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Ingredients are important, but the real secret to a perfect pie may be the dish you bake it in.
Our previous winning pie plate by Williams-Sonoma was recently redesigned. We tested the new version and a few additional options. Our current co-winners are the Williams-Sonoma Goldtouch Pro Nonstick Pie Dish and the USA Pan 9-Inch Pie Pan.
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Our favorite pie plates, the Williams-Sonoma Goldtouch Pro Nonstick Pie Dish and the USA Pan 9-Inch Pie Pan, are made of thin, lightweight metal. They’re durable and easy to move in and out of the oven. Better still, they brown pie crusts quickly, ensuring crisp, golden pastry that’s never dry. And their sloped sides and flexible metal construction make it easy to cut and extract neat slices of pie.
Looking for a tool to portion and serve that pie? Check out our review of pie servers.
A pie plate is essential to making good pie and quiche. Pie plates are made from a variety of materials and come in different sizes as well. For this review, we focused on pie plates measuring about 9 inches across the top opening of the pie plate, as this is the size that’s most commonly available.
There are three main types of pie plates: metal, glass, and ceramic. You can make a great pie with a pie plate of any material, but each type has different thermal characteristics that affect how quickly and evenly your pie or quiche will bake. In particular, the performance of each material is determined by two factors. First, the material’s ability to conduct (versus insulate) heat. Second, its thermal mass, which is determined by the intrinsic heat capacity of the material itself (that is, the amount of heat a material can hold) and the total mass of the material present in the pie plate (how heavy and thick it is).
Regardless of the type of pie plate you choose, a few other factors were essential to our preferences.
Pie plates with wide, flat rims allow you to crimp your pie crust in a wide variety of styles.
The Tests
How We Rated
For nonstick-coated metal pans such as our winners, avoid using knives or metal tools to slice and serve pie; the metal will scratch and mar the nonstick coating. (We recommend a pie server with a plastic blade, the OXO Good Grips Nylon Flexible Pie Server, for just this purpose.) Do not freeze any pie made in a glass or ceramic pie plate unless the manufacturer’s recommendation states this is safe, or you are able to defrost the pie completely before baking; baking a pie straight from the freezer can cause a glass or ceramic plate to shatter.
Yes, if the pie plate is metal or any of the glass models we’ve tested. Most of the ceramic plates we’ve tested should not be frozen and then brought directly to an oven; this can cause it to shatter.
While some models are dishwasher-safe, we recommend hand-washing your pie plates to ensure greater longevity. If you find that bits of crust or filling are stuck to the plate, soak the plate in hot water for 20 minutes before attempting to clean.
One of the reasons that we prefer metal pie plates is because pie crust tends to stick to them less. As our Senior Science Research Editor Paul Adams explained, there’s a good reason for this. Thin metal is more flexible than glass or ceramic. As a metal pie plate heats up in the oven, it expands, breaking the bonds between the metal and the hydrated protein and carbohydrates in the pie dough that might otherwise cause sticking. Glass and ceramic plates don’t expand nearly as much, so the pie dough can freely bond to their surfaces, creating a potentially sticky situation. In addition, because metal is more flexible than glass or ceramic, it's easier to shimmy a pie server or knife between the plate and the crust to make a clean slice. With glass or ceramic, there’s less give, and thus less wiggle room for your utensil.
This golden-hued metal plate baked crusts beautifully without overbrowning; even bottom crusts emerged crisp and flaky. Additionally, we liked this plate’s nonfluted lip, which allowed for maximum crust-crimping flexibility. One minor drawback: The metal surface is susceptible to cuts and nicks, but we found that this didn’t affect its performance.
Model Number: 5-1978204
Diameter: 8.9 in
Material: Aluminized steel with nonstick coating
Weight: 11 ⅝ oz
Capacity: 5.25 cups
Height: 1.55 in
Rim width: 0.55 in
Freezer-to-oven-safe: Yes
Price at Time of Testing: $22.95
This golden-hued metal plate baked crusts beautifully without overbrowning; even bottom crusts emerged crisp and flaky. Additionally, we liked this plate’s nonfluted lip, which allowed for maximum crust-crimping flexibility. One minor drawback: The metal surface is susceptible to cuts and nicks, but we found that this didn’t affect its performance.
