Best Pans for Grilling Vegetables

Grilled vegetables are proof that food can be both healthy and delicious! Who doesn’t love some juicy grilled eggplant or bell pepper with beautiful sear marks? However, grilling vegetables on a real outdoor grill is not something most of us get to do very often. Luckily, a good grill pan can do the trick just as well.

Grill pans have thick ridges that create sear marks just like with a real outdoor grill. Furthermore, since the vegetables are resting on the raised ridges, there is no need to use a lot of (or any) oil, thus keeping your vegetables healthy!

Today we’ll show you four beautiful grill pans that are perfect for grilling vegetables on the stove top. Choose the one you like the most and make grilled vegetables a regular guest at your table!

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Lodge 10.5 Inch Square Cast Iron Grill Pan

Cast iron is one of the best materials for grill pans, and the Lodge 10.5-inch Square Cast Iron Grill Pan proves this to be true. Lodge is a company with 120 years of experience in making cast iron cookware and they really know how to make a pan that will last for years.

This square pan is made of heavy cast iron, a metal that retains heat really well and thus provides the perfect searing surface for grilling. This is uncoated cast iron though, and with this type of cast iron pans, seasoning makes all the difference.

This Lodge pan arrives pre-seasoned, but without any synthetic coatings or chemicals. Instead, it’s seasoned only with vegetable oil. The inside of the pan features raised ridges that imitate the surface of a grill and create beautiful sear marks.

Le Creuset Square Skillet Grill Pan

Le Creuset is famous for their colorful enameled cast iron cookware. The Le Creuset Square Skillet Grill Pan is another perfect example of their craftsmanship. The pan is made of heavy cast iron that retains heat and distributes it evenly, thus creating grill-like conditions. The pan is quite heavy, but it has a long handle on one side, and a large loop handle on the other side that make it easier to lift the pan.

This Le Creuset pan is coated with enamel inside and out. The enamel coating on the exterior is quite durable and it doesn’t start chipping off even after years of use. It also comes in a variety of colors including the popular red Cerise and the beautiful blue Marseille.

On the other hand, the interior black coating features a protective satin finish that keeps the food from sticking to the pan and prevents damage and wear, The enamel coating also makes this pan quite easy to clean. You can soak it in water for a couple of hours if something gets stuck to the pan, or even put it in the dishwasher.

Cuisinart 630-30 Chef’s Classic Nonstick Hard-Anodized 12-Inch Round Grill Pan

Cuisinart is certainly among the most popular cookware manufacturers. They are known for making cookware that is sturdy, functional, and reasonably priced. All of this true, at least in the case of the Cuisinart 630-30 Chef’s Classic Nonstick Hard-Anodized 12-Inch Round Grill Pan. This pan is a nice choice for those who feel that cast iron is too heavy and are looking for something lighter and easier to handle. This Cuisinart grill pan is made of hard anodized aluminum which provides a fairly sturdy construction and amazingly even heat distribution. Aluminum is among the best heat conductors available. For this reason, the Cuisinart 630-30 Chef’s Classic Nonstick Hard-Anodized 12-Inch Round Grill Pan heats up really quickly. It also responds to temperature changes really well. The fact that the aluminum is hard anodized means that the cooking surface is quite non-stick and also non-reactive. This is a 12-inch round pan, with ribbed cooking surface for grilling effect. It’s a nice versatile pan, perfect for grilling vegetables but also capable of doing much more.

Calphalon Contemporary Hard-Anodized Aluminum Nonstick Square Grill Pan, 11-inch

This beautiful square grill pan from Calphalon is quite simple, but it’s really hard to find anything that’s wrong with it. It’s made of heavy-gauge aluminum that has been hard anodized to make the pan more durable and impact-resistant.

And it really works – you don’t need to be too careful when handling this pan, light bumps will definitely not leave any marks. The interior surface is covered with Calphalon’s special three-layer non-stick coating for increased durability.

Furthermore, the Calphalon Contemporary Hard-Anodized Aluminum Nonstick Square Grill Pan has a nice, long, double-riveted handle that is made of stainless steel. The handle remains cool on the stovetop, which is really important since you don’t want t to be forced to wear oven mitts every time you want to move the pan.

The cooking surface has deep ridges across it, as one would expect from a grill pan. Furthermore, since this pan actually comes with a non-stick coating that works really well, you really don’t need to use any oil. The pan is 11 inches wide and 11 inches long, which is just the right size for grilling vegetables.

Finally, a small but potentially significant detail: you can safely wash this pan in the dishwasher.

Final Thoughts

Grilling vegetables is a fun and easy way to make a healthy meal, and with a nice grill pan, it becomes even easier. Which pan you choose will depend on the type of person you are. While both cast iron and hard anodized aluminum are good options, some people will always prefer one above the other.

The Lodge 10.5 Inch Square Cast Iron Grill Pan and the Le Creuset Square Skillet Grill Pan are both nice pans that can easily last a lifetime. However, the Le Creuset pan is dishwasher-safe, while the Lodge one isn’t, so that’s something to keep in mind if this is important to you.