Between searching for the best stainless steel saucepans to finding the best non-stick frying pans, I have spent a lot of time in the kitchen surrounded by pans lately. But one company that keeps popping up on my social media feed is HexClad. Even if you’ve only so much as glanced at TikTok lately, then I bet that you’ve seen it too.
If you happen to be someone who hasn’t heard about these pans, HexClad offers a range of hybrid cookware that brings together the high-searing power of stainless steel, with the durability of cast iron and the convenience of non-stick.
The brand’s secret lies in its surface. Each pan is laser-etched with a hexagonal pattern with raised stainless steel peaks, which means you can use metal utensils on them without damaging the non-stick surface that sits underneath. They’re also compatible with all hob types and oven safe up to 260C, making them great pans for all-round use.
HexClad pans have gained a cult-like following across social media, with Gordon Ramsay claiming he uses them at home and even investing in the company.
Ramsay isn’t the only chef that’s impressed by HexClad. Chris Sidiropoulos, executive chef at two award-winning restaurants, including the Agora Symi, told me, “It’s really about stress-free cooking. In a professional kitchen, especially when you’re delivering tasting menus alongside à la carte dishes, you don’t want to be thinking about your pans, they just need to perform. HexClad gives that consistency and ease, which makes a big difference during service.”
However, HexClad’s pans are premium and that comes at a cost. So, do they live up to the hype or are you just paying for aesthetics and a celebrity stamp of approval? I’ve been putting a range of HexClad pans through their paces to find out whether they are really worth it and if you should consider upgrading.
Read more: 14 best non-stick frying pans 2026, expert-tested in a real kitchen
The best HexClad pans for 2026 are:
- Best wok: Hexclad 30cm hybrid wok with lid: £139, Amazon.co.uk
- Best for small plates: Hexclad 20cm hybrid frying pan: £129, Amazon.co.uk
- Best for everyday cooking: Hexclad 25cm hybrid frying pan: £169, Amazon.co.uk
- Best large frying pan: Hexclad 30cm hybrid frying pan: £179, Amazon.co.uk
- Best for sauces: Hexclad 2l hybrid saucepan with lid: £139, Amazon.co.uk
Read more: Best woks 2026, tested by a food writer
HexClad 30cm hybrid wok with lid
Best: HexClad wok
Why we love it
- Heats quickly
- Easier to clean than traditional woks
- Big enough for one-pan meals
Take note
- If you're used to traditional woks, this doesn’t get as hot or smoky
I eat a lot of stir-fries, so one of my favourite pans in the kitchen is a wok. Hexclad’s hybrid wok sits somewhere in between a traditional carbon steel wok and a non-stick pan, and the results are amazing.
It’s so nice to handle, and with a wide diameter and decent depth, it’s ideal for stir-fries, curries, pasta dishes and more. I cooked a chicken noodle dish in the hybrid wok that could’ve just come from the local takeaway. The meat was seared perfectly, the vegetables cooked in no time, and when it came to adding the noodles, I didn’t lose any to the surface as the non-stick coating kicked right in.
You don’t get that same smoky finish as a traditional wok, but it heats up fast and evenly. It’s also easier to clean and maintain, as you don’t need to season it after each use.
Key specifications:
Buy now £139, Amazon.co.uk
HexClad 25cm hybrid frying pan
Best: HexClad pan for everyday cooking
Why we love it
- Great size for couples
- Solid feel
- Despite the larger size, it was still easy to handle
Take note
- Needed a bit more cleaning than others
HexClad’s 25cm frying pan sits in the middle of its frying pan range and is ideal for cooking for two people. There’s plenty of space on the pan, it heats up super quickly, even on a low heat, and the heat distribution is perfect. It was the pan I reached for the most during my testing and I used it for everything from frying chicken thighs to making tomato-based sauces.
It’s large without being too big to handle. Like all the other pans in the range, the handle doesn’t get hot, even after it’s been on the hob for quite some time.
It needed a little more cleaning than the others. I found the stainless steel rim got stained pretty quickly, but this was nothing that a bit of elbow grease couldn’t remove.
Overall, this is a really good all-rounder and if you can only choose one frying pan out of the range, this should be it.