Model Number: 5-1978204
Diameter: 8.9 in
Material: Aluminized steel with nonstick coating
Weight: 11 ⅝ oz
Capacity: 5.25 cups
Height: 1.55 in
Rim width: 0.55 in
Freezer-to-oven-safe: Yes
Price at Time of Testing: $22.95
This nonstick-coated steel pie plate is nearly identical to our other top choice, and it performed and handled just as beautifully. It produced pies and quiches with perfectly flaky crusts and nicely cooked fillings, and because it’s lightweight, it’s a cinch to maneuver. Relatively wide rims made it easy to grab and allowed us to crimp pie crust in any style we chose. And sloped sides ensured that no crust was left behind as we levered out slices of pie. Just avoid using metal utensils to cut and serve your pie—these can damage the nonstick coating.
Model Number: 1100PE-1
Diameter: 8.9 in
Material: Aluminized steel with nonstick silicone coating
Weight: 12 ⅞ oz
Capacity: 5.25 cups
Height: 1.6 in
Rim Width: 0.55 in
Freezer-to-oven-safe: Yes
Price at Time of Testing: $16.99
This nonstick-coated steel pie plate is nearly identical to our other top choice, and it performed and handled just as beautifully. It produced pies and quiches with perfectly flaky crusts and nicely cooked fillings, and because it’s lightweight, it’s a cinch to maneuver. Relatively wide rims made it easy to grab and allowed us to crimp pie crust in any style we chose. And sloped sides ensured that no crust was left behind as we levered out slices of pie. Just avoid using metal utensils to cut and serve your pie—these can damage the nonstick coating.
Model Number: 1100PE-1
Diameter: 8.9 in
Material: Aluminized steel with nonstick silicone coating
Weight: 12 ⅞ oz
Capacity: 5.25 cups
Height: 1.6 in
Rim Width: 0.55 in
Freezer-to-oven-safe: Yes
Price at Time of Testing: $16.99
This mirrored stainless-steel pie plate produced nicely browned bottom crusts and released all pie crusts with ease—proof that you don’t need a nonstick coating to ensure perfectly intact slices. Its rim is just a touch narrower than those of our top choices, so it’s not quite as easy to grab or crimp crusts on. The pie plate itself is lightweight and easy to maneuver. Like other metal plates, this one was prone to light scratches, but we found that the scratches did not hinder performance.
Model Number: 3811
Diameter: 9.125 in
Material: Stainless steel
Weight: 8 ¼ oz
Capacity: 5 cups
Height: 1 ¾ in
Rim Width: 0.4 in
Freezer-to-oven-safe: Yes
Price at Time of Testing: $15.99
This mirrored stainless-steel pie plate produced nicely browned bottom crusts and released all pie crusts with ease—proof that you don’t need a nonstick coating to ensure perfectly intact slices. Its rim is just a touch narrower than those of our top choices, so it’s not quite as easy to grab or crimp crusts on. The pie plate itself is lightweight and easy to maneuver. Like other metal plates, this one was prone to light scratches, but we found that the scratches did not hinder performance.
Model Number: 3811
Diameter: 9.125 in
Material: Stainless steel
Weight: 8 ¼ oz
Capacity: 5 cups
Height: 1 ¾ in
Rim Width: 0.4 in
Freezer-to-oven-safe: Yes
Price at Time of Testing: $15.99
Despite what this product’s name says, this “10-inch” anodized aluminum pie plate is actually what most manufacturers would consider a 9-inch pie plate, measuring 9 inches across the top inside edges of the plate. The lightest pie plate we tested, this model was incredibly easy to move in and out of the oven, and it performed just as well as heavier steel options, browning pie crust especially quickly. With a flat ½-inch-wide rim, it’s easy to grab and allows for a variety of crimping styles. A few tiny quibbles Its sides are more vertical than sloped, so it can be a touch harder to extract pieces of pie cleanly. And although it does not have a nonstick coating, it scratched slightly during testing when used with metal utensils, as other metal pie plates did.
