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Vegetables are tossed in a stainless-steel skillet. Credit: Reviewed / Betsey Goldwasser

The Best Stainless-Steel Pans of 2023

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Vegetables are tossed in a stainless-steel skillet. Credit: Reviewed / Betsey Goldwasser

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Editor's Choice Product image of Anolon Tri-Ply Clad 12.75-Inch Frying Pan with Lid
Best Overall

Anolon Tri-Ply Clad 12.75-Inch Frying Pan with Lid

This excellent performing stainless-steel skillet is deep and comes with a lid so it’s a great skillet for one-dish dinners. And it’s easy to clean. Read More

Pros

  • Heats evenly
  • Excellent at simmering
  • Handle stays cool to the touch
  • Easy to clean
  • Oven safe

Cons

  • No helper handle
Editor's Choice Product image of Cuisinart Chef's Classic 722-30H
Best Value

Cuisinart Chef's Classic 722-30H

This shiny skillet heats up evenly thanks to a thick disc of aluminum on the bottom. It’s a great choice for anyone with an electric smooth-top range as it makes good contact with the glass ceramic surface. Read More

Pros

  • Browns perfectly evenly
  • Excellent at searing
  • Includes helper handle
  • Oven and dishwasher safe

Cons

  • Only moderate at keeping a steady simmer
Product image of KitchenAid 5-Ply Stainless Steel Skillet (12.25-Inch)

KitchenAid 5-Ply Stainless Steel Skillet (12.25-Inch)

For even cooking, this skillet is a great choice. However, you might not like the look of the short black handle and will have to work at keeping it clean. Read More

Pros

  • Heats evenly
  • Excellent at searing
  • Simmers well
  • Cool handle
  • Oven, induction, and dishwasher safe

Cons

  • Black stainless-steel handle detracts from appearance
  • Hard to get completely clean
Product image of Le Creuset Stainless Steel Fry Pan (12 In.)

Le Creuset Stainless Steel Fry Pan (12 In.)

Multitasking cooks will love that you don’t have to be vigilant about stirring when simmering and sautéing in this even heating skillet. But keeping it clean requires a lot of elbow grease. Read More

Pros

  • Excellent at simmering
  • Heats evenly and sears well
  • Handle stays cool to the touch
  • Oven, induction, and dishwasher safe

Cons

  • Difficult to clean
Product image of Made In Stainless Clad Frying Pan (12-Inch)

Made In Stainless Clad Frying Pan (12-Inch)

This beautiful and professional-looking skillet outperforms better-known brands for a lot less. To keep it looking good, however, be prepared to spend some time scrubbing. Read More

Pros

  • Excellent searing
  • Simmers well
  • Handle stays cool to the touch
  • Oven and dishwasher safe

Cons

  • Difficult to clean
  • Doesn't come with care information

A stainless-steel pan is a go-to kitchen workhorse, capable of cooking almost anything. Searing, braising, frying, sautéing, and whipping up pan sauces on your range—this pan is almost a whole cookware set in one. And it’s so durable, it should last a lifetime. Our best stainless-steel pan is the Anolon Tri-Ply Clad Frying Pan. While the KitchenAid Stainless-Steel 5-Ply Clad Fry Pan, will also make an excellent choice for an approachable price point.

Because your stainless-steel pan is likely to stick around for a while, it’s reasonable to wonder if it’s worthwhile to splurge on a spendy pan (or even an [entire stainless-steel set for cooking). To find out, we chose the best stainless-steel cookware pans from well-known cookware brands at a variety of price points and looked into their properties. While two pans rose to the top of our ratings, there wasn’t a bad pan in the bunch. If you're looking to spend even less, our best value is the Cuisinart Chef’s Classic Stainless pan with Helper Handle (available at Amazon), which has an incredibly even heat distribution.

With the avid home cook in mind, these are the best stainless-steel pans available online right now.

Editor's Note:
The recommendations in this guide are based on thorough product and market research by our team of expert product reviewers. The picks are based on examining user reviews, product specifications, and, in some limited cases, our experience with the specific products named.
The Anolon Tri-Ply Clad Frying Pan with lid sits on a stove.
Credit: Reviewed / Betsey Goldwasser

After our most recent round of testing, the Anolon Tri-Ply Clad Frying Pan with Lid is the best stainless-steel pan you can buy.

