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The 2 best stainless steel pans for 2024, tested and reviewed
These top pans from Made In and Tramontina impressed us with their durability, heat retention and more.
While a stainless steel skillet is excellent for searing proteins, frying eggs, caramelizing onions and more, for many home cooks these pans are daunting to use. You may be worried about food sticking to the surface or being able to truly get these pans clean, yet professional chefs rely on them for everything. A good stainless steel pan is practically indestructible — it's nonreactive so it won't change the flavor or color of acidic foods, it withstands high heat, it heats evenly, it goes from stovetop to oven and it can last for decades. To bring you the best stainless steel pans for 2024, from budget to high-end, I put some of the most popular skillets on the market to the test.
Table of contents
As a busy mom of two and a graduate of the French Culinary Institute with years of experience working in restaurants and writing about food and cooking, I understand why some people may have a tough time with stainless steel pans. The trick to using one like a pro lies in preheating the pan properly, which I promise I'll explain later.
To come up with my testing pool, I looked for top-rated stainless steel skillets across varying price ranges and came up with seven well-regarded picks through their paces. I considered how easy the pans were to integrate into daily meal prep, weighing factors like how heavy and balanced they were, how the handles felt and how difficult it was to clean them. Scroll down for a look at our picks for 2024, plus tips on selecting the best stainless steel pan for your needs and how to care for it.
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Best stainless steel pan overall
Sizes: 8-inch, 10-inch, 12-inch | Material: 5-ply clad stainless steel | Oven safe: Yes, up to 800°F | Dishwasher safe: Yes | Induction: Compatible | Warranty: Limited lifetime
There wasn't much not to like about the Made In Stainless Steel Pan! At 2.25 pounds, it maneuvered well from the range to the oven and felt balanced while I seared chicken thighs, sautéed onions and deglazed the pan. I also really enjoyed the handle (which isn't something I had thought much about prior to this round of testing) because it stayed cool on the stove.
This pan is made from 5-ply clad stainless steel, and if you're wondering what that means, that's totally fair. Most stainless steel pans are constructed of layers of metal bonded together; "clad" refers to the process of layering the metals, so 5-ply means five layers. Because stainless steel is not the best conductor of heat on its own, it's usually layered with aluminum (as it is with this pan) or copper for improved heat distribution/retention and durability. This helps the pan produce a deep golden-brown sear on proteins like chicken or steak and ensures it will perform at high temperatures. All of this translates to an exceptional skillet that you will be able to rely on for years.
This pan is oven-safe up to 800°F, which is a very high temperature that a home oven can't even reach, but it means that the pan holds up under the broiler. While the brand says the pan is dishwasher-safe, it recommends you hand wash and dry it, and so do I. You may need to use some elbow grease when scrubbing burned bits or browned oil or butter, but this pan will come clean. If you want some pointers, check out Made In's video on cleaning stainless steel cookware.
As far as the price, I admit that $119 is up there for a single piece of cookware, though I see this pan on sale for $100 quite often. What I can say is that this 5-ply clad pan is essentially restaurant-quality in terms of heat retention, durability and performance, and I think it's worth it.
- Comfortable to maneuver
- Heats evenly
- Cleans easily
- Pricey
Another top stainless steel pan we recommend
Sizes: 8-inch, 10-inch, 12-inch | Material: 3-ply clad stainless steel | Oven safe: Yes, up to 500°F | Dishwasher safe: Yes | Induction: Compatible | Warranty: Lifetime
After testing the Tramontina nonstick pan and loving it, I had high hopes for the company's stainless steel skillet and was duly impressed with its performance. The skillet is about average weight at 2.5 pounds and its cooking surface is the same diameter as the Made In pan. When I seared skin-on chicken thighs, I was pleased with the browning, but saw some slightly too-brown mottling, which signals mild hot spots. The pan retained heat very well, and I ended up turning down the flame because of that. The onions I sautéed came out evenly and didn’t show signs of hot spots, so you might need to watch certain foods more carefully than others.
For roughly $30 (the retail price is $60, but this pan always seems to be on sale), you can't beat the quality. It features 3-ply clad construction, as opposed to the 5-ply clad construction of the Made In skillet, so there are fewer layers of metal — but it's still a solid budget choice as far stainless steel pans go.
It's oven-safe up to 500°F, which means you should still be able to zap it under the broiler for a minute or two when you want extra browning on top of food. Though the brand says the pan is dishwasher-safe, we always recommend handwashing cookware for a longer lifespan. I found that the cooking surface on this Tramontina pan showed some discoloration and marks (see photo above) right away, but that won't affect its performance.
- Sturdy, well-designed handle
- Excellent heat retention
- Affordable
- Cooking surface shows wear and tear
What to look for when shopping for stainless steel pans
I evaluated each skillet for its value in material, performance and comfort/balance. Here are more details on what factors to keep in mind:
Materials: The best stainless steel pans are 3-ply or 5-ply clad pans, meaning they fuse layers of aluminum between high-grade stainless steel to create a durable, nonreactive pan with excellent heat retention and distribution.
Size: When choosing a stainless steel skillet, consider your daily needs. If you cook for two, you may not need a skillet larger than 10 inches, but if you cook for four or more people, a 12-inch stainless steel pan is a must.
