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The debate about the best frying pan can get … heated. You may be into cottagecore cast iron or sleek stainless steel pots that have you yelling "Yes chef!" But there's no way they're both your go-to cookware. Come dinner time, one kind of pan always ends up in your hands. And if you're anything like me, you want to know if research supports your choice. So we at SciShow have gathered the freshest scientific knowledge to settle the argument about which kind of frying pan is the best. According to research, some really are better than others.
Here are the best pans, according to science. And the data that shows some claims just don't … stick. [Intro music] While the stovetop is warming up, let's run through the criteria we're grading these pans on. We'll look at how easily food sticks to the pan, what kind of cooking conditions it can handle, and if there are any effects on your health - good or bad. We also wanted to include a washability category, but it looks like none of these pans should technically go in the dishwasher, for reasons we'll get into in a minute.
Nobody's as disappointed with that news as I am, since I have the honor of cleaning up all the million dishes I make, just to cook for myself Still, based on those categories, some pans do pan out better than others. Let's start with non-stick pans. I'll admit: few things are more satisfying than those non-stick pan commercials where the egg just glides out onto the plate, and burnt cheese is whisked away with the swipe of a paper towel. But aside from living up to their name and making cleanup quicker, there aren't a lot of good things to say about non-stick. What typically makes a pan so slippery slick is a coating of polytetrafluoroethylene, better known as PTFE or Teflon.
PTFE is a waxy, milky synthetic material that's sprayed onto a stainless steel or aluminum pan. The coating is made by polymerizing or combining units of tetrafluoroethylene, which are molecules containing bonds between carbon and fluorine atoms. The carbons are totally surrounded by fluorine atoms. And those fluorines are electronegative, so they repel anything that comes close to them. That's what makes PTFE so slippery. But the exact thing that makes them helpful also makes them toxic. And when it comes to something you're putting food on, that's probably not what you want to hear. See, PTFE is part of a group of chemicals known as PFAS or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances.
You might know them as forever chemicals because of how well they stick around in the environment without breaking down. And if that Teflon coating gets scrubbed off from some enthusiastic cleaning, or scraped or burned off during cooking, then the environment those PTFE molecules end up in is your body. One study in rats found that breathing in ultrafine particles of PTFE for around 15 minutes can cause lung damage. Plus, breathing in PTFE can lead to polymer flume fever, which, as the name suggests, results in a fever. And if you have feathered friends at home, you might want to keep them away from the kitchen with these pans. Because, yup, birds can get flume fever too.
An article published in 1975 describes how five cockatiels died after inhaling fumes from a PTFE pan that'd been left overheating on a stove. And there have been several similar cases since. Not much is known right now about ingested PTFE molecules, but we do know that chunks of PTFE act as micro- and nano-plastics. In one study from 2025, researchers looked at what would happen when PTFE microplastics were let loose on a bunch of lab-grown cells that mimic the small intestine. The plastics easily got into the cells, causing inflammation and damaging genetic material. But from that study, it's unclear what that means for a person long-term.
And a review from 2026 concluded that the health effects of PTFE are mixed, but they described a laundry list - or I guess in this case a kitchen list - of side effects, from trouble with reproduction and brain development, to lowered immune response, and even death in some non-human animals. And that's just from PTFE itself. Some older PTFE pans also have associated chemicals that can increase your risk of kidney cancer. But before we go throwing our non-stick pans out the window, here's the thing: not all PFAS are created equal and a Teflon coated pan might not be so terrible if you're careful in how you use it.
Because Teflon is cured onto a pan at around 200 degrees Celsius, cooking below that temperature for less than 45 minutes should keep the coating stuck on there. And because modern PTFE is made from really long chains of those polymers, they're less likely to be worn off and cause problems, according to the FDA. So if non-stick pans are your favorite option, just keep those safety tips in mind. But there are other materials out there, like ceramic pans. If it's non-stick you're after, then you might be a ceramic pan fan. Some consumer reports even say they're more non-stick than Teflon!
