Best Saucepans 2024 - Forbes Vetted

Oct 22, 2024

Taller than a frying pan but smaller than a stockpot, a saucepan is the ideal vessel for making homemade marinara sauce, warming up leftover soup for lunch or melting butter for a batch of brownies. Whether you’re a beginner home cook or a total pro, it’s a cookware essential. Out of the very best saucepans, our top recommendation is the All-Clad D5 Stainless Steel Saucepan, a longtime bestseller prized for its heat conductivity, durability and consistency.

Whether you’re making a small portion of grains or melting butter for a batch of brownies, a good ... [+] saucepan is up to the task.

In the opinion Shawn Matijevich, lead chef-instructor of online culinary arts and food operations at the Institute of Culinary Education, “a saucepan should be made from stainless steel,” he says, and bonus points if it has a clad construction (which is when a pan has an aluminum or copper core that’s sandwiched between layers of stainless steel). That said, there are some great pans made from other materials, including enameled cast iron and copper. If the All-Clad saucepan above is outside your budget, we also love this under-$20 Cuisinart Chef's Classic Stainless Steel Saucepan, which is a small, but mighty workhorse in the kitchen. And for those who want to splurge, the Le Creuset Signature Enameled Cast Iron Saucepan is a beautiful piece of cookware that offers superior heat retention. Ahead, here are the best saucepans to add to your cookware collection.

All-Clad

Material: Stainless steel | Capacity: 3 quarts | Weight: 5 pounds | Oven safe: Yes | Induction safe: Yes | Dishwasher safe: No

All-Clad makes our favorite stainless steel cookware, and this all-purpose saucepan is no exception. To start, its construction is top-tier: It has five-ply bonded construction, featuring an aluminum core and layers of stainless steel. The result? A premium, durable saucepan that’s an excellent heat conductor. And at three quarts, it’s the perfect size for preparing sauces, boiling rice, warming leftovers and more. It also features double riveted stainless steel handles, which Matijevich values. “I do tend to go for rivets because they look nicer,” he says.

Cuisinart

Material: Aluminum | Capacity: 1.5 quarts | Weight: 2.5 pounds | Oven safe: Yes | Induction safe: Yes | Dishwasher safe: Yes

At under $20, this Cuisinart saucepan seems too good to be true—but it’s not. Featuring a 1.5-quart capacity, this pick can hold its own against other pieces of cookware that are significantly more expensive. Crafted with an aluminum base, it offers even heat distribution and conduction, making it suitable for everything from caramelizing onions to boiling rice. What’s more, the interior features a measuring guide, so you can add the right amount of water or broth for your recipe without fail. If you need more space, the brand offers the same pot in both 2- and 3-quart versions, and both are under $50.

Williams Sonoma

Material: Enameled cast iron | Capacity: 1.75 to 2.25 quarts | Weight: 6 pounds | Oven safe: Yes | Induction safe: Yes | Dishwasher safe: Yes

Cast-iron cookware is popular for its heat retention (among other properties), and this option from Le Creuset is beautiful to boot. Just like the trusted brand’s Dutch ovens, this heavyweight saucepan comes in multiples sizes and tons of colors, and it’s ideal for making sauces, caramelizing onions and cooking grains. Though it doesn’t come cheap, this is one of those heirloom-quality pieces of cookware you could use for a lifetime. Bonus: It’s dishwasher safe (though it’s always best to hand wash cookware to increase its longevity).

Amazon

Materials: Stainless steel, aluminum and glass | Capacity: 1.5 quarts | Weight: 2.5 pounds | Oven safe: Yes | Induction safe: Yes | Dishwasher safe: No

If you live in an apartment with a smaller-than-average kitchen, chances are you don’t have a ton of storage or stovetop space to work with. Don’t let that discourage you from building a cookware collection—you just need to invest in smaller pieces like this compact pick from Calphalon. Crafted from stainless steel (with an aluminum core), this 1.5-quart saucepan is the one I bought when I moved to my first apartment; at the time, I was looking for one from a reliable brand that was relatively affordable but nonetheless reliable. Five years later, it remains my most-used saucepan, as its petite size is perfect for cooking smaller portions of grains or pasta, as well as heating up sauces and soups. It also comes with a tempered glass lid that helps you monitor what you’re cooking.

Williams Sonoma

Materials: Copper, stainless steel | Capacity: 1.5 to 4 quarts | Weight: 3 pounds | Oven safe: Yes | Induction safe: Yes | Dishwasher safe: No

Copper cookware isn’t just about looks. Like stainless steel, it’s beloved for its superior heat conductivity, meaning it gets hot and stays hot evenly. (And, of course, it’s beautiful.) We especially like the pots and pans from Hestan, including the CopperBond Covered Saucepan. Sold in sizes ranging from 1.5 to 4 quarts, this saucepan has a polished copper and stainless steel exterior, plus a copper core wrapped in aluminum. Essentially, it’s our goldilocks saucepan—you get the benefits of both stainless steel (ease of use and durability) and copper (quick, even heating) in one pretty package.

I’m a food writer, editor and former line cook with six years of industry experience. I’ve tested the best instant pots, waffle makers, Dutch ovens and 4-slice toasters for Forbes Vetted, meaning I’m familiar with the site’s high standards for all the products it recommends.