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See why.The Best Cooking Sprays
This handy product can be the difference between a successful dish and a sticky disaster. Which one you use matters.
By Published Apr. 10, 2023
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What You Need To Know
Cooking spray comes in handy in the kitchen. It can be used for coating a skillet before frying eggs or sautéing vegetables or for spraying sheets of aluminum foil before covering lasagnas, casseroles, and salmon to ensure the foil doesn’t stick to the food. It is helpful for preparing muffin tins and cake pans so that baked goods turn out cleanly. We’ve found that it can even be used to grease a measuring cup to ensure sticky ingredients slide out easily.
For years, cooking sprays were typically made with canola oil, but now you can find products made with coconut oil, avocado oil, olive oil, and more. To find the best cooking spray we cast a wide net, evaluating sprays made from various oils. Regardless of the type (or types) of oil used, the cooking sprays in our lineup fall into two main categories: traditional (with propellants) or bag-on-valve (also referred to as propellantless).
We didn’t see a performance or flavor difference with different types of oils in our testing lineup, but between the two styles, there was a lot to learn, with benefits and drawbacks to each. Read on to find out which is best for you.
Traditional Cooking Sprays
What’s in the Can? Traditional cooking sprays typically consist of one or more oils combined with a propellant such as propane or butane. Under pressure, these propellants are liquids, but when the valve is released, they turn to gas and expand, propelling the oil out of the can as the propellant dissipates into the air.
Spray Pattern: The traditional cooking sprays all had similar nozzles and oil-channel shapes. They dispersed spray in a circular pattern, which we liked because this pattern more efficiently covered the surface of our pans. This spray pattern can be attributed to the shape of the channel the oil travels up before being expelled. Another key design element: The spout was angled straight ahead, so the spray shot straight too. This meant that we knew exactly where the spray was going to land—a big help in evenly and efficiently coating our pans. Lastly, brands with antifoaming agents such as dimethyl silicone also sprayed more evenly.
Nonstick Ability: Most traditional cooking sprays contain emulsifiers, such as lecithin, to improve performance. Lecithin helps oil adhere to the surface of cookware or bakeware. Cooking sprays containing it created absolutely seamless nonstick surfaces. Neither chicken breasts nor fried eggs stuck to a stainless-steel skillet. The Bundt cake we baked in an intricately patterned pan released like a dream, leaving barely a crumb behind.
Smoke Point: However, there is a drawback to lecithin. Lecithin has a low smoke point, so sprays containing it...
Everything We Tested
Recommended
- Ease Of Use: 3 stars out of 3.
- Performance: 3 stars out of 3.
- High Heat Cooking: 1 stars out of 3.
- Cleanup: 3 stars out of 3.
Our longtime favorite from Pam still sprays supreme. It easily sprayed an even layer. When we fried eggs in a stainless-steel skillet that we’d sprayed with Pam, the eggs slid out quickly and easily. The Bundt cake we baked in a Pam-sprayed pan also released, leaving no crumbs behind. This spray’s neutral flavor didn’t affect the cake’s flavor. A drawback is its relatively low smoke point. When sprayed on a stainless-steel skillet, it began to smoke at a lower temperature compared to many sprays in our lineup and it quickly turned dark brown, likely due to the presence of soy lecithin. We don’t recommend using this spray for high-heat cooking.
- Ease Of Use: 2.5 stars out of 3.
- Performance: 3 stars out of 3.
- High Heat Cooking: 1.5 stars out of 3.
- Cleanup: 3 stars out of 3.
This spray sailed through all of our cooking and baking tests. We liked that it dispersed in a circular spray pattern; its fine mist evenly covered the surface of the pan we were spraying. When spraying, it felt like the spray left the can at a faster rate than Pam, so the spray was a bit harder to control than our winner. However, it fared slightly better than our winner when used for high-heat cooking. This could possibly be due to the oils used or lecithin formulation. We think this is also a great choice.
