An orange frying pan holding cooked food sits on a wooden cutting board on a kitchen counter, with a cookbook, a plate of food, and kitchen shelves in the background.

Non-Stick vs Stainless Steel Pan: Which Wins?

Most guides treat the non-stick versus stainless steel pan debate as a two-way toss-up. One pan type (non-stick) won’t withstand high heat, and the other (stainless steel) needs you to use a specific technique; otherwise, soft foods like eggs stick to it.

Anyone who’s scraped a torn fish fillet off a stainless steel frypan, or watched their coated pan give up after a year of being used for hot stir-fries, already knows both sides of this problem.

The pan that strikes a balance between the two is solid cast aluminium with a ceramic non-stick coating. But it seldom gets a mention. That's an odd omission, because it addresses the very complaints that send most cooks searching for the ideal pan in the first place.

This guide compares the three material categories you, as a home cook, are really choosing between. Non-stick, stainless steel and cast aluminium. And instead of focusing on brand, we approach the choice through the lens of your cooking habits.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

  • Non-Stick vs Cast vs Stainless Steel at a Glance 
  • Non-Stick Pans: Best for Delicate, Everyday Cooking 
  • Stainless Steel Pans: Best for High Heat, If It Has a Core 
  • Cast Aluminium: The Pan That Does Both Jobs 
  • Which Pan Type Suits Your Cooking Style? 
  • The Verdict 
  • Frequently Asked Questions 

Non-Stick vs Cast vs Stainless Steel at a Glance

So, which pan should you buy? The answer depends on how you cook, because pans made from different material types excel at different jobs. Whether you frame it as stainless steel versus non-stick or add cast aluminium as the third contender, the breakdown below shows where each one shines. The sections that follow go into greater detail.

Non-stick

  • Best for: Eggs, pancakes and delicate fish
  • Heat behaviour: Even distribution at low to medium heat. High heat damages the coating
  • Non-stick performance: Excellent while the coating lasts
  • Induction compatible: Some pans, only those with a magnetic base

Stainless steel

  • Best for: Searing, browning and pan sauces
  • Heat behaviour: Even heat distribution only with a bonded aluminium or copper core
  • Non-stick performance: None. Release depends on oil and timing
  • Induction compatible: Most pans, if the grade is magnetic

Cast aluminium

  • Best for: From everyday cooking to searing and simmering
  • Heat behaviour: Even through a full 5 mm body, with strong heat retention
  • Non-stick performance: Excellent, triple-layer ceramic fusion coating
  • Induction compatible: All Bessemer pans, via a bonded magnetic plate 

 

Non-Stick Pans: Best for Delicate, Everyday Cooking

A non-stick pan is best for delicate foods like eggs, crepes, scallops and fish fillets, which would otherwise stick and tear. Butter foams and slides instead of catching. An omelette rolls out in one unbroken piece. The clean-up afterwards is a quick rinse and wipe with no need to scrub. This makes a big difference when you’re cooking eggs for breakfast on a busy morning. After all, every last minute counts.

The ease is the whole appeal of non-stick, and for day-to-day cooking it’s hard to beat. But there are some trade-offs. Most non-stick coatings can’t handle high heat, and using metal utensils is a no-no. And even if you look after your coating well, there’s still a finite number of meals you can cook on it. Still, non-stick pans aren’t a bad buy! You just need to recognise their limitations. So, keep the control knob on medium at the stove and keep those metal spoons or spatulas well away from the surface.

Stainless Steel Pans: Best for High Heat, If It Has a Core

A stainless-steel pan is a wonderful tool for high-heat cooking, as long as it has an aluminium or copper core bonded into the base for even heating. When you want a proper crust on a steak or to deglaze the base for a sauce, stainless steel is your go-to.

It can handle the metal utensils and high temperatures most non-stick pans can't. The hiss when meat lands on hot steel, the crust that forms and then releases on its own. The browned fond lifting off with a splash of wine. That complete confidence in using high heat. Now, that’s stainless-steel pan territory.

The catch is in the metal itself. Stainless steel alone is a poor conductor of heat, about a fourteenth as conductive as aluminium, which is why that bonded core matters so much. Without one, the pan gets hot in the middle and cool at the edges, so you scorch one part of your pancake while undercooking another. Most of the frustration directed towards stainless steel as a material traces back to this missing core. 