Model Number: PIE-10
Diameter: 9 in
Material: Anodized aluminum
Weight: 5 ⅞ oz
Capacity: 5.75 cups
Height: 1.55 in
Rim Width: 0.5 in
Freezer-to-oven-safe: Yes
Price at Time of Testing: $12.99
Despite what this product’s name says, this “10-inch” anodized aluminum pie plate is actually what most manufacturers would consider a 9-inch pie plate, measuring 9 inches across the top inside edges of the plate. The lightest pie plate we tested, this model was incredibly easy to move in and out of the oven, and it performed just as well as heavier steel options, browning pie crust especially quickly. With a flat ½-inch-wide rim, it’s easy to grab and allows for a variety of crimping styles. A few tiny quibbles Its sides are more vertical than sloped, so it can be a touch harder to extract pieces of pie cleanly. And although it does not have a nonstick coating, it scratched slightly during testing when used with metal utensils, as other metal pie plates did.
Model Number: PIE-10
Diameter: 9 in
Material: Anodized aluminum
Weight: 5 ⅞ oz
Capacity: 5.75 cups
Height: 1.55 in
Rim Width: 0.5 in
Freezer-to-oven-safe: Yes
Price at Time of Testing: $12.99
This pretty pie plate is a great choice if you’re interested in a ceramic model. While not exactly a featherweight, it’s still the lightest weight of the otherwise heavy ceramic options. And although it takes a bit more time to bake pies in this dense plate—generally between 5 and 15 minutes longer compared to pies baked in metal plates—we got bottom pie crusts that were still crisp and evenly browned in the end. This model has a flat rim that’s especially wide, so it was particularly easy to grab and to execute many different crimps to our pies. Note that its sides are fairly straight, not sloped, so it can be a little trickier to angle in a pie server for clean slices. It also has the largest capacity of any of the pie plates we tested, with a wide diameter and relatively tall sides, so you may need to roll your pie dough thinner to get it to cover the entire interior with room to crimp. Like all ceramic plates, it can chip or crack if dropped, but the manufacturer boasts that it’s thermal shock–resistant, so unlike many ceramic plates, you can freeze pies and bake them directly from the freezer, if you choose.
Model Number: n/a
Diameter: 9.4 in
Material: Porcelain
Weight: 2 lb, 2 ⅝ oz
Capacity: 6 cups
Height: 1.9 in
Rim Width: 0.75 in
Freezer-to-oven-safe: Yes
Price at Time of Testing: $59.00
This pretty pie plate is a great choice if you’re interested in a ceramic model. While not exactly a featherweight, it’s still the lightest weight of the otherwise heavy ceramic options. And although it takes a bit more time to bake pies in this dense plate—generally between 5 and 15 minutes longer compared to pies baked in metal plates—we got bottom pie crusts that were still crisp and evenly browned in the end. This model has a flat rim that’s especially wide, so it was particularly easy to grab and to execute many different crimps to our pies. Note that its sides are fairly straight, not sloped, so it can be a little trickier to angle in a pie server for clean slices. It also has the largest capacity of any of the pie plates we tested, with a wide diameter and relatively tall sides, so you may need to roll your pie dough thinner to get it to cover the entire interior with room to crimp. Like all ceramic plates, it can chip or crack if dropped, but the manufacturer boasts that it’s thermal shock–resistant, so unlike many ceramic plates, you can freeze pies and bake them directly from the freezer, if you choose.
Model Number: n/a
Diameter: 9.4 in
Material: Porcelain
Weight: 2 lb, 2 ⅝ oz
Capacity: 6 cups
Height: 1.9 in
Rim Width: 0.75 in
Freezer-to-oven-safe: Yes
Price at Time of Testing: $59.00
This classic, inexpensive glass pie plate can make pie crust that’s browned beautifully evenly—given enough time. We found that an extra 5 to 15 minutes were usually all it took to get our pies to the finish line; pie crusts were still more than acceptable even with this extra baking. A relatively wide, flat rim allowed us to execute different crimps and to get a good grip when transporting pies in and out of the oven. And while it’s heavier than metal models, it’s still easy enough to lift. A few things to keep in mind: We’ve found that crust sometimes stuck to this plate (see FAQ). It’s got the smallest capacity of all the pie plates we tested, though fillings still stayed contained and didn’t overflow. And because it’s made of glass, it can break if dropped. Pyrex claims that pies in its glass plates can be baked directly from the freezer so long as the temperature difference between your freezer and oven don’t exceed 220 degrees Celsius (428 degrees Fahrenheit); you may need to adjust your oven temperature accordingly while baking.
