Gas stoves use an open flame that is great at heating up your cookware fast but bad at spreading the heat uniformly.
The best gas stove cookware takes advantage of the fast flame and spreads it around evenly so your food all cooks at the same speed.
In this article, we review the top cookware sets that we think go best with gas stoves.
We’ll also get into the pros and cons of the cookware materials that work well with gas stoves, and we’ll let you know which materials to stay away from.
Here is the best cookware for gas stoves in order:
- Viking Professional Stainless Steel 10-Piece Cookware Set
- T-fal Ultimate Hard Anodized 17-Piece Cookware Set
- Cuisinart Chef’s Classic Non-Stick Hard Anodized 14-Piece Cookware Set
- Duxtop Professional Stainless Steel 19-Piece Cookware Set
- Calphalon Signature Hard-Anodized Nonstick 10-Piece Cookware Set
- Cuisinart MCP-12N Multiclad Pro Stainless Steel Cookware Set
- All-Clad E785SB64 HA1 Hard Anodized Nonstick 13-Piece Cookware Set
Our Favorite Cookware For Gas Stoves
Viking Professional Stainless Steel 10-Piece Cookware Set
What’s In The Box
This 10-piece set by Viking has two fry pans, two saucepans, a sauté pan and a big stockpot. Except for the fry pans, each piece comes with its own fitted lid.
Our Review
These pots and pans have an inner core made from three layers of aluminum sandwiched between an interior and exterior layer of magnetic stainless steel. The aluminum core keeps your energy usage down by transferring the stove heat to the cookware almost instantaneously.
The 18/10 stainless steel outer and inner layers are food safe and hold up well with prolonged heat.
Although this set is easy to clean and dishwasher safe, many users mentioned that the steel loses its polish quickly with use. You can get the sheen back with special solvents, but this may be time-consuming. The clouding won’t affect the efficiency or the taste of your food.
Pros
- Extremely durable
- Quick heat transfer
- Easy to clean
Cons
- Expensive
- Hard to keep polished
Bottom Line
The aluminum core under stainless steel makes this set durable and energy-efficient, although if you like your pans polished, you’ll need a special solvent and a lot of elbow grease.
T-fal Ultimate Hard Anodized 17-Piece Cookware Set
What’s In The Box
T-fal’s anodized cookware set is the most popular set on our list and our top choice if you’re on a budget. It comes with four fry pans, three saucepans, a sauté pan, a Dutch oven, a square griddle, a steamer, and lots of fitted glass lids.
Our Review
Each piece is made of hard-anodized aluminum with a nonstick interior coating of reinforced titanium. Most of the pieces have a thermal indicator ring in the center that turns red to help you visually calculate the heat level.
The nonstick coating on this set needs extra care to make sure it lasts. That means no abrasive utensils or sponges for cooking or cleaning. Technically, this set is rated safe for ovens up to 400 degrees Fahrenheit, but a lot of users recommend no high heat at all to keep the coating from degrading.
Pros
- Budget-friendly
- Lots of items
- Heat-indicator ring
Cons
- Needs extra care to last
- No high heat cooking
Bottom Line
This anodized aluminum cookware set is popular and budget-friendly but must be kept away from high heat and abrasive materials. There are a lot of specialized items, and most come with heat-indicator rings, which are handy if you like visual aids.
Cuisinart Chef’s Classic Non-Stick Hard Anodized 14-Piece Cookware Set
What’s In The Box
The Cuisinart Chef’s Classic cookware set has two skillets, three saucepans, a sauté pan, a stockpot and a steamer.
Our Review
All pieces are made of anodized aluminum with an interior nonstick coating made from what the manufacturer calls “quantanium.” The corresponding lids are made from break-resistant glass.
Anything above medium stove heat will burn the nonstick coatings, but the set is oven safe up to 500 degrees Fahrenheit. We saw a lot more users than usual complaining that the nonstick material scratches easily even with plastic or wooden utensils.
Although you can’t put these items in the dishwasher, that nonstick coating makes even burned food easy to clean off with a soft sponge.
Pros
- Durable anodized aluminum
- Burned food is easy to clean off
Cons
- Nonstick coating scratches easily
Bottom Line
The durable anodized aluminum exterior contrasts with the extremely fragile interior nonstick coating. Users say this set is both easy to clean and easy to scratch.
Duxtop Professional Stainless Steel 19-Piece Cookware Set
What’s In The Box
Duxtop’s Professional cookware set has the most pieces on our list, including two fry pans, two saucepans, a sauté pan, and a stockpot. It also comes with a lot of unique items like a boiler basket, a steam basket, a casserole, and five different stainless steel utensils.
