Our top pick for the best nonstick turner spatula is the OXO Good Grips Silicone Flexible Turner. It’s nimble, sturdy, and versatile, embodying all the qualities we desire in a nonstick turner. For those seeking a longer spatula, we recommend the GIR Get It Right Premium Silicone Mini Flipper.
Cooking often requires a variety of spatulas, each suited to different tasks. Soft flat spatulas are ideal for scraping bowls, metal spatulas for flipping fish and burgers, and nonstick food turners for delicate pans and surfaces.
The Best Slotted Nonstick Turner
Tovolo Silicone Slotted Turner
PHOTO: Amazon
$14 at Amazon
$20 at Walmart
$12 at Target
A slotted food turner allows for a little grease drainage, like if you’re searing a burger or cooking bacon on an electric griddle. We liked the Tovolo’s tapered edge; it flipped pancakes with ease and didn’t budge under the weight of a heavy burger patty.
The Tests
A good nonstick spatula is nimble enough to fit under (and flip) delicate pancakes.
Vicky Wasik
Durability Test: To test for durability, we bent and flexed each food turner, checking for warping and evaluating any seams.
Over-Easy Eggs Test: To test for maneuverability, we made two over-easy eggs on a nonstick griddle. We evaluated how well each food turner could lift, flip, and keep an egg intact. We also checked to make sure the griddle remained unscratched.
Burgers Test: To test for strength, we used each food turner to flip 1/2-pound burger patties.
We evaluated how well the spatula could handle the weight and size of a large patty.Pancakes Test: To further test the maneuverability, we evaluated how well each food turner could lift and flip five pancakes made on an electric griddle.
Usability Tests: Throughout testing, we considered the overall comfort and feeling of the food turner.
Cleanup Tests: After each test, we washed the turners by hand.
At the end of testing, we cleaned the turners in the dishwasher.What We Learned
Durable, Sturdy Turners Were the Best
For a tool that lasts a lifetime, check the seams. One-piece models like the GIR and Material spatulas had no Achilles heels or weak spots. Other turners feature flimsy silicone heads attached to metal handles. If we were able to easily warp the spatula by hand, it was a no-go. And, ultimately, these too-bendy tools buckled under the weight of heavy foods like burgers, and the weak seams made us question their long-term durability.
However, other spatulas with multi-piece/material constructions fared better. The OXO and Tovolo, for example, were much sturdier. They snapped back into place after being bent, rather than warped. And they easily managed a half-pound burger patty.
Thin, Tapered Heads Were Most Nimble
We liked the nimble, super thin head on the OXO nonstick spatula.
Serious Eats / Madeline Muzzi
Many turners are designed with a head that is thicker in the center and becomes gradually thinner toward its edges.
These tapered edges easily slid under food, but the thickness mattered as well. Models like the ones from Material, GIR, and Tovolo had thicker heads, but more sharply tapered edges. Others, like our favorite from OXO, have super-thin heads. Both of these designs were able to scoot under and lift delicate foods, so it’s more of a matter of personal preference/spatula length.Turner Spatula
Length of Head
Head Thickness
OXO Cookie Spatula
3.
When selecting the best nonstick silicone food turners, we look for specific criteria. The ideal spatula should be nimble yet strong, with thin or sharply tapered edges. It should have a head small enough to isolate a single egg in a frying pan but large enough to balance larger items like burger patties or pancakes. Additionally, the spatula should have a little flex to bend slightly when sliding under food but remain sturdy enough to retain its shape.
Our testing revealed that smaller spatulas, usually less than 11 inches in total length, were easier to maneuver in various skillets and griddles. Larger spatulas, while powerful and appealing, made it hard to retrieve food in a 10-inch skillet and maneuver around a crowded electric griddle. We found that spatulas with too-small heads were fine for lightweight foods like pancakes and eggs but not for larger items like burgers, which wobbled and threatened to fall off. Conversely, spatulas with heads that were about two-and-a-half inches or less just weren’t large enough to be super versatile. One spatula we tested was six inches wide—far too large to be nimble. Nonstick turners with thicker edges and more gradual tapers didn’t work well, as they ended up pushing food around rather than easily picking it up. Our Favorite Turner Spatulas include the OXO Good Grips Silicone Flexible Turner, which was one of our favorites from our 2017 testing and performed just as well five years later. This basic turner features a thin edge that scoots under food easily and a slightly sharp edge, making it useful for separating items like pancakes or eggs that have run together. The two-piece design consists of a silicone head and a stainless steel handle, which snapped back into shape even after rigorous bending. Key Specs for the OXO Good Grips Silicone Flexible Turner include heat resistance up to 450ºF, dimensions of 11.25 x 3.25 inches, dishwasher-safe capability, and materials of silicone and stainless steel. The GIR Get It Right Premium Silicone Mini Flipper is our pick for the best longer nonstick spatula.What we liked: The GIR Mini Flipper is extremely sturdy and constructed from a single piece of silicone with a fiberglass core. At nearly 11 inches long, it’s fairly long, but it has a small (2.56-inch head), which made it nimble and easy to maneuver around any cooking surface. It’s also a good option if you’re looking for a turner for scraping, stirring, and sautéing. Whether cooking on a crowded griddle or in a small frying pan, the thin tapered edge and small surface area can isolate and lift any food. Though the head is small, the GIR Mini Flipper has a fiberglass core that packs a lot of strength into this small tool.
