The obvious reason for buying a muffin pan would be to get the perfect round, risen muffins with beautiful muffin tops. The best muffin pan will make all the difference in how your muffins bake, rise, and brown. Plus, they are versatile; you can use them to make other things that go into the oven, like buns and cupcakes. Now, there is a whole lot of muffin pan brands and models out there, and you might get confused trying to settle on the best.
Luckily, we came up with this guide to ease the burden of going through all the endless options. We rounded up 11 of the best-rated muffin pans on the market together with some of the crucial parameters that you have to consider before paying for a muffin pan. The key parameters include: weight, handles, material, size, and the number of cups. All these features determine a number of things, like the size and amount of muffins you will be making in one go and the pan’s durability.
Other features: Swiss-engineered PTFE, ceramic reinforced, 2-layer coating, micro-textured pattern
This seems like the best place to kick off. This 12-cup muffin pan from OXO is meticulously designed to help you make mouthwatering and flawlessly beautiful muffins. You will be able to achieve professional results on account of its nonstick properties.
The muffin pan is durably made with aluminum. The aluminum-based steel is further reinforced with ceramic and coated with 2 layers of PFOA-free coating. The coating is super easy to remove and safe to use, not to mention highly durable.
Steel is usually prone to rust, corrosion, and scratches, but you can forget about all these permanent damages with this pan.
Since it is made with aluminum, the pan optimizes equal heat distribution in your muffin batter, ensuring your muffins cook evenly inside and out. It weighs a trim 2.44 pounds, thus easy to handle. Cleaning the pan is such a no-brainer, as you can easily throw it in the dishwasher.
What we liked: the muffin pan has a lovely appearance because of its micro-textured pattern. Its durability and efficiency are on another level, and you can count on it to give you professional-level muffins.
What could be better: the pan tends to get warps after several uses or exposure to intense heat.
Other features: nonstick surface, set of 2
The Thunder Group Excellent Nonstick Muffin Pan is what every baker, whether at home or at a busy bakery needs. The pans come in a set of two and each can produce 24 cupcakes or muffins. The pans are built to last with stainless steel material. The high-quality nonstick coating ensures quick release of your muffins or cupcakes and easy cleaning.
The Thunder Group Excellent Nonstick Muffin Pan is incredibly lightweight. You can easily carry it to your baking class or cookout. Also, thanks to its dishwasher-friendly build you wouldn’t have to clean it after every baking session. This is especially important if you are a commercial baker on your feet most of your day.
Other features: warp-resistant, rolled-rim design; premium-nonstick-coated surface
This is a fantastic option for heavy-duty use. The 12-cup muffin pan is made with heavy steel metal for increased durability and reduced proneness to warping. Surprisingly, the steel is remarkably lightweight, coming in at 1.2 pounds. This guarantees you an even heat distribution for perfectly round and risen muffins.
The pan has a chocolate color that makes your baked products very enticing to look at. Its rolled-rim design and wide handles make it a tad easier to handle even when you are wearing thick oven mittens.
The pan features a premium –nonstick-coated surface that allows your baked products to slide out as well easily. Cleaning is also a breeze as you can easily throw the pan into a dishwasher. Though to avoid dents and scratches, hand-washing is the best-recommended cleaning method.
What we liked: the pan is very safe to handle thanks to its wide handles, and you can trust it to last you a long while with its sturdy steel build.
What could be better: it is prone to scratches if washed in the dishwasher.
Other features: easy clean-up, made in the USA
Here is another great option for commercial use. The pan is made of 12 wells, so you can easily bake in batches. It is made of natural aluminum, which guarantees you even heat distribution that results in evenly baked muffins or cupcakes.
The pan sets itself apart with an encapsulated steel rim that prevents warping. This is what makes it a perfect fit for commercial use as it wouldn’t get damaged when exposed to intense heat or after a couple of uses.
