Best budget pan sets UK 2022 – best cheap pans

2023-01-13 12:37:55 By : Mr. Tiger World

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Best budget pan sets UK 2022 – best cheap pans

Every kitchen needs a trusty set of pans, but buying enough to kit out your cupboard can be expensive. It can be tricky to find the best pans for your hob type, let alone trust that their non-stick coating will live up to its name.

Enter the Good Housekeeping Institute. Our experts have tested countless pots and pans to bring you the best buys for less. Here are our best budget pan sets at a glance, all for under £100:

To find the best budget pan sets, our expert tester cooks a range of family favourites, from meat and white sauce to fried eggs, caramel and pancakes. They switch pans for each dish to best suit the ingredients and repeat every test across multiple hob types.

They assess the pans’ non-stick properties and how easy they are to clean. Dishwasher-safe claims are tested, and oven-proof pans are put in the oven at the highest recommended temperature.

Scroll down for the best pan sets under £100.

One of the highest-scoring pan sets ever tested by the GHI, this is a real bargain that rivals products triple its price. Pans heated up quickly for our tester, and their reliable non-stick coating meant food slid off smoothly. They also emerged from the dishwasher looking as good as new.

If you often cook pasta and rice, these saucepans will bring you peace of mind; effective steam vents meant no rattling lids at full boil or scalding steam heating up the handles.

They proved great chefs on most tests – only our pancakes were a little slow to brown – and an effective non-stick coating meant a quick rinse left them clean. Overall, they’re excellent value.

If you enjoy spending time over the stove, comfortable pan handles are a must. Our tester rated the ergonomic design of this lightweight set’s handles and liked that they stayed cool to the touch throughout cooking.

Note that we wouldn't recommend putting them in the dishwasher as our test caused a bit of damage (one pan was chipped). Similarly, we wouldn't use them in the oven either (the handles discoloured), but the trusty non-stick coating made handwashing a breeze and for stove-based cooking, they're a steal.

Storing a set of five pans can be troublesome in small kitchens, but this set stacks sturdily and looks stylish on the hob. They performed impressively when making both sweet and savoury sauces; neither our caramel nor our white sauce stuck to the pan.

Though slow to respond to temperature changes on our ceramic hob, their non-stick coating shone and helped our tester flip pancakes like a pro. Slight scuffing occurred in the dishwasher, but they washed up with one wipe.

You’d expect quality from M&S, and this pan set more than delivers. The pans heated quickly; our frying pan was ready to cook eggs in just two and a half minutes.

Only the milk pan and frying pan have non-stick coatings – both of which proved impressive – so there was some sticking to the saucepans, especially when cooking meat. On the plus side, stainless steel should last you a long time, making them a great value buy.

Tefal is known for its non-stick coating, with this pan set allowing our tester to toss pancakes with ease. It also distributed heat well, resulting in evenly browned meat.

It reached optimum cooking temperatures quickly – 180C in just one minute and 50 seconds, for example – but could have been more responsive. The small saucepan took a while to get milk simmering and some steam escaped between the rim and lid, causing some rattling.

This is the cheapest pan set on our list, but don’t let that put you off. It impressed our tester with its lightweight design, sturdy stackability and lack of dirt traps. It got the thumbs up for its non-stick coating, with minimal food clinging on, and fared best when frying eggs.

Its milk pan lost it points; it struggled to respond to temperature changes and milk burnt onto the bottom, making it harder to clean. The handles heated up too. But for £30, this is a quality buy that would make a great first pan set.

This timeless set will suit any kitchen. The pans stack away neatly but also feature holes at the end of each handle for hanging up. Our tester found they responded well to temperature changes across all hob types.

Some food stuck to the non-stick frying pan and milk pan as well as the uncoated stainless steel saucepans, but they all emerged from the dishwasher unscathed and sparkling.

To cook up a feast, you’ll need a few pots and pans at your disposal. Every pan set on our list features a minimum of four, including multiple saucepans and at least one frying pan.

Make sure they vary in size, so that you can use one that comfortably fits all your ingredients, whatever you’re cooking.

Consider your cupboard space, too; you’ll need room to stack and store however many pans you plump for.

Numbers, sizes and space limitations aside, ensure your chosen pan set suits your hob type. Most pans can be used across all types, but there are some exceptions (including our best budget pan set, which can’t be used on induction hobs), so always check before you buy.

Consider the material, too. Discover the different types of pans in our buying guide, and note that all our budget buys are made from either heat-conductive aluminium or tough stainless steel.

Best budget pan sets UK 2022 – best cheap pans

Big Cast Iron Pans They also all contain at least one pan with a non-stick coating; this should minimise sticking and burning to make serving and clean-up easier.