Best Roasting Pans
Our Pick
How We Decided
Comparison of one-pan chicken meals in Cuisinart’s Kitchen. Aid roasting pans.
In the four-year period, we have tested 12 roasting pans. This 2017 update tested three new pans in comparison to our top pick. We found roasters that will satisfy most budgets and needs, from a $30 pan for the occasional holiday main, to a $250 year-round workhorse. You can use your roasting pans on stovetop, oven or for large quantities of roasts. They’re versatile and easy to use year-round. These are the main factors that we considered when designing our roasting pans.
The material of the roasting pan was our primary concern. A variety of material options were considered, including Pyrex (coated cast iron), Pyrex (ceramic, copper), tri-ply (5-ply), tri-ply (5-ply), and triply (6-ply). Tri-ply was chosen because it is durable, nonreactive to heat, bright, easily cleanable, and visible so you can determine how brown your pan drippings. Tri-ply is aluminum sandwiched in stainless steel. Although aluminum can conduct heat well, it is also highly reactive and may impart metallic tastes to foods, such as acidic fruits, tomatoes, and citrus. You can get the best of both stainless and aluminum by layering an aluminium core. Because the tri-ply roasting pot is heat-resistant, the aluminum core prevents warping and buckling. The pan is also lighter than coated cast iron so it’s easier to lift the pan into and out of ovens.
We immediately dismissed roasting pans with dark interiors, like anodized aluminum and nonstick. Fond (delicious caramelized brown bits on the bottom) can’t be monitored and the nonstick coating may become brittle over time. Pans made of stainless-steel five-ply are not as efficient in distributing heat as pans made from tri-ply. Glass and ceramic are lightweight, but not flameproof, so you can’t use them on the stovetop. Copper is excellent at transferring heat from the oven to the stovetop. Unfortunately, it can also be expensive and easy to mar.
Your roast will be evenly brown and fully cooked if there is good heat circulation. The sides of a roaster should be high enough to catch any juices from the pan while it’s being moved in and out the oven. However, they shouldn’t be too low that radiant heat cannot reach the bottom. A 3-inch wall is the ideal height. Levon Wallace, Nashville’s executive chef for Grey and Dudley stated the following: “You want to have a bit more room for air-flow. And when you use high-wall roasting pots, it can cause uneven browning. Uneven heat distribution pans, such as those made of thin sheets metal, or ones with an encapsulated base, can warp over direct heat and produce burned marks. A pan fully-clad with some weight will hold its heat better and be easier to clean.
Flat bottomed roasting pans are ideal for quick searing, and to whisk roux or gravy. Some pans have a trough around the inside perimeter that makes it difficult to mix a smooth gravy or get even oil coverage when searing because liquids run to the sides of the pan. This makes it easy to scorch the pan’s center.
Our Pick
This is the best 16″ Cuisinart Roasting Pan with Rack (MCP117-16BR). It’s made of sturdy tri-ply material and cooks evenly.
$74* from Walmart $70 from Home Depot *At the time of publishing, the price was $70.
The Cuisinart 16″” Roasting Pan With Run (MCP117-16BR), is durable and fully covered tri-ply. It’s comparable to pans costing nearly twice as much. The fourth-year running we have not found another roasting pan which can cook as quickly on the stove or roast as evenly in oven. Cuisinart’s flat cook area makes gravy-making and baking easier than those with raised or ridged bases. The upright, riveted handles allow for secure use with oven mitts or hot pads. The V-rack made of uncoated stainlesssteel can be cleaned with no flaking.
Multi. Clad Pro delivered a turkey with crisp golden skin over most of the bird, save for the hard-to-reach area under the wings. All of the other pans except for All-Clad Flared Roaster did the same. The turkey was browned around the edges by the flared roaster. Every one of the twelve pans that we tried roasted the turkey perfectly and produced a rich golden fond regardless of how it was placed on top of a baking rack.
A fully clad aluminum pan distributes heat evenly when it is on the stovetop thanks to its core. The cooking surface is evenly oiled so that the gravy does not stick to or scorch. Single-ply metal roasters (e.g. Tramontina Gourmet Prima Granite Ware 20-inch Covered Oval Baker, F0510)) don’t contain an aluminum core. They also aren’t very good at heat conductivity. It can lead to uneven cooking, especially in areas that are directly above the burners. This could result in scorching or warping the pan. The flat bottom is easier to use for stirring fond or making gravy. We found that other pans had ridges in the middle, which could make it difficult to create sauces.
Cuisinarts can easily be used on two different stove burners. They brown the chicken directly over the stovetop, without any spotty or uneven blackening. The squash, carrots and chicken were caramelized when the vegetable mixture was added to the pot. Finally the chicken’s skin became more crispy and golden. This task proved difficult with other pans. Only the contact points of the vegetables were browned.
Sturdy, upright handles make gripping the pan much easier.
NOTES FOR LONG-TERM TEST SUGGESTIONS
There are many buying options
Williams-Sonoma may have outsourced the product.