There’s a second cost too. Even a well-made stainless pan requires the right technique: enough preheat time and enough oil to prevent food from welding itself to the surface.

Cast Aluminium: The Pan That Does Both Jobs

A cast aluminium pan with a ceramic non-stick coating does both jobs, heating evenly like a cored stainless steel pan and releasing food just as easily as a dedicated non-stick pan.

Bessemer's pans are cast with a solid 5 mm aluminium wall, so the heat conducts evenly up the sides as well as through the base. Over that goes a triple-layer ceramic fusion non-stick coating which is free of PFOA, lead and cadmium. A magnetic stainless steel induction plate is bonded underneath, so the pan works on any cooktop, including induction.

When you lift one up, the heft is obvious, closer to cast iron than to a supermarket non-stick. That mass holds its temperature when cold food goes in, keeping a sizzle going where a cold steak would stifle a lighter pan.

Owners of Bessemer cast aluminium pans are thrilled with the results. One online reviewer writes that they love 'the way they cook with even heat' eighteen months into using it daily. The non-stick frypan range goes from a 20 cm breakfast pan to a 32 cm family size, pls larger stir-fry pans, constructed the same way. Matched with a universal lid, the cast aluminium body also drives the patented ‘oven effect’, letting this frypan make a stovetop roast or cake that neither a thin non-stick nor a plain stainless-steel pan could retain enough heat for.

Which Pan Type Suits Your Cooking Style?

The quickest way to choose is to match the pan to the foods you actually cook. Find yourself in the list below.

  • Weeknight eggs, pancakes and delicate fish. Non-stick. Well suited to gentle cooking and fast clean-up.
  • Restaurant-style searing, browning and pan sauces. Stainless steel with a bonded core, or the cast iron pan you already have in your kitchen cupboard. Both can withstand the heat and the metal spatula.
  • One pan for daily cooking that can still sear and simmer. Cast aluminium, which holds its heat for a proper crust or a long braise without needing to be micro-managed.
  • An induction cooktop, or one piece doing several jobs. Cast aluminium again, for the bonded magnetic plate as much as for the coating. A multi-pan when you want a single piece to roast as well as cook a casserole and fry.
  • Building a first collection. Getting a matched cookware set with saucepans and a frypan is a great foundation for your kitchen. You have many options, including a 3-piece starter set.

The Verdict

No single pan material is an absolute ‘winner’. The best pan material depends on what you cook most: if you live on delicate breakfasts, you’ll be happy with non-stick. If you find yourself searing frequently, you’ll keep reaching for stainless steel. And if you swing between the two, that’s a stronger case for cast aluminium. It provides a middle ground in terms of construction without compromise, with even heat from a heavy cast body and easy release on top.

To get started, look through the full frypan range. All pieces have the same 5 mm cast body and a 25-year Lifetime Guarantee standing behind it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is cast aluminium or stainless steel better for cooking?

Cast aluminium is better for most everyday cooking, while stainless steel is better for hard searing and cooking with metal utensils.

Does non-stick cookware conduct heat as well as stainless steel?

Yes, non-stick cookware can conduct heat as well as or better than stainless steel, depending on what the coating is bonded to. The coating itself plays no real part in conduction. A solid cast aluminium body spreads heat throughout the entire pan, while plain stainless steel needs a bonded aluminium or copper core to manage the same task.

Can you sear meat in a non-stick pan?

Not very well, because a hard sear needs high, sustained heat and most non-stick coatings aren’t built to survive it. Pushing them that hard shortens the lifespan of the coating and the pan itself. Stainless steel or a heavier cast pan is a better tool to obtain a crust.

Is cast aluminium cookware safe?

Yes, in Bessemer's case, the ceramic fusion coating is PFOA-, lead-, and cadmium-free. The cooking surface that touches your food is this coating rather than bare aluminium. The same construction has been in Australian kitchens for more than 60 years, which is a long safety record by any measure.

Is Bessemer cookware induction compatible?

Yes. All Bessemer pans have a magnetic stainless steel induction plate bonded to their base, so they work on any cooktop, induction included, without the need for an adaptor disc.

Do I need both a non-stick and a stainless steel pan?

Not necessarily. A cast aluminium pan with a ceramic non-stick coating takes care of most of what the two do separately. This includes easy release and heat retention for a respectable sear. A dedicated stainless steel pan still has its place in your kitchen if you sear often and like to use metal utensils.


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