This £30 M&S pan is specially designed to replace several pieces of cookware — and cleaning it is so easy

If you're searching for a non-stick pan that will help you declutter your kitchen cupboards, then I've found it. Let's be honest: finding a decent frying pan is hard work. There are so many boxes to tick, but the factor that trumps them all has to be versatility. Let me tell you that the M&S All-in-one Pan (which we previewed a few months ago) is extremely versatile, especially considering its great value £30 price tag (via M&S).

Why is it so great? Its design essentially means you won't need any other pans — it's nice and deep so that you can use it for serving the entire family, and you can get rid of your steamer pan while you're at it as it comes with a steamer basket included. This basket also has handles, so it can be used as a colander, if necessary. Crafted from aluminium, the pan offers great non-stick power while its main handle never gets hot. Its non-stick coating is exceptional and means you'll never have to cook with oil or butter unless it's required for flavour, and this makes it super easy to clean by hand or in your dishwasher.

Want to know more? I used this pan every day, in my family kitchen, for a couple of weeks, and here's how it performed — plus what it's like in comparison to its rivals, the Our Place Always Pan (£125) and the other affordable lookalikes, incuding Lakeland's version – the Only Pan (£59.99 at Lakeland).

In a nutshell

This all-in-one pan from M&S is a dupe of the Our Place pan, but it sits at a fraction of the price, at just £30. It's seriously versatile thanks to its 28cm diameter and the fact that its design is nice and deep, so it can hold a decent amount of food — 4,200ml to be exact. It comes with a steamer basket so you needn't get out your saucepans to cook your veggies, and this steamer basket has handles, so it can be used as a collander for draining pasta and more.

Design-wise, it comes in two colourways — charcoal or natural (though the natural is currently sold out) — and it has a pouring lip to make serving easy and mess-free. It has two handles, one smaller one that does get hot, and a larger handle that is heat-resistant. Its lid is made from the same material as the pan, aluminium, while its handles are silicone. It's dishwasher-safe but not oven-safe. Its non-stick coating is impressive, and it makes it easy to clean, but it's not clear whether this is PFOA-free or if it's made using various chemicals. This coating means that this pan cannot be used with metal utensils, as it scratches easily, and do bear in mind that the pan isn't oven safe.

Product specs

• Materials: Aluminium body and lid, stainless steel base and basket
• Metal utensil safe? No
• Dishwasher safe? Yes
• Pan diameter: 28cm
• Warranty: None
• RRP: £30

Annie Collyer

Annie was previously Deputy Ecommerce Editor at Ideal Home, but has since started a freelance position. She reviews everything from saucepan sets to air fryers, lawnmowers and even hot tubs.

Annie used this pan to cook for her family of 3, for 2 weeks. She used it to steam veggies such as asparagus and green beans, as well as to cook eggs. Protein-wise, she used it to cook salmon fillets, burgers and halloumi. She was super impressed with how well it cooked (and cleaned up afterwards) a butter chicken curry, too.

Annie is allowed to keep this pan after testing, and while she does love it, she doesn't have the space to store it — especially since the one she usually uses has the added bonus of being oven-safe. She'll be gifting this pan to a friend as she needs a pan that's also metal utensil safe.

Unboxing the M&S All In One 28cm Saucepan

This pan arrived in a box, and it wasn't too heavy to carry or lift onto my kitchen worktop. All pieces were nestled together, wrapped in a cardboard sleeve.

Packaging and waste were pretty minimal — use of cardboard and paper was required to protect the pans in transit. 5 points from me for the eco-conscious packaging!

After a quick glance at the instruction manual that was included, I noticed I needed to clean all parts in soapy water before use. So, I did just that.

Cooking in the M&S All In One 28cm Saucepan

Overall, I was impressed with this pan's non-stick coating as it managed to cook everything from fried eggs to burgers, without requiring any oil or butter. Nothing was sticking to the pan, and food was sliding around the surface effortlessly. This also made it super easy to clean after use.

The one thing I did dislike, or rather didn't really find any use for, was the smaller handle on the pan. This gets very hot while cooking, so it becomes unusable. Whereas the actual long handle does not get hot, and the same goes for the handle on the lid.

Frying

My first test when I unbox any pan has to be with an egg. No oil, just a cracked egg in the centre of a pre-heated pan. This pan more than met my expectations as the egg didn't stick; I was actually sliding it around the pan with ease. It is, however, a little large for just frying one egg, so do bear that in mind if you often cook for one. The egg was nice and crispy on the bottom, just how I like it.

The next thing I cooked was salmon — I managed to fit four sizeable fillets in this pan, which I was impressed by. I did use butter for cooking, for the added taste. They cooked according to the packet instructions, and the skin was so nice and crispy, too.