With its superior searing and roasting performance, the Williams Sonoma All Clad Stainless Steel Flared Roaster outperformed all competitors. All-Clad, thanks to its fully-clad construction and flared sides, had the greatest heat circulation out of any pans. With the bent lip we could pour out pan juices easily, and the flat rack that comes with All-Clad (rather than a V rack), can be used to hold various shapes and sizes of roasts and poultry. Although the All-Clad roasting pan is more expensive than the Cuisinart’s, it’s still worth every penny. This pan is great for those who like to make one-pan meals and weekly Sunday roasts.
All-Clad has flared sides that circulate air better, which allows for radiant heat to get into the roast parts deepest in the pan. All-Clad turkeys were the only ones that had a deep, golden brown color all around. This was despite the fact that it also extended to the wings. Even though All-Clad had the greatest heat circulation of any pan tested, the roaster still weighed in at just 6 pounds.
The competition was not able to searing the chicken in this roaster, which consistently renders and browns each piece. Although our one-pan All-Clad chicken dinner had crispy skin and delicious caramelized vegetables it was the Cuisinart Multi’s that came in second. Clad Pro came in a close second.
The All-Clad has a flat rack instead of the V-rack that is used for poultry or long cuts of meat. Flared Roaster also comes in extra large sizes (16 3/4 by 13 3/4 inches by 2 1/2 inch) and small (18 3/4 inches by 14 3/4 inches by 3′′). So you can pick the right size for you. The large size was perfect for cooking a whole 15-pound turkey and a single-pan dinner of chicken. Although the roaster wasn’t large enough to fully straddle both burners, it deglazed perfectly. The flat bottom made scraping fond and whisking roux and gravy easy.
All-Clad tri-ply cookware is very easy to clean. This tri-ply cookerware won’t color from heat unlike other triply ones. It can be cleaned up with hot water, dish soap and a sponge. The Williams Sonoma All-Clad Stainless-Steel Flared Roaster is dishwasher-safe and comes with All-Clad’s limited lifetime warranty.
Sources
The Tests We Did
The Top 5 Roasting Pans
Anolon Triply Clad Stainless Metal Rectangular Roaster, Nonstick Rack. Best Value for Money
Green. Pan Padova Reserve Ceramic Nonstick Roasting Pan Five 2 Essential Pans, and Rack All-Clad Stainless Steel Flared Pans
There are many types of roasting pans on the market. It is important to choose the right type, size, height, or sloped side. This can make the difference between crispy turkey skin and rubbery birds. Price is another consideration if the roasting pan is something you will only use once in a while. Twelve well-reviewed and tested roasting pans were evaluated to determine the top ones that roast whole birds.
In May 2021, we updated the guide with two high-performing roasting pans. Many of the picks we tried in our first test are still favorites. Check out our latest favorites.
The Essential Guide to Roasting Pans
Most of the
Our Pick
“>best roasting pans we tested were made of three-ply construction (stainless steel with an aluminum interior core), which allows for even heat distribution. If you are a fan of nonstick cooking, we did not find a nonstick pan that passed our tests. Overall, we found that our favorite roasters were on the larger side, so they could hold turkeys big enough to feed a crowd and fit over two burners for easy gravy-making and searing. Our favorite roasting pans all came with racks. We thought this was essential for making the pan really versatile.
We also looked at how well the roasting pans cook. A roasting pan is often used to make large batches of food. Therefore, it was important to choose a heavy pan. The size and height of handles were important factors in choosing our favorite pans. We found handles that were taller in height made it easier to maneuver with a gloved or towel-covered hand.
Amazon
It is just as beautiful as it is practical. The outside is made of shiny stainless steel. It also comes with an easy-to-clean rack. This pan’s standout feature is its nonstick rack. You get the fantastic cooking capacity with triple-ply construction, and you benefit from a nonstick rack that makes it easy to cleanly remove roasted meats without tearing skin. Additionally, this makes cleaning easier. You will find a channel running along the bottom of your pan that prevents excess fat from pooling underneath the meat as it cooks. It may be necessary to stir the pan a bit more if you are making sauce on the stove. But, for most of your cooking in the oven, the channel is sufficient. It was easy to clean and comfortable. The pan can also be washed in the dishwasher and is covered by a limited lifetime warranty.
Cuisinart Multi is a great budget-friendly option. Amazon Clad Pro Stainless Toaster with Rack
The Anolon was very close to this pan. It has the triple-ply structure, which means that our chicken and vegetables cooked evenly and cleanup was effortless. It has a flat surface, making it ideal for pan sauces. Its appearance alone would make it hard to believe that the pan was one our lower-priced. It also was one of our larger pans, making it perfect for large groups.
Best Nonstick: Green. Pan Padova Reserve Healthy Ceramic Nonstick Roasting Pan Amazon
Is there a difference between roasting pans and regular ovens?
The roasting pan looks better than a baking tray + rack set up. High walls: Roasting pans with higher walls have a lower risk of spilling liquids or pan drips than baking sheets that are rimmed. The… Huge: Usually much larger than a baking pan, you can use the big, spacious roasting pan for making large casseroles.15-Feb-2021
Should I Get A Roasting Pan With A Lid?
A covered roasting pot will bake foods much faster than an uncovered roaster. A covered roaster is like a mini-oven in your oven. To prevent the browning of the meat too rapidly, you can cover the pan using aluminum foil or a lid.
.Best Roasting Pans