The Best Carbon Steel Pans Can Sear As Well As Cast Iron, but Are Way Lighter

If you haven't considered buying a carbon steel skillet, now is the time: Carbon steel is like a cousin to cast iron and is well worth a place in your kitchen (you'll find them aplenty in the professional culinary world).

Made of a mixture of carbon and iron, these pans are similar to cast iron but are thinner, lighter, and more responsive to changes in temperature. Like cast iron, most carbon steel skillets have to be seasoned before they can fully realize their natural nonstick capabilities (though some are sold as pre-seasoned and it's worth noting that, either way, carbon steel—like cast iron—will never be Teflon-level nonstick). Carbon steel pans can also be used on gas, electric, induction cooktops, or even an open fire if that’s your thing. Another major draw of carbon steel skillets is their durability. These pans can withstand super-high temperatures for hours and transfer seamlessly from stovetop to oven. The only thing carbon steel pans can’t do is handle acidic sauces for long periods, as this will eat away at their seasoning (same as cast iron).

While we go more into the differences between carbon steel and cast iron pans here, the main takeaway is that carbon steel pans have sloped, flared sides, which makes them better suited to sautéing ("If you want to launch something skyward, you need to send it off a sloping ramp, not crash it into a wall," as editorial director Daniel Gritzer explained). On the other hand, cast iron has straight, vertical sides, making it ideal for shallow-frying and baking things like cornbread and pan pizza To find the best carbon steel pans, we tested 15 popular skillets at various price points.

The Winners, at a Glance

The Best Carbon Steel Pan

Mauviel M'Steel Black Carbon Natural Nonstick Frying Pan With Iron Handle

$95 at Amazon View on Mauviel-usa.com

Once this pan was thoroughly seasoned, it passed our tests with flying colors. The wide, open surface area easily accommodated a good amount of vegetables and made a perfect tarte tatin. 

Another Great Carbon Steel Pan

Vollrath French Style Carbon Steel Fry Pan, 12.5"

$56 at Amazon View on Webstaurant Store

Lighter than the Mauviel (and almost half the price), Vollrath carbon steel pans are often the go-to choice for professional chefs and restaurants, and for good reason. In our tests, we found the Vollrath heated up fast and distributed heat evenly.

The Best Budget Carbon Steel Pan

OXO Obsidian Pre-Seasoned Carbon Steel, 10" Frying Pan

$50 at Amazon $50 at Home Depot View on Perigold.com

This affordable carbon steel skillet was easy to maneuver and it was incredibly nonstick out of the box, making it a great choice for folks who are new to carbon steel.

The Tests

• Seasoning (Pre-Test): Before we began testing, we first seasoned the skillets that came unseasoned. This involved heating the pans over high heat and applying oil. As the oil becomes hot, it undergoes a process known as polymerization, which creates a nonstick “seasoning” or coating. Read more on this process here.
• Over-Easy Egg Test: After completely seasoning all of the unseasoned pans, we heated each pan for one minute and added an even layer of neutral cooking oil. Then, we cracked two large eggs into each pan. After two minutes, we flipped the eggs and let them cook for another 10 seconds. 
• Crepe Test: To examine heat distribution, we made a few batches of our classic crepe recipe. We heated each pan for two minutes, then added a bit of neutral oil and wiped out the excess with a paper towel. We then added 1/4 cup of batter to the center and immediately swirled the pan to try to get the batter as thin as possible and cover as much surface area as we could. Once the top began to look dry, we flipped the crepe with a spatula and observed if it was cooked evenly and if it stuck to the pan. 
• Seared Chicken Test (Winners-Only): We coated each pan in a thin, even layer of cooking oil and seared a single, six-ounce boneless, skinless chicken breast (cut in half horizontally). We heated the pan for exactly two minutes before adding the chicken and cooking each breast for four minutes per side. We evaluated the chicken to determine how evenly it cooked and if it stuck and examined browning.
• Sautéed Broccoli Test (Winners-Only): We heated each winning pan over medium heat for two minutes, then added two tablespoons of cooking oil and cooked two cups of broccoli florets to determine how easy (or difficult) it was to stir with a wooden spoon, as well as to flip the broccoli by shaking the pan.
• Onion Tarte Tatin Test (Winners-Only): To truly determine how nonstick the surface could become, we tested each pan with our onion tarte tatin recipe. Once the pastry was done, we flipped it out to evaluate the end result.
• Usability and Cleanup Tests: During each test, we considered how comfortable the pan was to grip and move, if we were able to easily maneuver a spatula into the pan, and how easy the pan was to clean.