- Ease Of Use: 2 stars out of 3.
- Performance: 3 stars out of 3.
- High Heat Cooking: 2 stars out of 3.
- Cleanup: 3 stars out of 3.
This product prevented sticking well. It does not contain antifoaming agent, which might be why this spray came out of the can in a heavier, thicker spray than some others. It contains soy lecithin, which is likely why it has such stellar nonstick properties, but it also makes its smoke point slightly lower. The spray turned brown when heated to a high temperature.
- Ease of Use: 3 stars out of 3.
- Performance: 3 stars out of 3.
- High-Heat Cooking: 0.5 stars out of 3.
- Cleanup: 3 stars out of 3.
Like the classic Pam, this spray contains an emulsifier and an antifoaming ingredient, but it uses olive oil in place of canola, coconut, and palm oils. It sailed through every cooking test, ensuring that eggs and chicken released easily from stainless-steel skillets. There was nothing left behind in the Bundt pan when we used this spray. The spray browned more quickly and to a darker brown color than its counterpart at high-heat cooking, likely because olive oil has a lower smoke point than canola oil, the main ingredient in Pam Original.
- Ease Of Use: 1 stars out of 3.
- Performance: 2 stars out of 3.
- High Heat Cooking: 3 stars out of 3.
- Cleanup: 2 stars out of 3.
Made from 100 percent avocado oil, this is our favorite spray that doesn’t contain propellants. The angle of this can’s spout caused the spray to shoot out in an unexpected direction, making it harder to control than some of the other products. The spray also disperses in an oval shape rather than a circle. It had one of the highest smoke points in our testing, so you can cook at higher temperature without fear of the spray darkening and negatively affecting the appearance and flavor of food. Since it doesn’t contain lecithin, the oil stuck to the pan, making it harder to clean than those that contain lecithin.
- Ease Of Use: 2 stars out of 3.
- Performance: 3 stars out of 3.
- High Heat Cooking: 1 stars out of 3.
- Cleanup: 2 stars out of 3.
This product’s nozzle dispersed spray in a circle of fine, even mist—most of the time. Occasionally, it surprised us by sputtering. Neither eggs nor chicken breasts stuck to the stainless-steel skillet we’d prepared with this spray, which has a low smoke point. Although it smells like coconut, we didn’t taste any additional flavors in the chicken or cake.
Not Recommended
- Ease Of Use: 1 stars out of 3.
- Performance: 2 stars out of 3.
- High Heat Cooking: 3 stars out of 3.
- Cleanup: 1 stars out of 3.
Although this spray passed our egg-, chicken-, and Bundt cake–release tests, it wasn’t all that pleasant to use. The angle of the can’s spout caused the spray to release at an unexpected angle. Because it doesn’t contain lecithin, it performs well when cooking at high heat.
- Ease Of Use: 1 stars out of 3.
- Performance: 2 stars out of 3.
- High Heat Cooking: 2 stars out of 3.
- Cleanup: 1.5 stars out of 3.
This spray performed relatively well, but the angle of the can’s spout made it challenging to use. The spray shot out at an odd angle, landing in a different spot than we thought it would. Plus, the spray pattern was an elongated oval, which made it harder to achieve an even layer inside a round skillet or baking pan.
- Ease of Use: 0.5 stars out of 3.
- Performance: 3 stars out of 3.
- High-Heat Cooking: 2 stars out of 3.
- Cleanup: 1.5 stars out of 3.
This spray ensured that food released well in our cooking and baking tests, but it was frustrating to use. The oil wasn’t dispersed in a mist but rather came sputtering out of the nozzle in different directions, as if from a water gun. Some parts of the pan were covered in spray, and other parts were left completely bare. It was impossible to achieve an even layer. Despite being called “Rich Taste,” our tasters didn’t note any flavor added to chicken or cake made with this spray.
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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.
Carolyn Grillo
Carolyn is a senior editor for ATK Reviews. She's a French-trained professional baker.
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