How we tested
The first thing we tried cooking when searching for the best sauté pans were bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs. We seared them skin side down over medium-high heat, which showed us how quickly the pans conducted heat, and how evenly it was dispersed across the cooking surface. Once browned, we flipped the thighs over and moved the sauté pans to the oven to finish cooking, noting any variations in cooking times, as well as the browning of the undersides. While our finished thighs rested, we returned the sauté pans to the stovetop to make a quick sauce. After adding a bit of chopped garlic, we deglazed the pans with white wine to see if the fond released easily, or if the brown bits stubbornly stuck to the bottom.
Photo by Travis Rainey, Food Styling by Kaitlin Wayne
Next, we cooked down shredded cabbage, which allowed us to test how well the sauté pans retained heat with their lids, and how quickly they were able to evaporate excess moisture. Finally, we tested the pans reactivity by making a simple pomodoro sauce, keeping stirring to a minimum to see if the pans would simmer safely, or scorch the sauce. In addition to cooking, we also paid close attention to the cleaning, noting if a sauté pan required vigorous scrubbing or any cleaning products outside of standard dish soap and water.
Other sauté Pans We Tested
Hestan Nanobond
We feel similarly about the Hestan Nanobond sauté pan as we do about the Nanobond frying pan and saucier. It is a phenomenal pan. It cooks as well as any pan we tested, but there are three notable differences between it and the Tramontina recommended above: It’s slightly heavier, it’s not as comfortable to hold with one hand, and it’s nearly seven times more expensive. The pan’s a looker and a performer, but you’ll have to decide if it’s worth close to $600.
AllClad D3 Sauté Pan
All-Clad has long been the standard bearer for what cookware should be, and we’ve made no secret of our love for the brand. Their tri-ply sauté pan is built around an aluminum core that offers quick, even heating, surrounded by durable, non-reactive stainless steel that offers good heat retention and makes it compatible with induction cooktops. Honestly, it’s a spectacular pan that impressed us in every test, and will undoubtedly impress you as well. However, it’s a little heftier and harder to handle than the similarly-constructed, high-performing Tramontina model — not to mention twice the price.
Demeyere
The Demeyere is another well-constructed pan that did an excellent job searing, sautéing and simmering. Alas, when we tested it side-by-side with the Tramontina, this sauté pan felt bulky and unwieldy.
Made In Stainless Clad sauté Pan
Only available as a 3.5 quart sauté pan, the Made In is fine if you’re cooking for one or two people, but not much use to people with families or who throw dinner parties. It also required two rounds of scrubbing to get fully clean after we made our chicken thighs, as the fond didn’t all release during deglazing, which left the bottom of the pan with some discoloration.
Calphalon Premier
The heat distribution on the Calphalon wasn’t as good as some other pans we tested. Hot spots meant we had to move our chicken thighs around a few times to get them to brown evenly, and the opaque lid kept us from keeping an eye on our greens. It’s a fine pan, and affordable, but a mid-tier performer.
Cuisinart Culinary Collection
Chicken thighs released easily from this ceramic coated pan performed, but, as with the GreenPan, didn’t brown deeply. We’d pick the GreenPan over this one because of the Cuisinart’s opaque lid, which makes monitoring a stovetop cook challenging.
Hexclad Deep Sauté Pan
HexClad attemps a sort of “greatest hits” of cookware. Like stainless steel, Hexclads are non-reactive. Like cast iron pans, they’re durable and retain heat like champs. And like nonstick pans, they’re, well, pretty nonstick. It performed well in all our cooking tests. Chicken thighs, for example, browned brilliantly, the skin left crackling and golden, and lifted off the pan without any resistance. The handle is comfortable to hold, and while it wasn’t the lightest pan we tried, it was still easy to lift and maneuver. The problem with the Hexclad is the slightly ambiguous nature of its materials. The brand has, in the past said that its pans are PFAS free, but also said they do contain PTFE, which is a subset of PFAS. As we said above, we try to avoid recommending PFAS when we can, so while this pan did perform well, it wasn’t so much better that we’d recommend it instead of a ceramic coated option like the GreenPan.