Food-grade stainless steel is generally considered a safe cookware material for most people when used as directed. An uncoated stainless steel cooking surface doesn’t need a PFAS-based nonstick coating. However, it could potentially release small amounts of nickel and chromium into food, particularly during long cooking times with acidic ingredients.

For home-cooks choosing a new pan, the key questions are what touches your food, whether you have a metal allergy, and how you plan to cook.

Stainless steel is an alloy, or blend of metals, made primarily from iron. Chromium helps form a thin protective layer that resists corrosion, and many grades also contain nickel.

Some nickel and chromium can transfer from the cooking surface into food. Researchers call this leaching. A 2013 study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry found that transfer varied with the stainless steel tested, cooking time, and previous use.

Three factors raised the amount that transferred:

• Longer cooking times: At 6 hours of cooking, Nickel up to 26 times higher and chromium up to seven times higher than sauce cooked without stainless steel and at 20 hours of cooking, nickel was 34 times higher and chromium 35 times higher.

• New, unused cookware: New stainless steel released the most nickel and chromium. Leaching dropped with each cooking cycle and leveled off after the sixth, though it was still measurable.

• Acidic ingredients like tomatoes, the food used in the study.

The study used tomato sauce, stainless steel chips, and a saucepan, with some tests lasting up to 20 hours. Its results don’t predict what every pan will release during everyday cooking.

Measurable metal transfer alone doesn’t establish that a pan is unsafe. Nickel allergies deserve closer attention, though. Health Canada advises avoiding cookware that contains nickel if you’re allergic to it. Ask your clinician which cooking surfaces are suitable for you.

Nickel is the most common contact allergen. A 2019 meta-analysis found that about 11.4% of the general population has a nickel contact allergy. The 2013 study’s authors suggested that people with nickel or chromium sensitivities may want to avoid stainless steel cookware; otherwise, it may not be as harmful.

Uncoated stainless steel doesn’t need PFAS for its cooking surface. But a pan described as “stainless steel” may have an added nonstick coating. If you’re avoiding PFAS, check for an explicit PFAS-free claim.

The exterior and interior can also be different metals. Our Titanium Always Pan® Pro has a stainless steel exterior, an aluminum core for even heating, and a titanium cooking surface. Check what touches your food rather than relying on the product name alone.

If you like stainless steel for searing but want food to release more easily, titanium pans are a strong alternative. Our Titanium Always Pan® Pro has a coating-free interior. The cooking surface is titanium pressed with a pattern that creates a nonstick effect; the exterior is stainless steel for durability, and its aluminum core is designed for conductivity and even heating.

With titanium pans, you get the high-heat searing benefits of stainless steel or cast iron with the ease of a nonstick effect. It also requires less oil than traditional stainless steel pans. The titanium interior is non-toxic, and the entire pan is made without PFAS.

A few details stainless steel cooks look for:

• Metal-utensil-safe interior, up to 3x as hard as tested stainless steel*

• Oven safe up to 1000°F

• Dishwasher safe

• Compatible with all cooktops, including induction

Learn more about how titanium nonstick works, or choose our coating-free titanium nonstick pan if you want the searing of stainless steel with a nonstick effect.

The healthiest cookware materials are uncoated metals and coatings made without PFAS. That includes stainless steel, titanium, cast iron, carbon steel, enameled cast iron, and ceramic nonstick.

Traditional nonstick is the exception. Most conventional nonstick coatings are made with PTFE, a PFAS, and are plastic-based.

When we call our cookware non-toxic, we’re talking about the materials we choose and the ones we leave out. Our cookware is made without PFAS, and our products meet the highest food contact standards of the FDA, LFGB, and Prop 65. For a deeper comparison, see our guide to the safest cookware materials, or read more about ceramic cookware safety.

Look for clear material specifications and care instructions, then choose for the meals you make most. Whether you prioritize browning or easy release, knowing your cooking surface makes shopping simpler.

For a broader comparison, explore our guide to cookware materials.

• Health Canada: The safe use of cookware and bakeware

• Kamerud, Hobbie, and Anderson: Stainless Steel Leaches Nickel and Chromium into Foods During Cooking, 2013

• World Stainless: Basic facts about stainless steel

• World Stainless: Stainless Steel in the Food and Beverage Industry