Just like Teflon though, when we're talking ceramic, we're talking about ceramic coating. True ceramic is made from firing an inorganic material like clay, which makes the final product heat and corrosion resistant, but also leaves it pretty brittle. Not ideal to have your pan crumble like a cookie if you accidently drop it. So ceramic pans are coated with a kind of quasi ceramic made of silica, metals, and chemicals sprayed over a layer of aluminum. Yes, that's a vague description. And that's because pan manufacturers often don't disclose exactly what's in this quasi-ceramic mix. But we know it can contain compounds like siloxanes, which some researchers say have similar risks to PFAS.
And there might be other hazardous materials lurking in the mix which can irritate your skin, eyes, and lungs. And that's not even considering the lead in antique pans or those made in unregulated facilities. There's extensive evidence that too much lead is linked with brain, kidney, reproductive system, and heart damage. So it's worth getting yourself a newer pan from a trusted manufacturer. And I recommended a newer one because ceramic pans have the same durability issues that other non-stick pans do. Since quasi-ceramic is fired at a lower temperature than true ceramic - we're talking 200 versus 1,100 degrees Celcius - it can wear down if you cook with high heat or chuck it in the dishwasher.
So while ceramic pans might be marketed as the healthier version of Teflon, there are still health risks. Maybe the better pan skips those non-stick coatings entirely. Which brings us to aluminum pans. Aluminum is prized for being lightweight and fairly inexpensive. Plus, this kind of metal conducts heat well, so it heats up quickly and cooks food pretty evenly. So far so good! But, unlike the previous two pans on this list, there's nothing really to stop food from sticking. Luckily, cookware experts have a few tips to solve that problem. You can heat the pan slowly, add oil only after the pan is hot, and pat food dry before you cook it.
So the lack of non-stick coating might not be a deal breaker. But there are other problems with aluminum pans. For example, they don't work with induction cook tops. Induction works by creating a magnetic field using coils of copper wire under the glass top. This magnetic field induces - see what I did there - an electric current in the pan itself, which causes atoms to rub together and create heat. For an induction top to work, the pan has to be made of a metal that a magnet would stick to. And aluminum isn't that kind of metal. But for those of us who don't have induction cooktops, there may be more serious issues with aluminum pans
It comes down to how they're made. See, aluminum pans are made by melting down metal and then pouring it into a mold. Trouble is, depending on where you buy your pan from, that metal could come from engine parts, radiators, or computers. When you heat the pan up, it might leach lead, cadmium, or arsenic into your food. One study of cookware from ten developing countries found that the pans leached up to 1,426 micrograms of lead and an average of 125 milligrams of aluminum, which is more than 6 times the World Health Organization's safety limit. Oh and just for the record, the FDA says there's no safe amount of lead exposure. In fact, the FDA issued a warning in 2025 that aluminum cookware
brought back from overseas poses a serious risk of lead poisoning, especially for young children or people who are breastfeeding. And even if your pan isn't made from scrap metal, there are other ways that you might get an unwanted seasoning of lead in your food. For example if your pan is a little dinged up from intensive use, or if you're cooking really acidic foods like tomatoes or sauerkraut. Again, experts recommend keeping the temperature low to medium, handwashing the pans, and using non-metal utensils - all of which can also minimize the risk of leaching metals into your food. So aluminum might be ok,
provided you're careful with where you buy it and how you use it. But if you just want to cook without worrying about playing it safe, this next pan's more your speed. If you've ever watched The Bear or Chopped, that's stainless steel they're cooking with. Stainless steel is an iron-based material mixed with chromium and other metals like copper, nickel or molybdenum. And depending on what recipe of stainless steel the pan is made from, it might be slightly more resistant to pitting thanks to molybdenum or to corrosion thanks to nickel. After all, its stainless moniker isn't just about aesthetics. Chromium helps protect the iron and other metals from being exposed to air and corroding or discolouring.
