10 Best Camping Cookware Sets In 2020

The Stanley base camp cook set is the best camping cookware on our list and also the most rugged and durable. It is a very well thought out kit that includes everything you need to prep, cook, serve, eat, and clean the dishes while camping. Everything nests into the pot for ease of transport in a vehicle. All these qualities make it our top pick for RV or car camping and family camping.    

Pieces Included

A total of 19 pieces are provided in the package to fully equip you to prepare, cook, eat, and clean. For food prep, you get a cutting board, 1 3.5L pot, 1 frying pan, and a vented lid. You also get a silicone trivet, a spatula, and a serving spoon. The set has place settings for 4 and each person gets a 22oz bowl, a 6-inch plate, and a spork. This set also comes with a dish drying rack.    

Portability

The pieces are designed to nest into the pot making this set easy to pack and transport in a car when going car camping. As an elaborate stainless steel set, it is on the heavy side and not for you if you’re looking for the best camping cookware made with aluminum.

Cooking Performance

Because this is stainless steel cookware, you can safely use it over a campfire. The bottoms of the stainless steel cookware pot and pan are multi-layered and heat uniformly so food cooks nicely and evenly. By oiling the surface and controlling the heat, you can also create a non-stick surface for preparing delicate foods such as eggs well.   

Lightweight cookware set that only weighs 1.56 pounds and nests together neatly and small enough to fit in a backpack, the Terra Hiker cook set is the best camping cook set and a very popular kit among backpackers, hikers, and campers. It comes with the essentials for cooking, eating and cleaning and the sizing is perfect for 2-3 people.  

Pieces Included 

This top-rated cook set contains a boiling pot with a lid and a non-stick frying pan. You also get a teapot you can boil water in for hot chocolate, tea or coffee. Other accessories provided include a wooden cooking spoon and a plastic ladle as well as bowls and a cleaning sponge.

Portability

The handles are foldable and the items nest into each other to fit into the provided nylon mesh bag. The package is compact enough to fit in a backpack and won’t weigh you on the trails. Total weight is just 1.56 lbs., and the package measures 7.2 x 7.2 x 5.1 inches.  

Cooking Performance

The skillet has a non-stick cooking surface so you can cook eggs, bacon, and sausages without them sticking. The non-stick surface is a smooth hard-anodized aluminum, not Teflon. You can have peace of mind it isn’t toxic and won’t leach into your food.

The aluminum cookware heats evenly to cook meals quickly. The pot is perfect for boiling water in record time -  400 ml water will boil in 2.5 minutes. The pot and pan sit well on top of a JetBoil or other canister camp stoves.

If you want an affordable backpacking cookware set, the Bulin camp cookware set is one of the most affordable option featured in our camp cookware reviews and offers excellent value for money. It will give you the ability to boil, fry and cook delicious and nutritious foods for 2 to 4 people without breaking your budget. It has a lightweight and collapsible backpack-able design.  

Pieces included

This is a complete cookware set offering you 13 handy pieces for cooking, serving, eating and cleaning. You get 2 pots with lids, 1 frying pan, 1 kettle, 4 bowls, 2 plates, 1 soup spoon, 1 rice ladle, and a cleaning sponge. 

Portability

This set has a collapsible bundle design and the items nest into each other to fit in the included pouch becoming a package you can stow easily in your backpack. At 3.4 pounds, one person can carry it comfortably.

Cooking Performance

Hard-anodized aluminum heats fast and uniformly ensuring your water boils fast and your food cooks evenly and quickly. The smooth anodized surface is non-stick allowing you to fry food without sticking. Whether you’re cooking on a portable propane stove or open camp fire, the pots, pan and kettle are designed to handle the heat.  

Construction

Made of hard-anodized aluminum, the cookware pieces are sturdy, corrosion-resistant and suitable for the outdoors. Everything else including the lids and even carry bag is sturdy and built to last. All the materials including the plastic and non-stick surface are non-toxic.

An ultralight 10-piece set weighing a mere 1.5 lbs., this Winterial camp cookware set was designed with backpackers, hikers, climbers, and scouts in mind. It’s also the best camp cookware set to go for if you want the cooking and cleaning convenience of Teflon non-stick coating. It is top-rated backpacking cookware for what you get in pieces, quality, and cooking performance.