What We Learned

The Pros and Cons of Carbon Steel

The pros of carbon steel include responsiveness to temperature changes, a lightweight and easy-to-handle design, a seasoning that improves with use, and durability—not unlike a well-seasoned carbon steel wok. A good carbon steel skillet is one of those long-lasting kitchen tools that will remain useful for years.

The main downside to carbon steel skillets is the initial process of seasoning, which can seem overwhelming and time-consuming (although, really, it's not hard!). If a little rust appears on your carbon steel skillet, don’t panic! Simply buff away the rust with a dry sponge and repeat the seasoning process. The rust will disappear like magic.

Thorough Seasoning Took Time

Even after completely seasoning each of the unseasoned pans, none of them were able to cook over-easy eggs without sticking. This isn’t exactly unexpected, and seasoning will continue to build up over time. The first couple of things you cook in the pan should ideally be something fatty (i.e. pan-frying, searing steaks). Every time you cook with fat, you'll add seasoning This is true for cast iron, too.

After we finished testing, we tried cooking more over-easy eggs in our winning pans and were pleased to see much better results in the form of perfectly cooked eggs with no sticking.

Lighter Was Better

We preferred pans on the lighter side, which allowed them to heat up faster. They were also easier to move in and out of the oven and swirl crepe batter around.

A lightweight pan is also the secret of the bit of culinary magic, where one uses a flick of the wrist to send vegetables careening up the edge of the pan and back onto themselves. If the pan is too heavy, it becomes impossible to sauté with one hand. Some pans were so heavy, that they required two hands to lift, which would make tasks like sautéing vegetables and swirling batter pretty tough. In general, we found that pans under three pounds and three ounces were the easiest to lift, even when full of food.

Pre-Seasoned Pans Were a Welcome Convenience

Almost all of the pre-seasoned pans produced perfect over-easy eggs and delightfully thin crepes that were released without issue (with the exception of the Made In, which probably needed more seasoning despite its “pre-seasoned” claim). 

When it came to making the crepes, some of the pre-seasoned pans were almost too nonstick—you need a certain amount of batter to stick to the center so you can swirl the excess batter to the edges of the pan. But while this was a flaw for some pans in crepe testing, we don’t think it’s a dealbreaker overall.

So, while we ultimately still prefer building seasoning up ourselves (as the long-term durability of manufacturers' coatings is unknown), we do think a pre-seasoned carbon steel skillet, like the OXO, is a worthwhile convenience for those intimidated by seasoning the cookware.

Medium Length Handles with Rounded Edges Were Preferable

Most carbon steel pans have very similar handles—often an angled, one-inch-wide bar of steel—which you can grip with a kitchen towel or oven mitt when maneuvering the pan. We preferred handles with rounded edges over ones with sharp, right angles in terms of comfort. The length can vary, but a good middle ground is between seven and nine inches long. Too short and your hand ends up too close to the flame and too long and it becomes awkward to handle. 

Should You Buy a Carbon Steel or Cast Iron Pan?

Can we say both? Both options are durable, have fantastic heat retention, and, with proper seasoning, can be virtually nonstick. The differences are few, but cast iron is heavier. While we have lightweight picks in our cast iron skillet review, the lightest from Lancaster is still a pound heavier than the Mauviel carbon steel pan. As such, carbon steel pans make it easy to toss your food like a chef.