Our Review
All the pots, pans and baskets have an aluminum core with a stainless steel layer on the bottom, inside and sides. The two materials are impact-bonded using 1,500 tons of pressure and no adhesives.
We like how easy it is to store this set. Unlike nonstick cookware, these stainless steel items are stackable. Each handle also has a small hole, so you can hang the pieces on the wall if you prefer.
Seasoning these pots and pans with a little oil and heat makes them much less sticky and easier to clean. All the pieces are dishwasher safe, but you should wash them immediately after using or they’ll stain easily.
Pros
- Another great budget option
- Most unique items on our list
- Stackable and hang-able
Cons
- Food will stick to unseasoned pans
- Items stain easily if not washed right away
Bottom Line
Anodized aluminum impact-bonded to a stainless steel exterior makes this set hardy and energy-efficient. Make sure to season each item before using it.
Calphalon Signature Hard-Anodized Nonstick 10-Piece Cookware Set
Our Review
This 10-piece set by Calphalon is made of hard-anodized aluminum. Each piece, except the large stockpot, has an extra-long handle to help keep it nice and cool on the stovetop.
Calphalon’s Signature set stands behind its nonstick coating. Made of three PFOA-free layers, the coating is safe for metal utensils and can even brown food items in high heat.
A lot fewer users complained about the nonstick material than other models, and many said it was non-stickier than others. Best of all, this set comes with an unusual full lifetime warranty that promises to replace the items if you have problems with the nonstick layers or anything else.
Pros
- Non-stickiest coating we’ve seen, safe for metal utensils and dishwashers
- Full lifetime warranty
- Extra-long handles
Cons
- Hot oil may discolor pans quickly
Bottom Line
If you’re a nonstick cookware lover, Calphalon’s Signature set is the nonstick queen. The full lifetime warranty will give you peace of mind, and the long, cool handles will give you peace of hand.
Cuisinart MCP-12N Multiclad Pro Stainless Steel Cookware Set
Our Review
The Cuisinart MCP-12N contains all the standard items plus a steamer insert. During our research, we saw a lot more positive comments than usual about this set’s high conductivity and even heating.
This is a result of its pure aluminum core surrounded by stainless steel with a brushed exterior for extra durability. According to many customers, this triple-ply construction seems to make cooking more predictable and efficient.
Because of the superconductivity, you should only use this set with medium heat. Many people mentioned that high heat without seasoning will stain the polished surface. Stacking the items can also scratch the polish, but the pieces come with a hole in each handle for easy hanging.
Pros
- Superconductive and energy efficient
- Even heating with no hotspots
Cons
- Items stain black quickly in high heat
Bottom Line
If you like efficient, predictable meal prep, this set’s aluminum core and brushed stainless steel exterior are a joy to cook with. Abrasive foods or utensils and high heat can ruin the polished surface.
All-Clad E785SB64 HA1 Hard Anodized Nonstick 13-Piece Cookware Set
What’s In The Box
This All-Clad 13-piece set includes three fry pans, two saucepans, a sauté pan, a soup pot, and a stockpot.
Our Review
You will love that most of the glass lids are interchangeable, so you can spend less time top hunting.
The items have a top-notch hard-anodized aluminum core with three layers of nonstick coating on the inside and anti-warp stainless steel on the outside. They’re oven and broiler safe up to 500 degrees Fahrenheit but will discolor quickly in high stove heat.
The manufacturer recommends soft utensils and handwashing to preserve the nonstick layers.
On the downside, many people noted that these pots and pans are heavier than usual. They also didn’t like the uncomfortable concave handles that feel awkward and make lifting the heavy cookware more difficult than necessary.
Pros
- High-quality aluminum core and stainless steel exterior
- Three nonstick layers for extra durability
- Mostly interchangeable lids
Cons
- Heavier than usual
- Awkward handles
Bottom Line
The high-quality metals and three nonstick layers in this set make it durable but heavy. Customers liked the mostly interchangeable lids but disliked the uncomfortable handles.
How to Choose Cookware for Gas Stoves
Gas stoves both heat up and cool down quicker than most other stoves. That means that to get the most out of your gas stove, you need cookware that can both heat up quickly and react to small temperature adjustments quickly.
The condensed heating pattern of gas stoves also means that the heat may disperse more unevenly than slower, wider heating sources like electric stoves. Good gas stove cookware needs to disperse heat efficiently and evenly across its entire surface.
The best cookware for gas stoves helps you take advantage of your gas stove’s strengths while minimizing its flaws.
- Gas stoves can help you save time, but only if you use cookware that heats up fast.
- A gas stove is great for perfectionist temperature control, but only if your cookware also changes temperature fast.
- Gas stove’s uneven heating can burn parts of your food while leaving other parts raw, unless you use cookware that does a good job of spreading heat.
