I’m lucky to live in a neighborhood with lots of great “healthful” restaurants. I put that word in quotes because while organic French fries cooked in trans-fat free oil are better than what you’ll get at McDonald’s, they aren’t exactly kale chips.
So we try to cook at home most nights. My husband is much more of a chef than I am, so he is the one who purchases most of our pots and pans (and woks and stockpots and mandolins and 87 different knives…he loves kitchen gadgets!).
As with many products in our home (from toilet paper to laundry detergent to shampoo), Daylon is primarily worried about the performance of his cookware, and I am mainly worried about the safety.
1. Xtrema / 2. Lodge / 3. 360 Cookware / 4. Le Creuset / 5. Wild Peak / 6. Visions / 7. Green Pan / 8. Always Pan / 9. Caraway
Are There Toxins in Cookware?
Unfortunately, pots and pans might be introducing toxins into your food as you cook. The big takeaway from our research is that most types of cookware do infuse small amounts of material into our food. Some of those things are bad for us, some are good in the right quantity, and some are neutral.
And as much as we should avoid toxins in what we breathe and touch, we REALLY should avoid eating them! For this reason, many of you have asked about safe, non-toxic cookware.
I hope this guide helps you decide what cookware to eliminate, and what non-toxic cookware to buy when it’s time for new pots and pans.
My Top Pick for Less-Stick Cookware
Xtrema‘s Pure Ceramic
Xtrema‘s non-toxic cookware is the best option if you want NO non-stick treatment. We can’t call it non-stick, but it is “less stick” than the other safest options. You’ll read more about traditional non-stick pans and the newer materials, below.
Types of Toxic & Non-Toxic Cookware
Pots and pans come in a wide range of materials. Some cookware materials are okay, if you have the right variety, or if you don’t use them every day.
Always Good (Non-Toxic Cookware)
- Ceramic
- Carbon steel
- Porcelain enamel
- Tempered glass
- Cast iron
- Stainless steel
- Titanium
Always Bad (Toxic Cookware)
- Aluminum
- Copper
- Non-stick/Teflon
- Plastic
Nuanced (Can Be Good or Sneaky)
- Clay
- Coated Ceramic
- Newer Non-Stick Materials
For more details on these materials, and the brands we like most (and which brands should be avoided), check out the Best, Good, Bad, and Sneaky brands that follow.
Beware of Nonstick Cookware
The main concern with nonstick cookware is the chemical perfluorooctanoic acid (PFAS), which has historically been used in the manufacturing process of many nonstick coatings.
There are two big problems with PFAS, also known as “forever chemicals”:
- Health Risks. Studies have linked PFAS exposure to a variety of health problems, including cancer, liver damage, immune system dysfunction, and developmental issues in fetuses and infants.
- Environmental Risks. PFAS can persist in the environment for a long time and can accumulate in plants, animals, and the food chain. This can lead to contamination of drinking water supplies and other environmental problems. (We have a PFAS water filter in our store, by the way.) Worse, PFAS do not break down easily in the environment and are resistant to degradation. This means that even if their use is stopped, they can continue to be present in the environment and potentially cause harm.
Despite the risks associated with PFAS, there are currently no federal regulations in place to limit their use or to require testing for their presence in the environment or in consumer products.
If you choose to use traditional nonstick cookware, it’s important to follow the manufacturer’s instructions. Avoid using metal utensils or abrasive scrubbers that could scratch the surface of the coating. Overheating the cookware can also cause the coating to break down and release toxic fumes. Of course, our recommendation is that you switch to one of the less toxic forms of cookware below:
Best Stuff
Cast Iron Cookware
For most of human history, people suffered from iron deficiencies, so cooking with cast iron helped to prevent anemia. In modern cultures, the opposite is true. Most of us get plenty of iron, and there’s a point at which ingesting too much can be problematic.
In our kitchen, we try to switch between cast iron pans and pans made of other materials (mostly stainless steel) throughout the week. If you want to be extra cautious, you could avoid cast iron for recipes with long cooking duration or acidic foods, as this will cause increased iron leaching. Our favorite cast iron pan is this one from Lodge, and it’s made in America.
Ceramic Cookware
Made from natural materials such as clay and minerals, ceramic cookware offers excellent heat retention and distribution. Its non-reactive surface makes it ideal for cooking acidic foods, and it is also appreciated for its nonstick properties, requiring less oil or fat during cooking. Furthermore, it is generally considered safer than nonstick alternatives since it doesn’t contain potentially harmful chemicals like PFOA or PTFE. Ceramic cookware can be considered a safe less-stick if not truly truly non-stick material. Some ceramic cookware is coated with materials that may contain harmful substances like lead, cadmium, and other heavy metals. To ensure safety, it is crucial to choose ceramic cookware that is labeled as free from toxic materials and is certified as being compliant with safety standards. Xtrema‘s is our favorite brand of ceramic cookware.
