Sauté Pans & Chef's Pans

Just look at our non-stick sauté pans! With lid or without, these allow you to sear, braise and sauté with the best of them, while our chef’s pans are perfect for relaxed evenings with one pot meals.

A hybrid between a frying pan and a saucepan, a sauté pan is a highly versatile piece of cookware that can be used to master a variety of techniques. Unlike a frying pan, which has slanted sides, a sauté pan’s sides are vertical to better contain larger amounts of liquid. 

What is a sauté pan used for?

The jack of all trades, the sauté pan is suitable for virtually all kinds of cooking. 

For example, the handy vertical sides of a sauté pan can contain your food easily, and offer a greater surface area than that of a frying pan. This therefore makes a sauté pan ideal for searing meats, as there is a larger contact area between meat and pan. Whether you’re browning some chicken thighs before a traybake, or searing a large steak, it’s hard to go wrong with a sauté pan.

Sauté pans are also brilliant for braising vegetables, cooking curries, casseroles or anything else with a sauce (because of the aforementioned vertical sides). You can sweat down your onions, add extra ingredients, and cook up the sauce all in one pan – which means less washing up for you!  These types of one pot meals are perfect for laid-back family dinners, and the sauté pan is the ideal tool for the job. What’s not to love?

Of course, if you’re going to get a sauté pan, you should always go for the best; like our Style Non-Stick Induction Sauté Pan & Lid. Suitable for all hob surfaces, including induction, and oven safe up to 260°C, this sauté pan lets you move from hob to oven to table with ease. And, when you’re finished, it’s dishwasher safe, so you don’t even have to worry about the washing up!

Top tip: sauté pans with lids can do double duty, allowing you to braise vegetables, cook sauces, and keep your food moist for one pan meals.

If you want to find out more about sauté pans, make sure you read our guide to Sauté Pan vs Frying Pan: What's The Difference?

Another hybrid for your kitchen, a chef’s pan combines the best features of a frying pan, sauté pan, and a wok; namely deep, but slightly sloping sides, and a large base for maximum surface area.

This means that not only can you braise and sauté, but chef’s pans also allow for tossing, stirring, and flipping because you have a little more movement using the curved sides. It’s due to this construction that chef’s pans are highly versatile, and a firm favourite for one pot cooking. 

Need an example? Check out our ScratchDefense Extreme Non-Stick Chef's Pan & Lid with Helper Handle. Suitable for all hobs, including induction, and oven safe up to 204°C, you can cook a wide range of one-pot meals. And, with a whopping 4.2L capacity, this chef’s pan is ideal for family-style cooking for friends and loved ones. We’ve also built this chef’s pan with our Extreme Non-Stick technology for superb performance and scratch resistant cooking – even with metal utensils!

To help you make your decision, we’ve answered some of the most commonly asked questions below. Of course, if you need more information, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us…

Can I use a sauté pan as a frying pan?

In short, yes! Both our chef’s pans and sauté pans are incredibly versatile, and can be used instead of the trusty frying pan or skillet. However, if you want a pan to do the ‘chef’s toss’ (for a pancake for example), a Circulon Frying Pan is definitely a better option!

Can you stir fry in a sauté pan?

Although, traditionally stir fry is made in a wok, there’s no reason why you can’t use a Circulon Sauté Pan in a pinch. Rather than investing in multiple pans for multiple purposes, our sauté pans are versatile enough to be one of the few pans you need. Simply add a drizzle of oil, crank up the heat and watch our stainless-steel sauté pans work wonders.

Top tip: while a sauté or chef’s pan can be used, you will always get better results with a dedicated wok. Shop our collection of Woks to find the best one for you…

Can you deep fry in a sauté pan?

You absolutely can deep fry in a sauté or chef’s pan! Thanks to the tall sides of both of these types of pan, they are suitable for deep frying as they can hold a larger volume of oil. However, what you can deep fry will depend on its size. 

As long as you can deep fry the food in just a few centimetres of oil, our sauté pans are suitable. Just be careful not to fill the chef’s pan with too much oil as this could bubble over and cause all manner of problems.

If you’re looking to create tasty meals from scratch, you’ll want one of our sauté pans in your kitchen inventory. Discover the best from our premium collections, including SteelShield™ and ScratchDefence Extreme Non-Stick.

And, for advice on choosing the best pan to elevate your culinary skills, get in touch with our helpful team. They’re always on hand to help you find the best pan for the job.