[Top 3] Best Stainless Steel Frying Pan in 2024

Stainless steel cookware is an amazing option for making healthy food at an affordable price.

And, while professional chefs worldwide love them, many home chefs struggle to make them work making a colossal sticky mess.

So, what’s their secret?

We are here to help you choose the best stainless steel frying pan and how to essentially make any stainless steel pan into a non-stick pan.

In a hurry? The best stainless steel pan are:

  1. Cuisinart MultiClad Pro 8-Inch Open Skillet—Top Budget Option
  2. All-Clad 4110 Tri-Ply Bonded Dishwasher Safe Fry Pan—Finest Quality
  3. USA Pan Cookware 13 Inch Chef Skillet With Cover—Best Frying Pan  


Want to learn more, read on…

best stainless steel frying pan

What Is the Best Metal for a Frying Pan?

These are some of the most common metals:

  • Stainless steel: When combined with aluminum or copper, it’s one of your top options. It’s amazingly durable and easily polished to look like new, and it doesn’t react with your food. A core of either material will help you get even distribution of heat.
  • Copper: Excellent heat conductor, but expensive, hard to find and gets scratched easily.
  • Aluminum: Lightweight, and a close second for even heat conduction. It does dent, though, and reacts with acidic food, altering their taste. 
  • Hard-anodized aluminum: Hard, corrosion-resistant and non-stick, but you’ll need to pay extra attention to care for this material.
  • Cast iron: Maintains heat well, but takes a long time to warm up and is very heavy. Adds great flavor to food.

What Should I Look for When Buying Stainless Steel Cookware?

Pay attention to the below factors to find the best stainless cookware for you.

Quality of Steel

Stainless steel is a mixture of metals and is often used in cooking because of its heat conduction and resistance to corrosion. 

The most commonly used stainless steel in cookware is austenitic steel, and it may contain up to 20 percent of chromium and 12 percent of nickel. Manufacturers usually express the amount of corrosion-resistant metals in this type of cookware as 18/8 or 18/10, which means it contains 18 percent chromium and 8 or 10 of nickel.

The most commonly used stainless steel in cookware is austenitic steel, and it may contain up to 20 percent of chromium and 12 percent of nickel. Manufacturers usually express the amount of corrosion-resistant metals in this type of cookware as 18/8 or 18/10, which means it contains 18 percent chromium and 8 or 10 of nickel.

Layers

Look for a multi-layer build with aluminum or copper for great heat conduction. Many fry pans have a tri-ply construction with a layer of aluminum between steel exteriors. Others, like the USA Pan in our review, have five layers of stainless steel and metal to ensure even cooking.

Weight

These types of fry pans can be heavy to maneuver, especially when they contain multiple layers of metals like the USA Pan does. If you don’t have a lot of strength, make sure you pick an option you can easily move around in the kitchen.

What Are the Health Disadvantages of Stainless Steel?

Stainless steel cookware is generally safe to use. However, these steel pans do leak small amounts of nickel, chromium, or iron into your food. These metals can cause allergic reactions, especially the flare-up of skin conditions in people with sensitivities.

The leaking happens to food especially when used for longer heating periods and in acidic conditions. It means cooking a tomato sauce in a steel pot is not a great idea if you have sensitivities to nickel or chromium. 

Why Is Food Sticking to My Stainless Steel Pans?

Many people dislike this material because of the sticking, but if you use it correctly, you shouldn’t experience any problems. Follow these simple steps and your stainless steel frying pans will be easy to clean.

  • No high temperatures: Try to use low to medium heat, and pick cooking fats that have a higher smoke point to avoid burning your food.
  • Preheat your pan: Test the temperature by drizzling water on the pan.
  • Soak: Let your pan soak before washing. Pouring cold water on a hot pan may cause a thermal shock that warps your pan, so always wait until it’s cool.

Tip: Eggs can be especially tough to manage, but you can use this hack to prevent any food from sticking to your stainless steel pans:

Is Non-Stick or Stainless Steel Better?

A nonstick fry pan is common because it’s an easy cooking option that allows you to use very little fat. However, the non-stick material requires extra care and no metal utensils. 

Even so, it’s unlikely to last forever. If you want a true forever pan, go for stainless steel.

