Pan size by portions and job
Quick answer
What diameter a given number of portions actually needs, worked from cooking surface area rather than rim diameter. There are 49 tables in this set, each one worked through for a specific combination rather than described in general terms.
- Cookware
Pan size for 1 portion when searing steaks
1 portion searing steaks needs about 25 square inches of flat cooking surface, so buy a 8 inch skillet. That pan measures 8 inches across th...
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Pan size for 2 portions when searing steaks
2 portions searing steaks needs about 50 square inches of flat cooking surface, so buy a 10 inch skillet. That pan measures 10 inches across...
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Pan size for 3 portions when searing steaks
3 portions searing steaks needs about 75 square inches of flat cooking surface, so buy a 12 inch skillet. That pan measures 12 inches across...
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Pan size for 4 portions when searing steaks
4 portions searing steaks needs about 100 square inches of flat cooking surface, so buy a 14 inch skillet. That pan measures 14 inches acros...
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Pan size for 5 portions when searing steaks
5 portions searing steaks needs about 125 square inches of flat cooking surface, so buy a 15 inch skillet. That pan measures 15 inches acros...
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Pan size for 6 portions when searing steaks
6 portions searing steaks needs about 150 square inches of flat cooking surface, which is more than any commonly sold skillet provides. Cook...
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Pan size for 8 portions when searing steaks
8 portions searing steaks needs about 200 square inches of flat cooking surface, which is more than any commonly sold skillet provides. Cook...
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Pan size for 1 portion when searing chicken thighs
1 portion searing chicken thighs needs about 25 square inches of flat cooking surface, so buy a 8 inch skillet. That pan measures 8 inches a...
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Pan size for 2 portions when searing chicken thighs
2 portions searing chicken thighs needs about 50 square inches of flat cooking surface, so buy a 10 inch skillet. That pan measures 10 inche...
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Pan size for 3 portions when searing chicken thighs
3 portions searing chicken thighs needs about 75 square inches of flat cooking surface, so buy a 12 inch skillet. That pan measures 12 inche...
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Pan size for 4 portions when searing chicken thighs
4 portions searing chicken thighs needs about 100 square inches of flat cooking surface, so buy a 14 inch skillet. That pan measures 14 inch...
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Pan size for 5 portions when searing chicken thighs
5 portions searing chicken thighs needs about 125 square inches of flat cooking surface, so buy a 15 inch skillet. That pan measures 15 inch...
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Pan size for 6 portions when searing chicken thighs
6 portions searing chicken thighs needs about 150 square inches of flat cooking surface, which is more than any commonly sold skillet provid...
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Pan size for 8 portions when searing chicken thighs
8 portions searing chicken thighs needs about 200 square inches of flat cooking surface, which is more than any commonly sold skillet provid...
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Pan size for 1 portion when sauteing vegetables
1 portion sauteing vegetables needs about 16 square inches of flat cooking surface, so buy a 8 inch skillet. That pan measures 8 inches acro...
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Pan size for 2 portions when sauteing vegetables
2 portions sauteing vegetables needs about 32 square inches of flat cooking surface, so buy a 10 inch skillet. That pan measures 10 inches a...
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Pan size for 3 portions when sauteing vegetables
3 portions sauteing vegetables needs about 48 square inches of flat cooking surface, so buy a 10 inch skillet. That pan measures 10 inches a...
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Pan size for 4 portions when sauteing vegetables
4 portions sauteing vegetables needs about 64 square inches of flat cooking surface, so buy a 12 inch skillet. That pan measures 12 inches a...
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Pan size for 5 portions when sauteing vegetables
5 portions sauteing vegetables needs about 80 square inches of flat cooking surface, so buy a 13 inch skillet. That pan measures 13 inches a...
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Pan size for 6 portions when sauteing vegetables
6 portions sauteing vegetables needs about 96 square inches of flat cooking surface, so buy a 14 inch skillet. That pan measures 14 inches a...
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Pan size for 8 portions when sauteing vegetables
8 portions sauteing vegetables needs about 128 square inches of flat cooking surface, so buy a 15 inch skillet. That pan measures 15 inches ...
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Pan size for 1 portion when cooking pancakes
1 portion cooking pancakes needs about 20 square inches of flat cooking surface, so buy a 8 inch skillet. That pan measures 8 inches across ...
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Pan size for 2 portions when cooking pancakes
2 portions cooking pancakes needs about 40 square inches of flat cooking surface, so buy a 10 inch skillet. That pan measures 10 inches acro...
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Pan size for 3 portions when cooking pancakes
3 portions cooking pancakes needs about 60 square inches of flat cooking surface, so buy a 12 inch skillet. That pan measures 12 inches acro...
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Pan size for 4 portions when cooking pancakes
4 portions cooking pancakes needs about 80 square inches of flat cooking surface, so buy a 13 inch skillet. That pan measures 13 inches acro...
