Buying guide for Best pie pans
There's nothing quite like cutting through a golden, flaky pastry crust to reveal a delicious filling inside, whether you're baking a classic fruit pie or something more unusual, like a curried chickpea pie. Of course, to bake the perfect pie, you need the perfect pie pan.
Before choosing a pie pan, you should carefully consider which one is right for you. Material is more important than many people realize, with different materials giving a range of results. You also need to choose a pie dish of the correct size and shape to meet your needs, as well as consider other features, such as fluted edges and whether your pie pan is dishwasher safe.
Key considerations
Material
It's important to choose a pie pan of the right material to get the best results. The vast majority of pie pans are made from either metal, glass, or ceramic.
Metal: These pie pans give you quick, even browning, but they can lead to overbaked crusts in custard-type pies that require a longer bake time for the filling to set. Aluminum and stainless steel options are highly affordable. Cast iron pie dishes are some of the most expensive available.
Tempered glass: These pie pans are strong yet relatively affordable and tend to produce well-browned, crisp crusts. If you're looking for a versatile option that works well for all types of pies, glass is a good call.
Ceramic: These pie pans may look attractive, but often, ceramic doesn't have particularly great heat transfer properties, so you might be left with a pie that has a soggy bottom. Thinner ceramic pie plates tend to brown pie crusts better.
Expert Tip
If you prefer to stack your ceramic or glass pie pans in or on other items in a cabinet, place a paper towel or cloth on top and underneath your pie pan to reduce the odds of it getting scratched or chipped.
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Size
Most recipes call for 8- or 9-inch pie pans, so this is a good size to start with. If you attempt a recipe designed for an 8-inch pie pan in a 10-inch dish, you won't have enough pastry or filling to go around. That said, if you're baking for a large group, a larger 10- or 11-inch pie pan will make a bigger pie; you'll just need to scale up your recipe or search for pie recipes designed for larger pie pans. You can also find mini pie pans designed for small pies or even individual pies. The pans designed to bake individual pies usually come in packs of two to six.
Shape
The vast majority of pie pans are round. However, you can also occasionally find other shapes. Square pie pans are sometimes used to bake rustic, often savory pies or pot pies with a top crust but not a bottom crust. You'll also sometimes find novelty-shaped pie pans, such as hearts meant for use on Valentine's Day or anniversaries (or when you just want to show your pies some love), or even pie pans shaped like the symbol for the number pi (?). The trouble with novelty pie pans is that the shape can limit the types of pies you can bake in them or make the pies difficult to turn out.
Expert Tip
When gifting a pie, nothing is sweeter than gifting it in a beautiful pie pan for the recipient to keep.
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Features
Fluting
If you see a pie pan with a wavy edge, that’s known as a fluted edge. A fluted edge can make pies look more decorative and fancy, but large flutes can lead to problems with the edge of the pie crust burning, so proceed with caution.
Color
You won't get color choices with average metal or glass pie pans, but if you choose a ceramic model, you'll be able to pick from a range of colors and sometimes even patterns, too.
Broiler safe
Some pies, such as those with meringue toppings, need to be finished under the broiler for extra browning. If you're likely to need to broil your pies, choose a pie pan that's broiler safe.
Dishwasher safe
Picking a pie plate that's dishwasher safe will make it easier to clean up after you’re done. That said, washing up a single pie pan by hand doesn't take too much effort, so don't avoid an option you love just because it can't be washed in the dishwasher.
Expert Tip
Avoid using steel wool on glass or ceramic pie pans – they’ll scratch over time.
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Accessories
Pastry mat: A pastry mat not only helps keep your counters clean while rolling out pastry but also helps you roll pastry to the correct size for your pie dish.
Rolling pin: You can't make a quality pie from scratch without a rolling pin. It's essential for getting your pastry delectably thin.
Baking beans: When making a pie crust that must be baked blind (prebaked or partially baked before adding the filling), you can fill the crust with baking beans to prevent the pastry from bubbling.
Cooking Torch: If you make pies with meringue toppings, you'll want a kitchen torch for toasting them.
Pastry scraper: When you work with pie dough, this simple yet versatile tool helps you divide, lift, and handle dough.
Pie pan prices
Inexpensive
The least expensive pie pans are aluminum, stainless steel, and basic glass, which cost between $5 and $15.
Mid-range
These options cost from $15 to $25 and include the best tempered-glass pie pans and some ceramic options.
Expensive
High-end ceramic and heavy-duty cast iron pie pans are the most expensive, retailing for between $25 and $40.
Tips
Consider how often you bake pies. We wouldn't recommend shelling out $30 on a high-end pie pan if you only bake pies a couple of times a year. Conversely, it's worth spending extra to get the best if you're an avid pie baker.
Check the depth of your chosen pie pan. You can find extra-deep options if you like plenty of filling in your pies.
Don't be afraid to take shortcuts. If you don't have the time or inclination to make your own pastry, it's fine to use store-bought pastry dough.
Decide if you need more than one pie pan. Some pie pans are sold in packs of two or more, which often works out to a lower price per pan than getting them separately.
FAQ
Q. How can I improve my pie-making skills?
A. Looking to up your pie game with your new pie pan? Thankfully, you can find all kinds of resources. First, you might want to consider getting a book of pie recipes. However, there are plenty of free recipes online, as well as many video tutorials.
Q. Can I bake savory as well as sweet pies in a pie pan?
A. Yes, absolutely. Sweet pies are generally more popular than savory pies in the United States, but the cooking process is much the same for both (fillings aside). If a pie pan cooks sweet pies well, it will turn out quality savory pies, too.
Q. Are disposable aluminum pie pans any good?
A. Disposable aluminum pie pans produce a better crust than you might think. We wouldn't recommend using them all the time because they aren't the most environmentally friendly option (though they can be recycled). However, they're useful for times when you need to bake a large number of pies or you want to gift someone a pie or take one to a potluck without worrying about retrieving your pan.
