Having used the Caraway Bakeware Set for all of my baking over the past few weeks, I can safely say it’s one of the best non-toxic upgrades for any home baker.
The complete set covers everything you need, from cakes and muffins to cookies and traybakes, all wrapped up in cheerful colors and finished with a ceramic coating designed to avoid PFAS.
They’re not quite perfect, though. The Caraway bakeware is more delicate than some of the other pieces I’ve tested, and the non-stick performance isn’t quite as impressive as I expected. Still, they come remarkably close and remain among the best non-toxic cookware. Here’s exactly how they performed in my kitchen.
Product Specifications: Caraway Ceramic Bakeware Set
The Caraway Bakeware set is available in an impressive nine colorways.
(Image credit: Caraway)
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Material |
Aluminized steel core, ceramic coating |
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Included items |
Large cooling rack, large and medium baking sheets, rectangle pan, square pan, loaf pan, 12-cup muffin pan, two circle pans, and two storage organizers |
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Colors |
Cream, Navy, Slate, Grey, Perracotta, Sage, Marigold, Black, White |
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Cleaning |
Hand wash only |
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Oven safe |
Up to 550°F |
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Warranty |
Limited one-year |
Design and First Impressions
I will start by saying that the complete 11-piece Caraway Bakeware Set is not light. When the complete box arrived at my front door, it was a little daunting, but most of it is packaging. The set comes nestled in the included organizers, in a custom cardboard box designed with cutouts to hold every piece perfectly in place during transit. It is incredibly secure, but be prepared to fill your trash cans with the amount of it. It opens cleverly, allowing you to slide the sets out. This needs a lot of room, so I found it easier to do it on the living room floor than in my small kitchen.
The pieces themselves look and feel fantastic. Each is painted evenly and has a good weight to it, feeling sturdy without being too heavy. The included organizers also help slot everything away, with slots designed to fit each piece and more. They are rather large, so they struggled to fit onto some of my smaller cabinet shelves, but are great for deep cabinets like those in pantries.
One thing I will note is that the storage caddies require stacking some pieces inside one another. This would be fine if they were not ceramic, which is infamously easy to scratch and chip. After unboxing and hand-washing each piece, I decided to use cork trivets between pieces to form an anti-scratch barrier from the start.
Speaking of scratches, the large cooling rack/wire tray was already damaged out of the box, with a black scratch-type mark in the center. The items were so well packaged that I do not see this being a result of damage in transit. I did not cook with this piece, using it only for cooling, but I would be worried about it getting worse if used for food.
Cooking Performance
Cake Tins
(Image credit: Future / Chiana Dickson)
I decided to start with the foundation of any baking set, the round cake pans. The set comes with two 9.5-inch round tins, which I used to make a brownie-style cake and a Victoria sponge. The instructions call for a light greasing or flouring before use, so I used a good amount of butter as I would for any other cake tin before adding the batters. On one instance, I also added a round parchment paper cut out to one tin as I would my original non-stick bakeware, to see if there was any difference in result.
In both instances, the cakes cooked quickly and evenly, crisping at the edges, and turning golden across the top and base. I could not fault the performance until it came to turning the cakes out. The ceramic bakeware set promises superior non-stick performance; however, I found on both occasions that the cakes stuck in the tins, no matter how cool they were. I had to use a palette knife to free the chocolate cake, which was not ideal as I was worried about scratching the ceramic, and the Victoria sponge tore, with some chunks left in the pans. The cake with the parchment paper base also stuck.
They performed well in terms of texture and flavor, but were not perfect in terms of presentation. For this, I prefer my usual silicone cake pans.
Loaf Tin
(Image credit: Future / Chiana Dickson)
I had a very similar story when using the loaf tin. I baked a lemon drizzle cake, which rose and browned well during its prolonged time in the oven. Usually, in my traditional non-stick loaf tin, I have difficulty with this cake cooking through without overbrowning, but I did not have that with this tin. After removing from the oven, coating in lemon sugar drizzle, and allowing to cool, I tipped the tin, and it stayed stuck (even with a good greasing beforehand). I once again had to use a knife to loosen the edges, and the cake stuck to the base of the tin.
Muffin Tin
(Image credit: Future / Chiana Dickson)
The muffin pan was one of the best tins in the collection. I whipped up a batch of cinnamon sugar muffins before a game night with my friends, alternating rows with paper muffin cases and plain, greased holes.
All of the muffins rose evenly, turning lightly golden and cooking perfectly throughout. The muffins baked in paper cases naturally came out very easily, and I was pleased that those baked without released with a gentle twist once they had cooled enough to touch. I gently pinched the tops with clean fingers, rotated slightly, and lifted them away, revealing beautiful, slightly crisp golden bases. These turned out to be my favorite of the batch, and I can see myself doing away with paper cases entirely from now on.
Roasting Tin
(Image credit: Future / Chiana Dickson)
The rectangular pan is one of the most versatile in the set, and I have had great success roasting vegetables and baking cinnamon rolls with it.