Carbon steel is also a bit more nonstick than most cast iron pans. As Daniel wrote in this piece, "It's stamped or spun from sheets of metal, not cast like cast iron, which gives it a smooth surface similar to vintage cast iron. This also means that a perfectly seasoned carbon steel pan will have better nonstick properties than a perfectly seasoned modern cast iron pan." So, in the end, if you want a lighter pan that's a bit more nonstick once seasoned, a carbon steel pan's got your back. That said, having one of each isn't a bad idea.

The Criteria: What to Look for in a Carbon Steel Pan

First, choose whether you want pre-seasoned or unseasoned carbon steel. The differences between unseasoned carbon steel and pre-seasoned carbon steel are vast. Pre-seasoned pans should be completely nonstick right out of the box, easily releasing sticky eggs and delicate fish. Unseasoned carbon steel skillets are equal once properly seasoned, and we found little difference between cheap pans and more expensive models.

In either style, a lighter weight is better. It heats up faster and is easier to lift. We preferred pans that were less than three pounds and three ounces. We also liked pans with wide, sloping edges that were at least two inches high. Any shorter, and vegetables went flying when we tried to stir or sauté. 

Our Favorite Carbon Steel Pans

The Best Carbon Steel Pan

Mauviel M'Steel Black Carbon Natural Nonstick Frying Pan With Iron Handle

$95 at Amazon View on Mauviel-usa.com

What we liked: The Mauviel pan did well in all our tests (excluding the initial egg test, but it recovered after gaining some seasoning through use). It has a wide, open surface area that allows for cooking a solid amount of vegetables without crowding. Its rounded-edge handle was comfortable in our hands.

What we didn’t like: This pan was on the heavy side when it came to swirling and flipping. We noted some sticking during the tarte tatin test, but this could have been due to the acidity in the onion filling. 

Key Specs

• Weight: 3 pounds, 3 ounces
• Cooking surface diameter: 8 1/2 inches
• Pre-seasoned: No
• Oven-safe: Yes
• Max oven-safe temperature: 680ºF
• Care: Hand-wash
• Induction compatible: Yes

Another Great Carbon Steel Pan

Vollrath French Style Carbon Steel Fry Pan, 12.5"

$56 at Amazon View on Webstaurant Store

What we liked: This brand is a favorite among restaurant chefs. While this pan doesn’t come with special features or fancy accessories, it is a solid option that performs just as well (if not better) as many of the other pans, at a fraction of the price. It was the lightest pan we tested, and it heated faster and was easier to lift. This pan produced evenly cooked results, including thin, lacy crepes and flaky tarte tatin.

What we didn’t like: The 11-inch model has a handle that’s almost nine inches long, which we found cumbersome.

Key Specs

• Weight: 2 pounds, 6 ounces
• Cooking surface diameter: 7 5/8 inches
• Pre-seasoned: No
• Oven-safe: Yes
• Max oven-safe temperature: 600ºF
• Care: Hand-wash
• Induction compatible: Yes

The Best Budget Carbon Steel Pan

OXO Obsidian Pre-Seasoned Carbon Steel, 10" Frying Pan

$50 at Amazon $50 at Home Depot View on Perigold.com

What we liked: Neither fried eggs nor crepes stuck in this pre-seasoned carbon steel pan, and it was one of the most non-stick options we tested. It was very comfortable to lift and maneuver because, at two pounds, 10 ounces, it was one of the lighter and least expensive skillets tested.

What we didn't like: Because it's lighter, it spins a bit on a glass stovetop.

Key Specs

• Weight: 2 pounds, 10 ounces
• Cooking surface diameter: 8 inches
• Pre-seasoned: Yes
• Oven-safe: Yes
• Max oven-safe temperature: 660ºF
• Care: Hand-wash
• Induction compatible: Yes

