A saucepan may have sauce in the name, but it is for much more than just sauces. I don’t know about you, but I do not always cook in large batches or for a family of four. A Dutch oven or pasta pot is excellent for many things, but you need a smaller pot for smaller tasks. Enter the saucepan.
A saucepan’s versatility makes it an essential kitchen item. I like to use mine for all sorts of gravy, slowly simmering sauces, cooking risotto, and even making boxed mac and cheese for my kids. They’re handy and much easier to lug out of your cabinets when you want to whip up something small.
To find the best saucepan, I tested ten top models over a few weeks. I found one at every price point, and lucky for you, we’ve handpicked a selection of the best we tested.
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The All-Clad stainless steel saucepan won top marks in our tests. It was the best saucepan to cook with during my testing because it was well-balanced in hand but light enough to carry from the stove to the sink when complete. I also like the notch in the handle, which is longer than most All-Clad handles. Most saucepans have longer handles.
I’m also just a big fan of the All-Clad brand. The best saucepan brands are made to last, and this is one that you can trust when investing your money. I still have my All-Clad cookware set, which I bought 20 years ago. It’s a workhorse. So, adding to it with one of these pieces is a no-brainer for me. It’s also incredibly easy to clean, and there are no intense sharp edges within the pan or its exterior. It’s also just beautiful to look at.
Material: Stainless Steel | Dishwasher-Safe: Yes | Induction-Compatible: Yes
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I was shocked that I liked this Caraway pan as much as I did, but denying its superiority and beauty was hard. It was one of the more expensive and heaviest pans in this test sample. Its heaviness, however, is a positive attribute because it aids in heat conductivity and retains heat longer than others we tested. Heavy-bottomed saucepans help conduct heat more evenly than thinner models, and this holds the heat, so much so that you don’t need to turn the heat up all the way.
This was well balanced, even though heavy means it’s an evenly constructed product. The pan comes with a special sponge to help finish the shine after you wash it. One of the downsides is that you cannot use metal utensils with this, which is a surprise but something of note if you prefer those.
Material: Stainless Steel | Dishwasher-Safe: No | Induction-Compatible: Yes
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Made In makes gorgeous stainless steel cookware, and the saucepan is no exception. I could feel how well it was made the minute I held it. It feels expensive and like it will last ages. It isn’t all just looks, though. The saucepan boiled water quickly and held on to the heat so things cooked evenly with minimal hotspots.
I also appreciate its stay-cool handle, so I don’t space out and burn myself — not that I have ever done that before. Its rolled edges also make pouring much easier and mess-free. The best saucepans are easy to clean, and this one was. It can go in the dishwasher, but just make sure you dry it well before you put the lid on and store it.
Material: Stainless Steel | Dishwasher-Safe: Yes | Induction-Compatible: Yes
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Tramontina is one of my favorite brands when you want something professional grade but at a value price. It’s the kind of pan many kitchens rely on because they are durable but not so expensive that replacing them is a burden. That’s why we also recommend the brand’s nonstick pans.
These are beautiful even if they are a value buy, and they are also incredibly versatile. This saucepan is the perfect size for a small family, and I love that it is easy to build a set if you like the brand. The saucepan is induction-compatible and also easy to clean. Its handle also stays relatively cool and feels ergonomic when in use.
Material: Stainless Steel | Dishwasher-Safe: No | Induction-Compatible: Yes
Our Favorite Saucepan
I was awarded the All-Clad Stainless Steel Tri-Ply 3-Quart Saucepan with Lid the best overall saucepan for a few reasons: It has a nice long handle and showed little damage after our tests. Our splurge pick, the Caraway Stainless Steel Saucepan, performed equally well, and we liked its heavy bottom for heat conductivity.
How We Tested Saucepans
Food & Wine / Jennifer Zyman
Even though these are saucepans, they do so much. I used them to make some sauces, but most people use a saute pan as a workhorse. Me included. I incorporated the pans into my daily cooking to evaluate the heat conductivity and ease of use. I made rice, small batches of soup, and boxed mac and cheese. I even measured how long it took to boil water in each saucepan to evaluate how fast it took to heat up. I also wanted to see how it felt to hold the saucepans when they were full of liquid. It was a great indicator of a pan’s balance, an important comfort feature you should constantly evaluate when buying cookware. Clean-up was also an important consideration. Some pans didn’t fare well during extended use and showed damage or wear, such as staining.
Factors to Consider
Material
Saucepans come in various materials, such as nonstick coatings, ceramic, carbon steel, and stainless steel. We find stainless steel the best because metal utensils can’t scratch the surface of most pans easily and are straightforward to clean. It is also more durable and long-lasting than nonstick saucepans.
Capacity
Most saucepans have a capacity between one and four quarts. The smaller ones are good for small-batch sauces and boiling eggs, but the larger ones can be too large and threaten pot territory. We recommend a saucepan around three quarts for most kitchens.
Pan Design Features
Many saucepans, such as those with helper handles, have features to help them be used more comfortably. The handle is a critical part to consider since it must be comfortable to hold. The lid should also be tight-fitting to lock in moisture when cooking dishes like rice.
Other Saucepans We Tested
Le Creuset Stainless Steel Saucepan, ($180 at Amazon)
I loved this saucepan at first and was wowed by its shiny silver design, which mimics the ceramic original. Sadly, it started to show signs of staining, and we could not clean it off. Other customers also reported it was an issue.
Calphalon Classic Stainless Steel 2.5qt Saucepan, ($100 at Amazon)
This is a good value pot with helpful measurements printed on the inside of the saucepan. However, there were just others who performed better during our testing, which is why it didn’t get a spot on the list.
Zwilling Spirit 3-Ply Stainless Steel 4-Quart Saucepan, ($120 at Amazon)
The Zwilling makes quite heavy-duty pots and pans; this saucepan is no exception. It heated water quickly, and I like that the lid has perforations for straining. It felt well-constructed, but something about it felt cheap. It wasn’t very attractive either.
Hestan ProBond Professional Clad Stainless Steel Saucepan, 2 Quart, ($240 at Amazon)
This is an incredibly well-made saucepan, but it is smaller. And for a 2-quart saucepan, it is quite expensive. It’s actually the most expensive saucepan in this test, which makes it difficult to recommend since it’s also the smallest. That said, it has an incredibly tight-fitting cover and performs well.
Our Place Mini Perfect Pot 2.0, ($130 at Our Place)
I want to love these pans so much, but they seem to start showing where they are more quickly than any other in our test. The coating eventually gets chipped, which doesn’t look great. And I find the construction to be lightweight and almost tinny.
Our Expertise
Jennifer Zyman is Food & Wine’s Testing Editor, and her work focuses on finding the best new products for all sorts of cooks. She’s vetted hundreds of products, including side-by-side testing of essential kitchen gadgets like Kitchen Torches, Nonstick Pans, potato mashers, and tortilla presses. She’s written about food and restaurants for over 15 years and is a proficient home cook with a culinary school degree who is always on the hunt for the latest and greatest kitchen technique, trick, or tool.