14 inch non stick frying pan with lid

There are a few kitchen tools that, when they work, provide a sort of cheat code for the home cook, forgiving glaring mistakes. The best nonstick pans fall into this category. They will cover up your sautéing struggles and make sure no one knows you still have a hard time flipping a pancake. Nonstick cookware sets makes your life easier, no question about it, but they do come with an important downside: nonstick coatings usually last no more than five years, which means you’ll have to replace your pans every time France has a presidential election. That’s why we generally prefer a cast-iron or carbon-steel pan that can achieve nonstick properties but will last a lifetime. Still, there’s no denying a nonstick pan’s utility in a cook’s overall pan set. Cooking eggy dishes like crepes, scrambled eggs, omelets, and frittatas is super easy, as is stir-frying and the aforementioned sautéing. 

To find the best nonstick pans, we put each model through a thorough testing process in the kitchen. We also gathered anecdotal evidence from Epicurious editors who have owned a few of the pans for years and can attest to how the nonstick coating fares over time. Keep reading to learn more about our picks for the best nonstick pan in both the standard and ceramic categories; scroll down for specifics about how we tested each pan and tips for how to care for your nonstick pan.

Table of contents

A note on nonstick safety
The best nonstick pan
The best ceramic nonstick pan 
How we tested
What we looked for
Other nonstick pans we tested
The takeaway
How to care for a nonstick skillet
Why we prefer cast iron and carbon steel over nonstick

A note on nonstick safety

The original nonstick cooking product was Teflon, trademarked by DuPont in the early 1960s. Treated with polytetrafluoroethylene or PTFE—the chemical that puts the non in nonstick—these pans are the only true nonstick pans, with a surface that lets food slide right off. Undamaged PTFE coated pans are safe to cook on, but if you heat them above 500ºF, the molecules can start to break down and release harmful gasses that cause polymer fume fever. Metal utensils can also scratch tiny bits of PTFE off and cause it to leach into your food. That’s why, regardless of any claims on the box, we only use wood or plastic utensils on nonstick and try to avoid putting it in the oven unless its ceramic (more on that below). For a long time, PTFE nonstick coatings were manufactured with another chemical, perfluorooctanoic acid or PFOA, which has since been identified as a being harmful to human health and the environment. Because of this, many nonstick pans advertise themselves as being PFOA-free, but PFOA and PTFE are just two types of the thousands of polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS, so many acronyms, we know) used by industrial companies, and while PTFE has been identified as being a much less harmful type of PFAS, scientific research is still ongoing to understand the full impact these chemicals have on our bodies and our environment. 

What’s more, a PTFE coating that says it’s PFOA-free could very well use one of the thousands of lesser-known PFAS chemicals currently unreviewed by regulators in its place, and they don’t have to disclose it to the public because it’s considered trade-secret information. Neat, huh? 

Because PTFE coatings have acquired the reputation they have, manufactures use various names to obscure the fact that their pans contain PTFE. Terms and brands like T-fal, hard-anodized, Dura-Slide, DuPont Platinum—the list goes on—are all PTFE by another name. 

The exception is ceramic nonstick, which comes from silica manufactured through something called a sol-gel process that creates a nontoxic nonstick cooking surface. The downside to ceramic nonstick is that it typically only lasts one to three years before losing its nonstick properties. 

We mention all this not to be alarmist, but just to reinforce the point that you should be careful with your nonstick pan: Don’t subject it to the highest heat, don’t do anything that could scratch the coating like using metal, and do replace it every five years or so. 

The best overall nonstick pan: Zwilling Madura Plus

The Zwilling Madura Plus is simply the best nonstick pan we’ve ever used. No matter how we cooked our eggs—scrambled, sunny-side up, over easy—they didn’t stick to the pan’s surface. In fact, the only reason you’d need oil or butter in this pan right out of the box is for flavor (we highly recommend flavor in your cooking). 

