PFAS in Ceramic Cookware, What the Word Ceramic Does and Does Not Tell You

We graded 15 ceramic non-stick cookware sets from GreenPan, Our Place, Caraway, T-fal and Cuisinart. Five grade 70 out of 100, and ten grade 15. The coating is ceramic in every one of them. What separates the two groups is whether the brand names its coating and says it is made without PFAS.

Ceramic non-stick is a coating, usually a silica-based layer applied over aluminum or steel. It is a real alternative to PTFE, and it is also a marketing word, so on its own it does not settle what is on the pan.

Summary comparison table

Product	PFAS grade	Coating as recorded
GreenPan GP5 Champagne Ceramic Non-Stick Set	Good, 70/100	Thermolon ceramic, brand PFAS statement
Our Place 13-Piece Ceramic Cookware Set	Good, 70/100	Thermakind ceramic, brand PFAS statement
Our Place 7-Piece Ceramic Nonstick Cookware Duo	Good, 70/100	Thermakind ceramic, brand PFAS statement
Caraway Nonstick Ceramic Cookware Set	Good, 70/100	Ceramic, brand PFAS statement
Caraway Deluxe Cookware Set	Good, 70/100	Ceramic, brand PFAS statement
T-fal Inspire 10-Piece Ceramic Nonstick Set	Bad, 15/100	Ceramic, chemistry not stated, no brand PFAS statement
T-fal Revive Ceramic Nonstick Cookware Set	Bad, 15/100	Ceramic, chemistry not stated, no brand PFAS statement
Cuisinart Ceramica XT Nonstick 11-Piece Set	Bad, 15/100	Ceramic, chemistry not stated, no brand PFAS statement

How we graded these

Every grade here is a model-based estimate built from publicly available product information and manufacturer disclosures, not a lab test performed by our team. A high score means lower concern based on reviewed sources, never PFAS-free and never safe. Across the 15 sets the spread is five at 70 and ten at 15. None of these brands holds a third-party PFAS-free certification that we could confirm. Look up any set in our PFAS product finder.

Why the same coating grades 70 or 15

We count a ceramic non-stick as a coating, because it is one. When a brand names the coating and says it is made without PFAS, the set grades 70, which is the cookware baseline of 30, plus 10 for a named coating, minus 10 for the brand's statement. When a set is sold only as ceramic, with no coating named and no PFAS statement, our model treats it like any other unnamed non-stick, and it grades 15.

The word ceramic alone does not settle it, because coatings sold with mineral-sounding names are not always what the name suggests. T-fal's Stone Force range, for example, is on T-fal's own list of products containing PTFE.

What the brands at 70 say

• GreenPan says its Thermolon coated food contact surface is free of PFAS, including PTFE and PFOA.
• Our Place says its ceramic non-stick coating is made without PFAS, including PTFE and PFOA.
• Caraway says its ceramic non-stick coating is made without PTFE, PFOA and PFAS.

We record all three as unverified brand statements. HexClad, whose pans are in our cookware guide, says its TerraBond ceramic coating is PTFE-free and PFAS-free, and Made In says its CeramiClad pans are made without PFAS, PTFE and PFOA. Both grade 70 on the same basis.

T-fal and Cuisinart at 15

Eight T-fal ceramic sets, from the Inspire, Refresh, Revive, Simply Cook and Essentials lines, and two Cuisinart Ceramica XT sets grade 15. None of these listings names the coating chemistry, and neither brand has a PFAS statement on record for them. T-fal's California disclosure lists its Ceramic Excellence, Reserve Ceramic and Preserve ranges with no PFAS among their disclosed chemicals, but none of the sets here is from those ranges, so that disclosure does not reach them. A grade of 15 is not a finding that these coatings contain PFAS.

A correction to this guide

An earlier version of this guide said Caraway reached 100 on third-party verification and that its Deluxe set graded 40 on a brand claim alone. The third-party verification was never real. Our records had attributed a MADE SAFE certification to Caraway and GreenPan that MADE SAFE's own catalog does not list, and we removed it on 17 September 2026. Every Caraway, GreenPan and Our Place ceramic set now grades 70 on the brand's statement.

What to avoid

• Ceramic cookware sold without a named coating or a brand PFAS statement. That is ten of 15 here.
• Reading ceramic, stone or granite on a label as a PFAS statement.
• Overheating an empty ceramic pan. Ceramic coatings tend to lose their release with high heat, and worn coatings are the recorded concern for any non-stick.
• Reading 70 as verified. It rests on a brand statement.

If you would rather avoid a coating altogether, uncoated stainless steel and cast iron grade 75 to 100 in our cookware guide and our cast iron skillets guide. For the coating question in depth, see our ceramic cookware explainer.

Our pick

Based on available materials and data, we would choose the Our Place 13-Piece Ceramic Cookware Set or the Caraway Nonstick Ceramic Cookware Set, both at 70 out of 100 on a named ceramic coating and a brand PFAS statement. If price matters more, the GreenPan set grades the same. These grades are estimates built from disclosed materials, not laboratory proof, and nothing here is being called PFAS-free or safe by us.

FAQ

Is ceramic cookware PFAS-free?

Not by the word ceramic alone. Ceramic sets from GreenPan, Our Place and Caraway carry brand statements that their coatings are made without PFAS and grade 70. Ceramic sets from T-fal and Cuisinart with no such statement grade 15. We do not call any product PFAS-free ourselves.

Is Caraway cookware PFAS-free?

Caraway says its ceramic non-stick coating is made without PTFE, PFOA and PFAS. Its sets grade 70 on that statement, which we have not verified, and we found no third-party certification for Caraway.

Is Our Place Always Pan ceramic PFAS-free?

Our Place says its ceramic non-stick coating is made without PFAS, including PTFE and PFOA. Its ceramic sets and pans grade 70 in our data.

Is T-fal ceramic cookware PFAS-free?

The T-fal ceramic sets we graded do not name their coating chemistry, and T-fal has no PFAS statement on record for them, so they grade 15. T-fal's California disclosure lists no PFAS for its Ceramic Excellence, Reserve Ceramic and Preserve ranges.

Which is better, ceramic or stainless steel?

For PFAS alone, uncoated stainless steel has no coating to question and grades higher in our data. Ceramic non-stick gives easier release. That trade-off is a cooking choice.