The Best Pots and Pans for Your Gas Stove Made of Chef-Approved, Eco-Friendly Materials

When I think back on my early days of cooking, quite frankly I'm sickened. Not by my novice skills (they've gotten better, I swear!), but by what I learned later: that popular non-stick coatings like Teflon were leeching PFAs, or per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances, into my food. PFAs are called "forever chemicals" and are linked to cancer, thyroid conditions, liver toxicity, and many more diseases.

That's why it's so important to find the best pots and pans for a gas stove using materials that are non-toxic and eco-friendly. Because whatever you use to cook essentially ends up a part of you.

Best for Making Eggs: Caraway 7-Piece Ceramic Cookware Set ($395, was $545)

Best for Stir-Frying Veggies: Cuisinart 11-Piece Cookware Set, Chef's Classic Stainless Steel Collection ($155, was $180)

Best for Searing Meats: Lodge Essential Seasoned Cast Iron Skillet Set ($60, was $99)

Best for Sautéing Fish: Made In Blue Carbon Steel Frying Pan ($209, was $277)

Best for Making Sauces: Amoretti Brothers 11-Piece Recycled Copper Cookware Set ($2,510)

First and foremost, avoid Teflon coatings like the plague when you're shopping for cookware. If you have any in your cabinets — or any pots and pans that have scratches all over their surfaces—toss 'em. Things like cast iron, stainless steel, and ceramic with healthy non-stick coatings are best for your gas stove. To help you stock a healthier kitchen, I went ahead and picked out the best, most eco-friendly pots and pans at a variety of price points.

Conscious cookware company Caraway found a way to make their pots and pans nonstick without using toxic Teflon. Their ceramic Cookware Set is made of naturally nonstick ceramic that's free of forever chemicals and also does without heavy metals and hard anodization, a coating often found on aluminum that can be toxic when ingested. Caraway ceramic pots and pans work on all kinds of cooktops come in a variety of fun colors.

Pieces included: 10.5" fry pan, 3-quart sauce pan, 4.5-quart sauté pan, 6.5-quart Dutch oven, storage rack

Top review: "Hands down the best cookware I’ve ever used in my life. Absolutely no competition. Totally WORTH every penny spent. Stunning, practical, safe."

If you're cooking with gas, you should be cooking with stainless steel, as it's one of the most popular, versatile, and durable materials out there—and in some places you can even recycle them. The only red flag with stainless is that it could leech toxic chemicals if you use it to cook acidic foods like tomatoes. Otherwise, this Cuisinart set is a chef favorite and is known to cook food evenly.

Pieces included: 1.5 Quart Saucepan with Glass Cover, 2.5 Quart Saucepan with Glass Cover, 3 Quart Saucepan with Helper Handle and Glass Cover, 8 Quart Stockpot with Glass Cover, 8" Skillet, 10" Skillet, 18cm Steamer Insert

Top review: "As the son of a professional chef who has spent many hours in a kitchen I can tell you that these pans are top notch; better than many of the pans we use at the restaurant!"

Cast iron is not just an eco-friendly and non-toxic cookware material, it's a type of cookware with a cult following thanks to its superior ability to retain heat that just keeps getting better with use (pro tip: learn how to properly season and clean your cast iron for best results). Lodge is a 125-year-old brand that comes highly recommended, and the brand has a skillet set that is so perfect, they named it Essential. Eating food cooked with cast iron will result in some iron supplementation, so if your system can't tolerate that, cast iron skillets might not be for you.

Pieces included: 10.5" Seasoned Cast Iron Griddle, 10.25" Seasoned Cast Iron Skillet, 8" Seasoned Cast Iron Skillet, Red Silicone Handle Holder, 2 Pan Scrapers, 6" Square Red Silicone Pot Holder

Top review: "For those who do not know, buy these pans. They will change your life."

The easy-to-recycle material carbon steel, made of carbon and iron, has drawn comparisons to cast iron thanks to its durability, longevity, and heat conductivity. This non-toxic metal is a lot more lightweight than cast iron, though. The Blue Carbon Steel Frying Pan by Made In is naturally nonstick and comes either unseasoned or pre-seasoned with shea nut oil and coconut oil (another similarity to cast iron).

Pieces included: 8" Frying Pan, 10" Frying Pan, 12" Frying Pan

Top review: "I’ve been a professional chef for over 20yrs and these pans are absolutely hands down the best I’ve ever used. Beautiful, well built and delivered with care. Outstanding."

Copper cookware comes with a hefty price tag, but by most accounts, it's well worth it. Amoretti Brother happens to make a cookware set made of 100 percent recycled copper that's hand-forged by Mexican artisans and hammered to give it that real old-worth aesthetic. So what makes copper cookware so coveted? It conducts heat evenly and responds almost immediately to temperature changes so it lets you cook with precision (this is why most chefs rave about copper). This set also looks stunning in the kitchen, so definitely don't keep it in the cabinet.

Pieces included: 1.3 qt Cocotte, 4 qt Sauté Pan, 10 qt Dutch Oven, 11" Frying Pan, 10 qt Stock Pot, 2.8 qt Sauce Pan, 5 Cast Bronze Lids