The Best Carbon Steel Pans, Reviewed by Our Experts

The best carbon-steel pan will offer you all the convenience and ease of a nonstick skillet and then some. Properly seasoned carbon-steel cookware is just as nonstick as ceramic or PTFE-based nonstick cookware, and unlike those types of pans, carbon-steel cookware will actually get better the more you use it. Carbon steel is tough and durable, it can withstand high heat, and there’s no need to worry about scratching its cooking surface. This is why we generally suggest opting for carbon-steel, cast-iron, or even a stainless-steel pan over nonstick pans, because they’re simply superior pieces of cookware—provided you care for them properly.

We get that not everybody wants to season carbon-steel pans. If that’s you, there are plenty of pre-seasoned pans out there that we stand by. However, if you don’t mind the little teensy bit of work of seasoning a pan, you will be rewarded with an heirloom-quality pan with an exceptional finish.

If you aren’t super familiar with carbon-steel pans, here’s a basic rundown. Compared to other long-lasting cookware like cast-iron skillets, they are lighter weight and easier to maneuver. They have a flat, wide cooking surface perfect for frying eggs and omelets, flipping crepes, searing meat, stir-frying vegetables—the list goes on. In terms of versatility, carbon steel can’t be beat.

To find out which carbon-steel pans are the best of the best, we consulted our test kitchen editors, the home cooks on our product testing team, and culinary professionals to come up with three outstanding options for anybody looking for their first carbon-steel pan. Check out our picks below.

If you’re interested in finding more of the best cookware, check out our reviews of our favorite cast-iron pans and best carbon-steel woks.

Food director Chris Morocco’s pick is the De Buyer Mineral B Pro carbon-steel pan. De Buyer is an old-school name in the cookware world, and the brand’s carbon-steel pan is one of its best-known products. “I love these as an alternative to all but the best cast irons,” Morocco says. “They are lighter, easier to use and handle, season faster, and start out with slicker surfaces.”

The basic Mineral B pan comes with a simple handle with a heat-resistant epoxy finish that makes it easier to grasp. The problem is that the finish can melt above 400°, making stovetop to oven cooking (something we find ourselves doing a lot with carbon-steel pans) to be a bit of a problem. This is why Morocco prefers the Mineral B Pro model, which comes with an oven-safe stainless-steel handle.

One important thing to note about De Buyer pans is that they come unseasoned with a layer of protective beeswax. This can be a pro or a con—depending on how much you like to do things yourself—however seasoning a carbon-steel pan is pretty easy once you get the hang of it. Our product testers found that compared to other pans, you might need to reseason the De Buyer the first couple of times you use it, but once it develops a nice nonstick patina, rest assured that it will last you.

Sizes: 9.5" and 11" | Weight: 3 lb. and 4.8 lb. | Oven-safe: Yes
Induction cooktop compatible: Yes | Warranty: lifetime warranty

For home cooks accustomed to the convenience of a nonstick pan, pre-seasoned carbon-steel skillets are out there, and the Merten & Storck pan is the best that we’ve tested. It aced the egg test. From first use, testers noted that “a fried egg slid right off with the ease of Teflon.”

This skillet has moderately sloped sides and a generous cooking space, making it easy to sear a batch of chicken thighs or a large steak without too much cramping. The stainless-steel handle is easy to maneuver and stays relatively cool. It’s also one of the lightest pans we’ve tested, yet still manages to retain heat well. There is a slightly more inexpensive version with a simpler carbon-steel handle, but it gets a lot hotter than the stainless, so we’d say the extra dollars are worth the additional comfort the stainless-steel handle provides.

Across the board, the Merten & Storck pan is a reliable, reasonably priced carbon-steel pan that would be an asset to any home kitchen.

Sizes: 8", 10" and 12" | Weight: 1.83 lb., 2.62 lb., and 3.26 lb. | Oven-safe: Yes | Induction cooktop compatible: Yes

Since the day Zingerman’s Roadhouse first opened in Ann Arbor, Michigan in 2003, head chef Bob Bennett and his team have relied on carbon-steel skillets. In fact, they are the only sauté pan they use. Bennett prefers the Matfer Bourgeat black steel frying pans, which have sizzled in French kitchens for over 200 years.

“Carbon steel is our workhorse at the restaurant,” says Bennett. “I really love using them for fish, because it develops such a nice sear.” The searing capabilities also come in handy for the restaurant’s made-to-order mac and cheese. “We are always looking for that cheese crust and these pans just come through time after time.”

Matfer Bourgeat pans are simply designed no-nonsense tools beloved by professional chefs. They have a sturdy welded handle that may not be the prettiest, but it’s much easier to clean than a riveted pan. This is another pan you’ll have to season yourself, but if you consider how long they last, the time spent preparing the cooking surface is a mere blip in this pan’s lifespan.

Sizes: 8.6", 9.5", 10.25", 11", 11.9", 12.6", 14.1", 15.75", and 17.75" | Weight: 2.75 lb., 3.1 lb., 3.7 lb., 4.1 lb., 4.7 lb., 5.2 lb., 6.8 lb., 8.1 lb., and 9.5 lb. | Oven-safe: Yes | Induction cooktop compatible: Yes

After seasoning over a dozen different pans in the oven, we judged them on three main factors: How sticky they were, how evenly they heated, and how they responded to temperature changes. To check stickiness we went with the tried and true egg frying test, wanting pans that allowed us to flip the entire egg while keeping the yolk intact. To assess how evenly they heated we browned several chicken thighs at once, checking them on the stovetop, before finishing them in the oven. Finally, to look at the pans' response, we checked how long it took to boil a cup of room temperature water and how quickly the temperature came back down.

In addition to this testing we checked in with both our test kitchen and restaurant kitchen pros to find out what pans they use in their every day work.

You will find online that people can get quite opinionated about the proper way to season a pan. Sure, some people insist on certain oils, a specific number of seasoning rounds, and so on, but it all comes down to this: You have to heat a thin layer of oil on the surface of the pan to create a layer of polymerization that protects the pan from corrosion and creates a nonstick cooking surface.

With a new pan, it’s a good idea to wash it with soap and water and give it a nice scrub to remove any protective factory layer of oil or beeswax that is typically added to protect it during shipping. Once that’s done, you can season the pan in the same way you’d season a cast-iron pan. Crank the oven up to 500°, coat the entire pan in a thin layer of oil (I like seasoning with Crisco), and then wipe off as much as you can with a paper towel—you only need a thin layer of oil. If you use too much, the seasoning might flake off. You’ll know you have the right amount if you can just barely see the oil’s sheen across the full surface of the pan. Place it in the oven for an hour. Turn off the oven and allow the pan to completely cool down inside. This last step is important because if you take it out early you may have a tacky feeling pan.

To maintain the seasoning, you can do a shorter version of the process on the stove top, by wiping the interior with a thin layer of oil and heating until the pan smokes, (remember, less is more with the oil). You’ll know you have it when your carbon-steel pan boasts a lustrous black patina.

Updated 8/20/2024

Generally carbon steel skillets are some of the more affordable cookware you can buy, but a deal is a deal. This is where you'll find discounts on pans our editors like, even if they don't make our short list of top picks overall.