Best Overall
Anolon Tri-Ply Clad Frying Pan with Lid

Our top pick for a stainless-steel pan is the Anolon Tri-Ply Clad 12.75-Inch Frying Pan With Lid. First, it aced all our cooking tests, browning evenly and keeping tomato sauce at an absolute constant temperature with no stirring required. Thanks to a high flared side, we found it particularly easy to flip mushrooms by pulling back on the handle the way the pros do and to get around the edge with a whisk to make pan gravy. It should also make it effortless to turn out a frittata.

Of all the pans we worked with, the Anolon is the deepest, plus it includes a lid. That makes it a great choice for chili, pot roast, or meatballs in tomato sauce, and means it could even replace whole cookware sets. The pan handle stays cool to the touch but you will need a pot holder to lift the lid. We only wish there was a helper handle to make it easier to lift when chock full of hot food.

One of the things we like best about this pan—especially compared to others on this list—is it's relatively easy to clean and restore to a like-new condition, even after searing a spattering steak. It can also go from stovetop to the oven—up to 500°F—to brown off that frittata. While burnt-on spatters may need detailed work, this pan is dishwasher safe, too.

Pros

  • Heats evenly

  • Excellent at simmering

  • Handle stays cool to the touch

  • Easy to clean

  • Oven safe

Cons

  • No helper handle

The Cuisinart Chef's Classic Stainless Steel skillet is filled with vegetables.
Credit: Reviewed / Betsey Goldwasser

The Cuisinart Chef’s Classic Stainless Skillet with Helper Handle is our best value pick thanks to its great performance at a reasonable price.

Best Value
Cuisinart Chef's Classic Stainless Cookware pan with Helper Handle

When you’re shopping for price tags, you can’t beat the Cuisinart Chef’s Classic Stainless pan with Helper Handle. It was the only pan among our test group with a disc bottom and because of that, it was the only one that browned food perfectly evenly.

If you have an electric or induction range or cooktop with a smooth glass ceramic cooking surface, this pan is an excellent choice as the disc will make good contact with the glass.

With a wide bottom, this pan also provides lots of room for browning off beef cubes for stew or frying eggs. One thing to note is that the sides are straighter than on some pans, but we were still able to flip mushrooms like a chef and found it exceptionally easy to get around the edge with a whisk to make pan gravy.

You’ll notice that the Cuisinart has a gleaming surface and it cleans up easily and keeps its shine. Unlike other pans we tested, this pan has a helper handle which is exceptionally convenient when it's filled with a saucy dish like chicken cacciatore and you need to use two hands to move it from the stove to the countertop or to the table.

While the long pan handle stays cool enough to use without protection, you will need a pot holder for the small one. You can pop this pan in the oven up to a temperature of 500°F which means it's a great choice to crisp up a crumb topping on pan mac ‘n cheese. Like many companies, Cuisinart says its pan is dishwasher safe, but suggests hand washing.

Pros

  • Browns perfectly evenly

  • Excellent at searing

  • Includes helper handle

  • Oven and dishwasher safe

Cons

  • Only moderate at keeping a steady simmer

Product image of KitchenAid 5-Ply Stainless Steel Skillet (12.25-Inch)
KitchenAid Stainless-Steel 5-Ply Clad Fry Pan

You’ll be able to depend on the reasonably priced KitchenAid Stainless Steel 5-Ply Clad Fry Pan for excellent performance whether you’re simmering a marinara sauce or searing a sirloin. But keep in mind that this pan is not as deep as some so you might not be able to make enough sauce or chili for a big crowd.

The KitchenAid, has five layers of ply construction and is oven safe up to a temperature of 500°F which means you can start your salmon off on the stovetop to crisp the skin on the bottom and then transfer it to the oven to finish cooking. Even after a long simmer on the stovetop, the handle stays cool enough to handle without an oven mitt.

This pan is unreservedly safe for dishwasher cleaning but as on many, we did have to do a lot of scrubbing by hand and weren’t successful at completely removing fatty spatter marks.