Model Number: 6001003
Diameter: 8.875 in
Material: Pyrex glass
Weight: 1 lb, 9 ⅛ oz
Capacity: 4.25 cups
Height: 1.4 in
Rim width: 0.5 in
Freezer-to-oven-safe: Yes, as long as temperature difference does not exceed 428 degrees
Price at Time of Testing: $13.99
This classic, inexpensive glass pie plate can make pie crust that’s browned beautifully evenly—given enough time. We found that an extra 5 to 15 minutes were usually all it took to get our pies to the finish line; pie crusts were still more than acceptable even with this extra baking. A relatively wide, flat rim allowed us to execute different crimps and to get a good grip when transporting pies in and out of the oven. And while it’s heavier than metal models, it’s still easy enough to lift. A few things to keep in mind: We’ve found that crust sometimes stuck to this plate (see FAQ). It’s got the smallest capacity of all the pie plates we tested, though fillings still stayed contained and didn’t overflow. And because it’s made of glass, it can break if dropped. Pyrex claims that pies in its glass plates can be baked directly from the freezer so long as the temperature difference between your freezer and oven don’t exceed 220 degrees Celsius (428 degrees Fahrenheit); you may need to adjust your oven temperature accordingly while baking.
Model Number: 6001003
Diameter: 8.875 in
Material: Pyrex glass
Weight: 1 lb, 9 ⅛ oz
Capacity: 4.25 cups
Height: 1.4 in
Rim width: 0.5 in
Freezer-to-oven-safe: Yes, as long as temperature difference does not exceed 428 degrees
Price at Time of Testing: $13.99
This glass pie plate is one of the widest and deepest models we tested, so you may need to roll your dough a little thinner to completely cover its surface and still have enough room to crimp the edges. As with other glass models, it took a little longer to bake pies than with metal models, but the results were very evenly browned in the end. A wide flat rim gave us plenty of options when crimping, and it was easy to grab. Weighing just over 2 pounds, it’s still relatively lightweight and easy to maneuver. And the manufacturer insists it’s resistant to thermal shock, so you can bake pies directly from the freezer, if you like. Just be sure not to drop it, as it can chip or crack.
Model Number: 11175900
Diameter: 9.25 in
Material: Borosilicate glass
Weight: 2 lb, 3 ½ oz
Capacity: 5.6 cups
Height: 2.1 in
Rim width: 0.7 in
Freezer-to-oven-safe: Yes
Price at Time of Testing: $14.99
This glass pie plate is one of the widest and deepest models we tested, so you may need to roll your dough a little thinner to completely cover its surface and still have enough room to crimp the edges. As with other glass models, it took a little longer to bake pies than with metal models, but the results were very evenly browned in the end. A wide flat rim gave us plenty of options when crimping, and it was easy to grab. Weighing just over 2 pounds, it’s still relatively lightweight and easy to maneuver. And the manufacturer insists it’s resistant to thermal shock, so you can bake pies directly from the freezer, if you like. Just be sure not to drop it, as it can chip or crack.
Model Number: 11175900
Diameter: 9.25 in
Material: Borosilicate glass
Weight: 2 lb, 3 ½ oz
Capacity: 5.6 cups
Height: 2.1 in
Rim width: 0.7 in
Freezer-to-oven-safe: Yes
Price at Time of Testing: $14.99
This ceramic pie plate was able to deliver most pies with crisp crusts on both the top and bottom, though we had to bake double-crust pies up to 20 minutes longer to achieve good results, and occasionally the crust was a little drier than we preferred as a result. Note that this plate is wider and taller than our top choices, so you may need to roll pie dough a bit thinner to accommodate its larger surface area. Like all ceramic pie plates, it’s on the heavy side, so it can be a little harder to lift, especially when laden with a full pie. And while we appreciated that the plate had a relatively wide rim, because that rim is fluted, we had less flexibility to crimp the crust in different styles. Like all ceramic plates, it can crack or chip if dropped, though its manufacturer says it’s safe to bake frozen pies in it directly from the freezer.