What’s more, the pan’s overall design is super-easy to clean as much as it is not dishwasher friendly.
What we liked: the pan’s rust-free, easy-to-clean and warp-resistant nature are ideal parameters for a commercial baking tin. Plus, it doesn’t need any special kind of cleaning as hand-washing would do.
What could be better: The pan’s narrow edge can be a little difficult to pull from the oven.
Other features: patented silicone coating, lifetime warranty; PTFE, PFOA, and BPA free
This is the ultimate muffin pan to get for beautifully crowned muffins like the ones you see at bakery stores. The pan lives up to its name by allowing you to achieve crowning with its oversized top easily.
The USA pan is made of aluminized steel, which is the most preferred material for baking because it enhances even heat distribution. It weighs a mere pound and is coated with patented silicone to allow your baked products’ easy release.
The pan’s surface is designed to resist warping and can be used to bake large batches of muffins, cupcakes, or eggcups.
What we liked: With a lifetime warranty, this is one of the best silicone muffin pans you can buy with your money. Cleaning it is uncomplicated as hand washing would suffice.
What could be better: some users have complained that baked products tend to stick on the wells after a few uses.
Other features: oven safe to 450 degrees F, wide pan handles with colorful heat-safe silicone grips
Rachel Ray is another famous brand known for high-quality kitchenware. This 12-well muffin tin is painstakingly designed to give you a positive baking experience.
The tin is made to last with steel. Its latte color will make your baked products enticing to look at, and its nonstick surface will ensure they are smoothly released. The pan boasts a trim weight of 1.3pounds and is safe to use in an oven as hot as 450F.
When it comes to user safety, it is hard to beat this Rachel Ray Cucina nonstick muffin tin. It features wide handles that make it easier to pull out of the oven. As if that’s enough, the handles have colorful heat-safe silicon grips that take your baking experience to a different level.
Even more, the baking tin is superbly easy to clean as you can choose to throw it in the dishwasher or wash it with your hands.
What we liked: Unlike many baking tins, this Rachel Ray nonstick muffin pan prioritizes the user’s safety and ease of use. Its ability to withstand up to 450F oven heat also makes it a top priority, especially for every-day bakers.
What could be better: there are a few complaints that after a few uses, muffins tend to stick on the wells.
Other features: silicone grips, nonstick, oven-safe to 450 degrees
This is the only muffin pan that comes close to the Rachel Ray nonstick pan in terms of safety on this list. The muffin pan has SureGrip silicon grips on its handles that make pulling it out of the hot oven an easy and safe affair regardless of your oven mitts’ thickness.
Made of carbon steel, this pan’s durability is unquestionable. The thick metal also prevents it from warping, making it a wonderful choice for heavy-duty use. Because of the thick carbon steel metal, the Anolon Advanced pan is slightly heavier than other muffin pans coming in at 2.1 pounds.
Its thick material also explains its impressive ability to withstand as much heat as 450 degrees without getting damaged. The pan’s nonstick coating does not only enhance the quality of your muffins or cupcakes but also ensure their easy release and hassle-free cleaning.
If you value sticking to a particular kitchen aesthetic theme with your kitchenware, then this is your best bet. Unlike most manufacturers, it offers you 2 options, bronze and graphite, so you can get what suits your tastes.
What we liked: The muffin pan comes in graphite and bronze options, and its SureGrip handles make it easier to hold and handle. Its heavy metal build makes its durability a solid bet.
What could be better: Nothing could be better with this muffin pan
Other features: FDA approved, heat resistant to 450°F; microwave, freezer, and dishwasher safe
If you love you a good pennyworth for everything you spend your money on, then this should be your prime pick. It forgoes the mundane metallic look that most muffin pans have with its fun and bright color. Its color makes it a fantastic choice for kids’ baking class sessions because it is attractive and fun.
The pan is made of silicone that is FDA approved. The material is fairly durable and is heat-resistant enough to be used in a 450 degrees F heated oven. It is also safe to use in a microwave, freezer, and dishwasher.
