Pancake Day 2023: the best pans for cooking fluffy pancakes or delicious crepes, from non-stick to cast iron

Whether you love thin crepes, drizzled with lemon juice and sugar, or a fat, fluffy American pile-up of pancakes, drowning in syrup with rashers of bacon on the side, there's no denying: pancakes are one of the best breakfasts around.  

They're not difficult to get right, either. You simply need a great recipe (you'll likely have your own favourite) and a good quality pan.  You don't need to buy a pan specifically for pancakes, of course. Any general purpose frying pan that is genuinely non-stick will serve you when making pancakes.  

However, if you want an easy ride – a flat, shallow pan, with a small lip, makes it easiest to flip a pancake.  

Additionally, heat distribution will help you to a perfect fluffy tower, or wafer thin crepes. This is why pancake pans are thinner than regular pans: they heat quick and have fewer 'hot spots', allowing you to cook your cakes quickly and evenly.  

If you are after a pancake pan designed for purpose, we've found the best ones available. Those selected work with both American-style mixes, and thin crepes, as both types of batter require a pan that heats up well and evenly, and is easy to handle.  

We recommend going for a rubberised handle where possible – not a cast iron one – as pancake pans get very hot. A rubber handle won't conduct this heat, meaning you can flip to your heart's content without having to wear an oven glove.  

Pancake pans are useful for more general cooking, too. Their non-stick nature makes them good for anyone hoping to cook with minimal oil (we sauté vegetables in ours). They're ideal for cooking omelettes and  flash-frying fish, too.  

We have included some cast iron pans, that will require a dab of butter ahead of cooking, but most of the pans below are non-stick, and will serve you well in the kitchen to cook other forms of dishes that benefit from a shallow fry.  

Here are our favourites.