Key specifications:
Buy now £169, Amazon.co.uk
HexClad 3l hybrid pot with lid
Best: HexClad pan for pasta and soups
Why we love it
- Consistent heat distribution
- Comfortable to handle
HexClad 3l hybrid pot is a great addition to any set. It’s ideal for a range of uses from cooking rice and pasta, to making one-pot meals. It’s quite large but it still retains its lightweight feel, even when full. The long handles are ideal for when you’re draining pasta, because you get enough distance from the steam (especially if you wear glasses and don’t fancy being without your vision for a few minutes). The pan heated up quickly, especially when boiling water, which was impressive given its size.
Cleaning was no issue and sauces slid out without sticking. Plus when boiling water, there were no marks or lines where the water level had been. For the price, there’s nothing overly special about this saucepan pan, but if you want reliable rather than revolutionary then it's a great choice.
Key specifications:
Buy now £149, Amazon.co.uk
HexClad 20cm hybrid frying pan
Best: HexClad pan for small plates
Why we love it
- Lightweight and easy to handle
- Great for eggs
- More forgiving than stainless steel
Take note
- You will still need a little bit of oil
This HexClad frying pan may be compact, but it does a great job. With a drop of oil (though considerably less compared with some other pans I’ve tested for IndyBest), a fried egg cooked quickly and slid around the surface. With no oil, I found that eggs were clinging to the surface.
Where this pan really shines is in its handling. It’s lightweight, fits nicely on the hob surface and is easy to handle. It’s a great everyday option whether you’re making scrambled eggs or frying a steak. Due to its compact size, it’s also easy to store and fits neatly in the drawer.
Clean-up was easy, and even the trial egg that stuck slightly just peeled off the surface. After that, only a quick rinse and wipe down were needed.
Key specifications:
Buy now £129, Amazon.co.uk
HexClad 30cm hybrid frying pan
Best: large HexClad frying pan
Why we love it
- Best for family cooking
- Heats evenly across entire surface
- Maintains heat well
Take note
- Can get heavy when full
HexClad’s 30cm frying pan is ideal if you’re cooking for a family or batch cooking. I cooked a chilli in this pan that was enough to feed a small army, so it’s plenty big enough. In fact, at 30cm it’s a little too big, especially for my hob, but the heat distributed evenly across the whole surface despite its size.
Clean-up was a breeze and literally nothing stuck to this pan – even when I let sauces cook down, they rinsed off easily. One thing I would say is that due to its size, it gets a little heavy to manoeuvre when full, so it’s probably not a pan that you’ll be tossing or flipping food around in. But if you need a large pan that will still perform even when crowded, or a pan you can cook one-pot dinners in, then this is a great option.
Key specifications:
Buy now £179, Amazon.co.uk
HexClad 2l hybrid pot with lid
Best: HexClad pan for sauces
Why we love it
- Lid fits perfectly
- Great size for warming up one or two portions
- Easy to clean
Take note
- Food can stick if the heat is too high
HexClad’s 2l saucepan with a lid is the ideal size for most jobs in the kitchen. Whether you’re boiling pasta or warming up soup, it’s perfect for smaller portions. The lid fits well and because it’s glass so you can see your food bubbling away inside. Importantly, it doesn’t hold condensation, so if you’re making a sauce, it won’t get watered down if left to cook for a while.
The saucepan is lightweight, even when full. The extended handle also makes it easy to use and move from the job to the table.
You’ll want to be careful if using this pan over a high heat as when I did so, food had a tendency to stick and burn on. That said, it was still super easy to clean, as once cool, any stuck-on food just came straight off without much effort.
While this isn’t hugely different to a regular stainless steel pan, it looks great, heats evenly and is nice to handle, so it’s certainly a saucepan that will get regular use.
Key specifications:
Buy now £139, Amazon.co.uk
HexClad 7.5l hybrid pot with lid
Best: HexCald pan for batch cooking
Why we love it
- Perfect for stews and casseroles
- Wide surface heats up quickly
- Large capacity
Take note
- Very large pan, so trickier to store
HexClad’s 7.5l hybrid pot is perfect if you like slow cooking or making stews, casseroles and soups. Although it has a generous capacity, its large size can make it a little trickier to store, especially if you’re tight on space.
It performed absolutely brilliant when making a casserole, and the non-stick surface meant I was able to effortlessly brown the meat before adding my liquid. Like all the HexClad pans, this one is oven safe up to 480C but the lid is only oven safe up to 200C. It’s ideal if you’re cooking low and slow, but just be careful not to ramp the temperature up. I also found it useful for cooking a large batch of pasta. The water heated up super fast, and the carry handles meant the pan was easier to lift up to drain it off.
