A 12-inch nonstick skillet is the most versatile, and this is our overall favorite model. The cooking surface was slick, both when new and after extensive use, and food never stuck. It’s one of the lightest models we tested, so it was easy to lift and maneuver, but it was also sturdy and resisted denting. All of our testers liked its wide, comfortable handle. Like every other model, its surface became scratched when we used a knife as if to cut a frittata, but it otherwise held up well.
Nonstick: The Easiest Cookware to Use
With so many options for nonstick equipment on the market, how can you tell a great nonstick pan from its inferior competitors? We’ve done the work for you.
One of only three pans to pass our test of nonstick coating durability, this pan arrived slick and remained so throughout cooking and abuse tests. It also has a broad cooking surface, gently sloped walls, and a comfortable handle. Because it runs a little hotter than our favorite regular nonstick skillet, you may need to adjust the heat level or cooking time when following recipes. It became scratched when we cut in it.
Heavy, solid, and priced right, this pan is a hybrid—part plain saucepan and part classic saucier—just as the name, shallow shape, and generous diameter suggest. Sauté pace was a little slow, though easy to control, and caramel nearly jumped out of the pan.
The textured surface of this PTFE-free nonstick pan impressed us by producing evenly baked cookies, and its standard size ensured that there was enough space for Parmesan cauliflower to brown nicely. Sticky caramel was no match for the nonstick coating; the caramel-coated popcorn slid off the pan easily. This pan was easy to hand-wash because its coating prevented food from sticking.
This gold-colored, textured baking sheet produced picture-perfect results. Cauliflower browned evenly, and cookies were a beautiful golden-brown hue. Even very sticky caramel-coated popcorn released easily from the surface. Because we recommend washing all nonstick cookware by hand to preserve the coatings, we didn’t mind that this sheet is not dishwasher-safe. The nonstick coating contains PTFE.
Everything we baked on this textured, golden-colored pan baked evenly, especially cookies. Its performance was nearly identical to that of our other two favorite models. This pan’s coating, a ceramic reinforced PTFE, easily released all the sticky food we cooked on it. Lastly, the standard size of this baking sheet means that food has enough room to spread out while cooking.
The thick, woven braid design on this Bundt pan made a beautiful cake that was evenly browned, with a tender and moist crumb. When we inverted the cake, it released easily from the pan. While the pan doesn’t have handles, it was still relatively simple to move in and out of the oven.
This pan's rounded corners created baked goods with rounded edges that lacked the polish and refinement of foods baked in higher-ranking pans. The trade-off is that it's much easier to clean. The raised bumps at the bottom of the pan deflected and concealed knife marks, though the inside walls still scratched slightly.
This muffin tin perfectly released its baked goods and was a dream to hold and turn. It has an oversize rim (with a lip that curls underneath) running all the way around it, so there was always a broad, secure place to grasp. Its gold finish created the most appealing baked goods, too: evenly, lightly browned and elegantly shaped.
This mini-muffin tin impressed us with baked goods that were perfectly golden brown and more evenly baked than those made in any other tin. The fairly narrow cups hold 2⅓ tablespoons each, which is the perfect size to produce attractive food that is tender yet fully cooked at the center. Food released easily, and the tin was comfortable to maneuver in and out of the oven due to its roomy 1¼-inch exterior rim.
This gold-colored muffin tin produced golden-brown muffins, cupcakes, and frittatas, and each item released from this tin’s nonstick coating with ease. There was plenty of space between each cup, so the muffins and cupcakes baked without running into one another. Plus, a 1-inch-wide rim made the tin easy to grab and maneuver into and out of the oven, even while we were wearing bulky oven mitts.
Solidly built, with light gold nonstick coating, this pan produced tall, fluffy, level cakes that were just a hair less evenly browned than our winner. Layers shaped up perfectly, no matter how the pan was greased. Upside-down cake and pizza released and browned well, but cinnamon buns were too pale. At half the price of our winner, this pan is a great option.
This griddle heated quickly and evenly, consistently searing burgers and speedily cooking dish after dish with ease. Its 1-inch-tall sides kept grease safely contained, and its large cooking surface easily fit eight pancakes at a time. We also liked its upright, sturdy handles, which allowed for effortless maneuvering. Its nonstick coating didn't scratch in our durability tests and always rinsed clean with minimal scrubbing. This griddle is versatile: compatible with induction, electric, and gas cooktops alike.
Our former favorite triumphed again. Made from a resin/fiberglass composite, this fish spatula had a relatively thin, smooth head that was long, narrow, and provided ample room for picking up food. Its straight, moderate-length handle brought our hands close to the action and was fairly comfortable to grip, if a little slicker than we preferred. Just don’t leave it on a hot pan—it melted at 450 degrees.
The most efficient, comfortable nonstick whisk we tested, this model whipped cream to stiff peaks in 1 minute, 18 seconds—a full minute faster than its nearest rival, and it did so surprisingly effortlessly. With eight moderately flexible, silicone-coated wires set at widely varying lengths, its design offered many points of engagement with any ingredients we wanted to blend, at any angle we needed, without scratching cookware. Testers found its lightly grippy handle (made of thermoplastic rubber) to be very comfortable; its rounded, neutral shape let us easily shift our grasp as needed.
This affordable pan had it all: thick, solid construction; a smooth interior with no handle rivets to bump the spatula or trap food; an ergonomically angled handle; and sides flared just right for easy access but high enough to contain splashes. Steaks formed a deeply crisp crust, tarte Tatin caramelized beautifully and released neatly, and fried eggs just slipped around in the pan.
While this skillet started out with a rougher surface than those of the artisan pans, its gently nubbly texture quickly gained seasoning, and by the end of testing it released food and cleaned up perfectly. At about 8 pounds, it’s heavy, but that weight helps with heat retention and browning. Its roomy surface and high sides make it a versatile performer—all at a great price for a pan that will last forever.
