Having a set of solid, meal-prep-friendly cookware is a bit like having a nice set of workout clothes: not only does it incentivize you to do the thing you’ve been putting off, but it also makes the activity itself much more enjoyable.
To give you a leg up, we’ve put together a list of the best pots and pans for reliable and consistent batch cooking, from searing proteins to blanching vegetables.
Round Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven
Prepping a delicious, healthy meal is as easy as chopping up some fresh vegetables, trimming your favorite cut of meat, and adding broth to your Made In Round Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven. Just put the lid on, pop it in the oven for a few hours, and let the Dutch oven work its magic. This is the original meal prepper, producing flavorful, tender, and juicy dishes with minimal effort.
Durability: 4/5
Versatility: 4/5
Ease of Cleaning: 4/5
Best Use: Large cuts of meat, hearty vegetables, soups, and stews.
8-Inch Chef Knife
Chefs will always recommend a reliable and well-crafted knife. The Made In 8-inch Chef Knife saves time and frustration when prepping all types of meals. The asymmetrical beveled edge makes chopping, dicing, slicing, and mincing easy and enjoyable—a must for heavy meal prep days.
The blades are crafted in Thiers, France, by bladesmiths who have been forging knives for centuries. It’s this experience and dedication that make for a durable, balanced product that suits chefs at all levels.
Durability: 5/5
Versatility: 4/5
Ease of Cleaning: 5/5
Best Use: Slicing raw and cooked meats, and chopping and dicing fruits and vegetables.
Stainless Clad Frying Pan
The 5-ply construction and extreme temperature control make the Made In Stainless Clad Frying Pan a fantastic tool for meal prepping. This pan comes in three sizes, making meal prep for a few days in advance easy.
This pan can handle just about any dish and technique, so meal prepping never gets boring. During the week, use this pan to make healthy proteins and gently cooked vegetables. On the weekend, use it to shallow-fry chicken in your favorite oil or crisp up some buttery potatoes.
Durability: 4/5
Versatility: 5/5
Ease of Cleaning: 5/5
Best Use: Even heating for sautéing and searing meats and vegetables.
Stainless Clad Saucier
A saucier is a home chef's secret weapon. It can quickly and easily prepare any type of sauce, as well as perfectly cooked, clump-free rice, quinoa, and other grains. The rounded edges make stirring a breeze and prevent anything from getting stuck in corners. The Made In Stainless Clad Saucier is manufactured with our signature 5-ply technique to achieve even heating throughout (including up and down the walls) and accurate temperature control.
Despite its name, the saucier is for much more than just sauces. From a gravy or tomato sauce bound for the freezer to a stir-fry ready to be portioned into resealable containers for convenient lunches, this pan can handle all the moving parts of meal prep.
Durability: 4/5
Versatility: 4/5
Ease of Cleaning: 5/5
Best Use: Prep sauces and grains in large quantities for the week ahead
Carbon Steel Griddle
Having a griddle makes breakfast preparation for a family or batch-cooking your go-to ingredients much easier. The Made In Carbon Steel Griddle takes up two stove-top burners, allowing you to cook everything from eggs to chicken breasts on one easy-to-clean surface.
The griddle comes preseasoned with a blend of coconut oil and shea nut oil, creating a fully non-stick surface out of the box. And the heavy-duty construction provides exceptional heat retention and control over temperature change.
Durability: 5/5
Versatility: 4/5
Ease of Cleaning: 5/5
Best Use: Eggs, pancakes, flatbreads, and searing meats and vegetables.
Sheet Pan
When cooking multi-course meals or even just meal prepping quick dishes, a sheet pan can make life much easier. The Made In Sheet Pan is constructed from commercial-grade 3004 Aluminum, which prevents warping over the long term while evenly distributing heat. This is a massive advantage, whether making sheet-pan meals or baking cookies.
Durability: 4/5
Versatility: 4/5
Ease of Cleaning: 5/5
Best Use: Baking and roasting.
Stainless Clad Roasting Pan
Cooking a large piece of meat, like a whole turkey, a whole chicken, or a roast beef, is a great way to meal-prep for the week. A pan like the Made In Stainless Clad Roasting Pan makes it easy and enjoyable to make tender, juicy dishes while also providing a strong surface for making gravy or sauce with the drippings.
The roasting pan comes with a custom rack that prevents your food from getting soggy, specially designed handles for easy maneuvering, and a lightweight 3-ply stainless steel construction. This ensures even cooking and handling in and out of the oven, even when preparing a large roast.
Durability: 5/5
Versatility: 4/5
Ease of Cleaning: 4/5
Best Use: Oven roasting large cuts of meat, such as poultry and beef, while also roasting potatoes and vegetables underneath.
Seasoned Carbon Steel Frying Pan
Meal prepping on various heat sources helps spice up your dishes and keeps recipes from becoming monotonous. A Made In Seasoned Carbon Steel Frying Pan is made for all heat sources, including the oven, gas, electric, induction, and even open fire. It comes preseasoned with a mixture of shea nut oil and coconut oil, so it provides a naturally non stick surface from the first use.
This pan is a great combination of stainless steel and cast iron, with the versatility of cast iron but the temperature control of stainless. The rounded high walls and wide bottom make it great for sautéing, simmering, and searing, enabling meal prep for a wide variety of dishes with one pan.
Durability: 5/5
Versatility: 5/5
Ease of Cleaning: 4/5
Best Use: Medium to high-heat cooking to add char and an outer crust to all types of meats and vegetables.
Stainless Stock Pot Set
A stock pot set can be used to prep meals not just for the week, but for months ahead. The Made In Stainless Stock Pot Set comes with multiple inserts to provide ultimate versatility. With the Pasta Insert, you can easily prep large amounts of perfectly al dente pasta. Switch out to the Steamer Basket and you can make a week’s worth of healthy steamed vegetables.
Another unlock is using the pasta insert as a canning vessel: You can meal-prep in Mason jars and store them in a cellar for months. Tomato sauce is the most popular, but you can also prep other vegetables, like caramelized onions, and even meats, like chicken and ground beef, when following proper canning and sanitation rules.
Durability: 4/5
Versatility: 5/5
Ease of Cleaning: 4/5
Best Use: Pastas, steamed vegetables, and preserving food using the canning method.
CeramiClad™ Non Stick Cookware Set
To reduce meal-prep burnout, we recommend trying a variety of meals and techniques rather than making the same three dishes every week (no offense to chicken, rice, and broccoli). Made In CeramiClad™ Non Stick Cookware Set is popular with meal-preppers because it replaces many other products, reducing kitchen clutter and unlocking new dishes.
This 7-piece set includes a frying pan, stock pot, sauce pan, and sauté pan (plus three lids). With this range of options, you can prep multiple meals at once.
If you’re not looking for just yourself, this set makes an excellent gift for someone starting their meal-prep journey or someone who wants to declutter their kitchen and is ready for high-quality cookware.
Durability: 4/5
Versatility: 5/5
Ease of Cleaning: 5/5
Best Use: Sautéing, simmering, and searing in pans; boiling, stewing, and braising in pots.
The Bottom Line
While we can’t force you to love cooking, we can make meal prepping as painless as possible with our professional-grade cookware. And if you already love cooking, we definitely encourage you to treat yourself to a set of solid, reliable pots and pans—both for meal prep and for everyday life.
