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We Tested Top-Rated Spatulas and These 8 Serve Up Excellent Results

This kitchen tool has many uses, so we flipped eggs, smoothed frosting, and more to find the best ones to recommend

Oxo Good Grips Silicone Spatula Set displayed between three bowls of ingredients

The Spruce Eats / Tamara Staples

When it comes to cooking, the spatula is a must-have kitchen item. They’re useful for flipping, stirring, spreading, and so much more, which is why they are mainstays in utensil sets. That said, certain spatulas are better equipped for specific uses based on their construction, size, and flexibility.

Determining which type of spatula is right for you comes down to what kind of cooking you do regularly at home. Silicone spatulas, for instance, are ideal for nonstick cookware, whereas metal spatulas are best for grilling, so we set out to find the best ones for mixing batter, turning fish, flipping burgers, and more.

What We Like
  • High heat resistance

  • One-piece design easy to keep clean

  • Soft, nonslip handles with hanging holes

What We Don't Like
  • Silicone can be torn by mixer blades

  • Surface can get sticky if not kept dry

Having just one spatula in your home is usually not enough, which is why we think this 3-piece set is essential for your kitchen. The various sizes allow you to use these for everything from flipping eggs to spreading dips to folding batter. We had tried the previous version of this set, and loved the new updates. Before, you could pull the spatula heads off prior to cleaning, but both food bits and mold had great hiding spots from your sponge. Now, each spatula is a complete piece that's comfortable to hold, heat-resistant, and much easier to clean. Just be sure to dry them off fully to avoid a sticky surface.

In this set, the 10-inch blue spatula is ideal for getting into food jars and other small spaces. The 12.5-inch red spatula has a rounded edge for scraping the last bits of batter and sauce out of your bowls, as well as a square edge for pushing batter into corners. The 12-inch white spoon spatula, or spoonula, is great for scooping, mixing, and tasting.

After testing, we found these spatulas have become a go-to for baking, from gently folding batters to scraping every last bit of frosting from a bowl. Able to handle temperatures up to 600 degrees Fahrenheit, these silicone spatulas are great to use on nonstick cookware and bakeware. The handles are pressure-absorbing for a soft, nonslip grip. You'll want to keep them away from mixer blades, however, as the soft silicone can tear.

Material: Nylon core, silicone | Handle Type: Straight | Sizes: 10 inches, 12 inches, 12.5 inches

What We Like
  • Heat resistant

  • Ultra-thin blade maneuvers easily under food

  • Most comfortable handle during testing

What We Don't Like
  • Joints of design might accumulate food residues

If you’re looking for a spatula that can flip your sunny-side eggs and omelets, this spatula was made for you. The ultra-thin, 3-inch-wide, silicone blade easily slides under food to help achieve the perfect flip even on delicate items, as we noted during testing. The core and handle are made of stainless steel, which gives this spatula extra stability and strength. The handle's matte silicone texture allows for an ergonomic grip, and we found it to be the most comfortable out of the entire group. We also appreciate that the edges of this spatula are thin enough to lift and fold the edges of a delicate omelet inward.

This proved truly heat-resistant to 600 degrees Fahrenheit during testing. Whether it was flipping fried eggs, pancakes, or quesadillas, we didn't notice any damage to the silicone from the heat and it cleaned up by hand very well. The joints of the spatula may accumulate food, so make sure to check the nooks and crannies while cleaning. For even easier cleaning, throw this spatula in the dishwasher. As a bonus, it even comes with a "forever warranty," meaning the manufacturer will replace any damaged or defective products free of charge or will offer you a refund—no question asked.

Material: Stainless steel core, silicone | Handle Type: Angled | Size: 11.8 inches

What We Like
  • Strong and sturdy for lifting heavy foods

  • Solid blade helps retain juices when lifting

  • Beveled edge maneuvers easily under stuck-on foods

What We Don't Like
  • Blade would scratch some cookware

  • Handle is too short for grilling

When it comes time for searing a steak in a hot skillet, this is the perfect spatula. Sporting a wooden handle, this sturdy 11-inch spatula comes with a 6 x 3-inch stainless-steel blade. It's incredibly heavy-duty and the solid blade makes it easy to smash cast-iron burgers thin with little effort. Each side has beveled edges, making it simple to slip underneath to flip your food.

During testing, we found the blade to be sharp—it’s especially great for scraping the bottom of the pan—and the handle to be comfortable to hold. This could also be used on grills, though it's important to be careful of heat since the handle is very short (it's why we like it more for indoor cast-iron cooking). However, the short handle allows for plenty of precise control with maneuvering around a smaller pan. We would also warn against using this on nonstick or ceramic cookware, as it could scratch those surfaces. While it's not dishwasher safe and must be washed by hand to prolong its life, it’s easy to keep clean and maintain.