What we didn’t like: While its small size can be a boon, it can also be too small for bigger food items—such as omelettes, burgers, and extra-large pancakes. Key SpecsHeat-resistant: Up to 550ºF
Dimensions: 10.9 x 2.6 inches
Dishwasher-safe: Yes
Materials: Silicone with a fiberglass core Serious Eats / Madeline Muzzi Editor’s Pick Nonstick Spatula
Material The Soft-Edge Turner
PHOTO: Material Kitchen
$25 at Amazon
View on Materialkitchen.com What we liked: Editor Rochelle Bilow has owned this spatula for over a year, and uses it almost daily. “It’s great for turning food, obviously, but I regularly use it as a serving utensil. The wide trough is so good for scooping up lasagna, meatballs, fish, whatever!”
The Material soft-edge tuner performed well in all of our tests. It featured a thick head—measuring 7mm in the center—but this was offset by its sharply tapered edge, which allowed it to seamlessly scoot under and pick up eggs and pancakes. The width of the head provided extra strength for flipping large burgers. At 7.5 inches, this turner had the longest handle of the winners, making it good for stirring or scraping in a deeper pan. As a bonus, this beautifully designed food turner would look lovely displayed in a utensil crock. What we didn’t like: Over time, the light-gray silicone could discolor. At $20, this is the most expensive food turner we tested. Key Specs
Heat-resistant: Up to 450ºF
Dimensions: 9 x 3 inches
Dishwasher-safe: Yes
Materials: Silicone with nylon core and stainless steel cap Serious Eats / Madeline Muzzi The Best Slotted Nonstick Turner
Tovolo Silicone Slotted Turner
PHOTO: Amazon
$14 at Amazon
$20 at Walmart
$12 at Target What we liked: This sturdy spatula is nicely proportioned and picks up food well. The thick head features a nylon core for added strength, and measures 5.2 mm in the center, creating a sturdy platform for holding foods. The Tovolo’s two-piece construction has solid seams that showed no signs of giving even after rigorous bending. If you’re set on a slotted spatula, give this one a go. What we didn’t like: The tapered edge is slim enough to slide under food but is blunt. If two pancakes run together, it takes a decent amount of pressure to separate them using the spatula’s edge. Key Specs
Heat-resistant: Up to 600ºF
Dimensions: 12.75 x 3.5 inches
Dishwasher-safe: Yes
Materials: Silicone and stainless steel Serious Eats / Madeline Muzzi The Competition
OXO Good Grips Silicone Cookie Spatula: This was one of our previous favorites, and we still do think it’s a great option for retrieving cookies off of a baking sheet or flipping a single egg.
DI ORO Chef Series Standard Flexible Silicone Turner: This turner handled food well, but it warped easily by hand.
Allwin-Houseware Silicone Turner: This thin turner can slide under food easily, but the large head bent under the weight of a burger. DI ORO Chef Series Wide Round Flexible Silicone Turner Spatula: This spatula’s extremely wide head was a little unwieldy. Maine Man Fish Turner Slotted Spatula: This inflexible spatula featured a thick edge that made it difficult to pick up individual foods. During testing it scooted eggs and pancakes all over the griddle. DI ORO Chef Series Long Flexible Silicone Turner Fish Spatula: A functional design, but this food turner warped easily when bent by hand. However, it’s just too small to be as versatile as a larger spatula. OXO Good Grips Silicone Flexible Omelet Turner: We found this turner to be too large. FAQs Are nonstick spatulas dishwasher-safe? All of our favorite nonstick spatulas are dishwasher-safe. Most nonstick spatulas will likely be dishwasher-safe; however, you should always check with the manufacturer’s care instructions to be sure prior to cleaning. Can nonstick spatulas melt? Any kind of spatula can melt with a high enough temperature. Nylon spatulas are more prone to melting if placed near a burner or used in a screaming hot pan. Our favorite nonstick spatulas are made from silicone, which is much more durable and heat-resistant. Can you use a nonstick spatula with a cast iron or carbon steel skillet? Nonstick spatulas are safe for use in nonstick pans, cookware, and bakeware, but they can also be used in cast iron or carbon steel skillets. However, if you frequently cook in cast iron or carbon steel, we recommend investing in a fish spatula as well. Are silicone spatulas nonstick? Silicone-coated spatulas and turners do have nonstick properties which prevents food from sticking to them during cooking. There are some foods, like oatmeal or polenta, that can form a starchy coating on silicone and need to be scrubbed of, but it’s much easier to clean these foods off compared to a wooden spoon. Can I use a silicone spatula for frying? Most silicone spatulas will come with a heat-resistant rating that can withstand frying temperatures, though it’s good to check with the manufacturer. Most frying occurs around 350ºF, and most silicone utensils are heat-resistant up to 450ºF, but it’s best to verify both the frying temperature in the recipe and the heat-resistance rating for the utensil. Are there nonstick fish spatulas? There are nonstick fish spatulas and we tested a couple of them as part of this review (though we didn’t like these particular ones). When we reviewed fish spatulas, though, we ended up recommending a silicone-edged model from Sur La Table, which is safe to use with nonstick cookware. Why We’re the Experts Madeline Muzzi is a writer, editor, and video producer. She has written many reviews for Serious Eats, including wine decanters and countertop ice makers. For this review, she tested eleven turner spatulas by using them to flip over-easy eggs, burgers, and pancakes.Madeline conducted an in-depth evaluation of kitchen tools, focusing on electric griddles. She meticulously noted how they felt to maneuver, ensuring that they did not scratch nonstick pans and assessing their resistance to both dishwasher and hand washing.
Each turner was bent and flexed to test their durability, with one of the winners, the OXO model, standing out since 2017 for its resilience against repeated testing. We Tested 11 Electric Griddles—4 Made Perfectly Cooked Pancakes and Crispy Bacon. Marguerite Preston, based in Brooklyn, New York, conducted additional research on the best kitchen gear and equipment. Learn about Serious Eats’ Editorial Process and Tools & Gadgets.