We have one big pet peeve about this pan. The handle is made of black stainless steel and is also short and narrow. Although it’s easy to use, the color is much less attractive than shiny stainless steel and the size makes it look out of proportion. If how your cookware looks is a priority, you might want to choose another pan.

Pros

  • Heats evenly

  • Excellent at searing

  • Simmers well

  • Cool handle

  • Oven, induction, and dishwasher safe

Cons

  • Black stainless-steel handle detracts from appearance

  • Hard to get completely clean

Product image of Le Creuset Stainless Steel Fry Pan (12 In.)
Le Creuset Stainless-Steel Fry Pan

For its ability to keep tomato sauce at a perfect simmer and brown onions evenly with minimal stirring, the 12-Inch Le Creuset Stainless Steel Fry Pan rose high in our ratings. Its classic shape with a flared side made it easy to toss mushrooms by pulling back on the handle.

The rounded handle is very comfortable to hold and doesn’t get hot on the stovetop. You can use the Le Creuset in the oven to a temperature of 500°F and place it in the dishwasher to clean. However, we found it stained badly and even after a lot of soaking and scrubbing, we weren’t able to get it looking like new.

Pros

  • Excellent at simmering

  • Heats evenly and sears well

  • Handle stays cool to the touch

  • Oven, induction, and dishwasher safe

Cons

  • Difficult to clean

Product image of Made In Stainless Clad Frying Pan (12-Inch)
Made In Stainless Clad Frying Pan

We love the classic good looks of the Made In Stainless Clad Frying Pan, a 5-ply clad pan with a brushed stainless steel handle. It will only set you back about half the price of more well-established brands, yet beats or matches them for performance. The only caveat is that you have to purchase it directly from the company's website.

Although weighty at over 3 pounds, this pan heats up relatively quickly. A strip steak came out perfectly browned outside and evenly pink inside. Tomato sauce simmered steadily without stirring. Keep in mind that the bottom of the pan is only 9 inches in diameter and the height just 1 ¾ inches so you don’t have a ton of room for a one-dish dinner.

The Made In is oven safe up to a whopping 800°F so you can easily run it under the broiler to brown off biscuits on a stovetop cobbler. You can go ahead and simmer in it for an hour and still lift the handle without a mitt.

Cleaning it up took a bit of effort and some small spots remained. No use and care instructions are included with the pan. You have to visit the website and dig a bit for complete information.

Pros

  • Excellent searing

  • Simmers well

  • Handle stays cool to the touch

  • Oven and dishwasher safe

Cons

  • Difficult to clean

  • Doesn't come with care information

Product image of Misen Stainless Skillet (12 Inch)
Misen Stainless pan

The Misen Stainless pan is made in the U.S.A. of three layers of metal—all-aluminum—sandwiched between stainless steel. While it has all the attributes of highly touted pans from well-known brands, it’s only about half the price.

The Misen 12-inch pan is exceptionally handsome with a commercial look. With its nice wide interior surface, it offers a lot of room for cooking pork chops without crowding and a gently flared side that makes it easy to slip a spatula under those chops for serving. Of all the pans we tested, it’s the heaviest, weighing in at over 3 ½ pounds. This makes it slow to heat up but also results in even cooking for sautéing onions, pan frying burgers, or simmering a sauce.

You can use the Misen in the oven up to 500°F which makes it perfect for a Dutch baby pancake. Even after a long simmer on the stovetop, the handle stays cool enough to touch without protection. We found it relatively easy to clean by hand and it is dishwasher safe.

Minimal information about using and caring for the pan comes with it and what there is, is on the packaging. You can learn more about the pan by visiting the company’s website.

Pros

  • Heats evenly

  • Simmers and sears well

  • Oven safe to 800°F ·Dishwasher safe

  • Dishwasher and Induction safe

Cons

  • Not widely available

Product image of Hestan ProBond Professional Clad Stainless Steel Skillet (12.5-Inch)
Hestan ProBond Clad Professional Stainless-Steel pan

While the Hestan ProBond Professional Stainless-Steel Skillet is the priciest pan we tested, it’s beautifully designed. It has a high angled handle that makes it comfortable to flip vegetables, turn out a large omelet, or pour out sauces in spite of the fact that the pan weighs close to 3 ½ pounds.