Model Number: 966131
Diameter: 9.25 in
Material: Burgundy clay
Weight: 2 lb, 7 ½ oz
Capacity: 5.6 cups
Height: 1.9 in
Rim Width: 0.55 in
Freezer-to-oven-safe: Yes
Price at Time of Testing: $39.95
This ceramic pie plate was able to deliver most pies with crisp crusts on both the top and bottom, though we had to bake double-crust pies up to 20 minutes longer to achieve good results, and occasionally the crust was a little drier than we preferred as a result. Note that this plate is wider and taller than our top choices, so you may need to roll pie dough a bit thinner to accommodate its larger surface area. Like all ceramic pie plates, it’s on the heavy side, so it can be a little harder to lift, especially when laden with a full pie. And while we appreciated that the plate had a relatively wide rim, because that rim is fluted, we had less flexibility to crimp the crust in different styles. Like all ceramic plates, it can crack or chip if dropped, though its manufacturer says it’s safe to bake frozen pies in it directly from the freezer.
Model Number: 966131
Diameter: 9.25 in
Material: Burgundy clay
Weight: 2 lb, 7 ½ oz
Capacity: 5.6 cups
Height: 1.9 in
Rim Width: 0.55 in
Freezer-to-oven-safe: Yes
Price at Time of Testing: $39.95
It took a little longer to bake pies in this glass plate, but the results were nice and evenly browned when we gave the crusts enough time. It’s the largest and heaviest glass plate we tested, and we sometimes felt it was a touch hard to maneuver, especially with a full double-crust pie in it. (Note also that you may need to roll your crust a little thinner to accommodate this plate’s wider diameter and taller sides.) While the plate’s rim was quite wide and easy to grab, it was fluted, so we could only crimp our crusts following the curves already established. And because it was hard to shimmy a pie server under its rigid glass, crust sometimes stuck to the surface and got left behind. Pyrex claims that pies in its glass plates can be baked directly from the freezer so long as the temperature difference between your freezer and oven don’t exceed 220 degrees Celsius (428 degrees Fahrenheit); you may need to adjust your oven temperature accordingly while baking.
Model Number: 1085800
Diameter: 9 3/8 in
Material: Pyrex glass
Weight: 2 lb, 7 oz
Capacity: 5.9 cups
Height: 1.9 in
Rim Width: 0.85 in
Freezer-to-oven-safe: Yes, as long as temperature difference does not exceed 428 degrees
Price at Time of Testing: $16.50
It took a little longer to bake pies in this glass plate, but the results were nice and evenly browned when we gave the crusts enough time. It’s the largest and heaviest glass plate we tested, and we sometimes felt it was a touch hard to maneuver, especially with a full double-crust pie in it. (Note also that you may need to roll your crust a little thinner to accommodate this plate’s wider diameter and taller sides.) While the plate’s rim was quite wide and easy to grab, it was fluted, so we could only crimp our crusts following the curves already established. And because it was hard to shimmy a pie server under its rigid glass, crust sometimes stuck to the surface and got left behind. Pyrex claims that pies in its glass plates can be baked directly from the freezer so long as the temperature difference between your freezer and oven don’t exceed 220 degrees Celsius (428 degrees Fahrenheit); you may need to adjust your oven temperature accordingly while baking.
