We Tested 27 Stainless Steel Skillets—4 Were Sear-iously Good

A stainless steel skillet is an essential tool for sautéing. Its curved sides and relatively light weight make it easy to stir and toss ingredients for rapid, even cooking—and it does a bang-up job roasting smaller portions of vegetables, fish, and meat, including steaks, chops, and chicken breasts. In a larger 12-inch skillet, you can even roast a whole bird. A stainless steel skillet is also nearly indestructible, with a nonreactive outer layer that’s perfectly suited for building pan sauces, no matter their acidity (not something you could say for reactive cast iron, carbon steel, or aluminum). 

To find the best stainless steel skillets, we tested 27 of them. Our top picks perform beautifully and are comfortable to hold and sauté with. One of our favorites is even under $50.

The Winners, at a Glance

The Best Stainless Steel Skillet

Made In 12-Inch Stainless Steel Skillet

$139 at Amazon $129 at Made In Cookware

Made-In's skillet heated evenly and was heat-responsive, searing chicken breasts beautifully. Its handle had curved edges and the pan was comfortable to hold and toss with during our sautéing tests.

A Great Stainless Steel Skillet You Know Will Last

All-Clad D3 Stainless-Steel 12-Inch Fry Pan

$130 at Amazon $100 at Williams Sonoma $170 at Walmart

The All-Clad was neck-in-neck with the Made In. It heated up evenly, seared beautifully, and is a super responsive pan that'll last a long, long time. Unlike the Made In, the All-Clad comes with a lid.

The Best Budget Stainless Steel Skillet

Tramontina 12-Inch Stainless Steel Skillet

$70 $35 at Amazon $36 at Home Depot

While the Tramontina has a smaller cooking surface, it’s still a strong performer—especially for its very reasonable price tag. We found it well-balanced and its handle comfortable to hold.

The Best Splurge Stainless Steel Skillet

Le Creuset 12 Inch Large Tri-Ply Stainless Steel Fry Pan

$190 at Amazon

This skillet is pleasantly weighty but still light enough to easily maneuver for tossing and flipping food. It crisped up salmon skin well and brought water to a boil in under two minutes, signaling its responsiveness.

The Tests

• Heat Responsiveness Test: We filled each skillet with one cup of room temperature water, then timed how long it took for the water to come to a boil (212°F), using an instant-read thermometer for accuracy. We then timed how long it took the water to return to room temperature.
• Crepe Test: To see how evenly the skillets cooked finicky food, we made crepes in each pan. 
• Searing and Pan-Roasting Tests: We seared salmon fillets, cooking the fish skin-side down and then flipping to evaluate browning and sticking. We also pan-roasted skin-on, boneless chicken breasts. 
• Tossing and Sautéing Tests: To evaluate how nimble the pans were in hand, we poured a cup of uncooked rice into each skillet and shook, flicked, and tossed it. We also sautéed snow peas and mushrooms, stirring and tossing all the while.
• Usability and Cleanup Tests: Throughout testing, we evaluated how comfortable the pans’ handles were, how the skillets’ weights impacted their usability, and how easy they were to clean. We also had cooks of various heights evaluate the design of each skillet.

What We Learned

Why Heat Responsiveness and Conductivity Were Important

Responsiveness is not the same thing as conductivity, though it is related. Steel, for example, is a poorly conductive metal. But if you make a wok out of a very thin layer of steel, it'll be responsive even if it doesn't conduct heat well. That thin wall of metal will heat up or cool down quickly, simply because it's thin. (In short, it’s responsive.) 

We wanted skillets that were decently responsive when sautéing or making pan sauce—it's no fun having a sauce break because the pan doesn't cool down fast enough once off the burner—but were still able to retain enough heat that they could be used to sear a steak effectively.

Our water boiling test helped illustrate how responsive the stainless steel skillets were. All of our favorites boiled water in about two minutes and cooled down in around the same time. That being said, most of the pans performed similarly in this test.

Which Stainless Steel Skillets Cooked Food Evenly? 

Throughout our cooking tests—crepes, salmon, chicken—the performance differences were minor. The skillets heated evenly, with crepes cooking up consistently dappled and brown, salmon skin crisping evenly, and chicken emerging from the oven burnished and beautiful. 

