5 Top-Tested All-Clad Cookware Sets (2024)

When people think of the best cookware, All-Clad often comes to mind. The brand has been around for more than 50 years and makes strong, high-performing pots and pans that continuously score high in our Kitchen Appliance Lab tests here in the Good Housekeeping Institute, where we've tested more than 150 cookware sets and pans over the years.

Since 2021 alone, we've had our hands on more than 50 cookware sets and pans, including at least eight different All-Clad sets. We test all types from the best nonstick cookware sets to the best stainless steel cookware sets, the best ceramic nonstick cookware sets and more. We've also tested standalone nonstick pans and emerging cookware materials like carbon steel.

Overall, we think that All-Clad is a good investment even though there are less expensive sets out there from different brands that offer good performance but may not last as long, and just as expensive sets that offer superb performance. Here's a list of the best All-Clad cookware sets you can buy based off of our testing:

Best Overall All-Clad Cookware

All-Clad's D3 Tri-Ply Stainless Steel 10-Piece Sets is one of their best-selling sets. Each piece is made of three layers: a stainless steel interior and exterior and an aluminum core. In our tests, the skillet heated evenly and produced one of the mostly evenly browned steaks. It features sloped edges, which likely contributed to the good browning and is excellent for flipping food, and a uniquely shaped handle: it's thin with a long, deep indent that promotes a good grasp. It's also sharply angled, which helps make it feel more balanced in your hand. The same handle is featured on the saucepans as well.

The 2-quart saucepan is one of our favorites for boiling eggs. It has a small surface area and tall, straight edges, which we find translated to less time at the sink filling with water to cover our eggs. (Many other 2-quart sauce pans are wider and take longer to submerge the eggs fully.) The lid is tight-fitting, as are all the others. We also really like the soup pot that has wide handles like the stock pot, and is the perfect size for small portions or side dishes.

Overall, these pans are heavy and do require a good scrubbing after being used over high heat.

Best Value All-Clad Cookware

This set intrigued us from the onset. It features an assortment of All-Clad pots and pans from three of their different collections. The two skillets are from the D5 collection, the two sauce pans are from the Copper Core collection and the two stock pots are from the D3 collection. The skillets are hefty and withstand constant, every day use, the sauce pans are designed to heat quickly and respond to temperature changes well, perfect for sauces (what copper is known for), and the stock pot and braiser are lighter than the equivalent D5 pieces and less expensive than their Copper Core counterparts. The collection is designed to give you the best of all worlds at an approachable price point. The only thing we'd add in is a nonstick skillet for eggs; then our dream set would be complete.

In our tests, the skillet heated quite evenly and the saucepan was one of the quickest to come to a boil. Note that like many All Clad skillets, the skillet in this set took extra elbow grease to clean.

Best Designed All-Clad Cookware

The D5 collection is made of five alternating layers of stainless steel and aluminum, which All-Clad says makes for more even heating. Our tests proved this as the skillet heated amongst the most even. Like the D3 collection, it also made a great steak. In our "Scorch Test," where we simmer sauce for 30 minutes and assess how hot the handles are and how well the pan cleans, it performed well with some sauce sticking to the pan but that was easy to hand wash.

It has similar handles to the D3 collection, but the long handles are a little thicker and the handles on the lids are wider for a better grasp. The brushed finish gives the the cookware a matte look and can help hide potential stains and scratches.

Best Lightweight All-Clad Cookware Set

The Graphite Core Collection from All-Clad is one of their latest and most impressive innovations. It includes a layer of graphite, a lightweight material that heats quickly and evenly. They're lighter than all of their other cookware lines, but still perform very well. The 10-inch skillet won a Kitchen Gear Award in 2021 when it first came out. One of our testers, a professional line cook, was shocked with how light it was and noted how helpful the weight difference is in a restaurant kitchen where they're constantly moving pans around. In our Lab tests, it offered comparable heat distribution to the D3 collection and performed equally well in our scorch tests as all the others. It, too, made an evenly browned steak.

This 10-piece set offers a unique saucepan with rounded edges and a wider opening. This shape pan has been growing in popularity and offers a quicker way to cook since the shorter and more stout shape encourages a quicker boil time. The handles on this collection are also thicker than the D3 and D5 collections and they don't have the deep indentations, but are still comfortable to grip.

