Best Silicone Muffin Tin
Every home baker has their favorite pans to make their special treats. From bread and cookies to cupcakes and muffins, the right pan is at their fingertips whenever they whip up a recipe. When it comes to making muffins, a silicone pan is a great alternative to the traditional metal or aluminum ones, with some added advantages.
Silicone muffin pans are light, flexible and in many cases, non-stick, releasing food easily without the use of butter. Silicone muffin pans don’t rust or corrode like some metal pans do, are heat resistant, and are versatile enough to use in the oven or microwave, can be washed in the dishwasher, and are freezer safe.
These muffin pans come in an array of beautiful colors and sizes, and even if you already have metal muffin tins, silicone pans are so affordable, it pays to keep a couple on hand in your cupboard.
We feature five silicone muffin pans you can purchase on line. Read on to find the one you like best.
Top Pick Best Set: CAKETIME Silicone Muffin Pan Set
There’s nothing like homemade muffins. You can make healthy bran and raisin muffins or decadent red velvet chocolate delights, but no matter what recipe you choose, muffins make a great companion to a cup of coffee, tea, milk, or on their own as a nice pick-me-up. Baking your favorite muffins in a silicone muffin pan is an easy way to ensure they come out nicely cooked and not stuck to the pan. But which size is best? Regular or mini?
With this set, you have the choice of baking up 24 mini muffins, 12 regular sized muffins, or both, if you’re so inclined. These molds are made from 100 per cent food grade silicone, and pass the pinch test – the silicone does not turn white when pinched, as it is LFGB European Standard approved for superior quality.
Non-stick and flexible, food releases easily from these muffin pans, and with a wide temperature range of -104 degrees Fahrenheit to 444 degrees Fahrenheit, these pans can handle a hot oven plus when they are done, you can pop the whole pan into the freezer, no problem.
This set also includes 12 boldly colored silicone muffin liners for the days when you need to bake more muffins at one time. Or, you can use them in a metal pan instead of paper liners for a reusable option.
And if you want to expand your repertoire, these muffin pans are also ideal for making egg bites, cupcakes, jellies, custard – pretty much anything your imagination can dream up. Cleans up easily and microwave safe.
Pros:
- 24 mini muffin pan
- 12 regular muffin pan
- 12 muffin liners
- All made from 100 percent food grade European Standard silicone
- Oven, freezer, dishwasher and microwave safe
Cons:
- Silicone is floppy, best put on solid pan or cookie sheet before filling and for baking
Top Pick Best Overall: Trudeau Structured Silicone Muffin Pan
Silicone muffin pans are great, but the one feature that makes them so wonderful – flexibility – can in some cases be a pitfall. When filled with batter, it can be difficult to carry the pan and place it into the oven without it getting floppy, with the risk of the contents of the pan dripping or spilling on the floor. Many bakers put their silicone pans on a solid surface, like a tin baking sheet. With this structured silicone muffin pan from Trudeau, a floppy, flimsy situation will be a thing of the past.
The patented structure of this 12-cup muffin pan has an integrated steel frame that keeps the pan secure when carried to and from the oven – no drooping or sagging. Even with the steel frame, this pan keeps the lightweight advantage of silicone, making it a perfect alternative to a heavier metal pan.
The smooth silicone finish offers excellent non-stick properties and flexibility for easy food release. Use the pan to bake muffins, cupcakes, egg muffins or brownie bites, with even baking throughout. And once the pan is out of the oven, the cooking stops, so there’s no worry of over-baking.
Made from the highest quality European-grade silicone with no odor and no smoking, the pan is BOA-free and easy to clean by hand or in the dishwasher. Oh, and did we mention that it’s also oven, freezer and even microwave safe?
Pros:
- Encapsulated sturdy steel frame provides stability
- Handles remain cool
- Made from European grade silicone
- Heat resistant up to 428 degrees Fahrenheit
Cons:
- Need to grease the pan
Top Pick Best Jumbo Size: Silicone Designs Texas Muffin Pan
We all know that saying – go big or go home! Well, the same can be said for muffins, because what’s better than a regular-sized homemade muffin? A super-sized one, of course.
This set of two pans has large cavities, perfect for a family with hearty appetites. If you are a home baker with a hungry family to feed, these large portion pans will satisfy any cravings for big muffins, but you can also use them to bake oatmeal, mini pot pies, quiche, cheesecake bites and bacon and egg cups.