Pieces Included    

The package contains a large pot, a frying pan, and a tea kettle. The pot has a volume of 2 Quarts (1.9L), while both the pan and the kettle have half the volume. You also get a serving ladle and a small spoon, two bowls, and a soft sponge to clean the gentle cookware surface.  

Portability

The pot and a frying pan along with nine other pieces store within each other and then fit in the included carry bag. The pan and pot have folding handles that sit against the body when packed. This lightweight camp cookware measures 3.5 x 6.75 inches when packed.

Cooking Performance

Aluminum oxide (anodized aluminum) has a high heat conductivity and transfers heat exceptionally well for even cooking. The wider surface area on the pot, pan, and kettle makes for faster boiling times. Each piece has a non-stick Teflon coating, which means eggs, bacon, sausages, pancakes, and fried fish cook wonderfully and cleanup is a breeze.

A complete set for 2 person meals and easy for two to carry into the backcountry, the MSR Quick 2 system is the best backpacking cookware set for two backpackers or hikers. The set is top-notch quality, cooks evenly, cleans easily and impresses all around. It can even be adapted to suit the size of the group and the length of the trip.

Pieces Included

This MSR cooking set has 7 pieces all together: a 1.5L non-stick aluminum pot, 2.5L hard-anodized aluminum pot, strainer lid, 2 deep dish plates that can accommodate any meal, 2 insulated 12.5-ounce mugs with sip-thru lids, and a handle transferrable between the pots. The mugs and plates are color coded so you know whose is whose.

Portability

All the components fit tightly into each other and nest inside the large 2.5L pot. The dimensions of this set when packed are 7.75 x 5 inches and the weight is 1 pound 12 ounces. Easy to carry backpacking and hiking cookware for two.

Cooking Performance

Hard-anodized aluminum pots heat uniformly and cook evenly. The smaller non-stick coated pot is great for sauces and simmers while the larger pot is great for boiling water and preparing meals.

Construction

As you can expect from MSR, the quality is exceptional. The hard-anodized pots are tough enough for the outdoors and can resist rusting. The mugs and plates are rugged and hold up well to heat. Even though it costs a bit more, this set is worth it because it’s well made and you get versatility while saving some space at the same time.

This Gas One camp cook set is designed for 3-5 people, so it’s great for group camping and hiking trips. It’s also an excellent choice if you’re buying your cookware on a limited budget and take your equipment seriously. This set also comes with a carry bag in a gift box making it a great gift for campers.

Pieces included

This top rated cook set has 2 frying pans, 2 pots, 2 spoons, and 4 bowls. The smaller pot can hold four cups of liquid, while the larger one has a capacity of six. The bowls are sized right for a single portion. The frying pans also double as pot covers.

Portability

The handles fold flat against the sides, the larger pot and the pan stack towards one another, while the rest of the set fits inside. The package then fits inside the carry bag and is compact and lightweight enough to carry into the wilderness.

Cooking Performance

The anodized aluminum pots and pans have excellent heat transfer enabling this set to cook food evenly and quickly. The pots and pans also have a nice stick resistant surface to ensure delicate food cooks well and make cleanup easy.  

Construction

The material used is anodized aluminum, making it very lightweight and also strong, resistant to the elements and durable. The bowls and spools are made of a strong plastic and the handles are sturdy. All the pieces can handle camping trips and should last for quite some time with proper care.

If you’re a solo camper and want a great solo kettle/cook set for cooking over an open fire, the     GSI Glacier stainless Ketalist is the best camp kettle on the market. It’s a complete and functional cook set that will have all your cook needs covered yet an excellent compact cooking set weighing only 14 ounces. You can even stow a 100g gas canister inside it.    

Pieces Included

The Ketalist is a minimalist kit but that doesn’t mean it lacks anything – it offers everything you need to prepare a meal and enjoy it. You get a 1-liter kettle, an insulated 14oz bowl, an insulated 14oz mug with vented sip lid, and a telescoping spork.  