Clean-up wasn’t an issue and nothing stuck to this pan, even after cooking with it for a longer period of time than others. Another huge plus is that it didn’t retain smells. I used a lot of garlic in my casserole and I thought that the pan would keep that garlicky scent as some non-stick pans tend to do, but after a wash, it was as good as new.
Overall, this is amazing saucepan but only if you really need something this big.
Key specifications:
Buy now £189, Amazon.co.uk
HexClad 3L sauté pan with lid
Best: HexClad pan for one-pan meals
Why we love it
- Ideal for larger family-style dishes
- High sides
- Easy to fit in the oven
Take note
- Still needs oil for the best performance
HexClad’s sauté pan is a fantastic addition to any kitchen. The high sides mean that if you’re cooking sauces, it won’t splatter everywhere. If you’re like me with a white kitchen and a love for anything tomato-based, then this is a lifesaver.
At 3l it’s large, but it’s a great size for doing those one-pot dishes like risotto. It fits well in the oven, and the carry handle on the front of the pan means getting it from your hob to the table is super simple. Thought, it does get a little heavy to move when full.
Food cooked well in this pan and despite its size, the heat distributed well to all areas. It heated up both quickly and evenly, though keep in mind you do still need a little oil when using this pan.
I found sauté pan one of the easiest to clean, too. Nothing stuck to it – even when I placed it in the oven to finish cooking off a dish, the food just slid out. This is a really versatile pan that will transition from searing to simmering with no effort.
Key specifications:
Buy now £169, Amazon.co.uk
HexClad hybrid compact egg pan
Best: HexClad pan for eggs
Why we love it
- Perfect for cooking eggs
- Compact
- Lightweight
Take note
- The shape means not all of it fits on electric hobs
If you love eggs and in particular omelette, then HexClad’s hybrid egg pan is a must have. It’s perfect for making Japanese omelettes as the shape means you can roll the eggs in layers and create something a little more fancy than just the usual fried or scrambled.
The pan is rectangular so if you are using an electric hob, the whole pan doesn’t fit on even the largest ring. However, that doesn’t affect its performance because the heat spreads evenly. This also works to its advantage as you can roll the egg to the spot that isn’t sitting on the direct heat and it won’t burn.
You need a tiny bit of oil in this pan, just like the rest of the range, but nothing at all sticks to it. Clean-up is also super easy, just a quick wipe over when you’re done and it’s ready to be put away. Of course, you don’t have to just cook eggs in this pan, it would also be good for salmon or a single steak.
Key specifications:
Buy now £75, Hexclad.co.uk
HexClad roasting pan with rack
Best: HexClad pan for roasting meat and veg
Why we love it
- Removable rack
- Easy to pick up
- Even roasting and good heat distribution
Take note
- Can be bulky to store
A good roasting tin is a must-have, and this one from HexClad is perfection. It comes with a removable roasting rack, so you can elevate your meat to drain the fat and have a crispier finish. It’s also perfect if you want to cook your roasties or veg underneath. The rack itself is really nice to handle – it’s got handles on either side, and it’s nice and deep. I roasted a chicken and it’s probably the best chicken I’ve ever done. It was juicy whilst not wallowing in the fat and because there was plenty of air flow around it, it had super crispy skin.
Clean-up was also a breeze – once it had cooled down, I just removed the fat and washed it in warm soapy water. There was no sticking at all, even on the rack that just wiped clean. It’s quite pricey for a roasting tin but if you want great results, or you really love a roast, then you won’t be disappointed.
Key specifications:
Buy now £179, Amazon.co.uk
Your questions on HexClad pans answered
What are the best HexClad pans?
Whilst I rate all the HexClad pans I’ve tested, there are a couple of pans that I think are must-haves when it comes to building your collection. The 30cm wok is a non-negotiable. If you like stir-fries or one pan dishes then this is the pan that does it all. I’d also highly recommend investing in the 20cm and 25cm frying pans, which are two great sizes that will cover most home cooked meals.
And finally, if you’re a fan of roasts, the HexClad hybrid roasting pan is an excellent choice. It comes with a rack, which means meat is cooked to perfection and it has plenty of room to roast your veg underneath.
There’s no doubt that HexClad is an expensive brand. But if you’re looking for premium pans that are going to last and you’re willing to put some effort into caring for them, then they are a great choice.
