The 4 Best Muffin Pans, Tested by a Former Bakery Owner

the best muffin pans — Photo:
Allrecipes / Nick Simpson

As someone who has baked a lot of muffins—I used to own a muffin bakery—I've probably gone through hundreds of muffin pans over the years. But as I tested everything from the commercial to the cutesy or specialty sizes and shapes, I realized that there isn't one perfect muffin pan for every purpose.

While muffin pans (also called muffin tins) aren't the most glamorous baking accessory, they can be incredibly versatile kitchen tools. They can also bake decadent cupcakes and mini pies, savory dinner rolls, and appetizers—the possibilities are endless.

Muffin tins also come in handy while making smaller portions for meal prep and children. "Kids love to cook in muffin tins, which gets them to try new things," says Brette Sember, author of The Original Muffin Tin Cookbook. As a bonus, the small bites are easy to store, freeze, and reheat.

To find the best muffin pans for every baker, I put some old favorites, plus a few new-to-me options, through various tests to see which models produced the most consistent muffin texture, allowed for easy muffin removal, and featured a sturdy warp-proof design that was easy to clean.

My Favorites

My Top Pick: USA Pan 12-Cup Muffin Pan
Best Budget: Wilton Perfect Results Premium Nonstick 12-Cup Muffin Pan
Best Silicone: OXO Good Grips Silicone Baking Cups
Best Ceramic: GreenLife 12-Cup Muffin Pan

About Our Tests

Using her professional baking expertise, Rachel Weingarten examined muffin pans from popular brands and evaluated their performance when baking mug cakes, muffins, and cupcakes. She used the same brand of chocolate chips throughout, and the same type of cup liners. She filled the cavities 3/4 of the way to determine each pan's rising and browning capabilities. For maximum airflow, she placed the muffin pan on the middle rack of the oven and removed the top rack.

Additionally, we sent most of our winners to Allstar Sophie Sadler in early 2024, She used them over multiple recipes (both savory and sweet), and her testing confirmed that our picks are still the best. Each muffin tin was rated on the following criteria:

Overall Feel: Does it feel sturdy? What type of cook would this pan be suitable for?
Versatility: Can you use it for a variety of recipes?
Performance: How quickly and evenly does the muffin pan heat and cook food? Did the muffins rise consistently? Do they have a golden brown top?
Cleanup: Is it dishwasher-safe? What kind of cleaning products can be used?

My Top Pick: USA Pan 12-Cup Muffin Pan

Buy on Amazon $30 Buy on Williams-Sonoma $30 Buy on Walmart $30

Why It's Great: Quickly releases baked goods; fluted surface allows for air circulation; lifetime guarantee

Grain of Salt: Ridged surface can collect batter drips

This is a classic muffin tin with some attractive updated details. I was impressed with the eco-friendly coating, which the brand describes as its "nonstick Americoat coating." This patented silicone coating is PTFE, PFOA, and BPA-free. I also loved that the ridged pan surface (not in the individual cups) promoted airflow while baking.

No matter where I used this muffin pan—traditional, countertop, or convection oven—the muffin's size and browning were consistent. Sophie had the same results, with her chocolate muffins baking up beautifully when she used the OXO silicone liners below. Sometimes, muffins rise inconsistently depending on how much heat they receive, but luckily, that did not happen with this muffin pan. In fact, of all the muffin tins tested, this one was the most reminiscent of baking in commercial ovens with commercial pans.

Note that this pan works better with liners. Sophie's mini frittatas puffed up like souffles with nicely browned tops when she didn't use liners, but stayed put in the wells when she didn't. Her muffins also didn't bake right without liners. If your recipe doesn't come out quite right with this pan, try it again with liners.

The Details: Alloy steel; measures 15.75 x 11 x 1.5 inches; hand-wash only

This is a super sturdy pan! I think it's great for any cook or baker. — Allstar Sophie Sadler

USA Pan muffin tin — Allrecipes / Nick Simpson

Best Budget: Wilton Perfect Results Premium Nonstick 12-Cup Muffin Pan

Wilton Perfect Results 12-Cup Nonstick Muffin Pan — Amazon

Buy on Amazon $15

Why It's Great: Dishwasher-safe; durable; heavyweight; performs well without using liners

Grain of Salt: Stickers on the bottom can leave a residue

This is a great option for the budding baker in the family, especially since they usually forget to buy liners. Like with the USA Pan, Sophie tested this with and without liners, and her recipes turned out better without them!

Some bakers don't trust the notion of a nonstick muffin pan, but this one is extremely slick. Trust the coating and pour your batter in without adding anything—or use a quick spritz of avocado spray as Sophie did—you'll be pleasantly surprised at how easily the muffins and cupcakes will pop out. This means that even beginner bakers won't see their best efforts get smashed when trying to release the muffins from the pan.

Like any other baked product, pay extra attention when using fruit or vegetable ingredients, and cool completely before removing muffins. In all, this is such a good nonstick muffin pan it's really hard to believe it comes at such a low price.

The Details: Steel with reinforced nonstick coating; measures 10.5 x 15 inches; dishwasher-safe, but hand-washing is recommended

Wilton muffin pan — Allrecipes / Nick Simpson

Best Silicone: OXO Good Grips Silicone Baking Cups

Buy on Amazon $12 Buy on Target $12 Buy on The Container Store $12

Why It's Great: Can be used with or without a muffin tin; handles help with transport and removal; features batter fill lines

Grain of Salt: Silicone cups can sometimes lose their shape

Baking with silicone is a love-or-hate situation for most bakers. Brette Sember favors them. "Silicone liners can just sit on a baking sheet: You don't even need a muffin pan and can go right to the oven, freezer, or microwave," she says. She also prefers to use a silicone muffin tin without liners when she bakes at home because "there's no waste and they're easy to wash." The easy wash factor of these cups is one of the most attractive elements. You can rinse them with soap and water, as Sophie did, or pop them into the dishwasher and you're good to go.

