What makes a good saucepan
Materials and construction
Similar to stockpots, sauté pans, frying pans (and all the best cookware, really), the most important features of a saucepan are good heat conductivity, good heat retention, and even heat distribution. We wanted a pan that heated up and cooled down quickly, because that provides more control when working with finicky sauces. A 3-ply or 5-ply fully clad saucepan made with high-quality aluminum and stainless steel is ideal. This material combination is safe to use at high heats, is oven- and induction-compatible, extremely durable, and of course, great at retaining and distributing heat. A saucepan with an aluminum core is also a lot more affordable than one with, say, a copper core.
Are you able to use a spoon or whisk along the sides without issues, and does it have a comfortable handle that stays cool while cooking? Then we’d say the saucepan is easy to use
We looked for pans with nice-fitting lids that let little to no steam escape when the saucepan was filled with boiling water.
Other saucepans we tested and liked
While we do always try to single out a winner when we can, there is a lot of excellent cookware out there. Particularly for high-end pots and pans, what distinguishes our favorite from the pack usually comes down to slight differences and the subjective preferences of our testers. Below you’ll find several pans that range from very good to excellent. We don’t include the pan from the Viking 3-Ply line, as it is only available in a set; however, we were pleased with its performance and design.
Cooking with Fissler’s M5 Pro-Ply 5-ply line is lovely. In testing their other pans, we’ve found that these pans distribute heat well and adjust to changes in heat smoothly without scorching. The saucepan is nicely designed, with volumetric measurements and a rivetless design. Bulbous handles are divisive on staff, but those who do like them find the Fissler handles comfortable. Performance-wise this saucepan was comparable to both All-Clad saucepans. The only real hitch is the price, which is higher than All-Clad’s more-expensive D5 line. If that isn’t an issue, and you like the look of Fissler cookware, this is a high-quality brand that is worth the investment.
Made In Stainless Clad Saucepan
4 Quart Stainless Clad Saucepan
We typically test 3-quart saucepans, but Made In’s only come in 2- and 4-quart sizes. We used the 4-quart size, as it has a comparable diameter to most 3-quart saucepans, but with higher sidewalls. The pan performed well in our tests, with no scorching or hot spots. A few people on staff who’ve cooked with Made In pans on a regular basis have reported that ingredients tend to stick to the cooking surface more compared to an All-Clad. This might be due to a slightly rougher surface finish. Regardless, we’d still consider Made In to be a quality line of cookware.
The Hestan Pro Bond is shallower and wider than most saucepans. It’s lightweight thanks to finer layers of cladding, but still boasts very even heating. We think this is an excellent pan, but costs more than the All-Clad, so it is certainly a luxury choice.
All-Clad Stainless Steel Tri-Ply 3-Quart Saucier
All-Clad Stainless Steel Tri-Ply 3-Quart Saucier
Another great pan from All-Clad, however, we think if you’re really interested in a saucier, the Misen model will be more than satisfactory and costs about 20% less.
Heritage Steel 316Ti 3-Quart Saucier
Heritage Steel 316Ti 3-Quart Saucier
Comparable to the All-Clad in performance, but testers weren’t crazy about the round, hollow handle. Handle feel is one of the more subjective elements of a pan design, so if you know you prefer a thicker handle, you might like this one.
Tramontina Stainless Steel Tri-Ply Clad saucepan
Tramontina Stainless Steel Tri-Ply Clad Saucepan
The Tramontina saucepan is often touted as an affordable alternative to All-Clad. Generally-speaking, Tramontina pans tend to heat a little more inconsistently around the cook surface, but still perform well considering their price.
In shape and performance, the Made-In Saucier is comparable to the Misen, but slightly more expensive. One caution: Made-In handles have been polarizing among testers because of their sharper angles and overall chunkiness. Handle preference is personal, but some of us working in the test kitchen have found them a little harder to move around the stovetop.
Saucepans we don’t recommend
You might recognize this pan from the cabinets of an Airbnb or from a communal dorm kitchen. It has pour spouts and plastic handles, and a thin build prone to warping, denting and inconsistent heating. But hey…it makes great boxed mac n’ cheese.
This pan sacrifices a lot of practical design for the sake of aesthetics. The flat lid caused a lot of condensation to accumulate around the edge, which then poured onto the cooktop when removed. This is also a heavier pan, around 4 pounds, which made it difficult to pour from with one hand.
We don’t love Le Creuset’s stainless steel cookware the way we do its enameled cast iron. It performed adequately, but it might be a little too thick. It took a long time to melt sugar compared to other pans.
This saucepan is on the thinner side for a tri-ply pan, which makes it prone to quick changes in temperature, and potentially more likely to scald what you’re cooking.
GreenPan makes our favorite nonstick pan. The saucepan—also nonstick—performed well in our tests but didn’t blow us away. The pan is on the heavier side, and it comes with a glass lid, which does not retain heat as well. More importantly though, we won’t recommend nonstick cookware for anything other than a skillet due to the fragility of the cooking surface and the longevity issues ceramic nonstick cooking surfaces have.
FAQs
What’s the difference between saucepans and sauciers?
People often use saucepan and saucier interchangeably, but those people are technically wrong. The difference between them is in their shape. Saucepans typically have flat bottoms and straight, taller sides, which makes them ideal for heating liquids and cooking grains (think soup, stock, oatmeal, or rice). On the other hand, sauciers have rounded bottoms and curved sides, which makes them the perfect vessels for stirring and whisking tasks (think risotto or lemon curd).
Which size of saucepan should I get?
We think 3-quarts is ideal for usability and versatility without getting too big and unwieldy. Smaller saucepans, typically 2- and 1.5-quarts, are great for miscellaneous small cooking tasks (melting butter, blooming spices, making hot cocoa) but we generally think those make more sense when they are components in a larger set, or for people who have smaller cooktops.