Cleanup was minimal from cooking the salmon fillets, and these were sliding around the pan. No sticking in sight!

We cooked up some garlic burgers next, which did take a little longer to cook than usual, as they were rather thick. Again, we didn't need to use any oil, and they didn't stick whatsoever. The only thing that bugged me? I couldn't use my metal spatula to flip them.

An entire block of halloumi managed to fit into this pan, all at one time. It was seasoned before cooking, and I was seriously impressed with the outcome. Normally, when I cook halloumi, I find that lots of water comes out of it and dries it up in the pan so it ends up sticking. There wasn't any water in sight, and it browned perfectly. It was super easy to clean afterwards.

Finally, I also cooked a curry in this pan — starting off with the onions and chicken first. All in all, it was plenty sizeable for cooking curry for 2-3 people, and the non-stick coating made a huge difference. The sauce never stuck to the bottom or the sides of the pan, while I was also impressed with how well it cleaned afterwards, as I did have some concerns that the butter chicken sauce might stain the interior.

Steaming

I mostly used this pan for frying, but I did test the steaming basket with the help of some asparagus stalks and green beans. I only added a small amount of water to the pan, enough so that the basket wasn't sitting in a lot of water. The water heated fast, and I added the veg and covered it using the lid. These took around 5 minutes to cook, and most of all, I loved how much veg I could fit into the basket at one time.

The only issue I faced was when it came to draining the water. This wasn't as easy as I'd hoped, as although the steamer basket does have handles, these get very hot, so you cannot touch them. In the end, I had to use my plastic tongs and pick each piece out individually. I then waited for the pan to cool before removing and cleaning the steamer basket.

Cleaning

This pan is dishwasher-safe, but it's recommended to hand wash it to protect the non-stick coating. I did both, and both were pretty easy. It cleaned very well in the dishwasher, but it does take up quite a lot of space because it has two handles. If you have a slimline dishwasher like me, you might struggle to make it fit, as a few times I tried I ended up just handwashing it.

Thanks to the non-stick coating on this pan, it was super easy to clean, even after cooking a curry. I washed the steaming basket and lid by hand, as it wasn't made totally clear in the manual as to whether these are dishwasher-safe.

Storage

This pan does, admittedly, take up quite a lot of space in a cupboard or drawer. It has two handles on either side of the pan, which means it requires 55cm of diagonal space, so it's a lot larger than you'd imagine. The steamer basket can be stored inside the pan, which is super handy.

How does it compare to similar models and its predecessors?

I normally use my Jamie Oliver by Tefal All-in-One Pan, which I love, but it is large. This pan is more expensive than the M&S pan, at £94.40, but it's larger in diameter at 30cm. The thing that won me over with this pan is that it's oven safe up to 210°C, so you can take it from the hob to the oven and then to your table. Plus, it has an indicator in the centre of the pan that alerts you when the pan is preheated. You can use it with metal utensils (except for knives and whisks), which is very handy. It's also dishwasher safe, and its coating is PTFE that's PFOA-free and contains no lead and no cadmium. Despite being larger in size it has small handles so it doesn't require as much storage space as the M&S pan.

When comparing this M&S pan to its main competitor, the Our Place Always Pan, this M&S dupe is a lot cheaper. The Our Place Always Pan comes in three sizes —21.6cm, 26.7cm or 31.8cm — and it starts at £100. It comes in a huge range of colourways and it's oven safe up to 230°C. The Our Place pan is not dishwasher safe; it's hand-wash only. It has a specially designed non-stick coating that's non-toxic and PFAS (including PTFEs and PFOAs) free, whereas the M&S pan doesn't disclose any details about its non-stick coating. Both pans come with a steamer basket that also acts as a colander, but the Our Place pan also comes with a nesting beechwood spatula.

Should you buy the M&S All In One 28cm Saucepan?

This is a great all-in-one pan for couples or families as it doubles as a way to steam your veggies plus a colander, so essentially it's 3 pieces of kitchenware in 1. Its non-stick coating is great, but there's no information on what is in it or whether it's free from PFOAs or any other harmful ingredients. It cleans so well in the dishwasher and by hand, and during use, it cooked food evenly. Its handle never gets hot, but the smaller handle did. The lid works great, and again, the handle doesn't get hot while cooking.

I would avoid this pan if you often cook dishes that require initial cooking on a hob and then finishing in the oven, as this pan isn't oven-safe. Also, do bear in mind that it requires quite a lot of storage space as it has two handles. If you have a slimline dishwasher, you may struggle to fit it in there along with large plates. If all of your utensils are metal, you might want to rethink your choice, as this pan cannot be used with metal utensils.

For £30, it is a total steal as it's completely versatile and can be used for family meals, steaming veggies, or even cooking a single fried egg.