Whether you’re following a recipe that calls for searing a steak on the hob before transferring it to the oven, reheating leftovers or attempting to make a hob-to-oven frittata, you might find yourself pausing with a pan in hand, wondering: Can you put a pan in the oven? It’s a common question that usually arises right in the middle of cooking, especially when working with nonstick coatings, glass lids or mixed-material handles.

Usually, yes, you can put a pan in the oven as long as every part of it is rated for the temperature you’re cooking at.

Pans made entirely of metal, like cast iron, stainless steel and carbon steel, are generally oven safe. Plastic and wooden handles usually can’t go in the oven, and nonstick coatings and glass lids often have lower limits than the pan itself.

If a recipe tells you to sear on the hob and finish in the oven, the pan you already own may work. The key questions are what the pan is made of, what the handle and lid are made of and what temperature the manufacturer lists.

A pan’s oven limit is set by its lowest-rated part. That part is often not the pan body but one of these:

• Plastic handles and lid knobs

• Wooden handles

• Silicone handle covers and grips

• Glass lids

• Nonstick coatings

Recipes like a hob-to-oven frittata, reverse-seared steak and most braises start on the hob and finish in the oven. Check your pan’s rating before you start.

Most metal pans can go in the oven. Coatings, handles and lids are what usually lower the limit, so your pan’s own rating is the number to follow. These are the typical maximums by material:

Handles and lids often have lower limits than the pan.

• Glass lids are commonly rated 175°C to 220°C

• Silicone handle covers 205°C to 230°C.

• Plastic lid knobs on enamelled cast iron can be rated as low as 200°C.

• Plastic or wooden handles usually can’t go in the oven at all.

Note: These are typical ranges from manufacturer care guides, but your pan’s own rating comes first, so make sure to check your own pan’s specifications.

Check the bottom of the pan for an oven-safe symbol or temperature, then confirm the rating for your exact model with the manufacturer. If you can’t confirm it, keep the pan on the hob.

Many nonstick pans can go in the oven up to the manufacturer’s listed temperature, and that limit is usually lower than for bare metal. Follow the brand’s number, and keep the pan out from under the grill unless it’s labelled grill safe.

Traditional nonstick pans are coated with PTFE, the coating sold under the Teflon brand. Here’s more on what Teflon is made of. If your PTFE pan’s limit is lower than your recipes call for, these are nonstick pans made without Teflon. Hard-anodised and ceramic pans can look alike, and our guide to hard-anodised vs ceramic cookware explains the difference.

Yes, if the handle is metal or rated for your oven temperature. A nonstick frying pan follows its coating’s limit, and one with a plastic handle should stay on the hob. Here’s how a skillet compares to a braiser or Dutch oven for recipes that move into the oven.

A pan is considered unsafe for oven use if any single component cannot withstand the oven’s heat. Watch out for these specific features that limit or prevent oven use:

• Wooden handles or knobs: Wood can dry out, crack, char or catch fire in the heat of an oven.

• Plastic components: Standard plastic handles, dials or lid knobs will melt or release potentially toxic fumes when exposed to high temperatures.

• Low-temperature nonstick coatings: Certain traditional nonstick coatings degrade rapidly above 205°C–260°C, potentially releasing harmful fumes and breaking down the surface. That is not the case with our Ceramic Nonstick Always Pan but we don’t recommend it for oven use above 230°C.

• Glued or loose handle attachments: Handles held together with adhesives rather than heavy-duty rivets or screws can fail under heat.

• Non-tempered glass lids: Lids not explicitly rated for oven heat can shatter due to thermal shock.

For more on specific materials, see our guides to cooking in cast iron and cooking with stainless steel.

If you’re following a hob-to-oven recipe but realise your pan isn’t oven-safe, there is still a way you can make it work.

• Transfer to a baking dish. Brown the food, then move it and any pan juices to a baking dish or baking tray.

• Swap the lid for foil. If only the lid is the problem, cover the pan with foil instead. Foil can stand in for a glass lid with a low rating.

• Finish on the hob. Some recipes, like a frittata, can finish covered over low heat.

If you finish dishes in the oven often, a true oven-safe pan that’s rated for it saves the transfer. Our oven-safe cookware covers a range of temperatures:

• Choose our Titanium Always Pan® Pro for high-heat searing that finishes in the oven. It’s an oven-safe titanium pan rated up to 535°C. Its coating-free titanium surface gives you the high-heat searing benefits of stainless steel or cast iron with the ease of a nonstick effect. Here’s how to use our Titanium Pro collection.

• Choose our Always Pan for everyday oven finishes at moderate heat. Our ceramic nonstick pan is oven safe up to 230°C, and its coating helps food release cleanly. For heat and care tips, see caring for ceramic nonstick.

Each of these handles gets hot in the oven, so use oven gloves.