Porcelain Enamel Cookware
In essence, enamel is a form of glass. Enameled cookware is most often cast iron with an enamel coating. This type of cookware is completely non-toxic and wonderful to cook with.
Some people have worried about lead in the enamel cookware, since the enamel coating is often made of clay, which can leach lead. For peace of mind, we got this lead test kit and tested the Le Creuset cookware in two of our homes. No lead was detected. I cannot vouch for other brands of porcelain enamel cookware, but feel good about Le Creuset!
One caveat: Le Creuset says that there are trace amounts of lead on the outside of the bright-colored Le Creuset pots (such as red and orange). They add that “these levels are very low, but the interior enamel is completely free of lead.” I have the orange pot, and the outside still tested negative.
Stainless Steel Cookware
Stainless steel pans are generally Good Stuff, but stainless steel is made with nickel. The more nickel in the mix, the more “stainless” it is. The problem is that our bodies can handle some nickel, but too much isn’t healthy. This means that high quality stainless steel cookware, which has higher percentages of nickel, is actually of more concern than lower quality stainless steel!
We know that stainless steel pans do leach nickel (along with some chromium and iron), especially with longer cooking times and when cooking acidic foods such as tomatoes.
To minimize the potential for nickel leaching, you’d ideally want a pan that’s 18/4 or 18/0 stainless steel (that first number is the percentage of chromium; the second is nickel). This hard to find, so the best you can usually get is 18/8 and 360 Cookware happens to be just that.
I wouldn’t be concerned about using stainless steel as long as you just switch up your cookware. If you sometimes using cast iron and enamel pots and pans, you won’t be exposing yourself to too much nickel from stainless steel. If you’re still worried, you could avoid stainless steel when cooking something for long time periods.
Crock Pots/Slow Cookers
Most crockpots/slow cookers contain a ceramic insert. There is a lot of debate about the possibility of lead leaching from the glazing on ceramic pots. In the U.S., all crockpots must pass FDA regulations for lead, but that still leaves the door ajar for small amounts of lead. Many slow cookers are manufactured in China, and there is a general distrust for these products.
The easiest way to detect lead is to purchase an inexpensive test kit.
We know a mom who went to great lengths to know once and for all if her glazed crock pot might contain lead. First she called several manufacturers and asked about lead in their glazing. Every one told her that there is no lead and their products comply with FDA rules. Not satisfied, she bought a wide variety of crockpots from a local thrift store. These included essentially all of the major manufacturers. She swabbed them with the test kit and found zero lead. She then took the crocks to a testing facility that uses a specific tool that is very sensitive to lead. The results were that there was no lead found in any of the crocks. (I tested my own and had the same result.) So, if you’re a crockpot fan, we say it’s the Good Stuff!
All-Clad makes a really nice crock pot that is our top pick. You can find others that are less expensive, too.
Carbon Steel Cookware
Carbon steel is sometimes used for frying pans and woks. It’s similar to cast iron, and can leach small amounts of iron into food, which is great if you happen to have someone with slight anemia in your home!
We like this carbon steel wok and this carbon steel fry pan.
Titanium Cookware
Titanium is a non-toxic and biocompatible metal, so it is used for medical instruments, dental implant devices, and joint replacements. Titanium is also lightweight and extremely strong. Titanium cookware uses an aluminum base for even heat transfer and distribution. The non-porous, non-stick titanium outer surface does not allow any aluminum to leach through.
The only reason to be cautious about titanium cookware is that it seems that most manufacturers now coat their titanium cookware with non-stick finishes, rendering it “Bad Stuff.” We found just one brand on Amazon, Wild Peak, that doesn’t appear to be coated with any non-stick chemicals.
Tempered Glass Cookware
Glass is probably the most inert of any cooking surface, and you can even get pots and pans made of this ultimate Good Stuff!
We like this set from Visions.
Good Stuff: Newer Non-Stick
We are calling the following brands Good Stuff rather than Best Stuff only because they do not disclose exactly what they use to achieve their nonstick coating. The brands below all provide independent testing results that show that their cookware is not leaching toxins or heavy metals. However, it is important to note that this is only true when the cookware is not scratched or degraded. We recommend replacing any non-stick cookware if it becomes damaged.
GreenPan
We originally called GreenPan Sneaky Stuff, because they don’t disclose exactly what they use in their nonstick cookware line. They’ve recently provided the results of independent tests, and these are hugely reassuring regarding contamination with heavy metals.