Material: Stainless steel blade, wood | Handle Type: Angled | Size: 11 inches

What We Like
  • Light and agile for handling delicate foods

  • Knife-edge blade allows for portioning

  • Slotted-style blade works well for frying

What We Don't Like
  • Not useful for lifting heavy foods

If you’re someone who regularly cooks fish at home, you need to own a fish spatula. This tool has an elongated and extra thin blade that easily slips under delicate fillets. It also has long slots, which allows liquid to drain.

The Winco Fish Spatula is one fish turner that stands above the rest. With a brushed stainless-steel slotted blade and wooden handle, it has a knife-edge for the ability to also cut food while grilling. We found this to be very lightweight, comfortable, and versatile, even using the 6.5-inch blade for flipping fried eggs. During testing, we were able to flip salmon fillets and eggs in a cast iron skillet without tearing the skin away from the fish or breaking the egg yolk. Given how thin the spatula is, it's not ideal for flipping heavier items.

The size was perfect for using a standard-sized skillet, and while some food got caught on the blade, a simple wash with a scrubbing brush get everything cleaned off.

Material: Stainless steel, wood | Handle Type: Straight, with gently curved blade | Size: 11.25 x 3.1 inches

What We Like
  • Strikes a balance between sturdy and flexible

  • Big enough to lift pancakes without overhang

  • Won’t scratch cookware

What We Don't Like
  • Plastic handle susceptible to melting

When it comes to spatulas, sometimes you’re left to choose between sturdiness and flexibility, but not with this model by OXO. This spatula is composed of a silicone blade for pliability and a stainless steel core for stability. The silicone is heat-resistant and safe for use on nonstick cookware, while the thin blade has beveled edges that help to get underneath the most delicate of foods without tearing them.

That's not to say you can't use it with heavier items. We used this to scoop portions of roasted Brussels sprouts. We also were very impressed by the number of cookies that can fit on the 6 x 4-inch blade. Plus, the nonslip grip made it comfortable and easy to work with while in the kitchen. Be sure to keep the plastic handle away from prolonged heat, as it can melt. This spatula is dishwasher safe, and really was very easy to clean. OXO products also come with the OXO Guarantee, which lets customers issue a return or refund if they aren't happy with their purchase.

Material: Stainless steel core, silicone, plastic | Handle Type: Angled | Size: 12.5 x 4 inches wide

What We Like
  • Thin, sturdy blade

  • Commercial quality

  • Fantastic for spreading icing, condiments, or peanut butter

What We Don't Like
  • Not dishwasher safe

For any baker, an offset spatula is a useful tool for a number of reasons. The thin blade helps to spread and smooth cake batters and loosen cakes from the pan after baking. Ateco’s offset spatula does all of this and more. Its stunning mirror-finish stainless-steel blade measures 1.25 x 7.63 inches, and the entire spatula measures about 12 inches in length. There are additional blade sizes available, as well.

During testing, we were able to quickly frost a small batch of cupcakes and flatten frosting on cake with a smooth finish. You can also use an offset spatula for removing baked goods exceedingly well from pans and cookie sheets, and for spreading peanut butter perfectly on their PB&Js. We found that the wide, rounded blade tip was optimal for reaching the last bits at the bottom of the peanut butter jar. The handle is made of natural wood and is easy to hold, although it should be hand washed only.

Material: Stainless steel, wood | Handle Type: Angled offset | Size: 12 x 1.25 inches

What We Like
  • Strong and sturdy so handles heavy lifts

  • Dishwasher safe

  • Sharp edge gets the crunchy bits off cast-iron grates

What We Don't Like
  • Joints around handle can collect food particles

When you're working on a grill, you need something that won't melt and will keep you safe from the heat. This sturdy 13.5-inch spatula from OXO is made of brushed stainless steel and has a soft cushion on the handle’s underside to provide a comfortable, nonslip grip. It's ideal for use on a grill or cast-iron skillet due to its heft and length.

During testing, the spatula's heavy-duty nature made it easy to flip burgers in a cast-iron skillet, with the handle being long enough to keep our hands away from the grease. It also worked well to scrape up the last bits of food in the skillet after cooking. The ergonomic handle was easy and comfortable to hold, even when lifting a meatloaf to place on a platter. One downside was that the slots are on the smaller side, which proved hard to fully clean. It also wasn't our first choice for more delicate foods—we much preferred the two Winco spatulas for that.

Material: Stainless steel | Handle Type: Slightly angled | Size: 13.5 x 3.25 inches

What We Like
  • Incredibly strong and sturdy

  • Commercial-grade quality

  • Will not scratch cookware

What We Don't Like
  • For scraping but not for lifting

  • Uncomfortable handle

This heavy-duty spatula is not only stain-resistant, but you also don’t have to worry about it scratching your precious cookware. Equipped with a white silicone blade and red nylon handle, the entire spatula measures 13.5 inches in length and the head is 2.5 inches wide—ideal for making big batches of cake batter and frosting.

We found that the handle is quite rigid, which is useful for mixing denser doughs, but it's too inflexible for flipping pancakes or transferring cooked eggs to your breakfast plate. The scraper features a notched blade to cleanly lean against your mixing bowl, and keep the blade off countertops. Another nice feature is the blade is affixed to the handle, so nothing got trapped in hidden crevices during testing. During testing, we did note that the handle is very uncomfortable to hold, and the size does make this a little unwieldy for small jobs.