Despite being made of silicone, the pan has a nonstick coating that guarantees you easy release of your baked products and effortless cleaning. Its design is also flexible and incredibly easy to handle.
What we liked: the muffin pan comes in a bright, attractive color that makes your baking experience fun. Its silicone build is safe and stain-resistant, and the fact that you can use it in a microwave, a freezer, and a 450 degrees F heated oven is a huge plus at such an attractive price point.
What could be better: the only downside to this muffin pan is that when baking, your muffins will rise lower compared to metal pans.
Other features: nonstick surface, limited 10-year warranty
Wilton is a world-famous brand that has been producing premium kitchenware for bakers for nearly 10 decades. This premium quality muffin pan is one of their latest gems. Its design prioritizes ease of use and a professional baking experience.
The pan is built to last with chromium steel. The surface of the 12 wells has a nonstick coating, which promotes easy cleaning and release of your baked products.
It also has handles that are reasonably easy and comfortable to grasp when pulling it out of the oven. The most distinguishing feature of this pan is its perfect width that easily fits in the oven.
What we liked: Typical of Wilton’s bakeware, this nonstick pan offers unparalleled durability with its chromium steel build. It lives up to its nonstick properties, and you can forget the struggles of trying to fit a muffin pan’s width into an oven. The icing on the cake is the 10-year limited warranty backing.
What could be better: Though the pan is dishwasher safe and nonstick, some users claim that it is a bit challenging to clean thoroughly, and because of that, it tends to create buildups.
Other features: nonstick coating, shallow cup design, oven safe to 450°F/ 232°C
Winding up our list is this top-quality Chicago metallic muffin pan. It comes in 3 different sizes: 6 wells, 12 wells, and 24 wells that you can choose from depending on how often or how much you bake.
The muffin pan’s carbon steel and dark finish help you to achieve a good browning on your baked products. It is remarkably lightweight for easy handling and portability yet warp-resistant. You can use it in an oven as hot as 450 degrees F.
The nonstick surface on the pan prevents your cakes, muffins, or buns from sticking, assuring you of professional quality baked products as well as easy cleaning.
What we liked: This is one of the best nonstick pans with the shallow cup design. Its carbon-steel build promises excellent long-term performance and is also warp-resistant.
What could be better: The shallow cups have a design flaw on their edges that result in unevenly-shaped muffins. Also, the muffin pan’s nonstick coating tends to bubble and peel off after a few uses.
Other features: ceramic nonstick surface, PFOA & PTFE free, oven safe to 500 degrees
Calphalon is a renowned brand famous for its innovative professional-quality cookware. This 12-cup muffin pan is no exception. Calphalon claims it is 4 times more durable than their other traditional bakeware.
The premium quality muffin pan is made of lightweight aluminum that ensures even heat distribution so that your muffins can cook well on the inside and outside. It is also beautifully crafted to offer long-lasting premium performance.
With the PFOA-free ceramic nonstick interior, your muffins will easily slide out, and cleaning up will also be a breeze. Additionally, the pan is easy to maintain and scratch-resistant. Plus, unlike most muffin pans, it is oven-safe up to 500F.
What we liked: the pan is incredibly lightweight and wonderfully crafted to offer you professional baking results. Since it is dishwasher safe, you can forget about the hassle that clean-up after baking is.
What could be better: It is hard to imagine there is any room for improvement with this muffin pan.
Without the right information, you might lose it, trying to figure out the best muffin pan among all the options available on the market. This segment contains some tips on choosing the best muffin pan, including the key features that any excellent option should have.
Here are some of the crucial parameters you must put into consideration when you go shopping for a muffin pan.
Like other cookware, muffins are made with various metals, including aluminum, stainless steel, steel, and carbon steel. Aluminum is the most common material used, and it is a great conductor of heat. It, therefore, distributes heat evenly, resulting in evenly-cooked baked products. Its main downside is that it is prone to dents when dropped and warping when exposed to rapid temperature swings.
