Say the word “spatula,” and any number of styles and designs might pop into your head. It might be the soft-headed mixing spatula you use to scrape down bowls. Perhaps you’re a burger or pancake lover and envision a turner with an angled, flat head. A slotted offset spatula might be your first thought if you frequently cook delicate fish fillets, but a thin, solid offset blade would be the tool you want to frost a cake.
With so many varied uses, I keep nearly as many spatulas in my kitchen as I do wooden spoons. I reach for certain spatulas for specific tasks. Others have multiple uses or, if it’s the one I grab first, take on just about any scraping, flipping, scooping, and serving job. I use some so often that I’m more likely to find them drying by the sink than in my utensil jar.
Beyond using numerous styles in home kitchens, we researched and tested several models, covering different categories and numerous uses, to find the best spatulas.
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Why It’s Great: Sturdy and durable; smooth, comfortable handle; highly heat resistant
Grain of Salt: Hand wash for best life span
I’ve been buying Tovolo’s wood-handled silicone spatulas for more than 20 years, returning to this classic design every time I try a different brand. These spatulas see daily use in my kitchen, so it’s not surprising that I occasionally wear one out.
I have learned a few ways to keep them in top shape. I grab a different tool to scrape down food processor and blender blades (this is the only way I’ve ever torn this spatula’s sturdy silicone). My oldest Tovolo spatula has a warped handle from overnight stints in soapy water. The silicone head is removable and dishwasher safe, but quickly hand washing and air drying both parts after each use, and occasionally rubbing food-grade mineral oil on the handle, has kept my newer ones straight and true.
This spatula tackles endless kitchen tasks. The slightly tapered wooden handle feels smooth in my hand as I stir and scrape. The combination of rounded and square corners and sides lets the silicone head function equally well while baking, cooking, and serving. The silicone tolerates heat up to 600°F and even resists stains. Turmeric might tint the surface as I make potato curry, but warm soapy water removes all traces.
The Details: Silicone, nylon, wood; 2.5 x 0.75 x 12.5 inches; heat resistant to 600°F; hand wash recommended
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Why It’s Great: Two spatula heads; stiff silicone still flexes; solid wood handle
Grain of Salt: Hand wash only
This silicone spatula earned its place among my baking tools mainly for its two-in-one design, and I’m still happy I chose it after a couple of years of regular use. The primary spatula has a full-size silicone head with straight and rounded sides to get into baking pan corners or around the basin of a mixing bowl. A silicone jar scraper tops the other end of the solid beechwood handle.
Both spatula heads are quite stiff, so they readily pick up dense dough and spread frosting. The mini-spatula head flexes enough to clean maple syrup from a small measuring cup or scrape beaten egg yolk from a prep bowl. The main spatula folds flour in evenly without overworking zucchini bread batter and mixes crab cake ingredients without breaking apart chunks of claw meat.
This spatula’s smooth handle tapers in the center for comfort, although its flat sides make it ideal for certain angles. It has enough length that while one silicone head is in use, the opposite end stays out of the way. Both heads can be removed to use as handheld scrapers and for hand washing and air drying.
The Details: Silicone, beechwood; 2.6 x 0.4 x 13.4 inches; hand wash only
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Why It’s Great: Thin and flexible at the leading edge; heat-resistant handle, dishwasher safe
Grain of Salt: Soft tip might not stand up to use as a scraper
While frying eggs, you need a spatula that scooches fully underneath so that you can neatly lift and flip. The length, weight, and flexible tip of this spatula also let you push eggs around so that they set in fluffy pieces in the pan and then transfer the scrambled result to a plate. Just take care during cleanup: The tip is soft enough that scraping stuck-on egg from a pan might wear down the spatula.
The stainless steel of the handle extends to the core of the turner, but this tool is designed for nonstick surfaces. “I had no worries about it scratching up our pans with ample silicone surrounding the stainless steel core,” says Allrecipes product tester Samantha Lande. The turner head withstands heat up to 600°F, and as a bonus, so does the silicone, no-slip handle. If you briefly rest the turner handle against the rim of a hot skillet, it won’t melt.
The handle’s lower end features a thumb grip for comfort, and the opposite end has a loop for hanging storage. Its shape makes it fairly easy to fit in a utensil jar or drawer instead. The turner is dishwasher safe, although hand washing may extend its life.
The Details: Silicone, stainless steel; 3 x 0.5 x 11.6 inches; heat resistant to 600°F; dishwasher safe
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Why It’s Great: Extra-long handle; wide, slotted head; offset flipping blade for better leverage
Grain of Salt: Metal can get hot to the touch
A long-handled turner keeps your hands well away from open flame and searing heat while you’re standing at the grill. That’s just one reason the OXO Good Grips Grilling Turner, which you can buy individually or as a set with grilling tongs, is one of our favorite grilling accessories. It’s 16 inches from the handle hanger to the end of the flipping blade, several inches longer than most turners intended for stovetop use.