GreenPan’s nonstick coating is the proprietary Thermion, which is “made by a Sol-Gel process that results in forming a coating layer on the surface of the pan. This layer comprises mainly Silicon Dioxide (SiO2), which is the same composition as glass.” We are now comfortable calling GreenPan Good Stuff!
Our Place
Our Place is slightly less transparent than GreenPan in terms of what they use to achieve their non-stick surfaces. Still, Our Place disclosed the independent testing that reveals that their pan doesn’t contain heavy metals. It looks to me like they are using the same exact technology (Sol-Gel) as GreenPan.
While we’d love more transparency from Our Place, we still consider this to be non-toxic cookware. I also happen to be pretty in love with my Always Pan.
Caraway
Caraway cookware is non-stick and does not contain PFAS. The company has provided reports on lead, cadmium, PFOA, PFOS, and PTFE, which show no detectable levels. One thing to keep in mind is that we do not know the exact composition of Caraway’s non-stick coating as it is patented. While this is not ideal, Caraway has reliable third-party tests that show no detectable levels of harmful contaminants, so we can consider it a good product. Most new non-stick brands use a Sol-Gel process to make their pans non-stick, so it is likely that Caraway does the same.
Caraway cookware is so pretty and I love my new set.
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Bad Stuff
Plastic
Believe it or not, you can actually get a plastic pot. Don’t buy one; all kinds of Bad Stuff—from phthalates to BPA to worse—leaches out of many types of plastic when heated. (You probably already know that you shouldn’t microwave food in plastic either, right?).
Aluminum
Various studies have linked elevated aluminum levels to everything from anemia and other blood disorders to ALS and Parkinson’s. Avoid all aluminum cookware. Note that pans with an aluminum core within cookware made of safer metals (such as stainless steel) are fine—you just want to make sure that no aluminum touches your food.
Unprotected Copper
Like iron, copper is an essential mineral. A healthy diet supplies plenty of copper, but elevated levels of copper in your body can be toxic.
Many foods can react with unprotected copper cookware (where the food comes in direct contact with the copper) and leach too much copper into your food. Copper-core cookware is fine, though copper cookware that is “protected” with a coating of stainless steel is subject to the same concerns as stainless steel (see above, under The Good Stuff).
Nonstick (Teflon or PTFE)
You can read many reports claiming that Teflon is harmless, but the studies showing it to be toxic are far more convincing. The EPA told companies in 2015 to phase out some of the chemicals in their formulations due to health concerns, and the EWG advises consumers to avoid Teflon.
Most nonstick pans are aluminum coated with polytetrafluoroetheylene (PTFE), otherwise known as Teflon. The big issue with Teflon isn’t ingesting it, but rather breathing it in when it gets hot (it’s actually toxic enough to kill pet birds!). Teflon-coated pans should be avoided.
And yes, even expensive, high-tech non-stick pans (such as Circulon) should be avoided. You can read more about PFAS chemicals in this posts’s introduction, above. A few examples of nonstick brands that have been found to contain PTFE:
- Cuisinart
- Hexclad
- ScanPan
- Zwilling
Sneaky Stuff
“Non-Toxic” Nonstick Cookware
Newer “safe” nonstick pans are increasingly available, but unless we’ve included them above, under The Good Stuff, we advise you to proceed with caution.
Any nonstick pan that says it’s “PFOA-Free” is really Sneaky, because no nonstick pans contain PFOA (it’s created during production but always burned off in the final product). Pans that specify that they are free of PFOA almost certainly contain PTFE. And even pans that are free of both often contain “proprietary” nonstick materials, which carry unknown risks.
One especially Sneaky brands is Ozeri, which claims to be PTFE free, but which was found to contain it in samples tested in 2020 by Ecology Center.
Unglazed Clay Cookware (“Earthenware”)
Companies like Earthen Cookware and Vitaclay have gained popularity because they contain no finish of any kind. However, the clay itself can provide a health risk, as it may contain harmful—albeit natural—things like aluminum, cadmium, and lead.
Without testing your pot for every possible contaminant, you have no way of knowing what might be leaching into your food—without a glaze on the pot, there is no protective barrier between what’s in the clay and your meal.
To me the risks of unglazed clay pots and pans outweigh the potential benefits of the good minerals that might leach into your food—calcium, iron, etc. While both Vitaclay and Miriams’s Earthen Cookware do provide testing showing their products free of specific heavy metals, the actual composition of the clay in both cases is “proprietary,” which is why I’m calling both of them Sneaky Stuff.
Coated Ceramic Cookware
Under The Good Stuff tab, I mentioned ceramic cookware. This is just remember to avoid any ceramic pots and pans that are treated with nonstick materials, which includes brands like Caphalon and Farberware.
Maia, Founder & CEO
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