Best Nonstick All-Clad Cookware

Nonstick cookware is great for new cooks, the average home cook and those who don't like to clean. This set offers the heft All-Clad is known for, but in an even easier to use design. It's made of hard-anodized aluminum, which offers durability and hides stains very well, and three layers of nonstick coating. In our tests, it offered excellent heat distribution, average browning on steak and superb nonstick properties: eggs slid off almost every time and left behind barely any residue, and pancakes cooked up evenly with no sticking.

The handles are similar to the ones on the D3 collection and so are the lids. We like the range of skillet sizes this set offers (8-inches, 10-inches and 12-inches) and the 4-quart soup pot. The 12-inch skillet and the soup pot are not commonly found in these size cookware sets. The tall stock pot is great for spaghetti.

How we test All-Clad cookware

When we test all cookware, we assess several different pieces in the set and conduct a series of tests to evaluate their performance and ease of use.

We first conduct a heat distribution test on the skillets to see how evenly they heat.

Then we use real food, in this case steak, to see how well it browns and what clean up is like. Both results are assigned a score.

We also test the saucepan to see how how the handles get and how easily sauce washes off.

We started testing the stockpots, too, to see how quickly they come to a boil and how easy they are to handle while making a pound of pasta.

Lastly, we use the other pieces in our every day life to get a feel for the different sizes and shapes.

Often, we send cookware samples home with consumers to learn about their experience using them at home. This helps us collect long-term data as well, especially when it comes to washing. This data combined with our Lab data help us understand what cookware sets would be the best to buy.

What to look for when shopping for All-Clad cookware

✔️ Weight/Heft: All-Clad pots and pans can be heavy. We recommend holding them in person if you can to see how they feel in your hand. Weight traditionally plays into cookware's quality, but also affects how easy they are to handle and clean. Plus, the Graphite Core collection is their lightest, but still performs very well.

✔️ Material: Most All-Clad pans are made of stainless steel and a combination of other materials like aluminum and copper. Stainless steel is durable, while aluminum heats quickly and evenly and copper responds to heat and changes in heat quickly. Graphite is a new material All-Clad started using which is lightweight and heats quickly and evenly. Consider these attributes and what's important to you when shopping.

✔️Number of layers: Each set has a different amount of layers that plays into its heft and quality. More layers typically means better quality, but, note that the tri-ply sets performed just as well as the five-ply sets in our tests.

✔️Cleanability: All-Clad claims their pots and pans are dishwasher-safe but we recommend washing by hand to prolong their longevity.

✔️Price: Our tests proved that most All-Clad cookware is good and performs similarly. More experienced cooks and chefs will be able to notice the nuances between similar sets like the D3 and the D5, but the average cook likely won't be able to. The D3 set tends to be more affordable while the D5 set is pricier. The Copper Core is amongst the priciest but most home cooks don't need the bells and whistle copper brings to the table; it's best for cooks who pay close attention to heat and cooking.

Are All-Clad pots and pans worth it?

All of the All-Clad cookware sets that we've tested performed well in our Lab tests. On the downside, they can be heavy and hard to clean. For the longest time, they were the best out there but you can now buy good cookware for lower prices. You can also spend just as much on other brands, like Hestan (their Nanobond collection in particular), that performs just as well or better.

What does "clad" mean?

One definition of "clad" is: "consisting of outer layers of one metal bonded to a core of a different metal," according to Merriam Webster. All of All-Clad's pots and pans are made from multiple and different layers of metal and/or coatings. This technique — that has become popular amongst other cookware brands as well — allows for some materials to make up where others lack. For example, stainless steel is a durable material but not the best heat conductor. When you combine it with aluminum, it heats faster and more evenly. (Check out our guide to the pros and cons of different cookware materials.)

Why trust us?

Nicole Papantoniou is the director of the Kitchen Appliances Lab where she oversees all product testing and content related to cooking, eating and drinking. She has tested dozens of cookware sets herself and has used a wide assortment of All-Clad cookware herself. She has bought All-Clad cookware sets as gifts for family members.

Jamie Kim is an experienced product tester for Good Housekeeping and holds a degree in mechanical engineering. She conducted the most recent side-by-side Lab test on All-Clad cookware.