Since performance and heat responsiveness and conductivity were similar, we relied heavily on user experience to differentiate between the winning and losing skillets. 

Different Cooks Found Different Pans Easier to Use

During our testing, some skillets were perceived as lighter than they actually were. While the heaviest and lightest pans were recognized as such, there were several instances in which users complained of a pan being heavy despite its relatively light weight. This has to do with the pan's build and the user's body: Depending on handle length and shape, and the height and strength of the cook (as well as where along the length of the handle the cook grasps), two pans of the same weight can seem heavier or lighter. This being said, pans that were overtly on either end of the spectrum were not winners.

Handle length, design, and placement also impacted user experience. Shorter people disliked handles that arced up gracefully from the pan—those handles were too high to pick up comfortably. Tall folks often liked those arching handles. Opinions diverged on how easy or hard it was to toss food in the various skillets as well. Opinions about handle ridges (like those on the All-Clad) were divided, too. Some felt that ridges added leverage and prevented the skillet from rolling in their hands, while others noted that they bit into their palms. 

What Size Stainless Steel Skillet Should You Get? 

Stainless steel skillets typically come in two sizes: 10 and 12 inches. If you cook regularly and have the space (and budget) for both, go for it. The smaller size is perfect for sautéing small batches of veggies and searing one or two portions of protein, but you can’t beat the larger 12-inch for bigger format recipes.

How Much Should You Spend on a Stainless Skillet Skillet?

Oof—what a question! And a personal one at that. What we can tell you is that we didn’t find performance differences between, say, the Made In or All-Clad and pans that cost a couple of hundred bucks more that warranted spending up. For that reason, our favorite skillets are all well under $200.

How to Clean and Care for a Stainless Steel Pan

You can wash stainless steel with soap and a sponge and call it a day. Some skillets are even dishwasher-safe, though we think it's best to hand-wash for longevity. So overall, they’re pretty low-maintenance. That said, stainless steel is prone to cosmetic staining that requires a smidge of effort to get out. We like using Barkeepers Friend or a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser to help remove stains—they usually do the job well.

The Criteria: What to Look for in a Stainless Steel Skillet

As our testing showed, the best stainless steel skillet is highly subjective. Our favorite pans were the ones most universally liked. Of course, they featured good heat responsiveness and conductivity, excellent performance, and a middle-of-the-road weight that we hope most cooks will find easy to handle.

In a way, the ideal stainless steel skillet should split the difference between a highly responsive wok (excellent for sautéing and stir-frying small amounts of food, but awful for searing large cuts of meat) and the heat retention of a cast iron skillet (great for searing those steaks, but pretty cumbersome for cooking a stir-fry). Simply put, it should solidly perform a variety of cooking tasks.

Our Favorite Stainless Steel Skillets

The Best Stainless Steel Skillet

Made In 12-Inch Stainless Steel Skillet

$139 at Amazon $129 at Made In Cookware

What we liked: Made In's skillet performed exceptionally in all our tests. It conducted heat well, producing an evenly browned crepe; it heated and cooled down water in a similar time as the other skillets; and it aced our cooking tests. Its handle was comfortable to hold, with a rounded, ergonomic grip.

What we didn't like: It doesn't come with a lid, but Made In sells a universal option separately. However, if you have a collection of lids already, you're likely to have one in your cabinet that will fit well enough in a pinch.

Key Specs

• Induction-compatible: Yes
• Oven-safe temperature: Up to 800°F
• Material: 18/10 stainless steel; 430 stainless steel
• Weight: 3 pounds
• Warranty: 1-year (Made In also offers a 45-day trial period)
• Dishwasher-safe: Yes, but hand-washing is recommended

A Great Stainless Steel Skillet You Know Will Last

All-Clad D3 Stainless-Steel 12-Inch Fry Pan

$130 at Amazon $100 at Williams Sonoma $170 at Walmart

What we liked: A longtime Serious Eats favorite, this is a responsive pan that'll give steaks, fish, poultry, and even cauliflower slabs a beautiful golden crust. It's also durable as heck. Serious Eats senior editor Grace Kelly has been using hers for about five years without any warping or damage. Plus, the All-Clad is a few ounces lighter than our other top picks—it's not much, but it did make it easy to swirl oil and butter without straining our wrists. It comes with a lid, too.

