Commercial Frying Pans

175 products

Commercial frying pans and skillets for the line

This collection covers the fry pans and skillets that do most of the work on a sauté line: natural-finish and heavy-duty aluminum pans, non-stick aluminum pans, stainless steel pans, carbon steel and cast iron skillets, plus specialty pans for crêpes, paella, pancakes and waffles. You'll find lines from SignatureWares, Vollrath (Wear-Ever SteelCoat and PowerCoat), Browne Thermalloy, Lodge, Le Creuset and AMT.

It's built for restaurants, hotels, cafés and institutional kitchens replacing worn pans or standardizing sizes across stations. Browse the rest of the cookware range on the Pots & Pans page.

Types of commercial frying pans

  • Aluminum fry pans (natural finish): light, quick to heat and easy to toss; the everyday sauté pan in many kitchens, offered in standard and heavy-duty gauges.
  • Non-stick aluminum fry pans: coated pans such as SignatureWares Eclipse and Vollrath SteelCoat or PowerCoat for eggs, fish and delicate proteins.
  • Stainless steel fry pans: hold up to high heat and metal tools and build fond for pan sauces; some SignatureWares stainless pans also come with a non-stick Excalibur finish.
  • Carbon steel and cast iron skillets: Lodge, Browne and Vollrath options that hold heat for searing and season with use.
  • Specialty pans: de Buyer and Le Creuset crêpe pans, paella pans from Winco and Browne, and Nordic Ware pancake and waffle pans for brunch and dessert menus.
  • Cookware sets and handle sleeves: Lodge cast iron and Le Creuset cookware sets, plus silicone handle sleeves and holders from Browne, Lodge, SignatureWares and San Jamar.

What to consider when choosing frying pans

  • Material vs. task: aluminum for fast general sauté work, stainless for searing and deglazing, non-stick for eggs and fish, cast iron or carbon steel for heat retention.
  • Gauge: heavy-duty aluminum pans resist warping on high-output burners and last longer under daily abuse than standard-weight pans.
  • Cooktop compatibility: aluminum alone won't work on induction; look for pans described as induction, stainless steel or carbon steel if you cook on induction.
  • Diameter: pans run from about 7" to 14" (and 20 to 30 cm for metric lines); standardize two or three sizes per station to simplify replacement.
  • Handles: silicone-sleeved handles are cooler to grab; bare handles can go into an oven or salamander. Sleeves can be added to uncoated pans.
  • Non-stick care: keep coated pans on a dedicated station with silicone or nylon turners and plan on replacing them as the coating wears.

Frequently asked questions

Is there a difference between a frying pan and a skillet?

In commercial kitchens the terms are used interchangeably for a shallow pan with sloped sides. Cast iron and carbon steel pans are more often called skillets.

Which frying pans work on induction?

Plain aluminum pans don't. Choose stainless steel, carbon steel or cast iron, or a pan marked for induction such as the AMT induction pan or Vollrath SteelCoat induction pans.

Should I buy non-stick or uncoated aluminum?

Most kitchens run both: uncoated aluminum or stainless for general sauté and searing, and a smaller set of non-stick pans reserved for eggs and delicate items.

Why add a silicone handle sleeve?

Sleeves insulate hot metal handles and make it easy to colour-code pans by station. Remove them before a pan goes into the oven.

Prefer to talk it through? Find a Russell Hendrix representative.