I Fried, Seared, and Braised Chicken in 22 Sauté Pans To Find the Best Ones

My Top Pick

Tramontina Saute Pan

$119 $80 at Amazon $80 at Target $80 at Wayfair

Tri-ply construction in cookware means that the pans and pots are made with three layers of metal, including an inner core made of aluminum or copper. This triple layer of metal heats up faster and more evenly than their single-ply counterparts, but it also leads to pans that are slightly heavier and more expensive. Tramontina’s tri-ply pan hits that sweet spot of not being as heavy as other tri-ply pans and costing less than the competition, all while heating evenly and responsively.

In tests, fry oil heated quickly, leading to perfectly crisp chicken Parmesan and evenly browned pan-seared chicken thighs. Deglazing the pan was easy, with browned bits coming off in the chicken stock with the nudge of a wooden spatula. The round and tapered handle stayed cool as the pan sat on the stovetop, and the extra helper handle was useful when moving the pan in and out of the oven or while pouring liquid out.

The Tramontina pan is also oven safe to 500°F, which makes it ideal for both stovetop and oven finishing. Like all stainless cookware, cleaning the pan wasn’t as easy as nonstick, but any stubborn cooked-on oil stains came off fairly easily with a little Bar Keepers Friend cleanser and elbow grease. The pan itself is induction stovetop compatible as well as dishwasher safe, making it a versatile pan for everyone, regardless of their kitchen.

The Details: Tri-ply clad construction of 18/10 stainless steel, aluminum core, magnetic stainless steel; 3-quart capacity; 9.5-inch diameter, oven safe 500°F, dishwasher safe

Best Budget

Rachael Ray Cook and Create 3-Quart Sauté Pan

$50 $35 at Amazon $42 at Wayfair $84 at Macys

The Rachael Ray sauté pan comes in a variety of fun and festive colors, but don’t let the sassy exterior fool you into mistaking it for kitschy kitchenware. Chicken Parmesan fried up crisp and even during tests with a quick heat up time. Although cooking oil initially ran and pooled to the side due to the slick, nonstick coating, this wasn’t an issue when searing the chicken thighs, which browned and released easily. Frying eggs also proved to be painless, releasing without any need for oil.

The soft, grippy, silicone-coated handle means it’s easy to pick up and move around the kitchen, including transferring from the stovetop to the oven and back. The pan is oven safe to 400°F. It’s also made of aluminum and is fairly lightweight, ideal for those with wrist or mobility issues.

The lid is made of tempered glass and has a silicone rim around the edge, making it durable and comfortable when placing the lid onto the pan or on your counter. The pan is not dishwasher safe, though the nonstick-coating interior, coated internal rivets, and enameled-coated exterior make hand cleaning fairly easy.

The Details: Aluminum, three-layer nonstick coating, silicone, tempered glass; 3-quart capacity; 9.5-inch diameter, oven safe 400°F, handwash only

Best Nonstick

Made In Cookware NonStick Sauté Pan

$179 at Amazon View on Madeincookware.com

Just as tri-ply cookware has three layers of metal, 5-ply cookware has five layers of metal to help distribute heat evenly and quickly. A lot of commercial-grade cookware is 5-ply, which is more durable and less prone to warping—suitable for the heavy demands of a commercial kitchen or back-of-house restaurant. The downside is that 5-ply pans tend to cost more and weigh more, and are often not available with a nonstick coating.

Made In’s nonstick sauté pan is one of the exceptions. Lighter than other 5-ply and more reasonably priced, the durable nonstick coating on the pan made frying an egg without oil easy during tests—and also allowed the egg to release without issues. The 5-ply construction meant the pan heated up fry oil quickly without hot spots. Pan-seared chicken thighs came out beautifully with a golden-brown skin. 

The satin finish exterior made the pan easier to hold than polished metal. Specifically, the pan’s handle was comfortable and stayed cool on the stovetop, while the helper handle was useful for moving the pan in and out of the oven. The pan is oven safe up to 500°F, a high temperature for a traditional nonstick pan, making it a commercial-grade pan with the ability to oven-finish a dish and the added convenience of an easier-to-clean traditional nonstick coating.

The Details: 5-ply clad construction of 18/10 stainless steel, aluminum and aluminum alloy core, magnetic stainless steel; 3.5-quart capacity; 10.25-inch diameter, oven safe 500°F; handwash only

Best Ceramic Nonstick

Caraway Nonstick Ceramic Sauté Pan

$145 $130 at Amazon $145 $131 at Sur La Table View on Carawayhome.com

If you are wary of traditional nonstick coating but want the convenience and easy cleanup of a nonstick pan, ceramic nonstick is a great alternative. Caraway’s ceramic nonstick sauté pan is a generous 4.5-quart size with a rounded bottom edge. The ceramic pan is induction compatible with a smooth ceramic lining that easily released fried eggs cooked without oil from the surface during tests. 

The heavy pan heated up evenly but slightly slower than other pans tested. Still, chicken Parmesan came out crispy and finished nicely in the oven. Pan-seared chicken thighs turned golden brown and released without sticking, even as the cooking oil immediately moved around the slippery bottom of the pan after being added.