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Pan size for 5 portions when cooking pancakes
5 portions cooking pancakes needs about 100 square inches of flat cooking surface, so buy a 14 inch skillet. That pan measures 14 inches acr...
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Pan size for 6 portions when cooking pancakes
6 portions cooking pancakes needs about 120 square inches of flat cooking surface, so buy a 15 inch skillet. That pan measures 15 inches acr...
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Pan size for 8 portions when cooking pancakes
8 portions cooking pancakes needs about 160 square inches of flat cooking surface, which is more than any commonly sold skillet provides. Co...
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Pan size for 1 portion when frying eggs
1 portion frying eggs needs about 14 square inches of flat cooking surface, so buy a 8 inch skillet. That pan measures 8 inches across the r...
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Pan size for 2 portions when frying eggs
2 portions frying eggs needs about 28 square inches of flat cooking surface, so buy a 8 inch skillet. That pan measures 8 inches across the ...
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Pan size for 3 portions when frying eggs
3 portions frying eggs needs about 42 square inches of flat cooking surface, so buy a 10 inch skillet. That pan measures 10 inches across th...
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Pan size for 4 portions when frying eggs
4 portions frying eggs needs about 56 square inches of flat cooking surface, so buy a 12 inch skillet. That pan measures 12 inches across th...
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Pan size for 5 portions when frying eggs
5 portions frying eggs needs about 70 square inches of flat cooking surface, so buy a 12 inch skillet. That pan measures 12 inches across th...
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Pan size for 6 portions when frying eggs
6 portions frying eggs needs about 84 square inches of flat cooking surface, so buy a 13 inch skillet. That pan measures 13 inches across th...
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Pan size for 8 portions when frying eggs
8 portions frying eggs needs about 112 square inches of flat cooking surface, so buy a 14 inch skillet. That pan measures 14 inches across t...
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Pan size for 1 portion when shallow frying
1 portion shallow frying needs about 25 square inches of flat cooking surface, so buy a 8 inch skillet. That pan measures 8 inches across th...
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Pan size for 2 portions when shallow frying
2 portions shallow frying needs about 50 square inches of flat cooking surface, so buy a 10 inch skillet. That pan measures 10 inches across...
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Pan size for 3 portions when shallow frying
3 portions shallow frying needs about 75 square inches of flat cooking surface, so buy a 12 inch skillet. That pan measures 12 inches across...
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Pan size for 4 portions when shallow frying
4 portions shallow frying needs about 100 square inches of flat cooking surface, so buy a 14 inch skillet. That pan measures 14 inches acros...
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Pan size for 5 portions when shallow frying
5 portions shallow frying needs about 125 square inches of flat cooking surface, so buy a 15 inch skillet. That pan measures 15 inches acros...
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Pan size for 6 portions when shallow frying
6 portions shallow frying needs about 150 square inches of flat cooking surface, which is more than any commonly sold skillet provides. Cook...
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Pan size for 8 portions when shallow frying
8 portions shallow frying needs about 200 square inches of flat cooking surface, which is more than any commonly sold skillet provides. Cook...
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Pan size for 1 portion when stir frying
1 portion stir frying needs about 16 square inches of flat cooking surface, so buy a 8 inch skillet. That pan measures 8 inches across the r...
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Pan size for 2 portions when stir frying
2 portions stir frying needs about 32 square inches of flat cooking surface, so buy a 10 inch skillet. That pan measures 10 inches across th...
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Pan size for 3 portions when stir frying
3 portions stir frying needs about 48 square inches of flat cooking surface, so buy a 10 inch skillet. That pan measures 10 inches across th...
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Pan size for 4 portions when stir frying
4 portions stir frying needs about 64 square inches of flat cooking surface, so buy a 12 inch skillet. That pan measures 12 inches across th...
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Pan size for 5 portions when stir frying
5 portions stir frying needs about 80 square inches of flat cooking surface, so buy a 13 inch skillet. That pan measures 13 inches across th...
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Pan size for 6 portions when stir frying
6 portions stir frying needs about 96 square inches of flat cooking surface, so buy a 14 inch skillet. That pan measures 14 inches across th...
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Pan size for 8 portions when stir frying
8 portions stir frying needs about 128 square inches of flat cooking surface, so buy a 15 inch skillet. That pan measures 15 inches across t...
Common questions
Where do these figures come from?
Every number on these pages is calculated from the same material properties and published manufacturer specifications that the calculators use, so the two can never disagree. Each page is labelled as resting on either a published standard or a kitchen convention, and where no defensible figure exists the page says so rather than inventing one.
Why are there so many of these pages?
Because the useful answer is almost always specific. A page that tells you what size pan four seared portions need is far more useful than a page about pan sizing in general, and there are genuinely that many combinations worth working through. Each one carries its own worked table rather than a generic one.
Are the prices on these pages current?
Product prices come from live retailer data at build time and they move constantly, which is why every product card carries that warning rather than presenting a figure as fixed. The calculated figures, meaning areas, capacities, temperatures and hardness, do not change.