Maneuverability/weight: When it comes to ease of use, it's mostly a matter of personal preference. You may prefer a slightly lighter pan (about 2 pounds) or one with more heft (3 pounds or heavier). You may also find a certain handle design works better for you — for example, a chunkier handle that arches may appeal to a taller person. If you need to use two hands when transferring a 10-inch pan to the oven, it's probably too heavy for you.
Maintenance: Many stainless steel pans are designated as dishwasher-safe. We recommend sticking to handwashing pans to preserve their finish — though we acknowledge that will require some elbow grease. Always let pans cool completely to avoid warping from the shock of water on a hot pan. Start with warm soapy water and a sponge and see how clean the pan gets. For more suggestions, see below.
How we tested
I tested the maneuverability and comfort, ease of cleaning and how each piece performs on the stovetop and in the oven. I used the skillets to cook crispy-skin chicken thighs and caramelized onions, then I deglazed the pan with a few spoonfuls of vegetable broth and/or water to loosen the brown bits, which add flavor to whatever you're cooking. I monitored how long it took the pans to heat up, if there were hot spots, if the pan felt too heavy or too light (or simply unbalanced) and if the handles stayed cool or got hot. I noted if food stuck to the cooking surface or left stains and how much work it took to clean the pans.
Other stainless steel skillets we tested
Misen Stainless Steel Skillet, 10-Inch ($89): This is one of the heavier pans I tested, weighing in at 3 pounds. It has a larger cooking surface than some of the others, making it ideal for cooking four pieces of chicken or two steaks, and is oven-safe up to 800°F. The handle is rounded and a bit chunky, as opposed to flat, feels smooth and features a hole at the end for hanging on a pot rack. It seared chicken to a crisp brown but felt somewhat heavy for my petite 5" tall frame to maneuver very well. It can be bought in 8- and 12-inch sizes, too.
All-Clad D3 Stainless Steel Fry Pan, 10-Inch ($100): Many consider All-Clad to be the gold standard when it comes to durable stainless steel cookware. This pan performed well and is also available in 8- and 12-inch sizes. It weighs 2.5 pounds, which was average in this testing pool and doable in terms of maneuverability. It has a generous cooking surface and I didn't detect any hot spots when sauteeing onions or cooking the chicken thighs. My biggest gripe with the All-Clad skillet is that it's fairly tough to clean when there's burned, sticky grease — and that's bound to happen when cooking fattier proteins.
Ninja EverClad Stainless Steel Tri-Ply Pan, 10.25-Inch ($60): When I tested the best cookware sets earlier this year, I praised Ninja for its easy-to-clean nonstick pots and pans. This stainless steel skillet was harder to clean than its nonstick counterpart, but still one of the easiest of the bunch. At nearly 3.5 pounds, this was the heaviest pan I tested — unfortunately, it was too heavy for me to consider for the best budget pan as I needed two hands to move it from the stove to the oven. But I was able to achieve a beautifully seared chicken thigh. This pan is also available in a 12-inch size.
Goldilocks 10-Inch Medium Skillet ($45): If you're in the market for your first-ever stainless steel pan, this Goldilocks option just might be the one. I had never used Goldilocks cookware (it's a newer direct-to-consumer brand) but was intrigued by the 3-ply stainless steel construction, no-frills look and very reasonable price point. It's a middleweight contender at just over 2.5 pounds, is oven-safe up to 550°F and features a generous cooking surface. I found the heat distribution to be pretty even, though with a few minor hot spots. I wished it were a touch lighter (like the Tramontina) and I'm curious to see how this pan fairs in the long term.
Amazon Basics 2-Piece Riveted Frying Pan, 8-Inch and 10-Inch ($43): This is a set of two pans for less than the price of any other pan I tested, so I was skeptical. The main difference between these pans and the others is that they are lighter and not fully clad. I prefer a lighter pan, so that was a plus! The 10-inch pan was easy to maneuver on the range and into and out of the oven, but it showed discoloration on the inside and outside after the first use. I'd love to see if it has the longevity of a fully-clad pan.
Stainless steel skillet FAQs
What is the best way to clean stainless steel pans?
Even if a brand says a pan is dishwasher-safe, you should use warm soapy water and a scratch-resistant sponge to clean it as you will increase the lifespan of the pan as opposed to exposing it to harsh detergents that may not be able to release burned bits of food. If more elbow grease is required, consult the brand's instructions for deeper cleaning. Some recommend the help of a product such as Bar Keepers Friend to tackle really tough stains.
Are stainless steel skillets oven-safe?
Most stainless steel pans are oven-safe, but check for any plastic or wooden parts on handles or lids and review the manufacturer's materials for specific temperatures before using them in an oven.
Are stainless steel pans nonstick?
They're not, but with proper preheating and use of cooking oil or fat, you should have minimal issues with food sticking. This video made by Misen explains the preheating technique clearly. The key is to heat your pan enough so that when you spill a few drops of water on it forms one large bead that moves around the skillet, not sputtering and not lots of sizzling drops, before you add cooking oil. Wipe the water with a towel and then add cooking oil. When the oil shimmers (looks wavy and glides quickly over the surface), it's ready for food and nonstick cooking!
We received complimentary samples of some products and purchased others ourselves, but we reviewed all products using the same objective criteria.