Because the core is made of forged aluminum, this sauté pan has efficient heat distribution, meaning food cooks evenly and the pan heats up and cools down quickly. Zwilling claims the four-layer DuraSlide material is 40 times more durable than traditional Teflon-coated pans. We found the model to be relatively lightweight and comfortable to use thanks to the heatproof plastic handle (it’s only oven-safe up to 300°F, though). 

The pan performed well in all of our tests, creating evenly browned pancakes and a fried egg that straight-up slid off the pan and onto a plate. Numerous online reviews attest to the pan’s long-term longevity, as can associate food editor Kendra Vaculin, who put her own Zwilling Madura Plus through the wringer in her home kitchen for over a year. It’s not easy to bang up, and the nonstick surface truly doesn’t weaken with time. Plus, it’s less than $75 (at the time of writing), which makes this the best nonstick pan that (not a ton of) money can buy.

Zwilling Madura Plus Nonstick Frying Pan

$63 at Amazon (10-inch)

$65 at Zwilling (9.5-Inch)

$70 at Food52 (10-Inch)

The best ceramic nonstick pan: GreenPan Paris Pro

Ceramic pans are prone to lose their nonstickability more quickly and more thoroughly than standard PFOA-free pans, so in general we like cookware made from this material less than others. Nonetheless, after testing a number of ceramic pans, the GreenPan Paris Pro emerged as the clear winner. The pan heats evenly and has a Thermolon Minerals ceramic nonstick coating that’s PTFE- and PFOA-free. It’s scratch-resistant, induction-compatible, and oven-safe up to 600°F—a huge benefit if you often would like to transfer your nonstick pan from the stovetop to the oven (hello, baked eggs).

We loved the look, feel, and heft of GreenPan Paris Pro—its medium weight meant it was heavy enough to feel durable but light enough that it felt easy to maneuver, and pancakes and eggs lifted perfectly off the slick surface. And of all the ceramic pans we tested, this one appeared to have the most long-lasting nonstick coating. Customers on Amazon report having had theirs for more than three years and seeing minimal signs of wear. One reviewer notes that he had to replace his after seven years. The final bonus: This pan comes from GreenPan’s more economical Paris collection, so you won’t have to spend an arm and a leg for it. (We also tested a nonstick pan from GreenPan’s pricier Venice line; more on that below.)

GreenPan Paris Ceramic Nonstick Fry Pan

$41 at Amazon (10-Inch)

$60 at Target (10-Inch)

$43 at Walmart (10-inch)

How we tested

To assess the merits of each nonstick frying pan, first we cooked pancakes in them—no butter or oil allowed—to see how easily the pancakes pulled away from the surface and how evenly they browned. Then we fried an egg in each pan, again without using fat. Finally, we made scrambled eggs (you guessed it, sans oil or butter) to check for even heating and to note how much food residue would get left behind. We also took into consideration the weight of the pans, how quickly they heated up and cooled down, and how easy they were to clean.

What we looked for

How effective is the nonstick coating right out of the box?

This was a simple one: If we couldn’t flip a pancake, fry an egg, or make scrambled eggs without a cooking fat when it was brand-new, the pan wasn’t worth our time.

How quickly does it heat up? Is the heat evenly distributed?

We put about two tablespoons of water in each pan before turning on the burner. We timed how long it took for the water to boil or start “dancing around the pan.” We took note of the pans that were remarkably fast or insanely slow at heating up. We also checked if the pan conducts heat evenly across the surface. When we flipped our pancakes, we looked for areas that were lighter and darker, which would indicate cool spots and hot spots, respectively. We also gave props to pans that are induction cooktop friendly, but that did not make or break any decisions.

What material is the nonstick coating made of?

We split the nonstick pans into two camps—ceramic and traditional PTFE-based nonstick. We paid attention to the longevity claims regarding the surface and made note of any warranty information provided by each brand that could be used to back those claims up. 

How easy is the pan to clean and store? How heavy is it?

