Aldi Has a $20 Copycat of a $145 Caraway Pan This Week

Nonstick cookware has come a long way since its early days. There are so many options that allow your fried eggs to slide right out of the pan and, more importantly, are free of harmful chemicals once used in the black nonstick coating. Today, the most popular nonstick cookware is made with an aluminum core and a ceramic coating.

Last fall, Allrecipes’ Melanie Fincher tested out a full set of one of the hottest nonstick brands on the market—Caraway. Her takeaway was that the trendy cookware had an exceptional nonstick surface and was also attractive, but the price tag might give someone pause: It's $400 for 7 pieces. 

Once again, Aldi comes to the rescue. The store has created copycats of Caraway's popular pans—just as it has for other top-selling kitchen items, like Lodge's cast-iron skillets and Cuisinart's pizza ovens—and they’re on sale as part of this week's Aldi Finds.

Crofton Saute Pan with Lid

In addition to being genuinely nonstick and easy to clean, Caraway pans have a design that's easy on the eyes. Aldi's copycat versions have a very similar aesthetic—the Crofton Saute Pan has a white ceramic interior and a cream or lilac exterior. The best part: It's less than $20, compared to Caraway's $145 pan.

The lids of both brands are the same color as the pans' exteriors, and the silver handles have a similar shape. Both Caraway and Crofton appear to have parallel stovetop capabilities. The Caraway pans are oven-safe up to 550 degrees F, but we haven’t seen the packaging of the Crofton pan, so we're unsure where it lands on this spec.

If you’re looking for a nonstick pan that performs well on the stovetop, is easy to clean, and won't break the bank, the Aldi Finds aisle is where to get it. In addition to the saute pan, you’ll also find a 2-pack of 8- and 10-inch nonstick Crofton Fry Pans for $19.99, which also look remarkably similar to the Caraway versions. (By comparison, just one 8-inch Caraway frying pan sells for $90, and the 10.5-inch sells for $95.)

The Caraway copycats go on sale April 2 at Aldi for one week or until they sell out. Between functionality, attractive designs, and unbeatable prices, we see them selling out sooner rather than later.