This Tiny Egg Pan Is Perfect for Pancakes

This is Highly Recommend, a column dedicated to what people in the food industry are obsessed with eating, drinking, and buying right now.

Unlike the mini food processor and mini baking dish I use all the time, I never thought my mini ceramic egg pan made much sense. I received it as a gift, and while it quickly earned the title of Cutest Pan In My Arsenal, I couldn’t see myself reaching for a 5-inch skillet in place of my regular degular 10-inch nonstick, even for eggs. Why would I ever do that? I’d think to myself every time I would see it in the cabinet. But one night, when my totally normal, not-at-all-random urge to eat chocolate chip pancakes for dinner set in and there were zero clean pans in sight—except for, you guessed it—my options were slim: Do some dishes, or finally use that teeny pan. (Not eating pancakes was not an option at this moment.)

I set the teensy egg pan over medium heat, tossed in a gob of butter, poured in some pancake batter, and the rest is history. The pancakes, which were slightly bigger than silver dollars, were perfection: fluffy and tall, extra buttery, and adorned with supremely crispy edges. Thus I learned that cooking a pancake in a small pan has its perks. First, even if your batter is runny, your pancake can only spread so far. It cooks up not out, resulting in a puffier cake. As it cooks, the sides of the pancake are in contact with the hot sides of the pan, making for crispy edges all around—something that can’t really be achieved with bigger pans or griddles. The butter, which I’d recommend using generously, also has nowhere to go, so the pancake essentially “fries” in a pool of fat until it’s done cooking. Since the batter will reach the edges of the tiny pan, each pancake naturally forms into a perfect circle. The entire pancake-making process—pouring, setting, flipping—suddenly becomes a less fussy ordeal, which is exactly what I want when cooking for one at 8:30 p.m. on a weeknight. Maybe it isn’t the most convenient method if you’re making pancakes for a family of five, but if you’re a solo diner with the munchies, it’s perfect.

Like the other nonstick pans you’ll find from GreenPan, the egg pan (which also comes in a square format for breakfast sandwiches on toast) is made with light-but-durable aluminum that conducts heat like a boss. Thanks to a super sleek PFAS-free thermolon coating—a non-toxic nonstick layer composed of silicon and oxygen—your pancakes will slide right out of the pan, which will barely need any scrubbing when you’re done (though it’s also dishwasher safe). The pretty silicone handle isn’t just for good looks; it’ll stay cool while you’re cooking and is oven safe up to 392 degrees Fahrenheit. Choose among a variety of colors like mint green, yellow, and lavender.

So does the egg pan make good eggs? Sure, probably. But it makes even better pancakes—so much better that I haven’t opted to use my 10-inch pan to make a short stack in months.