This spatula is heat-resistant up to 500 degrees Fahrenheit. It's available in various lengths and several bright colors, is dishwasher safe, and comes with a 1-year warranty.

Material: Silicone, nylon | Handle Type: Straight | Size: 13.5 x 2.5 inches | Pieces in set: 1

Final Verdict

Whether you need to mix, sauté, and push batter into pan corners, we recommend the OXO Good Grips 3-Piece Silicone Spatula Set. If you need to frost cakes, loosen baked goods out of pans, or get the last bit of peanut butter out of the jar, check out the Ateco Offset Spatula.

How We Tested Spatulas

Each of our selected spatulas was tested for hours on end for the most authentic results. We paid close attention to the design and comfort of the spatulas, including the construction of the blade edge and the handle's heat resistance. The spatulas were tested on omelets, fish, cookies, and more. Each spatula was given a careful rating for ease of use, comfort, heat resistance, ease of cleaning, and overall value. Our tests included:

  • Cooking pancakes and eggs
  • Cooking with fish and burgers
  • Using with batter/frosting
  • Cleaning in dishwasher or by hand

Other Options We Tested

  • OXO Good Grips Wooden Turner Spatula: Our original list included this wooden spatula option, but after testing, we can no longer stand behind the recommendation. Wooden spatulas are nice to look at and won't scratch your cookware, they don't offer many other benefits over silicone or metal options. The wood will become rough with wear and can stain, and will need extra seasoning with oil in addition to the regular handwashing. The handles can burn if left too close to a flame, and the spatula itself is best used for serving since it's too inflexible to be useful for cooking. With this model, our home tester found it very uncomfortable to hold, too big to fit into smaller pans, and after only a few uses, it already needed to be rubbed with mineral oil to soften the wood.

What to Look for in a Spatula

Uses

How you use the spatula is going to determine which kind you buy. Spatulas for use in baking or for making scrambled eggs, for example, are different than those you'd use to turn fish, flip a burger, or even slide a cookie off a baking sheet. Fish spatulas have a longer surface area that fans out and are usually made of thin metal, which makes it easier to retrieve fish from the pan and without it flaking.

Construction

Things like wooden spatulas used for turning foods or silicone spatulas (sometimes called a scraper) for baking are often all one piece. This makes it easier to clean and less likely to need quick replacing). Spatulas for the grill, on the other hand, need to have a longer handle (16 to 19 inches, ideally) and should be stainless steel, to resist high heat. Finally, if you're using a nonstick pan, you'll want to use a spatula that's safe to use on such a surface (wood or silicone would work here) and won't scratch the pan.

Care and Maintenance

Can you put it in the dishwasher? If it's metal or silicone, the answer is yes. Does it need to be hand-washed? Are you using one spatula for everything? If the answer is yes to the last question, you may need to invest in more than one spatula because it's not likely to last you very long. Wooden spatulas benefit from handwashing and being rubbed down with a food-grade mineral oil once a month or so, which keeps the wood in good condition.

FAQs

How many spatulas should you have?

Some would say you can get away with just 3 or 4 different types, but it depends on what you cook and bake, and the demands and constraints of your cooking surfaces. If you don't cook fish, you can probably skip buying a spatula for that purpose, for example, but if you do a lot of cooking, baking, and grilling, you'll need one for each of those tasks. Furthermore, you might want to buy more than one of each so that if one is dirty, you're not constantly running to the sink to wash it.

Why do spatulas have slots?

Spatulas have slots to help with drainage, too (think about grilled or fried foods, for example) and to reduce surface tension, so you can more easily remove foods from a pan without them sticking. They are sometimes called slotted spatulas, perforated spatulas, or slotted turners.

Why is a spatula called a spatula?

The word has Greek and Latin origins; it's found in the Greek word spathe and the Latin word spatha. Both of those are terms that refer to long swords that often have broad flat blades for implements items used in practices as diverse as cooking, masonry, and medicine.

Why Trust The Spruce Eats?

Cheyenne Elwell tests and reviews a number of home products for The Spruce Eats. She’s familiar with many of the latest kitchen appliances on the market, as a review writer and researcher.

Updated by
Carrie Havranek
Carrie Havranek
Carrie has 10+ years experience as a food writer and editor. Her work can be found in her cookbook, Tasting Pennsylvania, and her site, the Dharma Kitchen.
Learn about The Spruce Eats' Editorial Process
Additional reporting by
Sharon Lehman, RDN
Sharon Lehman
Sharon Lehman is a freelance writer and Registered Dietitian Nutritionist specializing in food, health, and wellness topics. She is the Small Appliance Expert for The Spruce Eats.
Learn about The Spruce Eats' Editorial Process
Article Sources
The Spruce Eats uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
  1. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/tools-5-things-you-didnt-know-about-spatulas

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