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I have long been ride-or-die with my cast-iron skillet, which I use to cook pretty much everything. A well-seasoned skillet is nonstick, oven safe and—with a proper amount of preheating—reaches surface-of-the-sun temperatures. For reactive foods that can’t be cooked in cast iron (like tomatoes and other acidic foods), I use a sturdy stainless steel pan. And finally, for ultra-sticky foods like eggs, I keep a nonstick frying pan on hand.

When I heard that HexClad Cookware created a pan that combines the best elements of cast iron, stainless steel and nonstick into a single miraculous pan, I knew I had to check it out. Here’s my honest review of the HexClad Hybrid pan.

According to Gordon Ramsay, HexClad cookware is “the Rolls Royce of pans,” which is one heck of an endorsement. Lest you worry those words are nothing but a paid celebrity endorsement, know that other Michelin-starred chefs have buzzed about the HexClad pan, too. And HexClad’s pots, pans and woks have hundreds of five-star Amazon reviews.

HexClad cookware is designed to feature all the positives of cast iron, stainless steel and nonstick pans with none of the negatives. Like cast iron, it’s sturdy, resilient and retains a tremendous amount of heat. Like stainless steel, it distributes heat evenly across the surface of the pan and is not reactive. And, like nonstick pans it’s, well, nonstick.

Learn more about the different types of cookware (and which one is best for your kitchen!).

Allison Robicelli for Taste of Home

I tested the 12-inch HexClad Hybrid pan. Straight out of the box, the HexClad pan’s comparisons to cast iron were immediately evident. This is one hefty beast of a skillet! It’s so heavy it might just last forever, like how a good cast-iron pan passes down from generation to generation. Unlike cast iron, however, the HexClad’s handle makes it easy to lift up and hold without much strain on the wrist.

Most of the things I make for dinner start by sauteing a little garlic or onion (or both!) in olive oil until golden before adding additional ingredients, so the first thing I cooked in my HexClad Hybrid pan was just that, along with a big mess of greens.

The HexPan heated up in about a minute—far less time than it normally takes my cast-iron skillet to get to sauteing temp. Both the garlic and onion cooked evenly to a beautiful golden brown without sticking to the pan. Once I added the greens with a big pinch of salt, I confidently tossed everything together using tongs without worrying about scraping or nicking the pan, as I would have with a traditional nonstick pan. The greens cooked down in a flash, with all the liquid quickly evaporating as I swirled the pan.

It was obvious the HexPan could handle simple everyday cooking tasks with ease, so I decided to test it with something that’s easy to foul up if you have the wrong pan. Cooking chicken thighs skin-side-down, low and slow in a skillet should yield shatteringly-crisp golden skin with tender dark meat beneath—but every skillet has its pitfalls.

I’ve found that cast iron does the best job overall with this task, but because skillets tend to heat up unevenly, some thighs brown (or burn) more than others. Stainless steel can produce uniform browning, but the chicken can stubbornly stick to the bottom of the pan. Nonstick pans don’t have this problem, but they are not suitable for the super-hot temperatures necessary for browning meat. Could the HexClad pan offer a solution?

I preheated my pan over medium-low heat for one minute, seasoned four chicken thighs generously with kosher salt, arranged them skin-side down in the HexClad pan, and left them completely undisturbed for 15 minutes. When I flipped them over with metal tongs, they were perfect. Evenly brown with no signs of hot spots, impossibly crisp and utterly delicious. Nothing stuck, nothing burned. Not only was that good for the chicken, but it made cleanup easy! The HexClad washed clean quickly with soap and water, no scrubbing needed.

HexClad’s patented design uses a laser etching process to create a hexagonal pattern on the bottom of a stainless steel pan. It features a high-grade nonstick coating that’s infused with diamond dust (!!!) for extra strength. The steel hexagons allow the heat to diffuse across the pan evenly, while the PFOA-free nonstick coating prevents foods from sticking.

Because of its magnetic steel base, the HexClad Hybrid pan rapidly conducts heat and is suitable for induction cooktops. Also, it is oven safe up to 500 degrees. HexClad is sturdy enough to last a lifetime, and as such, the company backs up its cookware with a lifetime warranty.

Allison Robicelli for Taste of Home

The HexClad pan is dishwasher safe, but is so easy to clean by hand that you may not want to bother! The scratch-resistant surface is safe for use with abrasive cleaners, scouring pads and steel wool, though odds are, all you’ll need to clean up most messes is a soapy sponge and running water.

HexClad cookware is heavy, but its ergonomic handles make it much easier to lift and maneuver than cast-iron cookware. The 12-inch Hybrid pan weighs four pounds.

We’ve talked at length about how HexClad measures up against other cookware materials, but what about other brands? Just like Caraway Cookware, the Our Place Always Pan and Green Pan, HexClad has been making waves on social media. All four brands are suitable for healthy cooking—and they look good doing it.

The HexClad Hybrid pan stands out from the pack thanks to its multi-purpose uses. There’s no need to worry about cooking on too high of a heat, scratching the pan with a metal utensil or accidentally running it through the dishwasher. HexClad cookware is designed for even the toughest cooking tasks.

HexClad cookware might be pricey, but it’s most definitely worth the money and will pay for itself ten times over. Not only does the HexClad Hybrid pan do the work of three other pans, but it’s also built to last. It may very well be the last pan you ever buy!

Pick up the 12-inch HexClad hybrid frying pan from the brand’s website or Walmart. It retails for $155, but you can often find it on sale. Once it arrives, all that’s left to do is pick your favorite recipe and start cooking like Gordon Ramsay!

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