The 7 Best Saucepans of 2024

The Bottom Line: The Best Saucepan

With its sloped sides and ultra-high heat tolerance, our top pick for the best saucepan is the Misen 3-Quart Saucier (view at Misen). This pan can go from the stove to a high-heat oven, and its design makes blending ingredients and cleaning easy. For a nonstick option, the Caraway 3-Quart Nonstick Saucepan (view at Amazon) is nontoxic and oven-safe, with superior heat retention and a surface you can easily wipe clean.

Choosing a Saucepan

Stainless Steel vs. Nonstick Materials

When choosing between stainless or nonstick saucepans, your decision should be based on what you like to prepare and how much effort you’re willing to put into maintaining your pans. Nonstick pans require extra care to ensure they last, requiring gentler utensils, such as silicone and wood, and additional care when storing. Nonstick saucepans are often hand-wash only. However, they clean easily, and models with ceramic interiors (not the much-maligned Teflon) are a nontoxic choice for health-minded cooks. Stainless pans can withstand a little less mindful handling, but your food is more likely to stick. While most stainless steel models are dishwasher-safe, hand-washing will ensure your saucepans last much longer. 

We were delighted to find that all our top picks were induction-compatible, which, in the past, has not been the case. With more homes moving to induction cooktops, it is helpful to be sure that your choice works with an induction range. Oven safety might seem like an odd feature in a saucepan, but we have found it a beneficial attribute. Keeping foods warm or reheating is much easier if you don’t have to transfer your food to a different vessel. 

Size and Capacity Matters

Choosing the size of your pans depends mainly on how many people you intend to feed regularly. Taking a mental inventory of the dishes you make most often, even writing down your favorites, can inform you on what size pan will work best in your home. If you usually cook four to six servings of sides, pasta or sauces, a 3-quart pan will work well for your needs. If you make oatmeal, sauces and sides for less, a 2- to 2.5-quart pan will serve you well. 

Ergonomic Touches Can Add Appeal

A 3-quart saucepan is the median size and the one most often included in cookware sets. It is small enough to heat a can of soup and large enough to boil a few servings of pasta. Checking the weight is key when shopping for a saucepan. A heavier pan will only increase in weight once filled with water, soup or stock. A pan constructed of lighter materials might be better if you have mobility issues. For higher quality materials like stainless and ceramic, a helper handle on the pan makes it easier to transfer it from stove to countertop.

Another element to consider is the handle. With many pans, a bump on the underside of the handle allows your index finger to rest comfortably and help balance the pan. The angle of the handle is another important consideration. If the handle is fully horizontal, there needs to be a good balance of weight, or your wrist will take on the brunt of the load. Some pans will have an arched handle, which tends to distribute weight more efficiently. A saucepan with a downward-angled handle might feel heavier because most of the weight is concentrated in the body of the pan.

Transparent Lids Are Ideal, But Not Common

We are big fans of a transparent lid but found that only some saucepans come with one. A transparent lid is excellent for tracking the progress of your simmer or boil without breaking the internal heat held by the lid. However, regardless of whether it’s transparent or not, a good lid must be easy to remove and fit well to the pan. If the lid has a cuff with holes to allow for straining, that is a plus.

Our Saucepan Tests

Putting our pans to the test took more than 40 hours, allowing us to fully evaluate each for design, performance, durability, ease of cleaning and value. We began by looking carefully at each pan to assess the design, weight and features. We looked for features that made the products easier to use, like pour spouts or vented lids. 

We boiled two cups of water in each pan and noted the time. We carried each pan with the water from sink to stovetop, evaluating the comfort of the handle and how heavy the pan seemed when full. While heating and boiling, we observed how well the pans conducted heat and noted if there were any hot spots. We also noted hot handles on the pan and lid while cooking. 

Cooking in each pan involved two tests: making a pan sauce or a hot beverage and cooking a grain dish. We chose sauces and drinks with lots of whisking and darker colors to see if corners and edges enhanced or inhibited blending. For pans with light interiors, we could determine if any staining occurred. We poured from the lip of each pan to assess how the design helped or hindered easy pouring and observed how well the mixture released from the pan.  

We cooked grain dishes, utilizing their ovenability when possible to evaluate how the pan performed off the stovetop. Cooking grains allowed us to note the presence of any hot spots in addition to letting us observe how well the grain dish released from the pan. 

We cooled each pan completely before cleaning to avoid warping and washed them by hand and in the dishwasher, if applicable. If any food stuck or there was scorching or discoloration, we worked hard to remove stains and sticking food, noting the techniques that worked and how well the pans came clean overall. 

We Also Considered

Caraway Stainless Steel 3-Quart Saucepan ($165 at Amazon): The Caraway stainless steel saucepan has the same sleek design as its ceramic saucepan with a low-profile handle and vented opaque lid. The heat conductivity was excellent, though we did have some scrubbing to do to remove stuck-on food. 

Goldilocks 3-Quart Saucepan ($50 at Goldilocks): We like the comfortable stay-cool handle on the Goldilocks and had no trouble whisking in the rounded corners, but we did have some issues with food sticking and had to work harder to clean it than with the other pans.