What Factors Drove Our Ratings

  • Value: Quality products for a low price are the first choice. 
  • Weight: We preferred more lightweight skillet pans for easy maneuverability.
  • Heat distribution: Pans with an even, stable heat are the top choice.

Our Top-Rated Best Stainless Steel Frying Pan–Top Option on a Budget

Cuisinart MultiClad Pro 8-Inch Open Skillet

Customer Rating
5/5

Includes

  • Skillet

Features

  • Limited lifetime warranty. 
  • Triple-ply construction with a pure aluminum core.
  • Oven safe up to 550 degrees Fahrenheit.
  • CoolGrip handle.
  • Tapered rims for drip-free pouring.

This Cuisinart 8-inch tri-ply stainless skillet is a great everyday pan that you can use for most food, from your breakfast eggs to frying and searing. It’s a quality skillet that doesn’t break the bank, will heat evenly, and 79% of customers have given this product a 5-star rating as of the date of publishing. 

The cooking surface has a bright, mirror finish, and the exterior of the pan has a brushed, matte look. On the inside, the pan has a tri-ply structure with pure aluminum on the bottom and up the sides, which helps to avoid hot spots. Even with its three layers of metal, the pan is lightweight enough to be maneuverable, at 2.5 pounds. In addition, this model is an ovenproof frying pan.

Our Top-Rated Best Stainless Steel Frying Pan–Finest Quality

All-Clad Tri-Ply Bonded Fry Pan

Customer Rating
5/5

Includes

  • Fry pan

Features

  • Stick-resistant treatment.
  • Oven safe up to 600 degrees Fahrenheit.
  • Dishwasher safe.
  • Wide base.
  • Contoured handle.
  • Triple-layer build with an aluminum core.

All-Clad makes some of the most favored equipment for professional and home kitchens. This 10-inch clad stainless skillet is a good-looking, quality option that will make your cooking skills shine, and 79% of customers have given this product a 5-star rating as of the date of publishing.

The exterior is a mirror finish, and the inside is brushed aluminum and stick-resistant, which helps you keep the fry pan looking new for longer. Of note is the stay-cool handle, while the 2-pound weight is manageable for the size.

Like most All-Clad products, it does have a higher price point, but you’ll be able to enjoy this purchase for years.

Our Top-Rated Best Stainless Steel Frying Pan–Best Fry Pan with Lid

USA Pan 1545CW-1 Cookware 13-Inch Gourmet Chef Skillet With Cover

Customer Rating
4.5/5

Includes

  • Skillet with cover

Features

  • Tight-fitting vapor seal lid.
  • 5-ply construction for heat maintenance.
  • Easy-pour tapered rim.
  • Dishwasher and oven safe.
  • Helper handle

USA Pan’s 13-inch fry pan is a heavy-duty, professional level frying pan that’s big enough for a family and built to last. 75% of customers have given this product a 5-star rating as of the date of publishing.

This model has five layers of metal for maximum heat maintenance and distribution. It also has a 5-quart capacity and a vapor seal lid to accommodate a bigger stir fry.

At 6.4 pounds, it’s quite heavy. You also shouldn’t wash this frying pan in the dishwasher to maintain the mirrored exterior and brushed interior in ideal condition, however this skillet pan is easy to clean by hand.

best stainless steel frying pan

Other Tools to Help You Cook

Make your experience cooking even better and healthier with these additional cooking tools:

The Winner

After careful consideration, we found the Cuisinart Stainless 8-Inch Open Skillet to be the top stainless steel cookware you can buy. It’s affordable and has the same quality as much more expensive frying pans.

This pan is small and versatile for your everyday food, whether you’re preparing bacon and eggs or making dinner for your family. Overall, it’s a great quality that doesn’t break the bank.

Recommended products

BELLA Two-Tier Food Steamer, 7.4 Quart

5/5

All-Clad 4403 Stainless Steel Tri-Ply Bonded Dishwasher Safe 3-Quart

4.5/5
Mike

Mike

Hi! I’m Mike. I’m happily married and have a young daughter. I’ve lived all over the world and have learned a lot from seeing others’ perspectives. I’ve also had many life altering health challenges. Fortunately, my lovely and brilliant wife helped save me by finding a new and better way for us to live. We started The Healthy Treehouse to share what we’ve learned and to learn from others, too.