The 12 Best Pieces of Bakeware

Style: Casserole | Material: Enamel-coated carbon steel | Size: 13” x 9.75” x 2.25”

Dansk is known for their long-lasting mid-century Scandinavian designs, and their classic rectangular baking dish is not only particularly good looking, it’s beloved by many cooks, including me. It has a carbon-steel core (similar to cast iron but much lighter), which makes it excellent at conducting heat. While I have used it on a lower heat setting to give certain foods a gentler bake (like a big fish fillet and slow-cooked tomatoes), it’s particularly excellent at browning: I’ve roasted chicken and potatoes that turned out with crackly, golden skin. Writer and cookbook author Anna Hezel says you end up with “really crispy browned corners” when you make something that touches the sides, like lasagna (her personal area of expertise). Still, the enamel coating is easy to scrub clean (mine is still bright white), and I know it will hold up for ages (there’s a reason it’s a dish you commonly see in antique stores). Also, the build is superthin, resulting in a light weight overall, so it’s no strain to lift from the oven. (By comparison, the rectangular Great Jones baking dish below is more than a pound heavier.)

Prop stylist Bea Chastka and Anna Polonsky, founder of the branding and design consultancy Polonsky & Friends, both commented on the sturdy handles, which wrap all the way around from top edge to bottom, as well as the eye-catching design, with many color options (I have the forest green). “They’re just so beautiful to put out directly on the table,” Polonsky says.

Style: Casserole | Material: Ceramic | Size: 13” x 9.25” x 3”

I’ve had Great Jones’ baking dish in my collection for several years now. It’s quite large, but that makes it my go-to whenever I have a lot of mouths to feed. (Other than the Pyrex below, it’s about an inch taller than all the others on this list, which actually makes a difference in terms of how much food fits within.) It’s super-durable — on the heavier side but not so much that it’s burdensome. And the heft makes me feel like I can lift it up and place it down without being overly precious. And the handles, though shaped differently than Dansk’s, are thick and easy to grip.

Polonsky says she loves this one for its ‘60s styling. It features a border of layered arches around the edges in one of their signature colors: bright blue, mustard yellow, taffy pink, or forest green. And I agree: If you’re going to serve directly from a baking dish, it’s a fun one to set on the table.

Style: Casserole | Material: Porcelain | Size: 10” x 6.6” (oval); 8” x 8” (square); 9” x 13” (rectangle)

If you’re in the market for baking dishes in multiple shapes and sizes, it doesn’t get any better than Made In’s Bakeware Set, which will have you covered for all the basics. It comes recommended by Nicole Rucker, owner and chef of Fat + Flour in Los Angeles. It includes three versatile shapes — rectangle (especially good for foods where you want straight, crispy edges, like lasagna), oval, and square (which you can use to cook smaller portions or bake brownies). In particular, Rucker appreciates the material they’re made of. “Hard porcelain [a specialized type of ceramic] is a great thing to bake in and on,” she says. “It conducts very even heat.” (Because of this, she also turns to Made In’s bakeware for other more specialized pieces, like their baking slab and pie dish.) She notes that all these pieces are on the heavier side, but that “makes them feel solid and high-quality,” a plus in her book.

[Editor’s note: The simple red and blue options are currently sold out, but you can sign up to be notified when they come back in stock. There’s also a more decorative collaboration option still available.]

Style: Casserole | Material: Ceramic | Size: 9” x 6.5” x 2” (small); 12” x 8.5” x 2.5” (large)

I turn to these two baking dishes more than any others in my collection — truly multiple times a week. The classic look can read more casual if that’s the vibe of dinner, but look right at home on a dressed-up table, too. I appreciate that they nest, an obvious advantage for storing. But most of all, I love the smaller-sized vessel. It’s absolutely perfect when I’m cooking for two (the usual number). It holds a piece of salmon for slow-roasting, a pile of beans for marinating, thinly sliced potatoes for an on-the-fly gratin, and so much more. It also works for appetizers or side dishes. Both pieces conduct heat evenly, are easy to lift, and clean up perfectly by hand and in the dishwasher (mine are still bright white).

Style: Casserole | Material: Cast iron | Size: 8.2” x 5.4” x 2.2”

While baking individual portions of things is a bit more of a to-do, it brings a real wow factor when hosting. Hammer likes these ones from Lodge — though since they’re made of cast iron, an especially efficient heat conductor, they’re best for foods that benefit from a bit of color and a crispy edge, like a gratin or a baked pasta, she says. Additionally, they fit in a toaster oven, convenient for anyone who is making dinner for one and doesn’t want to bother turning on the oven.