What we didn't like: The handle has an indent in the center that some don't mind but others strongly dislike.

Key Specs

• Induction-compatible: Yes
• Oven-safe temperature: Up to 600°F
• Material: 18/10 stainless steel
• Weight: 2 pounds, 13 ounces
• Warranty: Limited lifetime
• Dishwasher-safe: Yes
  

The Best Budget Stainless Steel Skillet

Tramontina 12-Inch Stainless Steel Skillet

$70 $35 at Amazon $36 at Home Depot

What we liked: Tramontina has long been one of our preferred brands for more affordably priced cookware, and this pan held up to that reputation.

Overall, the skillet performed well in all its tests—heating evenly, responding to temperature changes quickly, and cooking salmon and chicken without trouble. It seared the chicken to an evenly golden hue and sautéed vegetables nicely. It works on induction cooktops as well.

What we didn't like: The sides slope up a little too gradually, reducing the usable cooking area.

Key Specs

• Induction-compatible: Yes
• Oven-safe temperature: Up to 500°F
• Material: 18/10 stainless steel; aluminum core; magnetic stainless steel
• Weight: 3 pounds
• Warranty: Lifetime
• Dishwasher-safe: Yes

The Best Splurge Stainless Steel Skillet

Le Creuset 12 Inch Large Tri-Ply Stainless Steel Fry Pan

$190 at Amazon

What we liked: At four pounds, this is the heaviest of our winners. Some cooks liked this weight and found it easy to maneuver even when flipping and tossing. Others found it too weighty: You may feel either way. Like with our winners, the Le Creuset offers great performance and responsiveness without hot spots. Its curved, gently arching handle was comfortable to hold, too. 

What we didn’t like: This is the priciest of our winners. The pan’s weight may be an issue for some.

Key Specs

• Induction-compatible: Yes
• Oven-safe temperature: Up to 500°F
• Material: Tri-ply stainless steel; aluminum core
• Weight: 4 pounds
• Warranty: Lifetime
• Dishwasher-safe: Yes

The Competition

Other Skillets Worth Considering 

• All-Clad D5 Brushed Stainless Steel Fry Pan: This is a more expensive five-ply model, but we didn't see enough difference in performance from the D3 to warrant paying more. However, if you want it and/or it's on sale, go for it.
• Hestan's ProBond Professional Clad Stainless Steel Skillet: This skillet isn't quite as pricey as its NanoBond sibling, but it's still a very attractive and graceful pan that performs very well (and also boasts those nice flat inner rivets). Still, its price places it beyond our top picks without enough of an obvious performance difference to make the cut.
• Hestan's NanoBond Titanium Skillet: This has a dark, obsidian-like finish that makes it seem like a frying pan from the future or maybe from Darth Vader's kitchen. It's a beautiful pan that performed well in our tests and was easy to clean, thanks to its fancy coating and flat interior rivets. But its seriously steep price made it hard to recommend, given that far less expensive skillets performed as well as it did.
• Kitchenaid's 12-Inch Tri-Ply Stainless-Steel Skillet: This model remained in the running right to the very end, but it ultimately felt just a little too heavy compared to the winners.
• Viking Professional 5-Ply 12-Inch Fry Pan: This didn't make the cut because of its steep price. Still, it was a solid performer.
• Goldilocks Stainless Steel Fry Pan: This is a solid skillet at an affordable price. It's held up in our long-term testing without any warping or damage.