Stainless steel is the best warp-resistant material. It is also incredibly durable and easy to clean. Its only downside is that it takes time to conduct heat; thus, your muffins might not rise as much or cook as fast as on aluminum muffin pans.
Steel is the sturdiest material, and most muffin pans made with it feature nonstick coating for easy cleaning and release of the baked products. It is also not a quick conductor of heat.
Carbon steel is the perfect balance of durability and weight. It is a combination of steel and carbon alloy. The material is naturally nonstick if used and maintained well.
Whichever material you settle for, ensure it can withstand oven heat of up to 450 degrees F.
This is another crucial factor as it determines the number and sizes of muffins you will be baking. If you intend to bake in batches, be sure to go for a muffin pan with a large number of wells. A 12 or 24-well muffin would suffice for heavy-duty baking. If, on the other hand, you just want to bake for yourself or friends and family, you can choose the smaller options like Chicago Metallic 16640 Muffin/Cupcake Pan.
The muffin batter, just like any cake batter, tends to stick on the surface of the muffin pan when exposed to heat. This can inconvenience you when it comes to removing them from the pan after baking as well as cleaning the pan.
Nonstick pans make a lot of sense because they promise you presentable muffins. They will be effortless to remove from the pan. Cleaning will also be a breeze as there would be little to no residue left on the pan.
These are the main determinants of the muffin pan’s ease of use and convenience. A heavy muffin pan could be difficult to handle or carry around when you have a cookout, or you want to bake blueberry muffins at your folks’ place during Christmas.
The handles come in handy when pulling the pan out of the heated oven. Be sure to pick a muffin pan with large handles that are easy and comfortable to grip even when you are wearing thick oven mitts. Some pans like the Rachael Ray Cucina Nonstick 12-Cup Muffin Tin have extra features like a silicone heat-safe grip to enable you to pull it out of the oven easily and safely.
No one would want to feel like they threw their money away or made the worst investment. Durability is key as it offers great value for money. Construction materials are the main determinants of a muffin pan’s durability. A muffin pan made of stainless steel or carbon steel will definitely outlast one made of silicon or aluminum.
The number of cups on the muffin pan will determine the number of muffins or cupcakes you will be able to bake at one go. For commercial purposes, you will want to go for a 12 or 24 cup set so you can make as many muffins as possible in fewer rounds. If you don’t bake that often, or you do for a few people, you can opt for the 6 cup muffin pan.
The same way a black car gets hotter than a white one when seated in the sun is the same way you’ll get lighter-colored muffins when you use lighter-colored muffin pans. If you want muffins with more browning, choose the dark-colored one, and for something in between, go for the bronze or gold ones.
For perfectly-shaped, browned muffins, you have no choice but to invest in a proper muffin pan. Picking one out of the entire lot available can be a daunting process. Luckily we have provided you with pro tips and hints that will help you make the best-informed choices. You can as well escape the whole hassle and choose any of the top-rated products we have reviewed.
Our best overall choice, the OXO Good Grips Non-Stick Pro Muffin Pan, is the best muffin pan that does a great job balancing durability, lightweight, and ease of use. It is made with high-quality material, and its micro-textured pattern gives it an aesthetic appeal. Our second pick, the Thunder Group Excellent Nonstick Muffin Pan is a prime option for commercial use or if you are having a party and would love to bake as many muffins or cupcakes in one go. It is ultra-durable and easy to care for.
Our third choice, the Circulon Nonstick Bakeware Nonstick 12-Cup Muffin Tin, stood out as the sturdiest and best warp-resistant muffin pan. Its premium nonstick surface and incredibly lightweight build set it apart. Its rolled rim design went unmatched and, together with all the other features, placed it high among all the best muffin pans out there.
