All-Clad Stainless Steel Skillet Review

Like a lot of people, I didn’t grow up cooking with stainless steel. Instead, my parents had a go-to hodgepodge of enameled cast iron and nonstick skillets. But when I started my career in food, I quickly noticed everyone waxing poetic about tri-ply stainless steel. So, to try to make myself a “real-deal” cook, one Christmas I asked for one of the most beloved stainless steel skillets on the market: the All-Clad D3. It took some getting used to, but since then it’s easily become the most-used pan I own. 

Why I Love the All-Clad D3 Stainless Steel Skillet

A great stainless steel skillet is responsive—with a twist of your stovetop’s burner, the pan’s temperature should change rapidly. This is essential in many recipes, like when you’re making a pan sauce and need to burn off the alcohol from a cup of red wine, but don’t want to scorch any aromatics. 

The All-Clad D3 does a fantastic job with this since it’s made of three layers of metal (a.k.a tri-ply): stainless steel with a superconductive piece of aluminum sandwiched in between. I can get the pan scorching hot to sear a piece of meat, take it out, add some sherry, burn off the alcohol, then dial the temperature down and add aromatics, herbs, and butter to finish it off, all without any burning or overheating. The wide surface and gently curved sides of the All-Clad also let steam escape, ensuring a good crust when searing and quickly reducing sauces. This isn’t the case with many other skillets, which pair high sides with a cramped surface area, resulting in wan sears. 

The All-Clad D3 is also my go-to skillet for easy weeknight, all-in-one skillet dinners, letting me cook ingredients on the stovetop before moving the entire skillet into the oven for a final broil or cook (it’s great for noodle bakes, like this mushroom pasta situation). 

And while it’s by no means a lightweight pan (the 12-inch skillet I have weighs 4.5 pounds), I can still maneuver it easily, which is helpful when I’m sautéing vegetables and need to give ‘em a toss. The indented handle lets me get a good grip, with my thumb resting in the crease and giving me control. 

Using stainless steel does require some fiddling: You have to get the skillet hot and add a slick of oil to ensure food doesn’t stick. And while it doesn’t hold onto heat as well as cast iron, it still warms up pretty quickly and evenly. I’d say its pros outweigh any cons it may have, and when it comes time to make dinner, this is the skillet I’m grabbing. 

Why We’re the Experts 

• Grace Kelly is a senior editor at Serious Eats, where she’s been testing kitchen equipment for almost three years. 
• She worked at America’s Test Kitchen and was a prep cook and bartender. 
• She’s had her stainless steel All-Clad D3 skillet for about five years and uses it weekly.