Is Special Cookware Needed For Gas Stoves?
The best gas stove cookware must be made of special materials that heat efficiently and evenly. Let’s look at some common options to find out why many regular materials don’t work well.
Aluminum is an excellent conductor and distributor of heat. The problem is that it’s a soft metal that scratches easily and warps with high temperatures. Even worse, aluminum is highly reactive to certain acidic foods like tomatoes and vinegar.
Related | Are Aluminum Pans Safe?
If you cook these on an aluminum surface, not only will the aluminum change the flavor, the acid will also scar the aluminum.
Stainless steel, on the other hand, doesn’t react to any foods. It won’t alter flavors or scar easily. It’s also extremely durable and won’t rust. The problem with stainless steel is that it conducts heat poorly. This means it takes a while to heat up and often creates hot and cold spots that lead to uneven cooking.
What Is the Best Cookware for Gas Stoves?
Instead of using one of these materials by itself, the best cookware for gas stoves combines materials or treats them with special processes to help you get the most out of your stove.
Our top two picks for gas stove cookware are:
- Hard-anodized aluminum
- Stainless steel with an aluminum core
Hard-anodized aluminum has been put through an electrochemical process to change its surface chemistry from soft and malleable to hard and durable. The anodizing process fortifies the aluminum’s oxide coating to not only make the surface stronger but also keep it from reacting with acidic foods.
Related | Best Anodized Cookware
The result is a non-reactive, scratch-resistant metal that’s nearly as durable as cast iron and doesn’t warp under high heat. Anodized aluminum is usually combined with one or more layers of the proprietary nonstick coating inside the cookware. This helps make both cooking and cleaning a little bit easier.
Our other top pick combines soft, highly conductive aluminum with hard, poorly conductive stainless steel. The aluminum layer goes on the inside so it doesn’t come into contact with any foods that it could react with.
The non-reactive food grade stainless steel wraps around the aluminum to protect it and give you a nice, durable surface to expose to flame and food. The exterior layer of stainless steel is sometimes brushed with an abrasive mesh to make it more durable and better at absorbing scratches and daily wear and tear.
This clever combination gives you all the benefits of both aluminum and stainless steel with few drawbacks. You get the even cooking of aluminum without its touchy upkeep and iffy flavor. You get the rugged resilience and neutral taste of stainless steel without the hot and cold spots.
Related | Ceramic vs Stainless Steel
Cookware For Gas Stove FAQs
Can You Use Nonstick Pans on a Gas Stove?
You can use a nonstick pan on your gas stove as long as you take a few precautions:
- Don’t cook on high heat. With a nonstick pan, it’s best to keep your burner below medium. The nonstick molecules can start to break down at high temperatures and release weird, invisible gases and particles into the air. This takes about a minute for an empty pan on high heat or two to three minutes for an oiled pan.
- Don’t use metal utensils. Some high-end nonstick cookware sets are now safe to use with metal cooking utensils, but most still aren’t. A steel spatula will scratch the nonstick material or scrape it right off if you’re not careful. Stick to wooden and plastic utensils.
- Don’t use the dishwasher. Dishwashers will ruin most nonstick cookware. We recommend handwashing with a soft brush.
Can Cast Iron Be Used on a Gas Stove?
Cast iron would be a great option for your gas stove if it weren’t so heavy and thick. Although the surface heats up pretty evenly, just lifting a cast iron pan can be a struggle for small arms.
The iron’s thickness also takes a lot of time and a lot of gas to get the surface to a good cooking temperature. Once it’s nice and hot, the iron will again take too much time to adjust to small temperature changes or cool off.
Can You Use Ceramic Cookware on a Gas Stove?
Ceramic is more fragile than we like for gas stove use. Not only will it crack or chip easily, but high temperatures can damage it as well.
Ceramic is sometimes used as a chemical-free nonstick coating on pots and pans made from stronger materials. Its use in cookware has declined as manufacturers have come up with better alternatives.
Can You Use Copper Bottom Pots on a Gas Stove?
Copper conducts heat quickly and evenly. It’s a durable material that doesn’t rust. The problem is that copper is expensive. Most of the top cookware brands use alternative materials that provide the same quality and cost less.
In Summary
Gas stoves work best with superconductive cookware that can spread the heat around uniformly.
T-fal’s Ultimate set is our favorite budget cookware for gas stoves. This popular anodized aluminum set has a lot of unique pieces, most of which come with a heat-indicator ring to help you keep the nonstick coating from overheating.
Our top pick overall is Viking’s Professional set, which combines five layers of aluminum and stainless steel for quick, even heating. Cookware made from anodized aluminum or stainless steel with an aluminum core seems to work the best with gas stoves.