Greenpan Valencia Pro Ceramic Nonstick 1.5-Quart & 3-Quart Saucepan Set with Lids ($180 at Greenpan): The Greenpan is a nice nonstick saucepan with a handle designed for comfort and a clear lid. However, it is only offered as part of a set with a smaller, 1.5-quart pan, which could be useful for some households but too much for others.

Made In Stainless Clad Saucepan, 4-Quart ($159 at Made In): We really liked the Made In for its terrific nonstick surface, high 800°F tolerance in the oven and helper handle. However, it’s an awkward size at four quarts: too big for smaller tasks and a touch too small for larger ones. 

Our Place Mini Perfect Pot 2.0, 2.5-Quart ($130 at Our Place): The Our Place has many great features, including a helper handle, pouring spouts on both sides of the pan and a strainer cut-out in the lid. The sloped sides were also great for whisking; however, it just didn’t stand out from the other pans. 

Zwilling Spirit 3-Ply Stainless Steel 4-Quart Saucepan ($85 at Amazon): We loved the clear lid on the Zwilling and the etched measurement markers on the inside, but, at over five pounds, it was the heaviest among our pans and uncomfortable to maneuver. 

Common Questions

What is the best material for a saucepan?

Saucepans are made of all types of materials, but the most common are stainless steel, nonstick, copper and ceramic nonstick. Each option has strengths and weaknesses, and knowing them can help you decide which will work best for your kitchen.

Stainless steel on its own is not a great conductor of heat but holds heat well, so most pans are made of alternating layers of steel and aluminum, which has superior heat conductivity. On the inside of the pan, the steel will typically be 18/10, the same as that used in sturdy stainless utensils, while the outer layer will be induction-compatible steel. With the rising popularity of induction cooktops, you’ll probably want to consider purchasing induction-ready pans. Stainless pans last a long time and work well with higher heat. They can be hard to clean if food gets burned to the pan and can come with a higher price tag.  

Traditional nonstick pans are easy to clean and can conduct and hold heat well, especially when the base is layered with aluminum and steel. They tend to deteriorate quickly when higher heat is applied often and require hand-washing to avoid damage to their nonstick coating. Nonstick pans are also not as durable as stainless steel or copper, but remain an excellent option for cooks who don’t use a lot of high-heat cooking and do not want to deal with much cleanup.

Copper makes gorgeous cookware, and we have all seen amazing kitchens with loads of copper pans and pots hanging from hooks. Copper is a sensitive metal that heats quickly but doesn’t hold heat well and is not always induction-friendly. It is often layered with tin, making it sensitive to damage from acidic foods. Copper is an excellent choice for bakers who want to gently melt chocolate or create silky custards.

Most ceramic nonstick pans on the market today are excellent conductors, making them terrific for cooking at low to medium heat. They are usually (but not always) induction-compatible and often come in fun colors for aesthetic-conscious cooks. Most brands also eschew the potentially toxic materials found in traditional nonstick coatings. Ceramic will not last as long as steel, but it is an excellent choice for many households where high-heating cooking is not a priority, but environmental concerns and ease of cleaning are.

Can saucepans go in the oven?

Not all saucepans can go in the oven, but all of our top picks can. Before placing yours in the oven, check that it is oven-safe. Some things that might prevent it from being able to go in the oven are plastic handles on the pan or lids. Check your pan’s information to learn the temperature ceiling for the pan in the oven, and make sure the same rules apply to the lid. 

Are nonstick saucepans safe to use?

Nonstick pans are safe to use if you take a few precautions. First, you want to look at your pan carefully and ensure there are no nicks, scratches or divots, which indicate that the surface has been damaged. If you find any of the above, your pan is no longer safe to use, and you will need a new pan. When cooking in nonstick pans, keep the heat level medium or low. Preheating the pan for 90 seconds before adding ingredients will allow it to build heat and sear ingredients better. Cool the pan completely before cleaning to ensure it doesn’t warp or crack from the sudden temperature shift. Lastly, hand-wash your pan: A dishwasher can damage the pan’s nonstick coating. 

How do I clean a burnt saucepan?

There are several ways to address a burned pan, but you always want to start by cooling the pan thoroughly to avoid warping. Some burned-on foods are easily removed by adding water and dish liquid, bringing it to a boil, then letting it cool to lukewarm and working on the burned areas with a soft sponge. This technique can be used with both stainless and nonstick pans. For difficult burns on a nonstick saucepan, it is important to avoid abrasive cleaners. Barkeepers Friend, a commercially available cleaner, is usually gentle enough to use with a soft cloth. It is also effective with stainless pans. Alternatively, you can also use a bit of dish soap and baking soda, which can act as a gentle cleaner for tougher stains. 

Our Trusted Expertise

Tiffany Vickers Davis is a chef, writer and food entrepreneur with over 25 years of experience. Having started out in high-profile restaurant kitchens, Tiffany now owns and operates a fresh-prepared meal company that ships nationally. Before starting her company, she was the test kitchen director at Cooking Light magazine, testing hundreds of products during her 14-year tenure with the brand. She has used the All-Clad saucepan at home for over 13 years and was so proud it made the cut.

This article was edited by Katie Tuttle, a commerce editor and frequent product tester. She also owns and loves All-Clad’s stainless steel saucepan.