In the Good Housekeeping Institute Kitchen Appliances and Innovation Lab, we've been fans of Made In's cookware for quite some time. The brand's stainless steel cookware made our roundup of the best stainless steel cookware sets and its nonstick options are a top pick in our roundup of the best nonstick cookware. Made In's innovative saucier won one of our Kitchen Gear Awards last year while its high-performing griddle won a Kitchen Gear Award this year. Made In's knives even made their way into our guide to the best chef's knives.
But what is Made In all about? Launched as a direct-to-consumer company in 2017, its products can now also be bought on Amazon and Walmart. The brand offers restaurant-quality pots and pans that are easy to use and available at an affordable price point (compared to other high-end cookware). The pans come in an assortment of materials, from stainless steel to nonstick to carbon steel. Made In also recently launched enameled cast iron pots and pans as well as copper ones.
What makes Made In Cookware so good?
In the Good Housekeeping Institute, we've been testing cookware for decades. We've tested more than 150 sets, (50 of those in the past five years alone). When we test cookware sets, we rate them on their performance and ease of use. We conduct two heat distribution tests on the skillet, a scorch test on the sauce pan and a boil test on the large stockpot. We also assess how well they all clean and evaluate several ease of use details like whether they're dishwasher-safe and how helpful their user manual is.
Overall, Made In pots and pans have scored highly in our Lab tests and continue to be used in several of our consumer testers' homes. Here are some of our detailed findings and why we recommend them as well as some overall pros and cons.
Made In's stainless steel cookware sets
We often recommend Made In's starter sets like this six-piece set that comes with the essentials you need to cook in your kitchen, including one 10-inch skillet, one 10-inch nonstick skillet, one two-quart saucepan with lid and one eight-quart stock pot lid. They're each made of five-ply stainless clad, a.k.a. five layers of durable material, and the nonstick pan is coated with a traditional nonstick coating. We particularly like that this primarily stainless steel set comes with a nonstick pan because it adds to the versatility of the set and doesn't require you to shop for a nonstick pan on your own — nonstick pans are great for delicate foods that are prone to sticking like eggs and fish.
Made In's 10-inch pans
In our tests, both the stainless steel pan and the nonstick pan heated quite evenly. Both produced evenly browned steak and were quite easy to clean even though hand-washing is recommended instead of popping them in the dishwasher — the stainless steel pan just needed some extra help from Barkeeper's Friend, a popular stainless steel cleaner. We also tested eggs on the nonstick pan without using any oil or butter. All three eggs that we cooked consecutively over-easy slid off the pan and scrambled eggs didn't stick at all.
In our home tests, we used the stainless steel to brown sausage and got some of the best browning we've ever seen. We added a half-pound of pasta, frozen spinach and cheese to that same pan and were able to mix it all up easily. The cheese cleaned up easily enough, which is typically a hard feat. We've also used the stainless steel pan to cook up beautifully browned chicken cutlets and will continue to use this pan for all types of browning. We particularly like using the nonstick skillet for bacon and have learned that it also does a great job browning ingredients — it's great for sautés.
Both pans offer good heft and have wide surfaces (that work great on induction) and short, flared walls that proved to promote good coloring and caramelization on food. They also have rolled edges, which help with pouring and cleaning. The handles are thin and flat with an indent on the top so you can get a good grip. They're also wider toward the end and fit comfortably in the palm of your hand. They connect to the pans on a bent angle and feel balanced in the hand. They feel heavy and sturdy, but are also light enough to manage and flip food with. The pans sat flush on both our gas range and our induction range, and we didn't experience any type of warping, even at high temps.
Made In's sauce pans
The two-quart saucepan in the six-piece stainless steel set is the perfect size to boil eggs, make grains or heat soup or sauce. It has tall sides, feels good in the hand and comes with a sturdy lid. Made In's lids have a wide handle that protrude in the center for a comfortable grip. They stayed cool in our testing. The lids are domed and sit inside of the pan for a secure fit.
In addition to the six-piece set, we've also tested the 13-piece set that includes a larger, four-quart saucepan and a three-quart saucier. The four-quart saucepan is great for boiling small amounts of pasta or making larger side dishes. The saucier is one of our favorite pans. It has rounded edges, shorter sides and a wide diameter. It brings food to a boil quickly and is great for reducing sauces. Overall, it's a great all-purpose pan that can be used for a wide variety of foods.