I tested these baking cups alone, on a baking sheet, in muffin tins, and with a variety of ingredients. I also made variations of mug cakes in them using the microwave with perfect results. Like most OXO products, they are well-designed and easy to use. I loved that the cups came in various colors so I could create different fillings or flavors that were easy to distinguish from one another. Compared to other silicone baking products, they were heavier and thicker and didn't give me any issues of batter bulge or leaks.

The Details: Silicone; measures 3.5 x 2.5 x 2.5 inches; dishwasher-safe

OXO Good Grips silicone muffin cups — Allrecipes / Nick Simpson

Best Ceramic: GreenLife 12-Cup Muffin Pan

Amazon GreenLife Bakeware Healthy Ceramic Nonstick 12 Cup Muffin Pan — Amazon

Buy on Amazon $20 Buy on Walmart

Why It's Great: Produces evenly domed muffins; beautiful color combination and design; reinforced rims for even heat distribution

Grain of Salt: Better for muffins than cupcakes

With many bakers still searching for alternatives to Teflon, a ceramic seal is believed to protect baked goods from metal and byproducts that can leach into muffins. That said, this ceramic muffin pan produces quality muffins.

One attractive feature of this particular muffin tin is the contrast in the result of the baked goods. The muffins were delightfully crisp on the outside and soft and moist on the inside. They were consistently golden brown and evenly domed. I tried using cooking spray at one point, and it only led to a darker and slicker muffin bottom. Overall, this is a lovely pan that produces really great muffins.

The Details: Steel with ceramic nonstick coating; measures 13.85 x 10.54 x 1.07 inches; hand-wash only

Green Life 12-cup muffin pan — Allrecipes / Nick Simpson

My Takeaway

The USA Pan 12-Cup Muffin Pan earned the top spot after displaying consistent size and browning, whether used in a traditional, countertop, or convection oven. Muffins were easy to remove during tests, and the pan itself offers a classic, attractive design. For a more budget-conscious option, opt for the Wilton Perfect Results Premium Nonstick 12-Cup Muffin Pan.

How to Pick the Right Muffin Pan

Material

Muffin tins are typically made of stainless steel, aluminum, silicone, and carbon steel. Which material you choose to bake in does make a big difference! Metal is a great conductor of heat, so heat up quickly in the oven to help your treats bake thoroughly with a nice browning. Stainless steel, aluminum, and carbon steel will cool down fairly quickly out of the oven, limiting any overbaking risk. It's also true that dark-colored metal pans will heat faster than lighter-colored ones—it's a good thing to check your baked goods earlier if using a dark-colored pan. Nonstick options usually feature a silicone or ceramic coating over a metal base. It's easier to clean than untreated metal, but there will be a maximum oven-safe temperature, and the pan should be hand-washed to avoid damaging the coating.

Silicone, on the other hand, is a poor conductor of heat. Your baked goods might take a little longer in the oven to get fully baked or form a good golden crust, but they will be easier to unmold and silicone can be easier to clean than metal pans.

Design

Muffin pans all look about the same at first glance, but there are design features that will help you make the best treats (and avoid burning yourself while baking). Wider side handles are preferable since they will have enough room to easily grip a pan with an oven mitt without poking into a well full of batter. Ridges and textures within the wells can help with even airflow in the oven. Reusable silicone liners with little side grips are also preferred as that helps with the unmolding.

Common Questions

What's the difference between muffins and cupcakes, and do you need different pans for them?

"Muffins are generally easier and more adaptable for say, fillings or mix-ins," says Ellen Costin Guttman, owner of Crumble Bakery in Vancouver. She notes that you don't want cupcakes to dome too much, as they need to be flatter for icing. However, you can certainly bake both cupcakes and muffins in muffin pans.

Can you make muffins without a muffin pan?

According to Brette Sember, yes you can. Simply use silicone muffin cups on a regular baking sheet. "They are flat on the bottom and have sturdy sides," Sember says. "A lot of the recipes people make in mugs in the microwave can be made in jumbo silicone muffin liners in the oven or toaster oven."

Can you make brownies or cookies in a muffin pan?

Absolutely! You can make a variety of desserts, breakfast foods, and appetizers in muffin pans. They are perfectly portioned for one, so you don't have to cut your food into individual servings. Bonus: If you use liners, the mini desserts will be extra convenient for passing around at outdoor picnics and parties—no plates required. Just note that the edges might get a little more "done," so if you prefer the gooey middle pieces, you might want to opt for a regular 9 x 13-inch baking pan.

Why Take Our Word For It?

Allrecipes is a trusted food brand among millions of home cooks around the world. Former bakery owner Rachel Weingarten determined the best muffin pans based on her hands-on experience with a variety of models and her expert knowledge of bakeware. She selected her favorites by evaluating their overall feel, size, performance, versatility, and ease of cleaning.

Rachel also interviewed Brette Sember, author of The Original Muffin Tin Cookbook, and Ellen Costin Guttman, owner of Crumble Bakery in Vancouver, to gain even more insight on the best muffin pans.

Siobhan Wallace, our senior commerce editor and former baker, updated this list in early 2024 with testing insights from Allstar Sophie Sadler.

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