Best saucepans

A saucepan with a poor non-stick coating will mean more oil is needed to avoid food getting stuck, and if the heat is poorly distributed you might also end up with burnt bits on the bottom of the pan, which are a pain to clean off.

To help you avoid buying a dud, we tested 10 20cm saucepans from popular brands including Le Creuset, Salter and Scoville, and the saucepans we tested ranged in price from £8 all the way up to £155. 

Find out which we rate and the useful features to look out for, as well as how best to clean a burnt saucepan without damaging the non-stick coating.

Pricing and availability were last checked: 6 June 2022.

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The best saucepans

Only logged-in Which? members can view the full test results below. If you're not yet a member, you'll see a list of the saucepans we tested in alphabetical order. 

Join Which? now to get instant access to our test results and Best Buy recommendations below.

AnyDay John Lewis & Partners Aluminium Non-Stick Saucepan & Lid

Only available at John Lewis: £10.

Available sizes: 16cm, 18cm, 20cm

Hob suitability: Suitable for use on all hobs, including induction

Key features: Steam vent, non-stick

The John Lewis AnyDay non-stick saucepan is a cheap option and, as it's made with a stainless steel base, this saucepan is suitable for any hob type.

How quickly does this basic pan heat up compared to others?

Log into your account or join Which? today to read our full review and find out.

Argos Home Aluminium Saucepan

Only available at Argos: £10.

Available sizes: 16cm, 18cm, 20cm

Hob suitability: Suitable for use on all hobs, including induction

Key features: Steam vent, 1-year guarantee, oven safe up to 150°C, dishwasher safe, non-stick, pour spout, lid with built-in strainer

This saucepan from the Argos Home range has a number of useful extras, including a pour spout and a strainer built into the lip of the lid to avoid messy spills. 

How did this saucepan do in our tests?

To find out, log into your account or join Which? today and get instant access to all our reviews and Best Buy recommendations.

Dunelm Essentials Aluminium Saucepan

Only available at Dunelm: £9.

Available sizes: 16cm, 18cm, 20cm

Hob suitability: Suitable for most hobs, excluding induction

Key features: Steam vent, dishwasher safe

If you're looking for a basic pan, then this saucepan from Dunelm's Essential range could be a contender. 

It's the cheapest saucepan in our tests and it doesn't have many extra features.

See how it compares with pricier saucepans. Log into your account or join Which? for instant access to all our reviews and Best Buy recommendations.

Eaziglide Neverstick2 Aluminium Non-Stick Saucepan

Only available at John Lewis: £60.

Available sizes: 16cm, 18cm, 20cm

Hob suitability: Suitable for all hobs, including induction

Key features: Lifetime guarantee, oven safe (including lid) up to 260°C, dishwasher safe, non-stick, lid with built-in strainer

This saucepan from Eaziglide's Neverstick2 range is pricey, but it's safe to go in the oven and it's claimed to have a non-stick coating that enables you to cook without oil or butter. 

Eaziglide is so confident about its product it even comes with a lifetime guarantee.

Log into your account or join Which? today to see if we were impressed.

GreenPan Venice Pro Extra Ceramic Non-Stick Saucepan With Lid

Cheapest price: £70 available at GreenPan, also available at John Lewis.

Available sizes: 16cm, 18cm, 20cm

Hob suitability: Suitable for all hobs, including induction

Key features: Lifetime guarantee, oven safe (including lid) up to 220°C, dishwasher safe, non-stick

GreenPan says its Venice Pro saucepan has an expertly designed ceramic non-stick coating that's ideal for making porridge, custard, scrambled eggs and more. 

What did we think of the design and performance of this relatively expensive saucepan? 

Find out by reading our full review. Log in now or join Which? today for instant access to all our reviews and Best Buy recommendations.

Lakeland Hard Anodised Bell Shaped Saucepan

Only available at Lakeland: £54.99.

Available sizes: 16cm, 18cm, 20cm

Hob suitability: Suitable for all hobs, including induction 

Key features: 3-year guarantee, oven safe up to 180°C, dishwasher safe, non-stick

According to Lakeland, this bell-shaped saucepan has a triple-coat non-stick interior, excellent heat distribution and it's claimed the shape makes stirring easier. 

Find out how this saucepan did in our cooking and heat conduction tests.

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Le Creuset Toughened Non-Stick Saucepan & Lid

Cheapest price: £168.99 available from Robert Dyas, also available from John Lewis, Le Creuset.

Available sizes: 16cm, 18cm, 20cm

Hob suitability: Suitable for use on all hobs, including induction

Key features: 3-year guarantee, oven safe (including lid) up to 260°C, dishwasher safe, non-stick

With the highest price in our tests, this non-stick saucepan from Le Creuset has a number of useful features.

But did we think it's worth investing in? 

Read our full review to find out, by logging into your account or by joining Which? today.

We've also tested a Le Creuset cast-iron skillet in our Best cast-iron frying pan skillet guide.

ProCook Professional Granite Saucepan & Lid

Only available at ProCook: £49.

Available sizes: 14cm, 16cm, 18cm, 20cm

Hob suitability: Suitable for most hob types, including induction, but excluding hotplates 

Key features: 25-year guarantee, oven safe up to 260°C, dishwasher safe, non-stick

ProCook says its Professional saucepan is strong and durable, and it offers excellent heat distribution and energy-efficient cooking.

