilled chicken, and more in the sauté pan, and the slippy, non-stick surface ensures that all of the flavors end up in your dish where they belong, not stuck to the bottom of the pan. The sauce pan is my go-to for cooking up big batches of rice, and I haven’t had to pry away a layer of crispy rice from the surface of the pot yet, which is a pretty big deal.
It’s been two months and the coating is still holding up strong. The best way to preserve the cookware’s non-stick coating, according to Caraway shoppers, is to avoid blasting the pan with high heat, and instead, build the heat up slowly—and the tip has served me well so far. And never, ever use metal utensils while cooking, of course.
It evenly distributes heat for optimal cooking
Unlike the warped, uneven bottoms of my old pots and pans, the thick, weight-y build of Caraway cookware holds and distributes heat evenly, resulting in more efficient and consistent cooking. We can pan-fry gyoza, sear steaks, or grill up salmon filets in less time, never having to rearrange food to reach the pan’s “hot spots.” Every square inch of the pan feels the heat, which has helped build my confidence in the kitchen—and has saved a few chicken breasts from being prematurely cut up in the pan (my questionable technique for measuring their “doneness.”)
I’ll admit, I haven’t tried using my cookware in the oven just yet, but reviewers say that the Caraway pots and pans do their jobs in there as well. “The pan works great on the range and in the oven,” one Caraway customer assures in a 5-star review. Others swear by it for making one-pan peals, meatloafs, sourdough loaves, and other meals that require an oven-safe dish. Guess that’ll be my next test…
Quick and easy clean-up
Everyone says that Caraway cookware is easy to clean, but I didn’t expect them to be this easy to clean. Thanks to that ceramic non-stick coating, food grime washes clean with minimal effort, and has truly saved me so much time previously spent hunched over the kitchen sink hacking away at crusted food bits with a Brillo pad. To get the pans back to their sparkling-clean glory, all I need is a soft sponges, warm water, and some dish soap. Caraway recommends letting your cookware cool completely before cleaning to best preserve the non-stick coating.
While that would normally make the crusted-on food bits even harder to wash away with my old pots and pans, washing these pots and pans is seriously just as easy once the pan is cooled. Over 1,200 Caraway shoppers agree that clean-up has never been more pleasant than with Caraway cookware. “I love that cleaning takes less than a minute with how fast food slides off the pan,” writes one customer in a 5-star review. “These are truly easy clean pans!” another writes. “They do not need to be soaked and can be cleaned and put away so quickly. Truly a game changer!”
Final thoughts
After two months of consistent use, it’s clear that the Caraway Cookware Set is so much more than a good-looking set of pots and pans. They bring out the best in your favorite dishes with their next-level heat conduction and nonstick surface while keeping busy home cooks like myself (for whom delivery is a constant temptation) top of mind. Their simplicity, aesthetic, and convenient storage accessories make using my kitchen a much more enjoyable experience—so much so that I’ll continue to choose cooking at home with my Caraway pans over ordering in.
So yes, the durable cookware set is totally worth it and I never plan on using anything else. I recommend outfitting your kitchen with the full set (which is currently on sale for the brand’s fourth of July sale.) You can get each piece individually if you’d like to replace a single pot or pan, but the full set is worth every penny. You’ll never want to cook with anything else.
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