Style: Casserole | Material: Ceramic | Size: 13” x 9”

For storage purposes, a baking dish without handles is useful (and as someone with a small collection, I can tell you firsthand that handles get in the way when stacking more often than you might think). Plus, as recipe developer and cookbook author Anna Stockwell points out, you have to use pot holders or a dish towel when hot either way. She’s loyal to the speckled ones from Vermont-based Bennington potters, which her mom used while she was growing up, too. The glaze is somewhere between shiny and matte with an easy-to-clean surface that can go in the dishwasher or be wiped down with a sponge. Stockwell notes that “ceramic cooks food more gently and evenly than metal, like cast iron,” so she uses it for things like braised chicken thighs, polenta casserole, and fruit crisp. A bonus: “Food photographs so well in it,” she says. “I’ve used this one in so many photoshoots for so many different people.”

Style: Roasting pan | Material: Stainless steel | Size: 14.25” x 11.75” x 3” (small); 16.75” x 13.75” x 2.5 (large)

While you might associate a dedicated roasting pan with Thanksgiving turkey, it’s a useful piece to have for cooking any large-format meat. Chef, writer, and artist Ifrah Ahmed has owned All-Clad’s for several years and says it’s the kind of cookware she knows will be with her for a lifetime (no surprise, given how many chefs endorse All-Clad skillets and cookware sets, too). She uses it to make traditional Somali dishes like Xawaash spiced chicken above a big batch of mixed roasted vegetables, in which the drippings fall down from the poultry onto what’s beneath, coating them in flavor but still allowing them to get brown and crispy, something that wouldn’t happen as evenly if you squished all your ingredients into one casserole dish, Dutch oven, or skillet. The air circulation below also allows for super-even cooking, regardless of whether or not there’s anything resting below. And the rack insert is built to be sturdy, easy to grip and pull out, even with something bulky sitting on top of it — again, not the case if you were to use an alternate method, like a cooling rack inserted into a sheet pan. “The design is efficient but stylish,” Ahmed says. “It’s spacious, but it doesn’t feel clunky.”

Style: Cake pan | Material: Anodized aluminum | Size: From 4” x 2”

Fat Daddios makes pastry-chef-approved cake pans. It’s the brand you’re most likely to see stocked at restaurant and pastry-supply stores, a good indicator that they’re high-quality and durable. Recipe developer and cookbook author Claire Saffitz praises a few key features that make them stand out, even though they look nothing fancy. They’re made from anodized aluminum, which is less reactive than untreated aluminum, meaning they won’t discolor and emit funky flavors over time. But they also heat much more evenly than nonstick, which will often leave you with a “burnt outside with a huge dome that is undercooked in the center,” Saffitz says. Pastry chef Kaitlyn Wong confirms that even without a nonstick surface, cakes release easily. The pans also have perfectly straight sides. Oftentimes, cake pans will have ever-so-slightly rounded or slanted sides that may not be apparent until you go to stack a layer cake — and then it’s too late. They come in a striking 41 sizes, but if you just need something basic, go with a classic nine- or ten-inch. And finally, it’s worth noting that Fat Daddios also makes a springform pan that releases the bottom from the sides, the preferred style for certain cakes, like cheesecake and upside down cake.

Style: Loaf pan | Material: Nonstick | Size: 9” x 5”

When it comes to picking a loaf pan, you want to look for something as simple but well-built as the cake pans above. Velez calls herself “a big Wilton girl,” and the reasons are straightforward: They make a tried-and-true loaf pan that is sturdy but lightweight, cools down quickly, releases well, and cleans up like a breeze. The wide handles (not always present on loaf pans) make it especially easy to grip and transfer from oven to counter, and the surface is nonstick, which Velez says holds up through “the wear and tear of lots of recipe testing.” The company says that you can use most metal tools on the surface, so sliding an offset spatula along the sides to help with release shouldn’t cause damage.

If you’re interested in a loaf pan that will give you cakes more akin to what you see in professional bakeries, Wong swears by King Arthur’s Baking Pullman Loaf Pan. The shape was created to make perfectly rectangular loaves (and then perfectly square slices) of pullman bread (which is also why there is a removable top piece). It’s slightly bigger than the Wilton (and other standard loaf pans for home baking), but will work with the same amount of batter in any recipe. What’s more, Wong says the extra room can be a good thing: “They’re so tall, they give a good amount of flexibility with the rise, and never overflow.”

Style: Pie pan | Material: Glass | Size: 9.5”

Pyrex strikes again. In this case, the see-through material provides a more technical benefit. “Most pies need to bake for longer than home bakers typically think,” says Saffitz. “With glass, you can monitor the browning on the bottom and sides.” Indeed, this very vessel is how I learned to make better pies, and I still rely on it to this day. Recipe developer and cookbook author Erin Jeanne McDowell, and Emily and Melissa Elsen, co-owners of Brooklyn’s pie shop Four & Twenty Blackbirds, endorse this extra bit of assurance, too, especially for beginners. And the Elsens have a pro tip to add: “If the crust is pale but the top is browning, cover it in foil, drop the temperature 20 or 25 degrees, and bake until the bottom crust is done.”