The stainless steel handle and head resist rust. You can slide the wide, beveled head between a sizzling steak or fish fillet and piping-hot grill grate without concerns about it melting. The metal will get hot to the touch with prolonged heat exposure, so set it well away from the grill when it’s not in use and consider pairing it with grill gloves. Both gloved and bare hands comfortably hold the thick, nonslip grip.
Where the handle meets the head, a double bend provides extra leverage while flipping food, and the slats in the head are just wide enough to let juices release without losing chunks of meat from a burger. When you’re done, clean this turner in the dishwasher or by hand.
The Details: Stainless steel, rubber; 3.7 x 1.2 x 16.1 inches; heat resistant to more than 600°F; dishwasher safe
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Why It’s Great: Long blade; versatile and easy to control; affordable
Grain of Salt: Heat resistant but not tested for cooking
Bakers love an offset spatula for spreading icing and cake batter, removing muffins from baking cups, and unmolding cheesecake from a springform pan, but it has far more uses. This model’s thin, flexible blade features a rounded tip that easily maneuvers in and out of jars. It’s bent close to where it connects to the handle for precise control, even though the blade measures about seven inches long.
We tested two offset spatulas (the other was made by OXO), and this one became our pick because of its lower cost. Otherwise, we found their size, comfort, and performance quite similar, especially while spreading frosting.
Some people use offset spatulas at the stove to spread and flip crepes on a carbon steel crepe pan or to loosen tofu or burgers from a cast iron skillet. While the metal of the Wilton Icing Spatula is heat resistant, the company says it has not been tested for cooking uses. Although the spatula can go in the top rack of a dishwasher, the company recommends washing it by hand in warm, soapy water.
The Details: Stainless steel, plastic; 1.13 x 1.56 x 13 inches; hand wash recommended
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Why It’s Great: Durable handles, even when thin; full range of sizes and styles; heat resistant silicone
Grain of Salt: Metal handles transfer heat
Although I prefer the feel of wooden handles, I recommend metal ones if you’re looking for a full set of silicone spatulas. When it comes to the classic spatula and this set’s full-size spoonula, it’s a toss-up between the durability of stainless steel and the comfort of wood. But the set’s smaller spatulas have thinner handles, so going with metal removes the risk of snapping one in half.
Tovolo’s jar scraper has a long, highly flexible head that’s wider and curved on one side to collect every bit of salsa from the shoulder of a narrow-mouth mason jar. The handle is long enough to touch the bottom of a quart jar without having to squeeze your fingers inside, and the angled tip scrapes fully around it.
The classic spatula and full-size spoonula are duplicated in smaller versions in this set. These fit better into prep bowls and storage containers for the same scraping, scooping, and spreading actions. The silicone heads have the identical 600°F heat resistance, but the all-stainless handles will get hot if you rest them against a pan on the stove. All of the pieces are dishwasher safe.
The Details: Silicone, nylon, stainless steel; 2.5 x 0.5 x 12.5 inches (spatula); 2.38 x 0.44 x 12.5 inches (spoonula); 1.5 x 0.5 x 10.75 inches (jar scraper); 1.38 x 0.5 x 10.75 inches (mini spatula and spoonula); heat resistant to 600°F; dishwasher safe
Our Takeaway
A classic mixing spatula sturdy enough for dense dough and flexible enough to scrape bowls clean, the Tovolo Flex-Core Wood Handled Silicone Spatula is our top pick. If you’re looking for a heat-resistant turner style, we recommend the DI ORO Designer Spatula Turner for nonstick pans and the OXO Good Grips Grilling Turner as a long-handled metal option for grilling.
How to Pick the Right Spatula
Material
Choose a spatula material based on how you plan to use it. Highly heat-resistant silicone spatula heads adapt to many tasks and safely slide on nonstick surfaces. Wood or bamboo easily tosses vegetables in a sauté pan or wok. Stainless steel holds up to grilling over an open flame or scraping roasted potatoes from a metal pan. Offset icing spatulas usually have a metal blade so that while frosting layer cake, heating the blade with hot water between passes creates a smooth surface.
Handle material has equal importance for comfort and ease of cleaning. The smooth, natural feel of wood handles makes them a pleasure to hold, yet you commit to hand washing the tool if you want it to last. Silicone, whether entirely coating the handle or just the part that you grip, has a rubbery texture yet is usually dishwasher safe—although some companies still recommend hand washing for longevity. Any exposed metal on a handle is likely smooth and highly durable, but it can capture and retain heat.
