The Best Muffin Pans of 2023

You’ll pay top dollar for the sturdy Williams Sonoma Goldtouch Pro Muffin Pan. Made of aluminized steel coated with a gold-toned nonstick finish, it has heft.

The baked muffins we made came out with lovely golden tops and browned sides, and cupcakes baked up with evenly rounded tops, ready for frosting. While popovers popped up high, their centers were muffin-like rather than hollowed out.

There’s a wide rim all around the pan that gives a good grip while transporting the pan to and from the oven. However, the extended rim means the pan will take up a little extra room in a closet or cabinet.

The Anolon Advanced Muffin Pan is premium priced, but you can immediately feel that it’s a quality product. It’s a heavy-duty pan wit silicone grips on the ends which make it comfortable to grasp.

Everything we baked in it came out perfectly. Muffins and popovers had dark golden crusts and we were happy that when we taste-tested the popovers, they were moist, eggy, and hollow inside.

Although the manufacturer recommends hand washing this pan, its nonstick finish makes it easy to get clean.

The OXO Good Grips Pro 12-Cup Muffin Pan has a golden nonstick finish that promotes even browning and prevents an overly thick dark crust from forming.

It turned out crispy but tender blueberry muffins, delectable cupcakes, and popped-up popovers with tunnels inside.

This hefty pan has a wide rim with plenty of room to grasp it from all sides. But the large rim also means it will take up extra storage space.

The GoodCook Sweet Creations Bake-Take-Serve Nonstick Cupcake Pan Set with Tiered Stand gives you a lot for your money. The pan itself is fairly basic with a light gray nonstick finish. But it includes a securely latching lid with a handle for carrying your goodies to a bake sale or potluck. There are also five pieces stashed in the lid that easily assembles into a three-tier stand to display your creations.

This pan is dependable for muffins and cupcakes. However, the popovers we baked had the texture of a muffin even though they rose up high above the pan.

As the rim extends a bit on the ends, the GoodCook is easy to grasp when you’re popping it in or removing it from the oven.

The USA Pan 12-Cup Muffin Pan feels solidly built and has a light silvery silicone nonstick finish that gives baked goods a beautiful golden finish. However, it didn’t bake as evenly as other pans. And popovers didn’t pop up much and came out with a muffin-like interior.

There’s a large rim, particularly at the ends, that enhances this pan’s maneuverability. Although this pan is strictly hand wash only, the finish means it gets clean quickly.

The Chicago Metallic Professional 12-Cup Nonstick Muffin Pan is a sturdy pan with a dark silicone-based nonstick finish. Both cupcakes and muffins came out perfectly, but popovers didn’t rise up much nor did they have the characteristic hollow interior.

On either end of the pan, there’s a slightly extended rim to grip when you’re moving the pan. Hand washing is called for by the manufacturer.

Although it’s a plain Jane, the AmazonBasics Nonstick Carbon Steel Muffin Pan does a nice job of baking. Things don’t cook quite as evenly as in some of our top-rated pans, and baked muffins tend to come out darker, but they brown without burning and have a moist and tender texture.

Popovers puffed up well, too, with the custard-like hollow centers that make them so beloved.

The cups in this pan are slightly smaller than standard, which didn’t have much of an effect on cupcakes and popovers, but caused muffins to spread out forming a cap. If you love muffin tops, there’s more crusty goodness to pull off and munch on.

There are no handles or extended edges to give you a good grip, but with care, you can certainly manage to get this pan in and out of the oven. Plus, it means the pan takes up minimal storage space. You’ll have to hand wash the AmazonBasics, but the nonstick finish makes it practically effortless to clean.

This pan comes in a set of two.

The Made By Design Nonstick Muffin Tin Carbon Steel is from Target’s house line and sells for a rock bottom price. It has a graphite nonstick finish that gives pastries a dark, thick crust without over-baking them inside.

In our popover bake-off, it was a winner, producing tall and hollow popovers.

There are no frills on this pan. As it doesn’t have much of a rim, it requires careful handling and you’ll need to wash the pan by hand.

Rather than metal, the Trudeau muffin pan is made of silicone—a material that doesn't retain heat as well as metal. Our recipes didn't brown as well as the baked goods we made in nonstick pans. The cups are straight-sided which makes removing items after baking slightly more difficult.

The pan is reinforced with steel so it pan doesn’t wobble when you carry it. However, it is necessary to use two hands to maneuver the pan as, thanks to the silicone cups, it still lacks some stability. There are also grips to help you grasp it securely. When it comes to clean up, this pan can be popped in the dishwasher without any second thoughts.

I wanted to love the classic Nordic Ware Naturals 12-Cavity Muffin Pan that looks a lot like the one my mother used. It’s made of aluminum and is the only one I tested that doesn’t have a nonstick finish. Unfortunately, no matter how well I greased the wells, baked goods stuck badly, leaving me with messy-looking baked goods and gunk to scrub off the pan.

In this pan, everything took about five minutes longer to bake—yet came out less well-browned. Having said that, muffins and popovers did have a delectable thin and crispy crust.

As the Nordic’s rim is small, you need to take care when handling it. Hand washing is required to prevent the aluminum from discoloring. On the plus side, this pan is small, easy to store, and comes with a handy plastic storage lid.