Outside of function, we considered how much work we had to put into caring for the pan. Was it easy to clean? Did it take up a lot of space due to an extra-long handle? Was it uncomfortably heavy, such that tipping it with one hand would be a strain on the wrist? Did it come with a removable silicone handle? We stuck to pans in the 10- to 12-inch range to keep cooking surface consistent, but differences in weight and handle shape and length abounded.

Does the nonstick coating last?

Last but not least, we researched durability, and specifically how the nonstick coating fared over time. This involved interviewing Epi team members who own these pans themselves and scouring online reviews for mentions of wear and longevity.

Other nonstick pans we tested

Kyocera Ceramic Coated Nonstick Pan

The Kyocera Ceramic Coated Nonstick Pan is sealed with a proprietary coating that’s PTFE-, PFOA-, and cadmium-free, and it has a thick aluminum base clad with a stainless-steel plate that makes for quick and even heat distribution. However, Epi contributor Anna Stockwell reported that the ceramic coating on her Kyocera pans stopped working after just a few months, and we found a number of online reviews that claimed the same thing.

Great Jones Large Fry

The Great Jones Large Fry—measuring just over 10 inches wide, so not that large—is aesthetically very pleasing but tripped up on a few of the tests. While it heated quickly and made evenly browned pancakes, the fried egg stuck to the pan’s cooking surface; gently trying to nudge it free with a rubber spatula resulted in a broken yolk. 

Five Two Essential Nonstick Skillet

The ceramic Five Two Essential Nonstick Skillet has a heatproof welded-on handle—meaning no rivets where scrambled egg gunk can get stuck. Like all ceramic pans, it didn’t perform as well as its standard nonstick counterparts with the same (or lower) prices, but it cooked eggs and pancakes evenly. 

Zwilling Carrara Pan

The Zwilling Carrara Pan has a beautiful white interior, and because of how well the standard pan by this brand fared, we had high hopes for it. Unfortunately, the nonstick coating was questionable right out of the box, and we quickly had to resort to using more cooking fat than we wanted to during a first use in order to avoid a stuck-on mess.

GreenPan Venice Pro

The GreenPan Venice Pro performed similarly to the Paris pan, but thanks to its stainless-steel core, it’s noticeably heavier. We don’t see much benefit to using a nonstick pan with a stainless-steel core over an aluminum one, and considering the price difference, the Paris Pro is a better bet.

Caraway Fry Pan

The Caraway Fry Pan comes in an array of pleasant colors and can withstand high temperatures. It is ceramic and oven-safe up to 550°F—an unusually high temperature rating among the ceramic-coated pans. The nonstick surface performed extremely well during testing; we were able to slide an egg off of it with with ease, but we found the coating was far from scratch-resistant: It scuffed quickly and easily, which was hard to get past.

Oxo Good Grips Nonstick Pro

The Oxo Good Grips Nonstick Pro 12-inch skillet was one of the largest standard nonstick pans we tested, and it performed very well across tests; it is slightly heavier than its competitors, which made it a bit more difficult to maneuver with one hand. However, given its low price, it’s a worthwhile purchase if you’re often cooking for more than two people at a time. Just don’t expect it to last forever; Vaculin said it lost its nonstick abilities at about the two-year mark.

All-Clad Nonstick Pan

Like the other top performers, the All-Clad Nonstick Pan has an aluminum core and multiple layers of PFOA-free coating. It’s a solid choice, but the Zwilling felt a bit more durable in testing.

Scanpan Classic Fry Pan

The Scanpan Classic Fry Pan is Stockwell’s preferred tool. In testing it took a little longer than the others to come up to a high heat, but once it was up to temperature, the Scanpan provided an effective nonstick surface for both our pancake and egg tests.

Swiss Diamond Nonstick Fry Pan

The Swiss Diamond Nonstick Fry Pan has a unique shape that makes it interesting to cook with; rather than sloped sides that gently curve up from the cooking surface, it has straighter walls, which increased the size of the flat cooking surface but also created corners where scrambled eggs could get stuck while stirring. The weight was perfect and the handle felt very easy to work with, but it didn’t outperform the Zwilling and it cost more. 