Even though it’s heavy, the 12.5-inch Hestan is not slow to heat up. On the bottom, there’s plenty of room for browning off beef for a Bolognese. It sears beautifully but was only average at holding sauce at a steady temperature.

As it can go into the oven up to 600°F, you can run pan-fried burgers under the broiler to melt on cheese. You’ll never need a pot holder to hold the handle when you cook on the stovetop. The rivets are flush with the side of the pan on the inside so nothing collects around them and they don’t interfere with cleaning. However, to get the surfaces looking pristine, you’ll need an application of Bar Keepers Friend.

Pros

  • Heats evenly and sears well

  • Handle stays cool

  • Oven safe to 600°F

  • Induction and Dishwasher safe

Cons

  • Only moderate at keeping a steady simmer

  • Difficult to clean

Product image of Tramontina 12 in Tri-Ply Clad Stainless Steel Fry Pan w/Helper Handle
Tramontina Tri-Ply Clad Stainless-Steel Fry Pan with Helper Handle

If price is your number one consideration, you can’t go wrong with the Tramontina. It kept sauce simmering at an even temperature and seared a steak beautifully. However, it doesn’t have a perfectly even heating pattern, so you’ll have to be sure to stir your vegetables and rearrange your burgers while you’re cooking.

This pan has wide sloping sides, which make it easy to stir with a wooden spoon, flip with a spatula, and whisk a pan gravy. You’ll find the bottom surface is not as wide as on some pans so if you’re making flapjacks, fewer will fit in at once.

The Tramontina is easy to maneuver thanks to its light weight and it has a comfy handle that stays cool during long stovetop simmers. It’s safe in the oven to a temperature of 500°F and can be placed in the dishwasher. After our tests, we had to spend a considerable amount of time trying to get it clean, and some stains still remained.

Pros

  • Simmers well

  • Excellent at searing

  • Handle stays cool to the touch

  • Oven, dishwasher, and induction safe

Cons

  • Only moderate at heating evenly

  • Difficult to clean

Product image of All-Clad BD55112 D5 5-Ply Bonded Fry Pan, 12 inch
All-Clad D5 Stainless Brushed 5-Ply Bonded Fry Pan
Editor's Note:
All-Clad’s D3, D5, and LTD Cookware is involved in a lawsuit that alleges the brand advertised the cookware as being “dishwasher safe,” but, when cleaned in the dishwasher, it developed sharp edges along the rim in several cases. All-Clad and Groupe SEB deny these allegations, but we recommend hand-washing this cookware.

The 12-inch All-Clad D5 Stainless Brushed 5-ply Bonded Fry Pan is similar in design to the popular All-Clad D3. However, it has an aluminum core sandwiched between the layers of stainless-steel surfaces which make it heavier and about a ¼ inch less deep. Because of its increased weight, this model heats up more slowly.

In our tests, it seared a steak well but didn’t show a particularly even heat distribution pattern or a hold a steady simmer. When using it you will definitely need to stir regularly. The flared side of the pan makes it easy to toss veggies without a spoon and get around the edge with a whisk or spatula for stirring.

This oven-safe pan includes a handle that stays cool even after long stovetop cooking but a center groove and sharp sides make it uncomfortable to hold.

This isn't the most difficult pan to clean but like most stainless-steel pans, you will have to work on cleaning it to get it looking spotless.

Pros

  • Excellent at searing

  • Handle stays cool

  • Oven safe to 600°F

  • Induction and dishwasher safe

Cons

  • Only moderate at keeping a steady simmer

  • Uncomfortable handle

  • Difficult to clean

Product image of All-Clad 4112 D3 3-Ply Bonded Fry Pan, 12-inch
All-Clad D3 Stainless 3-Ply Bonded Fry Pan

The All-Clad D3 Stainless 3-ply Bonded Fry Pan is one of the best-looking pans out there and continues to perform well. But in our current round of testing, many pans that sell for a lot less bested its cooking performance and gave it a run for the money when it comes to style.

