5 Best Frying Pans If You Want to Avoid PFAS Chemicals
These pans don't have a traditional nonstick coating, but our tests have found that they still clean up easily
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Nonstick frying pans outsell all other types by a considerable margin. They’re easy to use, a cinch to clean, and inexpensive in many cases. But the nonstick coatings don’t last forever. Most nonstick pans have to be replaced every few years and even sooner if they’re scratched.
That’s because a nonstick coating that’s not intact is more likely to flake off into your food, says Breann Chai, who leads cookware testing at Consumer Reports. “If a nonstick pan has any chips or scratches, it should be thrown away and replaced,” she says. That doesn’t just cost money; it also adds to the waste stream.
A more pressing concern may be the components of some nonstick coatings. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), also known as forever chemicals, can be present in nonstick coatings and have been linked to health risks.
When CR asked 2,158 U.S. adults in a nationally representative survey (PDF) conducted in April 2025 how concerned they were about PFAS in nonstick cookware and bakeware, 65 percent said they were at least somewhat concerned.
When CR tested three nonstick pans to see whether consumers could trust claims that the cookware was free of PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid), one of the most widely used PFAS, we found that one pan made with PTFE (Teflon) actually contained PFOA as well. Consumer Reports no longer displays “PFOA-free” in our ratings of nonstick cookware, but our ratings of nonstick cookware sets and nonstick frying pans indicate whether a pan is made without PTFE, based on the manufacturer’s claims.
If you’ve decided to swear off nonstick cookware made with these chemicals, there are several good alternatives, including ceramic, stainless steel, cast-iron, and carbon steel pans. Below are some of the top performers from all these categories that are also particularly easy to clean. To find even more options, explore our comprehensive cookware ratings and recommendations.
This CR Recommended nonstick pan from Caraway is impressive. In our tests, the surface heats evenly, resulting in no hot spots, and eggs fried without oil slid out one after another with ease. The handle is super-sturdy and stays cool enough to handle without a potholder. The nonstick coating is ceramic (made without PTFE) and stands up well in our durability test. Another plus: This pan is compatible with induction cooktops. But note that it’s not dishwasher safe.
If you’re ditching nonstick altogether, not to worry: the GreenPan Bobby Flay Chef Series Uncoated Stainless Steel frying pan cleans up in a snap, based on our tests. The two-piece set comes with a 10-inch and a 12-inch pan and excels across all our performance tests, meaning cooking evenness is superb, and its handles are sturdy and cool enough to the touch that you shouldn’t need a potholder.
The Tramontina Enameled Cast-Iron Series 1000 frying pan offers great performance at a reasonable price. It also offers the versatility of cast iron, which can be used both on your cooktop and in the oven, even at very high heat. The 12-inch pan we tested does an excellent job of searing steak and is also highly rated for baking. We found it very easy to clean, an important quality if you’re looking for an alternative to traditional nonstick cookware. Cast iron can be heavy, though. This pan lands in the middle of all the enameled cast-iron pans we tested at 7.4 pounds.
The 12-inch Bayou Classic Cast Iron is a no-frills pan that’s the least expensive uncoated cast iron model in our ratings. Yet it cleans up as easily as any of them, and also does an excellent job at searing New York strip steak in our labs. You can expect it to cook evenly across its surface, but it does less well at baking, earning just a middling score on our cornbread test.
The Matfer Bourgeat Black Carbon Steel frying pan shows impressive results across our performance tests. You can expect to achieve even cooking and baking results, and the handle on this conductive metal pan should still stay cool enough to the touch that you won’t need a potholder. Like other carbon steel pans we’ve tested, it also earns a very good score in our ease of cleaning tests. Handle sturdiness, however, is middling, but the pan comes with a lifetime warranty.
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