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See why.The Best Compact Spatulas
The surprisingly versatile utensil that can handle (almost) anything.
Top Picks
See Everything We Tested
What You Need To Know
Compact spatulas—often marketed as cookie spatulas—are bigger than jar scrapers but smaller than standard spatulas. They’re made from a variety of materials, including plastic, silicone, and stainless steel, and can be narrow and elongated or short and squat—but they’re all designed to deftly navigate tight spaces such as crowded baking pans and cookie sheets.
Our previous winner, the OXO Good Grips Cookie Spatula, earned high marks because it easily slid under cookies. Since we last tested, though, we realized that these utensils were useful not only for desserts but also in frying pans. So with new models available, we retested, setting out to find a compact spatula that could handle baked goods as well as skillet fare. We selected seven models priced from about $7.00 to about $15.00, including our former winner. We tested them on cookies and brownies; although our recipes recommend an aluminum foil sling for easy brownie removal, we realize that many people slice them in the pan. And because people also use these small spatulas when cooking foods in skillets, we used them to make over-easy eggs and pancakes. In each task, we compared them with our winning metal spatula, the Wüsthof Gourmet Slotted Turner/Fish Spatula.
We were pleasantly surprised to find that some compact spatulas excelled where our winning metal spatula struggled—namely, desserts—and that they were great for some skillet tasks. Most of the compact spatulas had a fairly rigid head with minimal “bend,” which allowed us to scrape (and eat) every bit of brownie crust from the pan—a definite plus. The one model with a more flexible head couldn’t remove those brownie remnants. But the most crucial factors in a great compact spatula were material, head dimensions, and handle length.
Plastic and silicone spatulas outperformed metal ones for two reasons: First, plastic and silicone gripped cookies more securely, so we could easily transfer them from baking sheet to cooling rack with no slipping or sliding. With the metal spatulas, all made of stainless steel, we could easily lift cookies but found that they frequently slid around on the spatula heads—and sometimes fell off altogether.
Metal spatulas were generally slicker than plastic and silicone ones—we could tell by just running our hands over them—so it made sense that the cookies slipped off them more readily. But we also learned from our science editor that the fat from the cookies creates a certain lubricity, or slipperiness, on the surface of the spatula. That fat adheres well to plastic and silicone materials because they’re hydrophobic—they repel water but are typically drawn to fat. Metal, however, is ...
Everything We Tested
Highly Recommended
- Design: 3 stars out of 3.
- Cookies: 3 stars out of 3.
- Brownies: 3 stars out of 3.
- Heat resistance: 2.5 stars out of 3.
- Eggs and pancakes: 3 stars out of 3.
Our winner excelled in all tests thanks to its perfect-size head and lengthy handle with rounded grip. This model easily removed tightly packed brownies, and cookies stayed secure on its plastic head. It also moved around nicely in a nonstick skillet and slipped under pancakes and eggs with ease. We noticed a tiny divot in the handle after resting it in a hot skillet for a full minute, but it was barely noticeable and didn’t impact performance.
Recommended
- Design: 2 stars out of 3.
- Cookies: 3 stars out of 3.
- Brownies: 1.5 stars out of 3.
- Heat resistance: 3 stars out of 3.
- Eggs and pancakes: 3 stars out of 3.
This spatula was great for flipping eggs and pancakes, and the flexible silicone head was especially good at gliding in the pan—even navigating rounded sides with ease. The silicone material kept cookies stable during transport, and we liked the generous handle. The spatula’s head was an ideal length, though we found it too wide to easily scoop up brownies. And while this spatula’s flexible head was ideal for skillet cooking, it was too pliable to scrape up leftover brownie bits.
Recommended with reservations
- Design: 2.5 stars out of 3.
- Cookies: 2 stars out of 3.
- Brownies: 3 stars out of 3.
- Heat resistance: 2.5 stars out of 3.
- Eggs and pancakes: 1.5 stars out of 3.
We loved using this spatula for brownies, thanks to its narrow, medium-length head. But we didn’t like it quite as much for cookies; they slipped around on the metal surface, and one cookie fell off entirely. We also found this spatula challenging to use in a skillet, as the metal blade didn’t glide smoothly under eggs or pancakes. The handle also showed minor wear and tear after being left in a hot skillet, but this didn’t affect performance.
- Design: 2 stars out of 3.
- Cookies: 2.5 stars out of 3.
- Brownies: 1.5 stars out of 3.
- Heat resistance: 2.5 stars out of 3.
- Eggs and pancakes: 3 stars out of 3.
This plastic spatula scooped up and transported cookies with ease, and it was also good for eggs and pancakes—even though its short handle and wider head made it feel like using a kid’s sand shovel. It was one of the widest spatulas in the lineup, which made it difficult to maneuver between brownies, but we did like that its handle—despite being shorter than we preferred—was rounded and easy to grip. Finally, we noticed a couple of minor indentations after resting this spatula in a hot skillet or on a hot baking sheet, but they were so small that we didn’t mind.
- Design: 2 stars out of 3.
- Cookies: 2 stars out of 3.
- Brownies: 1.5 stars out of 3.
- Heat resistance: 3 stars out of 3.
- Eggs and pancakes: 3 stars out of 3.
Cookies teetered precariously on this spatula’s narrow head because it became even narrower near the handle. This was also the longest spatula head in the lineup, and it felt unwieldy when we used it to remove brownies. Its length put our wrists in an uncomfortable position at times, too. We did like it for eggs and pancakes, though, as it easily moved across the pan and flipped food without issue.
Not Recommended
- Design: 1.5 stars out of 3.
- Cookies: 1.5 stars out of 3.
- Brownies: 2 stars out of 3.
- Heat resistance: 3 stars out of 3.
- Eggs and pancakes: 1 stars out of 3.
This spatula’s head was too wide to neatly remove brownies and too short to flip pancakes and eggs—the thin metal spatula edge almost pierced our over-easy egg yolk midflip. This model was also difficult to slide around on a nonstick surface, and it struggled to safely transport cookies—one slipped off en route to the cooling rack. Finally, its handle was slightly shorter than we preferred, requiring extra care when using it with a hot skillet.
- Design: 1.5 stars out of 3.
- Cookies: 1.5 stars out of 3.
- Brownies: 1.5 stars out of 3.
- Heat resistance: 1.5 stars out of 3.
- Eggs and pancakes: 1 stars out of 3.
This metal spatula was a literal pain to use. Its thin, flat handle was hard to grip, practically disappearing into the palms of our hands, and it was so short that our knuckles hit the hot skillet when we flipped a pancake. Also, when we left it resting in a hot skillet for a whole minute, the handle became quite hot. This spatula wasn’t ideal for transporting cookies because they slid around and the short head didn’t provide much support. Finally, the head was one of the widest in the lineup, so we couldn’t easily lift one brownie.
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The mission of America’s Test Kitchen Reviews is to find the best equipment and ingredients for the home cook through rigorous, hands-on testing.
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