The Competition

• Sardel Carbon Steel Skillet: This was one of the only pans where the crepe stuck despite being seasoned exactly the same as all the others. We also found the handle to be extremely uncomfortable—one of the edges was very sharp.
• BelleVie Heavy-duty Carbon Steel Frying Pans Series: The BelleVie is heavy for its small size, and the handle is hard to hold.
• BK Cookware Steel Carbon Steel Fry Pan: This pan performed almost as well as the winners, but the surface was so nonstick that the crepe batter slid all around instead of sticking in the center, resulting in an uneven crepe.
• Tramontina 10 in Carbon Steel Fry Pan: This pan was tricky to get a spatula into, causing us to tear our crepe during flipping.
• Smithey Carbon Steel Farmhouse Skillet: We just could not justify the cost of this skillet, which could neither cook an even crepe nor over easy eggs without sticking.
• Merten & Storck Pre-Seasoned Carbon Steel Pro Induction 10" Frying Pan: While this was a perfectly good pan with a comfortable handle, we had the same issue as the BK—the surface was a bit too nonstick to produce a solid crepe.
• Matfer Bourgeat Black Carbon Steel Fry Pan: We had high hopes for this pan but when it came to the crepe test, it was unable to evenly distribute heat since it’s quite weighty, resulting in a spottily cooked crepe.
• Made In Blue Carbon Steel Frying Pan: This pan did poorly in the initial tests and heated unevenly. Despite coming pre-seasoned, the manufacturer requests that only high-fat foods get cooked initially, so this one may need more time to break in.
• Lodge Carbon Steel Skillet, Pre-Seasoned: The crepe was pale and unevenly cooked, and it tore when we tried to wiggle a spatula underneath.
• Misen Pre-Seasoned 10” Carbon Steel Pan: This pan performed well but not any better than our winning pre-seasoned pan, which is about $35 cheaper. 
• De Buyer Mineral B Pro Carbon Steel Fry Pan: This pricey French pan was too heavy for me to lift with one hand comfortably and needed more seasoning time to get a perfectly nonstick surface that could turn out the onion tarte tatin. 
• Viking Culinary Blue Carbon Steel Nonstick 10” Fry Pan: The pan claims to be pre-seasoned, though the manufacturer requests some seasoning before use anyway. We noticed uneven wear of the patina after just a few uses. It’s more expensive than similarly performing pre-seasoned pans.

FAQs

What can you cook in a carbon steel pan?

A carbon steel skillet can be used for everything from sautéed vegetables to seared meat to baked items like cornbread or fruit crumble. They can shallow-fry, cook fish, and roast a whole chicken, too. The only thing you shouldn’t cook in one is long-simmered, acidic sauces, which can eat away at the seasoning.

How do you clean a carbon steel skillet?

Once the seasoning has built up, cleaning a carbon steel skillet can be as easy as wiping it with a paper towel. A little residual fat or oil in the pan is good and will provide a barrier from rust. If more cleanup is needed, some hot water and a scrub brush should do fine, just make sure to thoroughly dry and oil the pan after to avoid rust. (Tip: After cleaning, place the pan on a burner to evaporate any leftover water, then rub the surface with a little oil.)

What is a pre-seasoned carbon steel skillet? 

A pre-seasoned carbon steel skillet is simply a carbon steel skillet that has had a layer of seasoning applied by the manufacturer. Carbon steel pans can be re-seasoned when necessary, either because the seasoning patina has worn down or the pan has become rusty. In order to re-season your carbon steel pan, you'll need to remove the existing patina fully, and then re-season the pan the way you would when you're first setting it up.

Why does carbon steel change color?

As you use and season carbon steel, it will change color. This is normal! It's called patina (what we mentioned above) and helps to prevent the skillet from rusting and created a nonstick-like surface.

Why We're the Experts

• Taylor Murray has been working in food and food media for over 10 years, including in award-winning restaurants. 
• She has tested numerous items for Serious Eats, like tagines and deep-dish pizza pans.
• For this review, Taylor tested 15 carbon steel skillets. We used them to cook eggs, crepes, chicken, onion tarte tatin, and more. We also evaluated how easy they were to handle and season.
• We recently re-tested our winning pans, as well as a few new contenders from Misen, De Buyer, and Viking. After putting them through their paces, we stand by our original recommendations. We did not award any new pans a spot on the winners list.