Our researchers put each saucepan to the test to assess the non-stick coating, heat conduction, build quality and ease of cleaning.

To find out how this pan compares, log into your account or join Which? now to read our full review and see all our Best Buy recommendations.

Salter Geo Hex Non-Stick Aluminium Saucepan

Only available at Argos: £19.99.

Available sizes: 16cm, 18cm, 20cm

Hob suitability: Suitable for use on all hobs, including induction

Key features: Steam vent, 10-year guarantee, dishwasher safe, non-stick

Cheaper saucepans don't tend to come with a long guarantee, but this inexpensive Salter non-stick saucepan has a 10-year guarantee so it should last a while.

What did our researchers think of this saucepan and do we recommend it?

Find out by logging into your account or joining Which? today to get instant access to our full review and Best Buy recommendations.

Scoville Neverstick Saucepan

Cheapest price: £13.50 available at ASDA, also available at Amazon (out of stock), Dunelm, Scoville.

Available sizes: 16cm, 18cm, 20cm

Hob suitability: Suitable for all hobs, including induction

Key features: Steam vent, lifetime guarantee, dishwasher safe, non-stick

Scoville claims the non-stick coating on its saucepan is five times stronger than other non-stick saucepans, which is perhaps why it's called Neverstick.

Find out if this saucepan lives up to its name. 

Read our full review by logging into your account or by joining Which? today.

How to clean a burnt saucepan

We've all accidentally burnt food at one time or another. 

Try this method to easily remove burnt food residue from your saucepan, while protecting the non-stick coating from damage: 

1. Make sure the saucepan has cooled down. 
2. Fill the saucepan with water and add a dishwasher tablet or one tablespoon of biological washing powder. 
3. Put the saucepan back on medium heat and bring to a boil. 
4. Leave the saucepan to simmer for around 10 minutes. 
5. Rinse the pan and wipe away the mess with a non-scratch sponge. Then wash as normal. 
6. Repeat if necessary. 

Can you put saucepans in the dishwasher?

While many, if not most, modern saucepans claim to be dishwasher safe, we still recommend that you wash your saucepans by hand if you can, especially if they are non-stick.

This is because the high temperature of the water inside a dishwasher can wear down the non-stick surface over time.

During our research, we found lots of complaints from customers who used a dishwasher and found the non-stick surface of the pan quickly deteriorated. 

Read our guide to find out what can and can't go in the dishwasher

Saucepans in our test compared

Our table below shows you at a glance the key features and details of the saucepans from our test.

What is PFOA free?

When you see 'PFOA free' on an item of cookware, it simply means the chemical PFOA wasn't used to make the non-stick coating. 

PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid) is part of the larger PFASs (perfluorooctanoic acid and polyfluoroalkyl substances) family, a group of more than 4,700 industrial chemicals used in all sorts of everyday items such as food packaging, clothing and cosmetics. 

PFOA is used worldwide as an industrial surfactant in chemical processes, including manufacturing non-stick pan coatings. It's considered a health concern and subject to regulatory action across the globe.

It is worth noting that even if a product says it is PFOA free, it still may contain newer chemicals from the same family of substances. 

In the UK, these regulations are currently under review. The government is due to have a consultation on a new draft of the UK Chemical Strategy sometime in 2022. 

For more information, check out ClientEarth, PFAS Free and Chem Trust.

How we tested saucepans

To test saucepans and find you the best we put our selection through the following series of tests. 

Build quality

To start with our researchers examined each of the saucepans. We checked them for any manufacturing faults or defects. 

We also examined the lids to see how well they fit together with the saucepans and how sturdy they were.

The best saucepans were well made with stable handles, smooth surfaces and no flaws caused by the manufacturing process.

Non-stick

We tested the non-stick surface of each saucepan by using them to cook a 415g tin of baked beans.

Each saucepan was placed on medium heat with the baked beans and brought to boiling. Once boiling started we cooked the beans for a further three minutes. 

Then we tried to pour the beans onto a plate, only using a wooden spatula as a last resort. 

The fewer beans that stuck to the inside of the saucepan the better the saucepan was considered to have done.

Washing up

After each saucepan had been dirtied by the previous test we washed them to see how easy they were to clean. 

The best saucepans only need a wipe with a non-scratch sponge while the worst required a lot of time and elbow grease.

Heat conduction

To test the heat conduction we put each saucepan with 500ml of water on medium heat for 10 minutes and measured the temperature once a minute using a temperature probe. 

Our temperature probe was a platinum-resistant industrial standard thermometer. This type of thermometer is used in routine industrial work due to the high level of accuracy it offers.

The saucepans that conducted heat fastest and maintained a stable heat once reaching the boiling point were considered the best.

Durability

First, we washed each saucepan again using a ball of wire wool and examined the pans afterwards to see how scratched they had become. 

Then we scraped the inside bottom of the pan with a metal spatula back and forth 10 times. 

The best saucepans came out with few, and sometimes no, signs of damage. The worst were unusable after this test.

How we chose the saucepans we tested

• The saucepan must be available in a 20cm size (the size we tested)
• The saucepan must the sold by at least one leading UK retailer

We purchased all the products we tested.