Photo-Illustration: Courtesy of the retailers.

Owning a ton of pots and pans isn’t necessary (even if you cook a lot). But owning a mix of the right ones is. No one is more familiar with the intricacies of day-to-day cookware use than chefs, and while some depend on fancy, professional-grade brands like Mauviel in their homes just as much as their work (and recommend them if you can afford it), most say a mix of dependable stainless steel, decent nonstick, and workhorse cast-iron (everyone loves Lodge skillets) cookware does the trick for anything and everything you’d need to whip up in the kitchen.

We asked a handful of chefs from some of our favorite restaurants to share their thoughts on the very best pots and pans for daily cooking. Here’s what they recommend.

The best cast-iron skillet

Joan 12-Inch Polished Cast-iron Skillet $295 $295 Yes, we just said that everyone loves Lodge skillets. And that’s true. But if there is one cast-iron skillet that might have a leg up on Lodge, it’s Joan from Butter Pat Industries. It’s polished, which the Lodge isn’t, meaning your food is less likely to stick to its surface, and it’s lighter, too. “The Joan from Butter Pat Industries sits on my stove perpetually, waiting for the next use,” says North Carolina chef Katie Button of Katie Button Restaurants. “I use it for just about everything that I could possibly use it for, and sometimes for more than I should. Steak, scallops, fish, vegetables — they all brown up perfectly.” [Editor’s note: This skillet is backordered, but you can pre-order it now and it will ship when it’s back in stock, according to the retailer.] $295 at Butter Pat Industries Buy

The best (less expensive) cast-iron skillet

The best cast-iron skillet set

The Founders 3-Piece Set $399 $460 now 13% off $399 Anyone looking to buy one, and only one, set of skillets for the rest of their life should invest in the pricey but long-lasting skillet set from Smithey, an ironware company based in North Charleston, South Carolina. Steven Devereaux Greene, the executive chef at Herons at the Umstead Hotel and Spa in Cary, North Carolina says they’re his new favorite pans. “They come pre-seasoned and built to last. They cook unbelievably even and hold the temperature longer than most pans I’ve used.” $399 at Smithey Ironware Co. Buy

The best griddle

Lodge Pre-Seasoned Cast Iron Reversible Grill/Griddle With Handles $50 $75 now 33% off $50 No less than six chefs we spoke with declared their unending love for Lodge, and if you already own its skillet, consider stocking up on its equally beloved griddle. “The griddle lives on top of our stove nonstop, and we basically use it like a restaurant flat top,” says Gracie Nguyen, the chef and owner of East Side Banh Mi in Nashville. “Bacon, eggs, hash browns, handmade tortillas, pressed sandwiches, searing meat and fish. It gets so hot and cooks super-even.” $50 at Amazon Buy

The best carbon steel pan

Lodge 12-Inch Carbon-Steel Pan $67 now 33% off $45 Sometimes cast-iron pans can be a little too hard-core, especially when cooking delicate foods like crêpes and seafood. Carbon-steel pans, with their smoother surfaces and lighter weight, are ideal for having all the qualities of cast iron minus the rough surface. “They basically act like a nonstick if they’re well-seasoned,” Cutler says. Luckily, chef-favorite Lodge also makes carbon-steel pans. “I use mine for everything from paella to pressing Cubanos because they are quite heavy,” says chef Jordan Wallace, the culinary director of Denver’s Pizzeria Locale. “And over a coal or wood fire camping, these are clutch.” $45 at Amazon Buy $45 at Walmart Buy

The best Dutch oven

The best (smaller) Dutch oven

Staub Cast Iron 1.5-qt Petite French Oven $286 now 48% off $150 A few years ago, Strategist editor Maxine Builder wrote about her surprising affection for Staub’s very mini Dutch oven. At first, she thought it was so small it wouldn’t be useful. Turns out, she ended up turning to it all the time for rice, lentils, oatmeal, kimchi jjigae, braised chicken thighs, and more. “The pot is pretty much all you need for two people,” she says. “I bust this out at least three times a week.” $150 at Walmart Buy

The best nonstick frying pan

Zwilling Forte Nonstick Fry Pan, 10-Inch From $90 If you’re the kind of person who likes a quick, no-fuss breakfast that you can clean up in a jiffy, you’re going to need a dependable nonstick frying pan. “We go through a ton of eggs, and we use the Zwilling nonstick almost every morning to cook eggs, whether they’re scrambled, fried, or the Spanish-style huevos con puntilla,” says Button. “A nonstick makes those turn out perfectly.” From $90 at Williams Sonoma Buy

The best nonstick frying pan set

All-Clad Nonstick Hard-Anodized 2-Piece Fry Pan Set $90 now 33% off $60 “This is the best nonstick deal you’ll find,” says Cutler. “I like that they’re anodized [a heat treatment done to the aluminum to turn the surface nonstick] as opposed to coated with Teflon, which is toxic if it gets scraped up.” Nonstick isn’t meant to last your whole life the way cast iron is, even if you take good care of it. But after a couple of years of everyday use, Cutler’s pans are only just now starting to show some wear. $60 at Amazon Buy

