The Best Stainless-Steel Skillets

A skillet is an essential tool for sautéing—its curved sides and relatively light weight make it easy to stir and toss ingredients for rapid, even cooking—and it does a bang-up job roasting smaller portions of vegetables, fish, and meat—like steaks, chops, chicken breasts, and more. In a larger 12-inch skillet, you can even roast a whole bird.

To clarify, we're not talking about cast-iron skillets or carbon-steel ones, and we're not including nonstick options nor the inexpensive aluminum dealios you're more likely to find in a restaurant supply store. For this equipment review, we're looking specifically at stainless-steel skillets, those nearly indestructible mainstays that, thanks to their nonreactive stainless exteriors, are perfectly suited for building pan sauces, no matter the acidity of the ingredient—not something one can say for reactive cast iron, carbon steel, and aluminum.

If you're in the market for a new stainless-steel skillet, the question is, which should you get? We tested 25 fully clad stainless-steel skillets to find our favorites.

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Skip to the winners!

The Best Stainless-Steel Skillet: Made-In 10- and 12-Inch Skillets

Made-In's skillet heated evenly and showed itself to be responsive to changes in heat. It seared chicken breasts beautifully and was easy and comfortable to hold and toss during sautéing tests. It's a solid, no-nonsense skillet at a reasonable price.

The Best Affordable Stainless-Steel Skillet: Tramontina Tri-Ply 10- and 12-Inch Skillets

The Tramontina's sides slope up a little too leisurely, reducing the usable floor for searing, but the overall performance was still strong. The price tends to fluctuate a bit, but it generally hovers about $30 less than our top pick, making it a strong contender if saving a few Benjamins is a priority.

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