Model Number: 1085800
Diameter: 9 3/8 in
Material: Pyrex glass
Weight: 2 lb, 7 oz
Capacity: 5.9 cups
Height: 1.9 in
Rim Width: 0.85 in
Freezer-to-oven-safe: Yes, as long as temperature difference does not exceed 428 degrees
Price at Time of Testing: $16.50
This ceramic pie plate was a heartbreaker. While gorgeous (and available in a wide variety of colors), it was incredibly thick and heavy—in fact, at nearly 3 pounds, it was the thickest and heaviest model we tested. That made it more of a pain to lift and also meant it took much longer to heat up; double-crust pies took up to 25 minutes longer to ensure that the bottom crusts were browned, and the top crust sometimes got a bit dried out as a result. Its rim was sloped at a nearly vertical angle and was fluted, so we could only crimp our pie dough one way, following the fluting. If we weren’t careful to chill the pie for at least 90 minutes, the crimped edges sometimes slid down the tall rim, making for a much less attractive pie. Finally, this pie plate can chip if dropped and is not safe to use directly from the freezer.
Model Number: 7113102
Diameter: 9 in
Material: Stoneware
Weight: 2 lb, 14 ⅝ oz
Capacity: 5 ¾ cups
Height: 2.25 in
Rim Width: 1.25 in
Freezer-To-Oven-Safe: No
Price at Time of Testing: $56.00
This ceramic pie plate was a heartbreaker. While gorgeous (and available in a wide variety of colors), it was incredibly thick and heavy—in fact, at nearly 3 pounds, it was the thickest and heaviest model we tested. That made it more of a pain to lift and also meant it took much longer to heat up; double-crust pies took up to 25 minutes longer to ensure that the bottom crusts were browned, and the top crust sometimes got a bit dried out as a result. Its rim was sloped at a nearly vertical angle and was fluted, so we could only crimp our pie dough one way, following the fluting. If we weren’t careful to chill the pie for at least 90 minutes, the crimped edges sometimes slid down the tall rim, making for a much less attractive pie. Finally, this pie plate can chip if dropped and is not safe to use directly from the freezer.
Model Number: 7113102
Diameter: 9 in
Material: Stoneware
Weight: 2 lb, 14 ⅝ oz
Capacity: 5 ¾ cups
Height: 2.25 in
Rim Width: 1.25 in
Freezer-To-Oven-Safe: No
Price at Time of Testing: $56.00
Our runner-up produced impressive pies with gorgeous, golden exteriors and lightly tanned bottom crusts. Its pie slices were also easy to cut and remove. However, while the fluted lip gave us pretty pies and made this plate easy to grab and maneuver into and out of the oven, we ultimately found that it hindered versatility. Its built-in crust guide may be helpful for some bakers, but we preferred products with nonfluted lips to allow for more crimping options.
Model Number: RL3BB
Color: Blue
Diameter: 8.8 in
Material: High-fired ceramic with scratch-free glaze
Thickness: 5.2 mm
Price at Time of Testing: $22.54
Our runner-up produced impressive pies with gorgeous, golden exteriors and lightly tanned bottom crusts. Its pie slices were also easy to cut and remove. However, while the fluted lip gave us pretty pies and made this plate easy to grab and maneuver into and out of the oven, we ultimately found that it hindered versatility. Its built-in crust guide may be helpful for some bakers, but we preferred products with nonfluted lips to allow for more crimping options.
Model Number: RL3BB
Color: Blue
Diameter: 8.8 in
Material: High-fired ceramic with scratch-free glaze
Thickness: 5.2 mm
Price at Time of Testing: $22.54
*All products reviewed by America’s Test Kitchen are independently chosen, researched, and reviewed by our editors. We buy products for testing at retail locations and do not accept unsolicited samples for testing. We list suggested sources for recommended products as a convenience to our readers but do not endorse specific retailers. When you choose to purchase our editorial recommendations from the links we provide, we may earn an affiliate commission. Prices are subject to change.
The mission of America’s Test Kitchen Reviews is to find the best equipment and ingredients for the home cook through rigorous, hands-on testing. We stand behind our winners so much that we even put our seal of approval on them. Have a question or suggestion? Send us an email at atkreviews@americastestkitchen.com. We appreciate your feedback!
Senior Editor, ATK Reviews
Miye is a senior editor for ATK Reviews. She covers bread, booze, and blades.
Miye Bromberg is a senior editor for ATK Reviews. Areas of specialization include bread, booze, and blades. A native of New York, she now lives in Kentucky, where she spends her free time thinking about film, tending her garden, and traveling long distances to eat dosas.
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