HexClad pans have been everywhere in the foodie world in the last few years, including in the kitchen of Gordon Ramsay, who is the brand’s global ambassador.
Though I’ve tried a few picks from HexClad before, including the ultra-thin griddle pan made for pancakes, it was my trusted reviewer Home Economist Helen McCue who put the brand’s full 7-piece set to the test back in 2024 in her review. She awarded the set five stars, saying these pans ‘definitely live up to the hype’.
To see what all the fuss is about, I got my hands on the brand’s Hybrid Pan (£149 via HexClad) back in June and I’ve been using it as my everyday best frying pan ever since. Here’s what I like (and don’t like!) about this bestselling pan after four months of continuous use.
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1. The non-stick has held up well
I’ve used this pan a lot over the last few months and one thing that you can’t fault with it is the non-stick. Though this pan does feature a non-stick coating of sorts, it’s free from the ‘forever chemicals’ that many people are seeking to avoid.
With a little bit of oil, cooking eggs in this pan is a dream. That’s still true even all these months on. That’s probably to do with the fact that this pan, similar to my favourite ever pan from Our Place’s Titanium range, has a raised, grooved interior. I find those grooves really help to caramelise and crisp whatever you’re frying and mean that you can safely use metal utensils this pan without a worry. That’s a huge plus for me.
The same non-stick capability goes for cheesy or other sticky foods too. That is, bearing in mind, if you follow the golden rule of not turning your heat all the way up to high when you cook. I think this is a fairly little-known thing about HexClad pans, but once you follow it you’ll find that you’re scraping food off your pan a lot less.
Of course, thanks to the non-stick elements within this pan it’s a lot easier to get to grips to compared to uncoated stainless steel. Our expert Home Economist Helen McCue’s retrospective on testing Ninja’s newest stainless steel pan range has a great insight into making the switch to this harder-to-master material.
When I first started using this pan, I was having to use a truly dreadful electric cooktop, and this was the only piece of cookware that I could get any kind of result with. They’re induction compatible too.
2. It cleans excellently
Thanks to its non-stick build, this pan is really easy to clean. It’s not recommended that you put this pan into the dishwasher all the time (but you can occasionally and trust me, I have taken them up on that).
Unlike uncoated stainless steel, this pan has stayed immaculate now that I’m four months into using it. That includes the bottom of the pan too, which is the part exposed to my gas hob. It’s survived without any scorch marks.
This is also a very lightweight pan (it weighs less than 700 grams), so handwashing it doesn’t feel like such a pain. That’s one thing it has over my beloved Our Place Titanium pan, which is weighty indeed.
3. It’s versatile
I’ve been using this as my everyday pan for breakfast, lunch and dinner and it’s excelled at a huge range of cooking tasks. Of course, it’s great to use for frying specific needs like pancakes and tofu thanks to its shape and the fact that it comes with a lid is also great for saucier dishes.
It’s not necessarily the best shape for all-in-one style dishes like the chicken fajita bowl pictured, but when put up to tasks like that it’s still a very versatile workhorse. My preference is still for a pan that’s slightly deeper day to day though – the brand’s Deep Saute is probably a better fit for those things.
4. It’s not quite big enough for batch cooking
I love doing big cooking sessions where I get multiple meals out of the way and I need a pan that can live up to that job. In many sense this pan is perfect for that (the great non-stick and easy clean nature) but in this 25cm size, it’s fundamentally not quite big enough for all my needs.
When making the stovetop lasagne for four pictured below I really pushed the limits of this pan capacity wise so if you were cooking for any more than that, you’d definitely struggle. If you’re considering this pan for family cooking, I’d either size up or consider the sauté-style pan I mentioned above instead.
Now I’m well established with using this pan, I’d definitely recommend HexClad as a brand to invest in for the long-term. If it’s good enough for Gordon Ramsay, after all…
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