The really fancy stainless steel pans will be what's called tri-ply or all clad. This means they'll have a layer of aluminum nestled between layers of the steel. While steel holds heat well, it doesn't heat up quickly or distribute it evenly. So with all-clad, you get the best of both worlds. It's also non-reactive so you don't have to worry about certain acidic foods dredging up pan materials. So the average user worried about metals or chemicals leaching can rest easy and it solves problems for high-end chefs who want their food to taste like food, and not the pan. It sounds like the perfect cookware. … Except if you're highly sensitive to metals.
If you're allergic to the very low levels of nickel and chromium that can leach into food, maybe this isn't the pan for you. Especially during the first use, or if you're cooking something for a few hours. And it's probably no surprise at this point in the episode that if your pan is really beaten up, you're more at risk of metals leaching into your food. So while stainless steel pans are good, there's a reason they're not at the very top of our list. But titanium pans get closer. For anyone worried about adding bits of pan to your meal, titanium is a great option.
These pans reportedly don't leech metals into your food. But they also prevent stuff from leaving your food. In a 2020 study, researchers measured how well foods kept their nutrients while cooking in different pans. And titanium pans were the best at keeping vitamin C, vitamin B1, and selenium in the food. It might have to do with how titanium diffuses heat more slowly than other pans, which means the food isn't blasted with a hit of heat when you crank the dial on your stove. If you're looking for the best of everything - high cooking heat, non-stick, and durable - then titanium may be your choice.
Like all-clad stainless pans, titanium pans are made with layers of aluminum or other metals. Again, this means you're getting the best of all materials - the heat-spreading ability of aluminum, and the strength of titanium. One study from 2025 even engineered the titanium layer to have a honeycomb-like structure, which reduced the surface area food could cling to, making the pan non-stick! Although our editorial director said it wasn't as non-stick as he hoped it would be when he tried it. Sorry, Daniel. What matters is that these pans don't add anything you don't want in your food and they don't remove anything you'd like to keep in your meals.
They're everything you could ask for from a pan. But the best pan on our list does even more! It enhances your food in ways you might not even expect a pan to do for you. Just so you don't think this list was rigged from the beginning, I need to tell you that our editorial staff didn't want the best pan to be cast iron. The pans can be intimidating. But data doesn't lie and it all pointed here. These heavy duty pans are made from a mix of iron and around 2% carbon that's heated incredibly hot and poured into a mould, then cooled.
These two materials together are extremely tough, so they can withstand years of use. That might be why your grandma passed one down to you and why they've been around since before the common era. And, since they're made of iron, they work on all cooktops from fancy induction tops to the simple, open flame of a campfire. But its versatility isn't even what makes it the best pan. It's the fact that it leaches metal into your food! In a good way! If you're anemic, which a lot of people are, you're probably hurting for iron. And several studies have concluded that using cast iron pans could be a way to combat anemia.
Who knew your pan could give you nutrients?! Admittedly, there's a learning curve to using cast iron. So let's talk about that. Seasoning or developing a cast-iron pan's patina is the secret to a long-lasting and useful pan. They can be made non-stick by polymerizing oils to form a coating, or seasoning. There are lots of tutorials on how to do this, but basically, you're heating the pan with oil on it for a while and then allowing it to cool. From a science perspective, heating the oil breaks down its long hydrocarbon chains of fatty acids.
The carbon bonds in these chains then link up, or polymerize, to form large complex molecules that cling to the little crevices in the pan. And with those cracks and crevices filled in, food molecules can't bond with the metal of the pan and stick. So proper seasoning makes cast iron pans nonstick. And the same material can give you a beautiful sear on a steak because it's good at holding heat. Now, even the best pan ever isn't perfect. The material is a poor heat conductor, so it takes time to transfer heat from one part of the pan to the other, making it a little patchy heat-wise. But on the whole, when it comes to cookware,
we might have done our best work thousands of years ago. So before you get fired up about which pan is the best, consider what's important to you. Ease? Safety? Longevity? Most of these pans have something good to offer. So get cooking! [OUTRO]