Not Recommended

• Brandless Stainless Steel Fry Pan: This pan’s handle was too wide.
• Breville's Thermal Pro Stainless Steel Frying Pan: This was by far the heaviest and least responsive of the bunch; we wouldn't want to sauté in it given that.
• Cooks Standard Multi-Ply Clad Stainless Steel Frying Pan: This skillet felt heavy and showed a less-even heating pattern.
• Cuisinart's MCP22 MultiClad Pro Skillet With Helper and Cover: This model was too heavy.
• Cuisinart's MCU22 MultiClad Unlimited Dishwasher Safe 12-Inch Skillet With Helper Handle: This would have been our top affordable pick, but it was discontinued.
• Demeyere 5-Plus Stainless Steel Fry Pan: This pan was pricey, and is also now discontinued.
• Great Jones' Deep Cut: This performed well and has a cool design, but it has slightly higher and steeper walls than we like in a frying pan. It's also only available in the 10-inch size.
• Ikea's Sensuell Frying Pan: This pan felt too heavy for its 11-inch size.
• Misen Stainless Skillet: This was another near-miss on making the top-pick slot. It's reasonably priced, solid, and aced all its performance tests. However, it felt noticeably heavier than our favorites.
• OXO Good Grips Tri-Ply Stainless Steel Frying Pan: This pan was too heavy.
• Viking Contemporary 10-Inch Fry Pan: Another good skillet, it just narrowly missed the top slot. A few too many testers complained about the ergonomics of its more dramatically arched handle. It appears to be discontinued.
• Williams Sonoma Signature Thermo-Clad Stainless-Steel Fry Pan: This is actually made by Hestan and sports many of Hestan's other appealing design features. The higher price just didn’t justify it being a winner.
• American Kitchen Premium Stainless Steel Skillet: This item has been discontinued.
• Calphalon Tri-Ply Stainless Steel Skillet: This item has been discontinued.
• OXO Mira Series Tri-Ply Stainless Steel Fry Pan: This pan had steep walls that cut down too much on the available cooking surface. 
• Martha by Martha Stewart Stainless Steel Tri-Ply Fry Pan: This pan had a noticeable hot spot in the middle that led to uneven cooking. It appears to be discontinued. 
• Cuisinart Chef’s Classic Stainless Skillet: This pan had hot spots along the edges, eliminating it from contention.

FAQs

What can you cook in a stainless steel skillet? 

So much! Because they are decent conductors of heat and relatively responsive, stainless steel skillets are great for the two “stovetop S’s”: searing and sautéing. But their solid construction also makes them a good fit for roasting in the oven. However, because of their relatively shallow depth, it’s best to avoid cooking tasks that require a large amount of liquid, like braising.

What is a fully clad skillet? 

“Fully clad” means that the internal core of the pan—the part that conducts heat—covers not just the bottom, but the sides, too. You’ll pay more for fully clad pans, but they’re worth it. If your stainless steel skillets easily scorch around the edges, there’s a good chance they’re not fully clad.

Do stainless steel skillets warp? 

The better the cladding, the less likely a skillet is to warp. Additionally, five-ply or seven-ply is less likely to warp than three-ply, simply because it is thicker. 

Why are stainless steel skillets useful for sauce? 

If you’re making a large batch of, say, béchamel sauce, you’re going to want a saucepan. But for quick and easy pan sauces, made from pan drippings and a deglazing agent, nothing beats the stainless steel skillet. Unlike other materials (aluminum, bare cast iron), stainless steel is nonreactive. Acidic ingredients, like tomato paste or wine, won’t react with the pan, which can alter the flavor. Obviously, the fact that it all comes together in the same pan your dinner cooked in is a big part of the allure.

Why does food stick in a stainless steel pan? 

Stainless steel is porous on a microscopic level, and as the pan starts to heat up, the metal expands and the pores begin to shrink—these closing pores tend to grab onto food and cause it to stick. Proteins can also create chemical bonds with heating metal, which is why meat and eggs stick more than vegetables.

Why We’re the Experts

• Daniel Gritzer is the editorial director of Serious Eats and has worked for the site since 2014. He's a previous restaurant cook, has worked on organic farms, and is responsible for many of your favorite recipes on this very site. He's written a lot of equipment-related content for Serious Eats, including reviews of coffee grinders and cast iron skillets.
• Riddley Gemperlein-Schirm is the associate editorial director of Serious Eats. She’s been with the site since 2021 and previously worked for America’s Test Kitchen, Food52, and more. She’s been testing kitchen gear professionally for more than six years. 
• For this review, we tested 27 stainless steel skillets. We evaluated factors like heat conduction and whether they were easy to hold and toss food with. We had numerous people (of varying sizes and cooking abilities) test the skillets.