The Best Roasting Pans You Can Buy Right Now
It’s that time of year again! With the holidays on the horizon, it’s time to audit your cookware before committing to any hosting duties. One piece you definitely need on your roster? A roasting pan! Yes, even if you’re not cooking a turkey for the holidays.
A roasting pan is usually wide and rectangular in shape, with two handles and a removable interior rack. The rack elevates the turkey (or chicken, duck, or whatever poultry you prefer), so it browns evenly. It also helps catch pan drippings for easy homemade gravy.
Beyond birds, a roasting pan is versatile and can be used on the stovetop to sear meat or make a pan sauce. It can also be used to roast vegetables and make casseroles or an indulgent macaroni and cheese.
For more details on how we tested and rated the best roasting pans, as well as everything you need to know when shopping for one, keep scrolling or hit one of the links below.
Best Overall Roasting Pan: All-Clad Stainless-Steel Roasting Pan with Rack
This All-Clad roasting pan is well worth the splurge, and you might want to grab one as soon as you see it on sale. In general, All-Clad is a Kitchn favorite and this roasting pan is no different. It cooks food beautifully in the oven and on the stovetop and has wide, tall handles that are easy to grip, even with thick oven mitts.
The V-shaped interior rack cradles poultry up to 20 pounds easily and also has sizable handles that are a cinch to grab. While it is dishwasher-safe, it’s also easy enough to clean by hand, too. You can even add a thermometer to the roasting pan for a few extra dollars.
This roasting pan from Williams Sonoma is another top-notch pick. It has a flat rack instead of a V-shaped one but is fantastic in every other way.
Specifications
Weight: 5 lb. 6 oz
Care instructions: Pan and rack are dishwasher-safe
Rating Criteria
Ease of use: 5
Performance: 5
Cleanup: 5
Who it’s best for: Anyone in the market for a sleek roasting pan and has the budget.
Good to know: It’s also induction-compatible, and comes in a smaller size that fits birds up to 15 pounds.
Best Budget Roasting Pan: Cuisinart MultiClad Pro Stainless Rectangular Roasting Pan with Rack
This Cuisinart roasting pan has large handles and a V-shaped rack that cradles poultry beautifully. It’s also dishwasher-safe (should you have the space), making for extra-easy cleanup.
That being said, it does have one flaw — the handles on the interior rack align with the pan’s handles, which makes grasping either set of handles much harder when you’re wearing oven mitts. Still, it’s a solid roasting pan option.
Specifications
Weight: 6 lb. 9 oz
Care instructions: Dishwasher-safe
Rating Criteria
Ease of use: 4
Performance: 5
Cleanup: 5
Who it’s best for: Anyone on a budget and looking for a roasting pan that will last.
Good to know: It’s induction-compatible.
Best Carbon Steel Roasting Pan: Made In Blue Carbon Steel Roasting Pan
Made In’s Blue Carbon Steel Roasting Pan isn’t your typical roasting pan. It’s made from carbon steel for a nonstick finish and has a flat roasting rack (without handles). It’s not as deep as other roasting pans and is more oval than rectangular. However, it browns beautifully and has large handles that are easy to hold.
Like a carbon steel skillet, this roasting pan will get more nonstick the more you use it and is oven-safe up to 1200°F — far hotter than you’ll ever need. I love this pan for roasting poultry and making casseroles. I’m not alone, either: our former executive lifestyle director said it’s the roasting pan any home cook should have. Like any other piece of carbon steel cookware, it should only be hand-washed to prevent rusting and build and preserve its seasoning.
Specifications
Weight: 5 lb. 5 oz
Care instructions: Hand wash only
Rating Criteria
Ease of use: 3.5
Performance: 5
Cleanup: 4
Who it’s best for: Anyone who is a fan of carbon steel and wants a roasting pan that gets more nonstick with use.
Good to know: It’s induction-compatible.
How We Tested The Best Roasting Pans
After roasting the chicken, make an easy pan sauce from the drippings.
Roast 2 pounds of small potatoes, halved.
Wash each roasting pan by hand after making the pan sauce and roasting potatoes.
How We Evaluated The Best Roasting Pans
I judged all of the roasting pans on the following criteria, on a scale of one to five (one being the worst and five being the best):
Ease of use: How easy is the roasting pan to use and lift in and out of the oven, and off the stove?
Performance: How well does the roasting pan cook?
Cleanup: How easy is the roasting pan to clean by hand?
What to Look for When Buying a Roasting Pan
Weight
Since you’ll likely be using a roasting pan for poultry, you’ll want something lightweight so you can safely transfer everything to and from the oven. If the pans are too heavy, they can be a pain to get in and out of the oven — not to mention they’ll add to the weight you have to carry. Too light, and they can warp and heat unevenly, causing problems both on the stovetop and in the oven.
Ease of Use
When it comes to a roasting pan, handles are important — both on the pan and ideally on the interior rack as well. The ones on the pan itself should be wide, long, and tall so that they’re easy to grip with bulky oven mitts on. Their racks should have handles, too, which make it much easier to lift (bird and all) out of the pan.
Fit and Shape of Interior Rack
The rack’s fit and shape are also important. Some racks slip and slide around in the pan, whereas the best models have racks that fit snugly. As far as shape goes, many roasting pans have flat racks. Small birds like chicken can tilt and move around on these when being transferred into and out of the oven, so look for pans with V-shaped racks that can cradle the bird more securely.
Cooking Performance
The best roasting pans I tested browned food evenly and were made from aluminum or a combo of aluminum and stainless steel. The roasting pans coated with enamel were unable to sear or sauté well, and nonstick pans with dark interiors made it difficult to gauge browning. Nonstick roasting pans also, often, have lower oven-safe temperatures (up to 450°F) and, unlike metal models, are not broiler-safe.
Ease of Cleaning
Except for carbon steel models, roasting pans are generally dishwasher-safe. However, roasting pans are big. Personally, my dishwasher does not fit a roasting pan if there’s anything else in the bottom rack. That said, hand-washing, with a little elbow grease, is usually fairly easy. I find roasting pans come clean with a powdered cleanser like Bar Keepers Friend and a non-scratch scrubber.
Why You Should Trust Us
I’m a professional kitchen equipment tester and the former tools editor here at Kitchn. I previously worked at America’s Test Kitchen and my reviews on topics like stand mixers, induction burners, toaster ovens, and multicookers have been published in Cook’s Illustrated, Cook’s Country, and on the America’s Test Kitchen website. My work has also been featured on America’s Test Kitchen’s and Cook’s Country’s television programs.
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We will do our homework, going wildly in-depth with our testing. But we condense the info into easy, breezy summaries so that you can see what we picked and why, then move on with your life. Because we know you’re busy!
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