Type
Choose a spatula for the primary task you want to perform, and then see how versatile it is in your kitchen. Mixing spatulas usually have enough sturdiness to stir heavy cookie dough and enough flex to scrape down a mixing bowl. Head shape varies from long and thin for a jar scraper to a concave center for a spoonula. Other spatulas in the baking realm include offset blades that help you to frost a cake without getting your fingers sticky.
Turners, with their wide flat paddle, excel at flipping and transferring food, whether freshly baked cookies or fried eggs. As a subset of the turner style, long fish spatulas usually have lengthwise slots and a flexible tip that slips under a flaky fillet. Grilling turners are often sturdier to flip thick steaks and burgers, and they have a long handle to keep your fingers far from the heat.
Cleaning and Maintenance
Most spatulas need minimal care and maintenance, and many are dishwasher safe, at least in the top rack. Still, companies often recommend hand washing even dishwasher-safe spatulas to get the longest usable life from them. Some dishwasher manufacturers warn that the machine’s high heat might melt the adhesive holding together hollow-handled spatulas. Hand washing wood-handled utensils helps to prevent warping and cracking.
Fortunately, most spatulas, even greasy ones used to flip burgers, are easy to clean in warm, soapy water. To make mixing spatula cleanup easy, rubber and silicone spatula heads often pop off the handle with a little pressure. This is intentional to avoid developing mold inside your spatula.
About Our Tests
Because there was so much variety among the spatulas we tested, Allrecipes product tester Samantha Lande tested each category of spatula based on its uses:
- For silicone spatulas: Each was used to scramble eggs and mix and scrape brownie batter and frosting from a bowl.
- For turners: Each was used for flipping pancakes and removing a fried egg from a pan.
- For fish spatulas: Each was used to lift and flip fish from a pan.
- For offset spatulas: Each was used to spread frosting.
During testing, Samantha paid special attention to the following factors:
- Ease of Use: How well does it do its intended job? Does it feel flimsy or hold up? Is it comfortable to hold/use? Does it scratch pans/bowls?
- Longevity: Is it heat-resistant? How well does it wash? Does it ding/scratch easily? Does it feel sturdy?
- Value: Is it worth the money?
Common Questions
Why do some spatulas have holes or slots?
Perforated turners have small holes or slots that drain away grease and other liquid. Some have a sturdy head that securely flips a burger while minimizing fat splatters. Others, like fish spatulas, have long, thin slits on a more flexible surface. This helps them slide beneath delicate ingredients without breaking them into pieces. Spatulas with holes instead of slots may be the best choice for breaded and fried foods: The holes let grease drip through and put less of the breading in contact with the spatula surface, making the coating less likely to flake off.
Can you use a metal spatula on cast iron?
Cast iron is so durable that it stands up to metal utensils, including spatulas and turners, if you use them properly. Sliding a metal slotted turner beneath a fish fillet won’t harm the sturdy surface of a well-seasoned cast iron skillet. A metal spatula can even gently scrape off food residue while deglazing and gathering the caramelized fond to create a pan sauce.
Damage can happen if you use a metal spatula to break up food in a cast iron skillet or scrape so hard that you flake off the seasoning while removing food residue. Enameled cast iron is especially prone to chipping and scratching from stainless steel utensils, so avoid pairing metal spatulas with coated cast iron pans.
Is a fish spatula necessary to cook fish?
You don’t need a fish spatula while cooking fish; any thin turner gets the job done. But a fish spatula may do so more easily with picture-perfect results. Its blade is longer than it is wide, just the right shape for flipping a fillet. It’s also thinner than the average turner, so it slips under salmon without tearing apart the skin. Long slots increase flexibility and let any cooking liquid drip off the fish as you transfer it to a plate.
Despite being called a fish spatula, this style’s shape and thickness have widely varied uses. Metal fish turners have a thin edge that breaks apart ground meat without gouging a cast iron pan. They slide under tender eggs to fold an omelet or thin pancakes for that perfect flip. They even scoop up roasted vegetables from a metal pan or cookies from a baking sheet.
Why Take Our Word for It?
Julie Laing has been a writer and editor for 25-plus years, focusing on original recipes, kitchen tools, and the stories around them. She is the author of “The Complete Guide to Pickling,” the Flathead Beacon food columnist, and a reviewer and recipe developer for numerous other publications. She considers “spatula” to be a generic word that covers everything from mixing spatulas to metal turners to flat all-wood paddles, which admittedly causes confusion if she asks her husband, “Can you hand me a spatula?” His choice sometimes leads to surprising discoveries in just how multipurpose these must-have tools can be.
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