At under 2 pounds, this was the lightest pan we tested and it heated up relatively quickly. However, it had trouble maintaining tomato sauce at a constant simmer and onions needed frequent stirring to caramelize evenly.

All-Clad is safe in the oven up to 600°F. While the handle is evenly balanced and stays cool when used on the stovetop, it's not particularly comfortable to use because of its center groove and sharp sides.

While we have washed this pan safely in the dishwasher many times, we recommend hand-washing. To get off spatters and get it looking shiny, we had to spend some time scrubbing and polishing.

Pros

  • Heats evenly

  • Flared sides for easy tossing

  • Retains heat well

Cons

  • Pricey

What to Know About Buying Stainless-Steel Pans

Four empty stainless steel skillets sit on a kitchen counter.
Credit: Reviewed / Betsey Goldwasser

The simple stainless-still skillet is a kitchen workhorse.

All good stainless-steel cookware, like the pans featured here, have either an aluminum core inside the pan’s heated surface or a disc of aluminum on the bottom to conduct heat. That's because stainless steel is a poor conductor of heat and aluminum is an excellent one.

Cookware with a core is called clad because it has inner layers of aluminum that are encased or clad in stainless steel. On clad pots and pans, the bottom and sides are more or less equally thick and heat is conducted from the bottom up the side. Disc-bottomed pots and pan have thin stainless-steel sides and sometimes, will scorch at the point where the disc meets the side.

Stainless steel is used on the inside and outside of the cookware because it won’t interact with food. In addition, stainless steel makes the cookware less prone to denting, more attractive, and at least in theory, easier to clean.

If you have, or are thinking of buying, an induction range or cooktop, stainless-steel pans are a top choice (although not all stainless works with induction, so double-check before purchasing). However, keep in mind that a pan with a disc bottom will work better than a clad one as the disc’s perfectly flat bottom will make better contact with the glass ceramic surface of the cooktop.

One of stainless steel’s advantages is that it can be used over high heat which makes it great for stir-frying and searing foods like steaks and burgers that you want to develop a dark brown crust. However, if you use oil or cook fatty foods that spatter, over medium to high heat, the oil can stick onto the pan, leaving a dark brown or even black residue that can take a significant amount of elbow grease to remove.

For searing, one of our best cast iron pans is a better choice. If you do choose to brown meats or poultry, don’t use a bigger pan than you need to as the unfilled areas can develop gunky stains that are hard to get off. Plus, heat can lead to a brownish or rainbow-like discoloration on the outside of the pan.

How to Clean a Stainless-Steel pan

Nothing beats Bar Keepers Friend for cleaning messy pans. To remove seemingly impossible-to-get clean spots, make a paste with the cleaner and apply it to the pan surface and let it sit several hours or even overnight.

Almost all high-quality stainless-steel pans have stainless steel handles that are attached with rivets, which keep the handles firmly in place. However, inevitably, residue collects around the rivets and it’s almost impossible to get it off completely.

Although stainless-steel pans can be cleaned in the dishwasher, most manufacturers recommend hand washing as they claim harsh ingredients in dishwasher detergent can leave them with white spots, discoloration, and/or a duller finish. We put all our test pans through a dishwasher cycle and they came out gleaming, although not all burnt-on stains were removed.

Stainless Steel vs. Nonstick Cookware

Stainless steel cookware lasts longer than nonstick, which will eventually lose its nonstick properties and need to be replaced. However, unlike stainless steel, nonstick releases food easily and is very easy to clean.

The best nonstick pans are also a low-cost investment for someone stocking a starter kitchen. When you’re shopping for nonstick cookware, keep in mind that there are two kinds of nonstick coatings.

The first and most widely available types are made with PTFE (Teflon is the brand name for the most popular one); these pans have excellent nonstick properties but can’t be used over high heat. So-called ceramic nonstick finishes aren’t always as non-stick as PTFE coatings but they withstand higher temperatures.

Meet the tester

Sharon Franke

Sharon Franke

Contributor

Sharon has been testing kitchen equipment for the past 30 years. Before becoming a cooking tools maven, she worked as a professional chef in New York City restaurants for seven years.

See all of Sharon Franke's reviews

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