The best lidded frying pan

The best DTC frying pan

Our Place Always Pan $145 The Always Pan is actually more of an everything pan than a frying pan. You’ve probably seen the do-it-all cookware targeted to you on Instagram in one of its many gorgeous colors, boasting that it can fry, braise, steam, and more. Turns out, it holds up. Halliday has been coveting the Always Pan, which is from a queer- and POC-owned company, ever since she started using one at her friend Eric See’s kitchen at Ursula in Brooklyn, where she sells her pastries. “The weight, the shape, the size, the finish are all excellent,” she says. Not only does it come with its own spatula that has a specialized nesting spot in the handle and a steamer basket that fits perfectly inside, but the “proportions are such that it really works for so many things. It’s shallow and sleek enough to fry an egg in, but deep enough to make sauces in,” she says. $145 at Nordstrom Buy $145 at Our Place Buy

The best professional cookware set

Mauviel Copper Triply 7-Piece Cookware Set $800 $800 “We got our copper Mauviel pots and pans as a gift,” Cutler admits, “but if I had unlimited money, I would only use these.” They’re a dream to cook with, because “copper conducts heat, retains heat, and then cools down in an incredibly exacting way,” he explains. “Stainless steel is decent at that, too, but not quite as good. Copper just gives you ultimate control.” (Cast iron, for its part, holds piping-hot temperatures really well, but takes a long time to cool down.) If you want to keep your copper cookware looking like it has a place in Gusteau’s in Ratatouille sparkling clean), people swear by Bar Keepers Friend. Cutler, however, has let his grow a patina over time. “I wash it with hot soapy water and an abrasive sponge as soon as I’m done cooking, because otherwise it’s hard to get food off — but that’s it,” he says. “I don’t mind the aged look.” $800 at Amazon Buy $800 at Williams Sonoma Buy

The best professional saucepan

Mauviel M’Cook 5-Ply 3.7-Quart Saucepan $197 Mauviel also makes stainless-steel cookware that is considered the best of the best. Back in 2017, we asked chefs for recommendations on the kinds of pots and pans they use in a professional manner, and the brand came up time and again. Four years later, that still stands. “This is a stockpot, where you begin your stocks for sauces that become demi-glaces and rouxs to be used in mother sauces like béchamel and velouté,” chef Bryan Hunt of Crafted Hospitality told us. “This is my most important building block for developing flavor.” At $225, it isn’t cheap, but if you’re looking for a pot with pedigree, you can’t do better than Mauviel. $197 at Amazon Buy $197 at Amazon Buy

The best professional (smaller) saucepan

Mauviel Copper Butter Warmer $90 If you love the idea of owning Mauviel cookware but can’t quite afford such a big set, consider their butter warmer. It is, of course, good for that singular purpose — but also, according to Flynn McGarry, the owner and head chef at New York City’s Gem restaurant, “you can heat up any sauce with it.” $90 at Williams Sonoma Buy

The best (less-expensive) saucepan

All-Clad Stainless Steel 3-Quart Sauce Pan $180 now 33% off $120 If you don’t have Mauviel money, then your next best bet is to go for an All-Clad three-quart, which costs as much as a 1.7-quart Mauviel but is nearly double the size. “I use the All-Clad three-quart because it’s perfect to cook one or two portions of risotto,” says chef Jamie Knott of the Saddle River Inn & Cellar. “It has a heavy bottom, heats evenly, and lasts forever.” $120 at Amazon Buy

The best rice cooker

Kamacco Japanese Rice Cooker $70 There’s absolutely nothing wrong with electric rice cookers, but if you’re interested in cooking rice the old-fashioned way, you may want to consider investing in a gorgeous ceramic rice cooker. Chef Brandon Jew of Mister Jiu’s and Mamahuhu loves the Kamacco, which has been produced in Japan by Tsukamoto Pottery since 1864. “It has a double lid that helps concentrate steam to cook rice better,” Jew says. “The pot can go over a low flame on the stove, but recently I took it camping with me and was able to cook rice over an indirect campfire. It can be used for heating things up, like stews, and retains heat really well, so serving food in this vessel will keep food at the table hot longer as well.” $70 at Jinen Buy

The best sauté pan

All-Clad 4212 Stainless Steel 2-Quart Saucier $180 If you’re cooking larger quantities of food, like a risotto or seafood pasta, consider the saucier pan, which is slightly taller than your standard frying pan. “A large sauté pan with two-thirds-inch sides is the most important pot you should own,” says chef Tony Cacace of Jackson’s Eatery. “It’s perfect for almost anything that has a longer cooking time but needs a gentle hand. It will handle everything from oatmeal and black-rice porridge for breakfast to risotto for dinner and ice-cream bases for dessert.” $180 at Sur La Table Buy

The Strategist is designed to surface the most useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Some of our latest conquests include the best women’s jeans, rolling luggage, pillows for side sleepers, ultraflattering pants, and bath towels. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change.

Every editorial product is independently selected. If you buy something through our links, New York may earn an affiliate commission.