The Always Pan Review – An Honest Review of the Viral Pan

If you have Instagram or watch TV (even just a little bit), you’ve probably seen ads and endorsments for The Always Pan over the past year.  I myself had been curious on whether or not this pricey pan was worth it or not, but held out on buying one for months and months.

Finally, our cheap, nonstick pan that I had picked up at HomeGoods finally bit the dust, so I decided it was now or never – I took the plunge and purchased the Always Pan a few months ago.  And I bet you’re wondering all the juicy details….well keep reading for an honest The Always Pan review!

What is the Always Pan?

The Always Pan, made by Our Place, is a multi-purpose cooktop pan designed to replace 8 traditional pieces of kitchen cookware. Its non-stick, ceramic, and compatible with all cooktops (even induction!).

What kitchen items can the Always Pan replace?

• Saute Pan
• Fry Pan
• Steamer – yes, it comes with a steamer basket that nestles perfectly inside
• Skillet
• Saucier – technically I didn’t know what this was until I googled it, hehe
• Saucepan – complete with not one but two pour spouts
• Non-stick pan
• Spatula – it also comes with a Beechwood spatula
• Spoon rest

Really, there isn’t much you can’t do with this pan.  One thing you definitely cannot do, is put it in the oven…so don’t get rid of your cast iron or dutch ovens! But pst, Our Place also makes the Perfect Pot which can replace your dutch oven if you’re in the market.  Honestly, either one of these would make an amazing housewarming gift!

Also frowned upon? Using metal kitchen utensils that may scratch the inside over time. So make sure you use that beechwood spatula! And if you need more, you can purchase a set of 2 for $15.

The Always Pan Review: Aesthetic

In this honest The Always Pan review, I thought it would be helpful to break it down into categories so we’ll start with aesthetics. Not too much to say here except for, this is a beautiful looking pan.  The range of colors are both unique and practical, depending on your style and aesthetic.  The pan’s exterior has a matte finish, while the inside is a shiny (nonstick) light grey (which is nice so you can easily spot when things are browning etc.).

I went with the color Char based off our kitchen design, however, I would have loved to get a non-traditional color such as Spice or Sage. Eric and I both gifted our parents the Always Pan for Christmas, and chose the color Steam for both. Honestly, whichever color you pick is a good choice.  This pan is pretty enough to have a permanent spot on top of your range, even when not in use.

The Always Pan Review: Functionality

I’ll be honest, I was kind of nervous to use the pan at first! I don’t know why – I think because it is just so darn pretty and I didn’t want to ruin it.  We’ve gone through our fair share of pans and somehow the nonstick ones just always end up fading and losing their nonstick abilities over time.

I had also heard that people had scorched their Always pans and ultimately ruined them because they didn’t use them properly.  It comes with a handy cheat sheet that tells you the in’s and out’s of how to use it, and more importantly, how not to use it.

The first thing I made in our Always Pan? Scrambled eggs.  And they turned out beautiful (and tasty!) of course.  I always cook our scrambled eggs on low heat, so I felt like this was a safe bet. But I was definitely nervous to cook something that would normally require higher heat (due to the scorching horror stories I had heard).

The good thing about the Always Pan is that the heavy gauge cast aluminum holds and conducts heat better than a traditional stainless steel cookware, so low to medium heat is all you will ever really need, even if a recipe calls for high heat.

When it was time to clean the pan, it honestly didn’t even require a scrub.  The remaining food just slid right off into the sink with a minimal amount of water – it was impressive!

Let’s talk about the lid.  They truly thought of everything on this pan, even the fact that the lid has the ability to trap steam when you want it trapped, and release steam when you want it released.  Oh, and it fits perfectly on top of the pan even when the spatula is resting on the spoon rest.

All you have to do is line up the arrow and voila! When you want to lock in steam, just remove the spatula from the rest, and turn the lid so that the arrow is pointing away from the spatula rest.

One thing I absolutely love is that the handle stays cool – I can’t tell you how many times I have gotten my pans mixed up mentally and went to grab the (hot!) handle, thinking it was cool. With the Always Pan, you will burn your hand on the handle no more!

But please be careful because the other looped handle does get hot – I learned this the hard way.  Only grab the long handle!

And as silly as it may sound, the spoon rest is probably my favorite feature.  Why? Because I have never owned a spoon rest – the countertop is my spoon rest.  Therefore, I always have a mess to clean up afterwards.  This eliminates this tedious task and is just so genius!

I’m not going to lie though, sometimes I still catch myself putting the wooden spatula right on my countertop instead of the spoon rest – I have to retrain my brain to take advantage of this awesome feature!

One thing I do wish where different is the overall width of the pan.  While it is deep, its a little bit smaller in width than what I am used to….so I have found that I either need to really strategically fit things in (four chicken breasts, for instance) or cook in batches.

The Always Pan Review: Accessories

When your open your Always Pan box upon delivery, everything you need comes nestled inside of the pan.  As I mentioned, it comes with a steam basket (that has two handles), a Beechwood spatula (so that you don’t scratch that beautiful shiny interior), and a natural sponge for cleaning.

In my opinion, it comes with everything you need.  There are additional accessories you can purchase, such as a Spruce steamer basket (complete with a set of chopsticks and 15 liners!), but I don’t make dumplings so I don’t have an immediate need for this.

I honestly really love the design of the steamer basket as well.  I have one of those older steamer baskets that collapses/expands, and I always used to burn my hand trying to get it out of the pan.  With this design, the two handles rest out of the way of the steam, making it a lot more gentle on your paws.

Conclusion: Is the always pan worth it?

Do I think the Always Pan is worth the hype and money? Yes! I do. I have since used the pan several times and I’m always impressed with the thoughtful design.  And Eric is always impressed with how easily it cleans, since I usually cook and he cleans!

While $145 may seem like a lot at first, this pan has so many capabilities and can replace so many different items around the kitchen. At the time of this article, the Always Pan has over 22,000 reviews with an average of 4.6 star rating!  People LOVE this pan, and I can now agree, for good reason.

In fact, I’m thinking about adding the Perfect Pot to our kitchen because I love our pan so much.  Who knows, maybe I will be more adventurous and grab it in Sage!  If you think you might want to eventually purchase both, you can save $60 by bundling them together!  I personally think its fun to mix and match the colors.

I hope you found The Always Pan review helpful! If you have any questions, leave them in the comments below!

xo,