Made In's stock pots
Like the rest of Made In's pots and pans, their stainless steel stock pot and nonstick stock pot offer great performance and ease of use. They're large, at eight quarts, but not too heavy. The stainless steel stockpot and the nonstick stockpot boiled pasta great in our Lab test and were easy to clean by hand. Consumer testers are pleased with the nonstick stock pot as well and say that it has held up over time.
Made In's nonstick cookware
We've tested Made In's stainless steel cookware and their nonstick cookware. They both feel similar in terms of weight and design but the nonstick pots and pans clean up easier than the stainless steel ones. Just note that the nonstick wears over time, just like all other nonstick pans. They make cooking easier and more simple with less room for sticking, but they require more care such as using the appropriate cooking tools like wood or silicone. As professional cooks in the Kitchen Appliances Lab, we prefer cooking with stainless steel versus nonstick because we can use it at higher temps and we like that we don't have to replace it often, if ever. It does require extra elbow grease to clean, but we think it's worth it.
We do use nonstick pans, however, to make eggs. (Even though we were able to fry an egg in the stainless steel skillet without any sticking!) We also like using them to make a quick and easy dinner.
Made In's carbon steel cookware
In addition to testing many of Made In's stainless steel and nonstick cookware pieces, our team has also tested many of their carbon steel cookware pieces, including their carbon steel pan, their carbon steel wok and carbon steel grill.
All of the pieces require seasoning and are on the heavier side. The carbon steel pieces brown nicely but are a little hard to maneuver.
Their griddle impressed us a lot because of its size that could span over two burners and its ability to get nice and hot for getting a good sear indoors. Outdoor griddles seemed to pop up everywhere this past year, so being able to recreate that in your kitchen stood out as a positive.
Pros and cons of Made In cookware
Pros:
- Good quality
- Lower price point than other high-end cookware companies
- Can save money on cookware pieces if you buy them in sets
- The pots and pans will last you a long time, especially if you take care of them properly
- The pans offered good, even browning and caramelization
Cons:
- Some may consider the pots and pans to be pricey
- Stainless steel cookware can be hard to clean
- It's recommended to hand-wash all cookware pieces, including stainless steel (putting them in the dishwasher is not advised)
- Carbon steel cookware pieces require time-consuming seasoning
How we tested
We've been testing cookware for decades in the Kitchen Appliances Lab. We tested the 13-piece stainless steel set, the seven-piece nonstick set and the carbon steel griddle in the Lab. When we test pots and pans in the Lab, we test how evenly the pans heat with a flour mixture as well as with steak. We test the saucepans with tomato sauce and see if it scorches and if the handles get hot. We test the stockpots with pasta and note how quickly they come to a boil, and we cook eggs in the nonstick pan to see how the nonstick performs. At the end of each test, we note how well each pan cleaned up and how easy it was to handle. We also assess the user guide to make sure it offers ample instructions on how to use and take care of the pots and pans.
After the Lab tests were done, we brought the cookware sets home to see how they perform in a regular kitchen with everyday use. We've been testing the stainless steel set at home for almost two months when this story was published, and we've been testing the nonstick cookware set for almost two years.
Made In's nonstick set underwent even more rigorous testing when it earned the GH Tested emblem, and five additional testers tested the set at home.
Made In's saucepans and carbon steel griddle were also evaluated by some of our consumer testers during testing for our annual Kitchen Gear Awards.
Why trust Good Housekeeping?
Nicole Papantoniou is the director of the Kitchen Appliances Lab at Good Housekeeping where she has overseen all testing and content related to cooking products, including cookware, for almost five years. She has tested countless cookware sets herself, including many pieces from Made In cookware in both the Lab and at home.
Nicole (she/her) is the director of the Good Housekeeping Institute's Kitchen Appliances and Innovation Lab, where she has overseen content and testing related to kitchen and cooking appliances, tools and gear since 2019. She’s an experienced product tester and recipe creator, trained in classic culinary arts and culinary nutrition. She has worked in test kitchens for small kitchen appliance brands and national magazines, including Family Circle and Ladies’ Home Journal.
