The 5 Best Brownie Pans, According to Our Tests

Our Favorite Brownie Pan

I tested 11 brownie pans for this piece, but top honors go to All Clad’s Pro-Release Nonstick Square Baking Pan. The brownie pan lived up to the brand’s high-quality reputation, with large handles that were easy to grab and a slick nonstick coating that made removing treats easy. It resulted in evenly cooked brownies that toed the line between fudgey and cakey.

How We Tested Brownie Pans

We tested 11 brownie pans for this piece (and vetted dozens more), all of which varied in material and style. Some pans were made of metals like steel or aluminum, and others were made of ceramic or tempered glass. Some pans had unique features, like a ribbed base, while others touted additional accessories, like lids. Each pan was rated in the below categories:

• Performance: During our tests, we used the brownie pans for several weeks, putting each through the paces and cooking multiple batches of brownies. For continuity’s sake, each batch of brownies was made using the same boxed recipe to streamline batch size, greasing method, and intended cooking time. Results-wise, we paid close attention to how each brownie cooked up, including its texture, and how easy it was to remove from the pan.
• Usability: Anyone rarely uses a brownie pan just for brownies, so it was important to put our tester pans to work on other items too. Each pan was used at least once to tackle a different cooking task, from roasting up vegetables to making a seasonal fruit crisp. 
• Ease of cleaning: A quick cleanup is always essential, especially when fresh-out-of-the-oven brownies await. For each pan, we made sure to note how easy they were to clean, including whether or not they could be washed in a dishwasher and if there were any tough spots (like corners or ridges) that held onto the batter. 

What We Looked For

Capacity

One of the first things to consider when shopping for the best brownie pan is how large of a capacity you need. The typical size for a brownie pan is 8” x 8”, though their depths can range significantly. That said, that’s certainly not the only size pan you can use to make brownies, especially if you tend to cook up double batches. Many of the brownie pieces on our list of favorites come in multiple sizes, so shop for a capacity that suits your lifestyle (and cooking style) best. 

Material

Brownies have an ooey-gooey reputation, so choosing a brownie pan that can release them easily is a must. In general, we recommend shopping for a pan with nonstick coating, or one made from glass or ceramic. Even so, each material should still be greased using butter or nonstick spray for the best results possible. 

Extra Features 

No two pans are alike, and many of the best brownie pans on our list come with bonus features, like ridges at the base or a convenient lid for transportation. While shopping, you should also pay close attention to other features that impact your baking experience, like whether or not the pan has handles and, if so, how easy they are to grab with oven mitts on. 

Other Brownie Pans We Tested

While the five brownie pans that earned a spot on our list were the best, I still found several strong contenders throughout testing. These pieces are still great options for your kitchen, falling short in just one or two testing categories that prevented them from making our best list. Here’s what stood out — and where they could have done better:

Nordic Ware Square Cake Pan ($16 at Amazon)

Nordic Ware is a baker’s classic, and I often reach for their sheet pans when making cookies. I expected to love this piece but found myself disappointed in the odd texture of the pan, which felt like it had a chalky finish that had me washing it numerous times before using it for brownies. That said, it cooked the brownies well, on time, and with a nice chewy crust. It didn't release as easily as other nonstick options, but wasn't detrimental to the brownies. It also didn’t have handles, which made it hard to grab using oven mitts, especially one-handed. 

Williams Sonoma Goldtouch Pro Nonstick Square Cake Pan ($35 at Williams Sonoma)

I’ve never used an in-house piece of cookware from Williams Sonoma before and was pleasantly surprised by the quality and performance of this pan. The unique golden color of the nonstick surface caught my eye, and the pan cooked up great brownies, with a chewy crust and ideal crackle on the top. My one gripe was that the squared-off corners featured folded metal, which held onto gunk and batter. It took a lot of scrubbing to get out and even then, I had to pick some out with a toothpick. 

Emile Henry 8" x 8" Square Baker ($56 at Amazon)

Emile Henry is a brand I trust wholeheartedly for ceramic bakeware. Out of all of the ceramic pieces I tested, the Emile Henry pan was the deepest, resulting in slightly thicker brownies than other pans that took a bit longer to cook than their prescribed time. This pan does have handles, which I find important, but they are rather thick and shallow so they're not the easiest to hold. At the end of the day, this was a great pan — I just liked Made In’s porcelain version better. 

Great Jones Little Hottie ($60 at Great Jones)

I love Great Jones cookware but my first impression of this dish was kind of shock — it's just so tiny! It nested easily into its fellow ceramic baking dishes and I knew that the brownies it would make would be thicker and cake-like, which is fine, just not my preferred style. Still, the design is adorable and it made a quality batch of brownies, though the bubble-like handles are hard to hold, even without oven mitts on.

Le Creuset Heritage Stoneware Square Dish ($55 at Le Creuset)

You can’t go wrong with a Le Creuset piece, and the same sentiment holds with this stoneware baker. It's surprisingly shallow on the sides, which I didn't mind—I tend to prefer a denser more gooey brownie, which this pan executed on nicely. I typically find ceramic dishes stick a bit even with my best greasing efforts, and that was the case here—that said, it didn't ruin the brownies. Honestly, this was very close to being a top pick, and there isn’t much bad to be said about this dish!

Anchor Hocking 8-Inch Square Glass Baking Dish ($15 at Amazon)

While I had never heard of this brand before, I was fairly impressed by this glass Anchor Hocking baking dish. The body of the pan is pretty standard, with handles that are wide enough to grab easily and curved corners that don’t hold onto gunk. My only gripe with this piece came from the lid. The plastic peep window made it feel cheaper for some reason, I could see it getting cloudy after a few washes. That said, the dish itself was nice, and it cooked the brownies well, with a gooey body and fudgey crust.

Our Expertise

Alyssa Longobucco is a writer, editor, and stylist with a background in food, interior, and lifestyle content. She has over a decade of experience in the digital and magazine industry creating unique and innovative content for storied brands such as Food and Wine, House Beautiful, HGTV, The Knot, Domino, Apartment Therapy, Real Simple, Food52, Good Housekeeping, and more. For this piece, she spent a month testing a range of pans in her home, putting them to work against her family’s insatiable love for a good batch of brownies.