Tramontina Professional Aluminum Nonstick Pan

The Tramontina Professional Aluminum Nonstick Pan heated up extremely quickly and came with a nifty removable silicone grip sleeve for the handle, but after just one use, the light metallic bottom of the pan showed some signs of scorching.

Made In Nonstick Frying Pan

The Made In Nonstick Frying Pan performed in the middle of the pack. We love the brand’s stainless-steel cookware and were keen for this nonstick version to be a hit as well; it’s ultimately a fine choice, but we preferred the skillets that were lighter weight and easier to maneuver.

Hestan Professional Clad Nonstick Skillet

The Hestan Professional Clad Nonstick Skillet is a nice nonstick pan. It demonstrated excellent heat distribution and sturdy tri-ply construction typically reserved for high-end pans. However, considering that all PTFE-based nonstick pans retain their optimal nonstick properties for at most five years, we feel like this pan may be gilding the lily a bit. Perhaps check out their stainless-steel collection. 

Hexclad Hybrid Pan

The Hexclad Hybrid Pan has a textured surface, with raised stainless steel and nonstick depressions for a nice crispy sear. Because of this, the brand says the pan needs a seasoning layer of oil for the full nonstick capabilities. We feel that this is misleading as “seasoning” can’t build up on stainless steel the way it can for a cast-iron skillet or a carbon-steel one. We also don’t like that there is PTFE on the bottom of the pan in direct contact with the heat source.

Misen Nonstick Pan

The Misen Nonstick Pan ($55) has a comfortable ergonomic handle and solid nonstick performance, but several reviews online criticizing the surface longevity and reports of flaking make us want to test this one longer before we endorse it. 

The takeaway

If you want a versatile nonstick pan that will last several years, our top pick is the Zwilling Madura Plus. If you’re looking for a ceramic pan, go with the GreenPan Paris Pro, but know that in general, the nonstick coatings on ceramic pans don’t last as long as those on non-ceramic pans. 

How to care for a nonstick skillet

Now that you have a high-quality nonstick pan picked out, you need to make sure to care for it properly. Here are a few tips to keep your cooking surface in top pancake-sliding shape for as long as possible.

1. Watch the heat: Don’t let your nonstick skillet get too hot, especially if it’s empty. Stick with medium heat or lower.
2. While many nonstick skillets claim to be dishwasher-safe, we recommend hand-washing all nonstick cookware to extend its lifespan and avoid warping.
3. Wash your pan with soap and water every time. Even though your nonstick skillet might look clean after a quick wipe with a paper towel, you need to give it a real wash to remove any food residue. If you don’t, the next time you use your skillet, that leftover residue will burn on the pan, creating a film of burnt stuff on the nonstick surface. Just be careful not to scrub the surface when you’re washing it with anything that would scratch it, like steel wool.
4. Protect the surface of your pan when storing it. If you stack anything on top of it, shield the surface by lining it with a piece of paper towel, dish rag, or pot protector to prevent scratching and denting.
5. We’ve said it a lot, but it’s so important: Do not using metal utensils! Though many new nonstick skillets claim to be impervious to them, wood and plastic are safer for the surface and will keep your pan in better shape for longer.

Why we prefer cast iron and carbon steel over nonstick

While we certainly won’t deny that there are benefits to using a nonstick skillet—we’ve all seen the enticing egg slide videos on our feeds—through our collective years of testing, we’ve come to the conclusion that any cook can forgo the nonstick entirely for a well-seasoned carbon-steel or cast-iron pan instead.

There are a couple of reasons for this. As we mentioned above, we aren’t crazy about cooking on plastic nonstick coatings. They only last a couple of years, most are prone to scratching and wear, and there’s a lot we still don’t know about the overall safety of PFAS nonstick coatings. But beyond their better longevity and safety, cast iron and carbon steel can also be used with metal utensils, which, frankly, often work better than plastic, and they can go in the oven, meaning they are ultimately more versatile than even the best nonstick frying pans.

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