The One Pan That Never Leaves My Stovetop (I Use It Almost Every Day!)

The 3-quart Sauce Pan, which weighs about 4 pounds with the lid, is small enough not to make my tiny kitchen look cluttered, but big enough for whatever I need to cook. In the morning that may mean cooking oatmeal or scrambled eggs, warming up coffee from the previous day or milk for a fresh brew, or heating water for matcha. For lunch, it has defrosted soup, heated leftover pasta, and toasted nuts for salads. Then at the end of the day, I use it for everything from heating tortillas, cooking rice or quinoa, frying tofu, making boxed mac and cheese, and heating up a frozen meal to steaming vegetables. Therefore, it is never put away. Why do so when I use it every day, sometimes multiple times?

Despite all the use I put it through, my Caraway 3-Quart Sauce Pan does not look worn down. There are a few scuffs in the green color on the bottom from my gas stovetop grates. On the inside there are a handful of small marks, but the non-stick coating is fully intact and it still heats evenly.

For full disclosure, I try and take excellent care of this pot because I want it to last for a while. I only use bamboo/wood or silicone utensils to stir or scrape, I wait for it to cool down before cleaning, and don’t have a dishwasher, so I cleanse it with a soft sponge (and never use the abrasive side) or sometimes just a wet paper towel. Soaking anything crusty or hard in water does the trick if need be, so no scrubbing is ever required. I use either oil or water when frying or sauteeing anything, too, even though the non-stick has never failed me.

No piece of cookware is perfect, though. Filled with a lot of food or liquid, this pot gets too heavy for me to carry with one arm and I have to navigate straining pasta with both hands on the handle, which can get hot. I make sure to have a kitchen towel or oven mitt nearby, but if there’s not, I will use my sleeve to grip it. None of these things are a deal-breaker for me, clearly. 

While I do use the rest of the set that includes a fry pan, saute pan, and dutch oven, Caraway sells the 3-Quart Sauce Pan on its own (there’s also a mini version—but the larger of the two is a better deal), if you need or want just one of the four. But invest in the 3-Quart Sauce Pan and you, too, can have a reliable piece of cookware that also doubles as kitchen decor!

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Amanda McDonald is an editor at The Spruce Eats and has over seven years of experience researching, writing, and editing about all things food — from what new products are at the grocery store to chef-approved hacks that keep tricky leftovers fresh for days.