This GSI kettle has all the features you want in a bush kettle: bail handle with a bend to keep it centered when hung over a fire, a pour spout, a snug fitting lid, a wide lid opening and tab for easy grabbing. The mug has markings to serve as a measuring cup while the bowl has graduations to protect your fingers from the heat.       

Portability

The cup, bowl and spork pack away nicely inside the kettle and the handle sits on the side securing the set. A nice drawstring sack is also provided. The packed size is amazingly compact – 6.3 x 5.9 x 3.5 inches and will easily fit in a bag. The ultralight 14oz weight is a big plus too. 

Cooking Performance

Featuring large camping pots and pans, the Bugaboo Base Camper will enable you to whip up large fancy meals for a group of campers making it the best camping cookware set for family camping.

It’s a high-quality kit for base camping and the compact nesting design makes it great for RV and car campers with limited space. If you’re backpacking or hiking with a group and splitting gear, it's light and small enough for one person to carry. This set comes in three sizes: small, medium, and large.

Pieces Included

Every set includes two pots, a frying pan, two strainer lids, a folding gripper handle that locks on to exterior brackets, a cutting board with curved edges, and a mesh bag with a waterproof lower part so you can use it as a washing sink.

Portability

All the pieces nestle inside the largest pot with room to stow some silverware and utensils. The package packs into the included drawstring stuff sack and takes up very little space in a car or RV. The cutting board nests between pots to reduce clatter during transport

Cooking Performance

Both pots and the pan are made from aluminum so they heat evenly and cook food quickly.  Coated with Teflon Classic, they have amazing non-stick performance and cook eggs, bacon, potatoes, and pancakes flawlessly. These large pots are great for use on two-burner camp stoves. You can cook for 4-6 campers or even 12-15 with batch cooking.   

The compact and lightweight Sea to Summit kettle set is perfect for boiling water for hot beverages and freeze-dried backpacking meals for one or two backpackers or hikers. All the items collapse and nest into each other forming a super-compact Frisbee-like disc. This innovative backpacking cook set solves the problem of fitting bulky and awkward cookware in a pack and is a top rated backpacking cookware.

Pieces included  

This three-piece cooking set includes a 1.3L kettle/pot with strainer lid and two mugs, everything you need to boil water and enjoy hot beverages and freeze-dried meals. The two cups have wide mouth brims as does the kettle and the mug is calibrated to function as a measuring cup.

Portability

The flexible silicone sides collapse and the mugs fit inside the pot into a compact disc sized only 1 3/8" high. It will take up no space in your backpack and won’t weigh you down on the trails. The silicone handles on the kettle secure the lid to the pot during transport. It’s probably the best backpacking cookware if you need a set for yourself only and want to travel as light as possible

Cooking Performance

The kettle has a hard-anodized aluminum base that heats quickly and evenly so your water boils fast while the silicone walls make stirring easy. The glass-reinforced handles make it easy to pour the boiling water into your dehydrated meals or camp coffee maker.   

Perfectly sized for solo use, ultralight, and tough enough for the backcountry, the Snow Peaker mini solo is the best backpacking cook set for solo travelers and backpackers and thru-hikers.  Titanium construction provides exceptional strength-to-weight performance, heats fast, and is easy to clean, everything you want in cookware for backcountry trips and alpine climbing.

If you want a nesting cook kit you can also fit a fuel canister in, this can accommodate a 110g fuel container and canister stoves such as GigaPower or Snow Peak or two 110-gram fuel canisters.

Pieces Included

Designed to provide the basic necessities for cooking and serving in the backcountry, this set includes a 30 fl. oz. pot and an 18.3 fl. oz. drinking/measuring cup. It also comes with streamlined handles and a lid with a stay-cool silicone tab.

Portability

The handles fold flat for packing and the pot and cup fit together and stow tidily inside a mesh storage bag. The whole setup weighs just 5.5 ounces. You can even bring it on a day hike.

Cooking Performance

The pot is perfect on canister stoves with center burners such as Pocket Rocket or Giga and also works great on alcohol camp stoves. Titanium cookware heat fast and the rounded bottom edges on this pot improves heating efficiency.