How I tested HexClad pans
I swapped out my usual cookware for the full Hexclad range for two weeks, using each piece in my own family kitchen to see how well they worked for home cooks. This meant using the pans for everything from weekend breakfasts to slow-cooked dinners. I used the pans to fry eggs, make sauces, and even a few higher-heat dishes to see how well the hybrid coating performed.
When testing the range, I looked at the following:
Are Hexclad pans worth it?
Whether HexClad pans are worth it really depends on a few factors. As I discovered when searching for the best stainless steel pans, cooking with stainless steel is an art. So if you’re looking for something that will give you the high-heat searing capabilities of stainless steel, but will release food easily like non-stick pans then these are the perfect compromise.
Budget is a huge factor, too and the HexClad pans are not cheap. If you have a larger budget to splurge on some premium pans, then absolutely, they should be on your radar. All HexClad pans come with a lifetime warranty, so these are investment that should last.
It’s also worth thinking about how you actually cook. If you’re someone who reaches for the same pan and uses it for everything, whether that’s searing a steak or frying an egg, then the versatility of the HexClad pans makes a lot of sense. Because of its hybrid design, the HexClad range covers all bases, and if you’re like me and obsessed with buying kitchenware, there’s plenty of pots and pans on offer.
For home cooks looking for quality pans that are going to last, then the verdict is in, HexClad is totally worth it.
Is HexClad safe?
In short, yes, HexClad is generally considered safe, but there has been some controversy surrounding the brand over the past few years.
Hexclad came under scrutiny after marketing some of its PTFE-coated cookware as being PFAS-free and non-toxic. These are a group of synthetic chemicals sometimes called “forever chemicals”, because they don’t naturally break down. This led to a class action lawsuit, Cilburn v One Source to Market, which concluded with a settlement. Whilst HexClad denied all wrongdoing, part of the agreement was that HexClad was required to stop using phrases like “PFAS-free” on PTFE-coated products.
Since 2024, HexClad has switched to a ceramic-based coating called TerraBond, which is advertised as being PTFE-free, PFAS-free, lead-free and cadmium-free. As with many non-stick coatings, the exact formulation isn’t publicly disclosed, with HexClad describing it simply as proprietary. This isn’t unusual in the industry, but it does make independent evaluation a little tricky.
The upshot is, the controversy surrounding HexClad wasn’t harm from using the pans, it was about how they were labelled. If you’re buying a current HexClad pan, you’re getting a TerraBond coating (not PTFE), which is safe when used as intended. So always remember when you’re cooking with non-stick pans, avoid overheating, not to use non-abrasive utensils and always replace them when you start to notice signs including scratches, chips and discolouration.
How to care for HexClad pans
If you’re going to splurge on expensive pans then it’s worth knowing how to care for them properly. It’s worth noting that whilst HexClad has a lifetime warranty, it won’t cover any damage caused by improper care or use.
Before using HexClad pans for the first time, they need to be seasoned in the same way that you would season cast-iron pans:
- To do this, first wash the pan with warm, soapy water. Dry it off and heat the pan at a medium-low heat until it’s hot.
- Then spread a teaspoon of oil (vegetable oil is better for its higher smoke point) around the pan and heat it for around 2-3 minutes.
- Take it off the heat, leave it to cool and then wipe away any excess oil.
You don’t need to do this every time you use your pans, it’s just for the first use.
When it comes to cleaning your pans, it’s best to do it by hand. Whilst you can pop your HexClad pans in the dishwasher, the detergents used along with the high temperatures can affect the non-stick performance. So, leave your pans to cool and then wash with warm, soapy water.
It’s also worth noting that you shouldn’t use your HexClad pans on a high hob heat. Use them on a low to medium heat and the design will ensure that heat is distributed across the pan, so you get great results. As a general rule of thumb, HexClad suggests low heat for items like eggs, medium-low for general cooking and then medium-high for searing.
Why you can trust IndyBest reviews
As The Independent's review section, IndyBest has a team of testers who put products through their paces in real-world settings, using objective and thorough testing criteria to bring you their honest verdict. You can trust that when we recommend something, you can feel confident that it’s actually worth buying.
Rachael Penn is one of our kitchen appliance writers. She has written reviews on everything from the best stainless steel pans to the best saucepan sets, so knows what to look for when testing and recommending cookware. She has put dozens of culinary gadgets through their paces, such as the best air fryers, and knows which brands are worth having on your radar. Rachael’s reviews are honest and realistic to help you make the best purchase for your home.
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