Recommendations for a non-stick frying pan with a glass lid

May 11, 2019 9:54 AM

Looking for a 12-inch-sized, high-quality, non-stick frying pan with a glass lid. The bottom must be completely flat.

This pan and this one look like good candidates, but a few of the reviews state that the bottoms are domed (or quickly become domed after a few uses), so that the oil runs to the outside edge of the pan. It's important to me that the bottom remain completely flat. I currently have a frying pan that's similarly domed, and it drives me crazy.

posted by JD Sockinger to Home & Garden (17 answers total)

So if you are looking for a truly excellent frying pan you are going to have to pay more money. The scanpan CTX is a truly excellent frying pan that has been in use in my kitchen basically every day, multiple times per day, with metal utensils, for working on a decade now.
posted by rockindata at 10:08 AM on May 11, 2019 [2 favorites]

And yes, the bottom is absolutely flat several thousand uses in.
posted by rockindata at 10:12 AM on May 11, 2019

I have a very inexpensive T-fal frying pan (from Marshall's?) and a glass cooktop so it needed to be perfectly flat bottomed. For three years, it's stayed that way but I mostly use medium heat and never go higher than medium-high heat, ie 3/4, and I let it cool down completely before washing.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 10:18 AM on May 11, 2019

Swiss Diamond may be an option. We had one and it worked fine.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 10:45 AM on May 11, 2019

Doming indicates misuse. Heat too high or putting under cold water while still hot. Get cheap nonstick pans (I like Tramontina 2-pack for like $30 from Costco), only use silicone tools in them, and keep the heat low enough to never cause oil to smoke.
posted by supercres at 10:57 AM on May 11, 2019 [1 favorite]

(Save your money and high heat applications for stainless clad skillets.)
posted by supercres at 10:58 AM on May 11, 2019

We have had this Henckels one for six years and the bottom remains completely flat. It’s a saute pan rather than a frying pan, but it’s been great.
posted by migurski at 11:12 AM on May 11, 2019

I've had the $25 10" Stone Earth Frying Pan by Ozeri for a year now and it's still perfect. It uses a stone coating instead of teflon one one of the many one-molecule-off versions of teflon out there. Doesn't have a glass lid, but for that kind of money you can find one.
posted by 1369ic at 11:27 AM on May 11, 2019

Seconding Ozeri above, I love mine. They carry different sizes (including 12-inch) in different colors, and they also do saucepans with lids if that's something adjacent enough to interest you.
posted by Snacks at 1:12 PM on May 11, 2019

If you have Ikea, I have a couple flat plans with lids from there that I am happy with and that were reasonably priced. If you don't have an Ikea near you, disregard because ordering online is more expensive than buying in-store. But if you have an Ikea, I'd definitely look there. The models change so it's hard for me to be sure they will have it, so you can check their website before you go.
posted by AppleTurnover at 2:40 PM on May 11, 2019 [1 favorite]

If you can buy Heritage Rock, we’ve had ours for a good 8+ years and it’s still flat, non-stick, and you can get a whole chicken + rice in there. I just don’t know if it’s only a Canadian thing. They go on deep discount at Canadian Tire pretty often,
posted by warriorqueen at 2:48 PM on May 11, 2019

All my T-Fal pans have met their end via the surface eventually wearing off, with bottoms that remained flat after use on glasstop, propane burner, and in the oven.
posted by Lyn Never at 5:27 PM on May 11, 2019

We have a similar set of T-Fal cookware from the one you linked. We love ours and have never had any issues with warping or 'doming'.
posted by SquidLips at 11:04 PM on May 11, 2019

I bought the Wirecutter's recommendation for a non-stick pan (in a 12" size) a few months ago, and it's been great. Holding up extremely well with no doming whatsoever. It's extremely sturdy, heats evenly and quickly. A few bucks more than I was originally willing to spend, but it's been completely worth it.
posted by ssmith at 9:56 AM on May 12, 2019 [1 favorite]

I have T-Fal skillets in two sizes. Both were domed out of the box. I cope by using a small amount of oil applied directly to the food. But the point is, if you don't want domed, don't buy T-Fal.
posted by SemiSalt at 10:07 AM on May 12, 2019

I had great experiences with the Tfal ones you linked amazon. With TFal there are huge differences in quality between the different tiers they have. I found the 'Ultimate Hard Anodized' versions much longer lasting than the slightly cheaper 'Professional' version that wirecutter recommends.

As a wedding present I recieved a All Clad non stick pan. It is definitely nicer quality than the TFal, but it also costs twice as much.
posted by vegetableagony at 9:48 AM on May 15, 2019

Similar to the various Earth pans above, I've been very impressed with this ceramic coated (though pricey) Italian model. It remains completely flat and I really like the well-built glass lid - it fits snugly.
posted by abulafa at 7:18 PM on May 15, 2019