Top 5 Best Roasting Pans, Tested by Kitchenthread

We roasted our way through multiple pans to find which will guarantee you success Thanksgiving Day and beyond!

There are so many different kinds of roasting pans that choosing one with the right material, size, height, or sloped sides can make the difference between a crispy turkey skin and a rubbery one. Price is also something to think about if this is a piece of cookware you only use once a year. We tried out 12 roasting pans that had good reviews to find the best ones for roasting whole birds and other foods.

In May 2021, we added two new top-performing roasting pans to this guide. We still like a lot of the picks from the first test. Read on for a list of our favorite books right now.

How We Tested

Part 1: Intake

First, we looked at each pan’s size and weight to make sure it could hold a big turkey and wouldn’t be too heavy to take out of the oven when it was full. Next, we looked for any user manuals or guides that came with the pans. These would tell us how to clean the pan and how hot it could get while cooking. We washed the pots and pans before starting to cook.

Part 2: Cooking

We roasted 5- to 6-pound chickens with root vegetables to find out which pan made the chicken crispy and evenly browned and the vegetables sweet and sticky. When we tested nonstick pans, the vegetables got too brown and almost burned, so we took those off our list. Then, we used kitchen towels to find out which pans were easiest to pull in and out of the oven. Next, we put water in the pans and heated them over two burners to see how evenly they heated and how evenly the heat spread. We poured the water out of the pans to see how easy it was to drain them and how cleanly the water poured out.

Part 3: Cleaning

Last, we cleaned each pan by hand to see how easy or hard it was to get rid of food that had been cooked on. We don’t think you should wash any of these roasting pans in the dishwasher.

1. Best Overall: Anolon Triply Clad Stainless Steel Roaster

This pan is both beautiful and useful. It is made of beautiful, shiny stainless steel on the outside, and it comes with a rack that doesn’t stick. This pan is at the top of our list because of the rack. The triple-ply construction gives you a great amount of cooking space, and the nonstick rack makes it easy to remove roasted meats without tearing the skin. Plus, it makes cleaning up easier. Along the inside edge of the pan is a channel that keeps fat from pooling under the meat while it is cooking. The channel may need a little more stirring when making a sauce on the stove, but we didn’t mind too much because most of the cooking would be done in the oven. The handles were easy to hold, and it was easy to clean up. This pan can also go in the dishwasher, and it comes with a limited warranty that lasts for life.

2. Best Budget Buy: Cuisinart MultiClad Pro Stainless Roaster with Rack

This pan was almost as good as the Anolon. It is also made of three layers, so our chicken and vegetables cooked evenly and it was easy to clean up. The pan’s surface is completely flat, so it would be great for making pan sauces because the surface is even. From the way it looks, you wouldn’t think this pan was one of the cheaper ones on our list. This was also one of the bigger pans we had, so it was great for people who had to serve a big group.

3. Best Nonstick: GreenPan Padova Reserve Healthy Ceramic Nonstick Roasting Pan

GreenPan cookware is known for being easy to clean, and this roasting pan is no different. The pan has a ceramic nonstick coating that doesn’t contain PFAs, PFOAs, lead, or cadmium and won’t give off toxic fumes even if it gets too hot by accident. The pan’s body is hard-anodized, which means that it is made to last and not scratch easily. Our roast chicken came out juicy, evenly browned, and crisp. It was easy to get out of the pan. The vegetables, which were cooked all the way through, were the same. We also like the design, which has elegant gold handles and a matte black finish. This pan is pretty heavy—it weighs almost 8 pounds—but it’s still easy to move around. It also comes with a rack in the shape of a V, which helps roasts like turkey or chicken brown and crisp evenly.

The pan and rack can go up to 600 degrees in the oven or under the broiler. The pan can go in the dishwasher, but it also cleans up beautifully in warm, soapy water. There was no food left over to scrub off, so there was no need to soak. The pan works well and comes with a limited warranty that lasts for life, making it a good buy.

4. Most Versatile: Five Two Essential Roasting Pan and Rack

This sturdy roasting pan gets high marks for both how well it works and how well it looks. It has three layers of stainless steel and an aluminum core that helps heat spread evenly. During the water test, we saw that the pan lived up to its claim that there were no hot spots. After the cook test, we found that the chicken was fully cooked and that the vegetables were evenly roasted. The low, angled walls are meant to help the chicken skin get crispy. When we tested this, we got a roasted chicken with skin so crispy that it made a crackling sound when we put a thermometer in it. The 360-degree pouring rim makes it easy to save drippings or pour gravy from any angle.

We love how heavy the pan feels, but it’s still easy to pick up, carry, and move around in the sink when you’re cleaning it. The pan is fully clad, which means that the vertical handles are welded on to make it safe and stable. The flat, multi-use rack that comes with this pan is also a plus. It raises things like roasts, bacon, and spatchcocked chicken so they can crisp and brown evenly all over. It can also be used as a trivet or a cooling rack for baked goods.

The pan and rack can be used in a broiler up to 600 degrees, and the pan can be used on many types of cooktops, including induction. The pan can go in the dishwasher, but like most cookware, it’s best to wash it by hand to make it last longer. After we roasted the chicken and vegetables, we found that some pieces of food were stuck. We had success getting rid of buildup by following the care instructions from the manufacturer: fill a pan with hot, soapy water, let it sit on a dry surface, and scrub the pan with the soft side of a sponge.

5. Best Splurge: All-Clad Stainless-Steel Flared Roasting Pan

The All-Clad pan is for you if you want to treat yourself to a little luxury. The pan was the most expensive on our list, but the chicken skin it made was the crispiest and most even of all the pans we tried. The sides of the pan are angled outward so that more steam can escape and more of the food can be heated by the oven. The pan has a rack and can hold a turkey that weighs up to 20 pounds. It weighed only 5 pounds and 4 ounces, making it the lightest pan in the group. The pan can handle heat up to 600 degrees and has a warranty that lasts a lifetime.