The ceramic nonstick coating made cleanup simple, though the outer part of the pan did pick up scuff marks easily. Caraway includes a “cleaning eraser” to help get rid of these sorts of marks. Sure enough, a simple wipe or two of the dampened eraser removed the marks, though Caraway cautions to use the eraser sparingly. Although ceramic coatings tend to wear out and scratch quicker than traditional nonstick pans, this pan will last a long while with careful cleaning.

The Details: Aluminum, ceramic enamel nonstick coating, stainless steel; 4.5-quart capacity; 12-inch diameter; oven safe 550°F; handwash only

Best Deep Sauté Pan

Zwilling Spirit 10-inch Sauté Pan with Glass Lid

$112 at Amazon View on Zwilling

If you’re looking for a deeper sauté pan or one that can function as both a sauté pan and a shallow saucepan, this Zwilling 10-inch pan is a great option. The 3.75-inch deep pan is ideal for sautéing vegetables, making sauces, and braising protein. The sturdy tri-ply construction means the pan heats up evenly and quickly, making it easy to pan-fry chicken Parmesan and sear chicken thighs to a golden brown.

In tests, frying eggs was a little more challenging because of the tall sides. Still, the eggs didn’t stick at all to the ceramic-coated pan, even when cooking without oil. The slightly flared rim helps make it easy to reach into the pan for flipping and pour out liquids with minimal drips.

The tapered flat handle stayed cool on the stovetop, and the helper handle made it easy to move the pan in and out of the oven. The pan is oven safe up to 400°F. You do have to keep in mind that ceramic coatings aren’t as durable as traditional nonstick coating, but the pan is dishwasher safe for easy cleanup.

The Details: Tri-ply clad construction of 18/10 stainless steel, aluminum core; 4.6-quart capacity; 10-inch diameter; oven safe 400°F; dishwasher safe

Best Large Nonstick

Circulon C1 Series ScratchDefense 5-Quart Sauté Pan

$140 at Amazon View on Circulon.com

If you’re looking for a larger sauté pan to cook for a big household, Circulon’s C1 series five-quart sauté pan is a workhorse of a pan. The triple-layer nonstick coating is rated to never scratch, which seems like an impossible promise. But even if the pan does eventually start to wear out, it’s backed by a limited lifetime warranty.

During testing, the pan easily released fried eggs without oil, seared chicken thighs to a golden brown, and heated up evenly and consistently to pan-fry chicken Parmesan. The circular rings on the surface of the pan are one of Circulon’s signature designs, ostensibly to help prevent the nonstick coating from totally wearing out since the taller ridges would wear out faster than the lower “valley” rings in the pan. The ridges have a secondary function as well: to keep cooking oil in place where you pour it. Unlike more traditional flat-bottomed pans, oil poured into the pan stays put and doesn’t immediately run all over the place.

The pan’s handle has a nice round flare to it, making it comfortable to hold, though it was a bit short and could have been longer to balance the large body. The pan itself isn’t as heavy as some of the competing five-quart pans, which is nice since five quarts of food can get fairly heavy to move around. Sadly, it’s not dishwasher safe, but the nonstick coating—which also coats the inside rivets of the pan—makes cleanup easy.

The Details: Stainless steel, aluminum core, triple-layer nonstick coating; 5-quart capacity; 12-inch diameter; oven safe 500°F; handwash only

Best Professional

All-Clad D3 Tri-Ply 3-Quart Stainless Steel Sauté Pan

$180 at Amazon $180 $17 at Walmart $180 at Williams Sonoma

If you’re in the market to invest in a piece that will last a lifetime, the All-Clad D3 sauté pan is an excellent choice. With a tri-ply construction, the durable pan is built to last. The triple-layer metal heats up quickly and evenly, bringing the oil to temperature for pan-frying chicken Parmesan. Chicken thighs seared and released easily from the heated pan, resulting in an ideal golden brown color. The pan was easily deglazed with chicken stock, with the tasty bits of fond releasing smoothly.

The thin, flared concave handle stays cool and allows you to rest your thumb in the center as you move it around the kitchen from the stove to the oven and back. The pan itself is heavy, but not as heavy as some of the other pans tested, and the handle had a nice balance to the body. The All-Clad pan is oven safe up to 600°F, higher than any of the other pans tested, and is even broiler safe, which is unusual for stovetop cookware.

Like all stainless steel pans, the All-Clad is a little harder to clean than a nonstick pan. It’s also not dishwasher safe. But because the pan is so responsive to heat, cooking in the pan on low to medium heat is advised, making cleanup a little easier. Any cooked-on oil stains came off with a little bit of scrubbing and Bar Keepers Friend, returning the pan to looking like new. Backed with a limited lifetime warranty, this is an investment piece for the kitchen.

The Details: Tri-ply clad construction of stainless steel and aluminum core; 3-quart capacity; 11-inch diameter; oven safe 600°F; handwash only