The “Shockingly Versatile” Mini Skillet I Reach for Every Day (It’s Even Microwave Safe!)

As someone who has been an avid home cook for nearly two decades, it should come as no surprise that I have run through my fair share of pans. And while my preferred pan for daily cooking is an 8.5- or 10.5-inch nonstick pan (depending on how much I’m making), I had never had anything smaller than that 8.5-inch model. But all of that changed when I got a pair of Xtrema’s Mini Skillets. Let me tell you: Mini is absolutely right, given that these don’t even measure half a foot in width. 

They are, in fact, very little and that makes them totally useful in their own right. It’s not a question of “would I reach for this skillet over my other pans?” As far as I’m concerned, this skillet is in a league all its own, making it the only pan I have for things like cookie and brownie skillets, personal-size fruit crisps, egg patties for breakfast sandwiches, and small sides of broccoli or Brussels sprouts — among many other uses. Though they might not be a necessity, they are so nice to have around and are super easy to store because of their small size. 

The Xtrema Mini Skillet is easily the tiniest pan I own, and it has come in more useful than I might’ve originally thought. At just five inches wide, this small-but-mighty pan can handle it all from the oven to the stovetop, even the microwave (with all due respect, my beloved nonstick pan could never). And that is in part because this pan is made from 100% ceramic, meaning unlike literally every pan I own, it has no metal in it. Plus, I know we’ve all been hearing about the toxins and forever chemicals in cookware and kitchen utensils lately, but with this skillet, you won’t have to worry about any of that, given that it’s completely nontoxic. 

And while I love all of that, I’m also a huge fan of the fact that I can toss this little pan right into my dishwasher when I’m done with it. Since I usually hand-wash all of my pans, this skillet is able to give me a little bit of a break. How could I not love that?

Until I received the Xtrema Mini Skillet, the smallest pan I had was an 8.5” nonstick pan. And while I love that nonstick pan for a myriad of reasons, it was not ideal for jobs even smaller than scrambled eggs — like cookie skillets, for example. This was my first thought with this pan: That it would be perfect for making a chocolate chip cookie skillet with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream, one of my favorite indulgent restaurant desserts. I did use it for just that, and it turned out so good. I actually did something wild and put this skillet in my Wonder Oven to make my cookies because my regular oven was not working properly. And this skillet (as well as the Wonder Oven) handled that slightly strange situation super well, helping bake my cookies to a crisp golden on the outside with a gooey center. 

My next thought? The size of this pan could help me make a perfect egg patty for a breakfast sandwich. So I lightly scrambled up some eggs and tossed it in my mini skillet to give it a try. The resulting egg patty was a little bit bigger than my English muffins, but it was an easy way to make eggs for a breakfast sandwich since I don’t use egg molds. Plus, this skillet truly is nonstick, so it was super easy to get the eggs out of the pan. 

Though this isn’t a skillet I’ll use every day, it is amazing to have around for baking (and serving) individual desserts, eggs for one, a side of sauteéd veggies, or even quickly reheating some shredded chicken. Not to mention, it would make for a cute gift for a home cook this holiday season!

Buy: Xtrema Mini Skillet, $34.99 (normally, $49.99)