When roasting vegetables, they all cooked evenly with no uneven burnt spots, and to my delight, they all released easily with a serving spoon when it came to plating up with some couscous. The skins on the eggplants and bell peppers did not stick and rip, making for much easier clean up and no wasted food.
When baking my friend-famous extra-large cinnamon rolls, the tray was the perfect size for them to rise, with each bun baking to perfection. The dough was crisp at the edges but pillowy-soft inside. Once iced and cooled enough to handle, they slotted out on my spatula with remarkable ease, the dough not tearing once.
Cleaning, Storage and Maintenance
(Image credit: Future / Chiana Dickson)
The complete 11-piece bakeware set is, as you might have already guessed, rather large. The largest baking sheet with handles is 20” L x 13” W x 1” H, which is actually too large to fit in any of my small kitchen cabinets. The included organizers do make fitting the rest into storage easier, however, keeping them upright and preventing them from slipping all over my shelving. I like the fact that they come with extra space, too, to store any existing bakeware you hang on to, or add later. As I mentioned earlier, I also added cork trivets, from Walmart, between some of the stacked pans to minimize the risk of them scratching one another and chipping the ceramic interiors. I feel like this was maybe a slight oversight when designing the organizers.
Cleaning the pans is relatively easy. They are all handwash only, as a dishwasher can damage delicate ceramic coatings over time; however, they are all easy to hold, and the low-stick coating meant that any debris came off without scrubbing, even after slow roasting vegetables. One thing I will note is that oily foods, such as the vegetables or the drizzle from my lemon drizzle cake, needed a second wash to help remove some of the oils on the coating. I used a little extra dish soap, and they were good as new.
I allowed them to air dry most of the time after washing, setting them on my dish rack. Each of the tins has a very small rolled edge on them, and I found that water collected beneath this, even when the tins were stood on their edges. I would always have to go in with a dish towel afterwards to clean this water away, which is slightly annoying. Otherwise, maintenance was simple.
What Do Shoppers Say About The Caraway Ceramic Bakeware Set?
Overall, the customer experience with this set has been overwhelmingly positive, with an average of 4.8/5 stars on the product listing page.
Top reviews comment on how easy they are to clean and store, as well as the great range of colors to choose from. The weight of the items is also noted, with many appreciating how easy they are to move around even with food on them.
There are some one-star reviews, however, with users reporting that the items have chipped and scratched with only a few months of use, or arrived damaged. While the ceramic pieces in my set were fine, the cooling rack was scratched, so it would suggest that there are a few quality issues with some sets. Although my set has not been damaged with use, I wonder if my understanding of how to clean and care for cookware and using the stacking trivets has helped prevent damage. If anything changes with my set, I will report back.
My Verdict: Should You Buy The Caraway Ceramic Bakeware Set?
All in all, I would recommend the Caraway Bakeware Set to any home baker looking to upgrade their old bakeware, those just starting out their collections, and health-conscious home cooks looking to minimize exposure to PFAS in the kitchen. The set comes with everything you need and does what it says on the tin, but you may need to be more liberal with your pre-greasing and be patient removing bakes from the tins.
The pieces are also available individually, should you wish to pick and choose which items you want in particular from the set.
How We Test Cookware at Homes & Gardens
The best cookware has to tick all the boxes: Versatility, manageable weight, safe materials, brilliant cooking performance, and, crucially, ease of cleaning.
You can read more details about how we test cookware here at Homes & Gardens, including how long we vet each piece for and specifically which recipes we trial.
I test all cookware in my own home under real-world conditions – usually mid-week meals cooked after work, putting the pans through regular use over a range of recipes to get a good understanding of how these pans perform and fit into the everyday, hard-working home. For bakeware, I test pieces using recipes that I have used for years, so I know what results to expect to see where pieces succeed, and where they could be better.
What Else to Shop
If you’re feeling inspired to get baking, you can shop from a curated selection of top-rated bakeware and accessories below.
All prices were correct at the time of publishing.
This five-piece collection includes a cookie sheet, a pizza pan, a fluted cake pan, a pie pan, and a 24-cup mini muffin pan, expanding on the existing Caraway staple baking set to help convert as much of your kitchen to non-toxic cookware as possible.
Chefaide Silicone Spatula Set
Ideal for everything from mixing to icing to scraping the bowl clean, this set of five silicone spatulas is the perfect non-toxic upgrade for home baking. They are damage free, too, preventing scratches on stainless steel and ceramic bakeware.
Evelots Pie Container With Lid
This set of two stackable cake containers is ideal for keeping your freshly made goods fresh, protecting them from staleness and pests. They’re also perfect for transportation.
Swedish Dishcloths for Kitchen Dish Towels
Sponge cloths are ideal for delicate cleaning tasks, such as ceramic cookware. They are also plant-based, meaning they are free from plastics and decompose in compost heaps in around 10 months, making them an eco-friendly, hygienic alternative to traditional sponges and paper towels.
Attitude Dishwashing Liquid, Unscented
Approved by the Environmental Working Group as non-toxic, this gentle dish soap is perfect for caring for delicate pans and bakeware without the risk of toxic residue.
Looking to level up your home baking setup? Check out our ranking of the best stand mixers next.
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