Best pans for induction hobs – tried and tested by the Ideal Home team

Modern and super-efficient, the best pans for induction hobs will work perfectly on your induction cooktop. These hobs are different to traditional electric and ceramic stovetops, though. 

When people upgrade to induction, they often find their old pans aren’t compatible. And even if you have the very best saucepan set in the game you'll need to trade it in for an induction pan that'll cook your food properly.

Cast iron and stainless steel will work, which means you can also take a look at our guide to cast iron cookware, but pans made of copper or aluminium may not cut the mustard – and they’ll need to be traded with a ferrous, induction-compatible base.

To help you choose the best pans for induction hobs, we've put these induction-friendly pans – both full sets and single, multi-use pots – through their paces. We took careful notice of everything from their design to their oven-safe qualities, their ease of use, and their cleaning requirements. 

So, we can now say on good authority that these are hands-down the best pans for induction hobs on the market today. 

The quick list

Short on time but sure that you want to bag the best pan for induction hobs on the market? Browse our quick list below, which has everything you need to know neatly summed up.

Best overall pans for induction hobs

The Ninja Foodi Zerostick Stackable pan set includes three well-sized, long-handled pots (the largest of which is big enough for stocks and generous batch cooking) and two frying pans – between them they have most of your hob-cooking needs covered.

The sleek style of these pans means they’ll look at home in any kitchen – but they get just as many points for practicality as they do for style. Oven safe up to most cookers’ maximum temperature, they’re versatile and dishwasher safe, and the robust handles have a flat surface which is great for resting your spatula on. When we were testing them, we noticed how effective and hardy the non-stick coating is – it’s scratch-resistant and even safe for using metal utensils on.

Coming with a 10-year guarantee, these pans are great value and will last the distance in even the busiest of home kitchens. They’re all double-handled too, making for easy manoeuvring.

Best frying pan for induction hobs

This is the best-looking pan we tested, and it's also in our guide to the best non-stick frying pans. Its lovely matte-textured outer finish is modern and tactile, while the inside is silky smooth thanks to a ceramic coating (which makes for an effective non-stick cooking surface). It comes in ten colours too, meaning it’ll look the part in any kitchen.

Designed to act as a frying pan, saute pan, steamer and saucepan, the aptly named Always Pan is, we can confirm after our testing, competent enough to take on a range of culinary tasks – we used it for everything from whipping up stews to frying omelettes and steaming veg. It comes with a spatula that nests happily on a little notch on the handle, has pouring spouts on both sides for getting rid of excess fat, and includes a removable steamer basket.

Lightweight and easy to manoeuvre, the Always Pan has an easy-grip, stay-cool handle, and a generous size – it’s bigger than any of the frying pans on this list. It’s not one for the oven or the dishwasher though, which might limit its use and appeal for home cooks with busy kitchens.

Best hob-to-table for induction hobs

This is a classic kitchen staple from the well-respected and long-established Le Creuset brand. It’s an investment for sure, but one that should last a lifetime – and then some.

Made from hardy, induction-friendly cast iron, this lidded pot is coated with ceramic to give it an easy-clean, effortlessly non-stick finish. Even our burnt-on cassoulet residue wiped away with ease. There’s no need to be precious and handwash this hardy number either – it’s totally dishwasher safe, with no danger of regular cycles impairing its performance.

Cast iron retains heat really well and, indeed, in testing we found this hob-to-oven-to-table superstar gave even results when cooking and kept our food hot long after we’d taken it off the heat.

Best family pans for induction hobs

It’s clear this set of pots was created with busy families in mind. The generous sizes mean you can easily cook for a whole family in the frying pan and everyday pan – which is exactly what we did in testing – and the effective non-stick interior makes life that bit easier.

Fine to be flung in the oven or the dishwasher, we found these pans to be happily low-maintenance and easy to use. They’re lightweight and the handles are all made from easy-grip, stay-cool materials. The two largest pots are double-handled too, which helped when carrying them to the table to serve from.

We appreciated the universal lid which fits the everyday pan, stockpot and frying pan all perfectly (no wasted cupboard space) and there’s a grove in the lid handle for resting your spatula on, too.

Best eco-conscious pan for induction hobs

Hardwearing and thick without being too hefty, these pans are made from recycled aluminium and have a tough, plant-based non-stick that’s designed to be scratch resistant. The soft-grip handles stay nice and cool too.

So far, so practical. And it doesn’t stop there: the pans are dishwasher safe – when we tested them in our machine, they came out good as new, although handwashing will help maintain the non-stick qualities for longer – and oven safe (albeit only uo to 150°C). They’re also lightweight and the lids have a nifty spoon rest built into the handles.

The speckled green finish is a nod to the eco-credentials of these pans, which can be recycled once they come to the end of their life and arrived with us in fully recyclable packaging. While we noticed they don’t have quite as large a capacity as some other pans – like the Ninja and Greenpan numbers – they’d be ideal if you usually cook in smaller quantities or have limited storage space.

Best budget pans for induction hobs

These are pans that don’t need to be hidden in a cupboard out of sight when not in use – with their wooden handles and Scandinavian-influenced design, they’d look great on display, lining some open shelves, perhaps.

The wooden stay-cool handles are lovely and tactile and give the pans a bit of a rustic edge, while the aluminium bodies feel sturdy and have a special base that helps them to heat quickly and evenly. The glossy non-stick coating works well too – in testing, our food slid out without a care.

They might not be dishwasher friendly, but thanks to that non-stick they cleaned up really easily by hand.

Best recyclable pans for induction hobs

How to choose the best pan for induction hobs

When you’re choosing induction pans to cook with, there’s plenty to consider. Think about what you’ll be using them for – do you need frying pans or casserole-style pots with lids perhaps, or will simple saucepans do the trick? Also, do you often transfer your pots from hob to oven when cooking?

It’s helpful to have pans in a range of sizes for induction hobs too – the rings are different diameters and need to be matched to a pan that fits snugly.

If you have a dishwasher, think about whether you’ll be willing to hand wash your pots, or if you want ones that will fair well being thrown in the machine at the end of each day. Also consider how much storage space you have available – if your cupboards are already full-to-bursting, perhaps a multi-use pan or a stackable set would be the best idea.

How we test the best induction pans

We take how we test at Ideal Home very seriously. For this task, we put these pans to the test by using them for everyday family meals. Frying pans were used for everything from making omelettes to cooking bacon, while saucepans were employed to make the likes of dal and pasta sauces, and lidded pots were filled with stews and cassoulet. 

All the pans that specified they were dishwasher safe were put through a cycle or three as well, to see how they faired.

When cooking with the pans, we were looking for a nice even distribution of heat – no hot spots causing burning or cool areas leaving food undercooked – as well as easy handling, good non-stick abilities and great cleaning results.

FAQs

Well, there you have it. If you're planning on replacing your conventional hob with an induction hob or you're just on the lookout to replace your old induction pans, these should certainly fit the bill.