The pans themselves measure 11 inches by 7.5 inches each, with the cup diameter at three inches and the depth at two inches, which is 25 percent larger than a regular-sized muffin cup. Made from commercial grade silicone, the pans are simple to use and safe for food preparation and consumption.
Heat resistant to 450 degrees Fahrenheit, they are BPA-free and dishwasher, microwave and freezer safe. And if you’re worried the pans are too flexible or wobbly, you needn’t be – the built-in stability bars located between the muffin cups offer up maximum stability, strength while maintaining silicone flexibility.
Pros:
- Versatile
- BPA, latex free
- No chemical coatings or fillers
- Non-stick
- Quick cooling
Cons:
- May be too large a size for some needs
Top Pick Best for Muffin Tops: Walfos Premium Silicone Muffin Top Pan
Many people who love muffins, like to eat the top first, and then the bottom. Other people just love to eat the tops. If you’re the kind of person who prefers the thick, cakey top of a muffin, then you’ll love these silicone muffin pans that bake only the top!
This jumbo six-cup muffin top pan is BPA-free and made from 100 percent food grade silicone. The surface is non-stick with no chemical coating and flexible, so you don’t have to use any butter or grease. The muffin tops will release with ease.
Temperature resistant between -104 degrees Fahrenheit and 446 degrees Fahrenheit, the pan has no taste or odor and is safe to use in the oven, microwave, dishwasher and freezer. Highly flexible in feel, it is recommended that the muffin pan be placed onto a solid surface, like a tin baking sheet, before filling and while baking.
Because the cavities in this pan are four inches wide and a half an inch thick, it is not only ideal to make muffin tops, but perfect for baking hamburger buns, tarts, quiche or gelatin.
Pros:
- Large-size six cup muffin top pan
- 100 percent food grade silicone
- No chemical coating, BPA-free
- Easy food release with no pre-greasing
Cons:
- Only makes muffin tops
- Needs to be put on a flat baking sheet to fill and bake
Top Pick Best for Mini Muffins: KPKitchen Silicone Muffin Pan Mini 24 Cups
Small but powerful, mini muffins are the tiny bites that bring joy to your mouth without a heavy calorie load – or any feelings of guilt at eating even two. When you want to indulge, but not too much, or if you’re baking up a mess of muffin for kids, this silicone 24-cup mini muffin pan is the ideal solution to make everyone happy.
Made from food grade silicone, each cup in this affordable mini muffin pan has a 0.6-ounce capacity, with a top diameter of 1.8 inches and a depth of 0.7 inches, for the perfectly sized bite.
The non-stick surface produces easy food release; the muffins will pop out with the press of a finger. Safe to use in the oven up to 446 degrees Fahrenheit, in the freezer to a low of -104 degrees Fahrenheit, you can even bake your muffins in the microwave.
Great for making muffins, eggs bites, mini brownies and more, you can bake ahead, store in a freezer bag and pop them into the freezer to be enjoyed anytime the craving hits. Just make sure you put the muffin pan onto a solid metal baking sheet prior to filling and baking.
Pros:
- 24 mini muffins
- Food grade silicone
- Easy food release
- Oven, microwave, dishwasher and freezer safe
Cons:
- Mini size may be too small for some needs
Things to look out for:
Consider these factors when choosing a silicone muffin tin:
Size: Silicone muffin tins come in a variety of sizes to meet all needs. You can find pans that are square, rectangular, circular and even ones spread in a lateral line. They can hold two, four, six, 12 or 24 muffins. Which one you choose will depend on the size of your oven and how many muffins you wish to bake at the same time.
Capacity: Aside from the size, there is the capacity of the pan, as in how large the muffin cavity is. From mini, regular, large, jumbo and even just baking a muffin top, you can find a pan to suit all of your muffin recipes – and appetites. Because silicone muffin tins are so affordable, you don’t have to pick and choose between one or two sizes. You can have a few to experiment with and use as needed, but note that many mini-sized muffin tins have very small cavities that hold a very small amount of batter that may not be large enough for your needs.
Strength and flexibility: The great thing about a silicone muffin pan is how light and flexible it is. But with that comes a level of instability and floppiness. Many people are upset when they try to fill a silicone muffin tin on the counter and the heavy batter causes the cavity to sag under the weight of the batter. As well, carrying a filled silicone muffin tin from the counter to the oven can be an exercise in caution, as the weight of the filling can cause the whole pan to sag, and batter to spill out. These small details are not a problem, since the solution is to put the empty silicone muffin tin onto a baking sheet before filling the muffin cavities, and then keeping the pan on the cookie sheet while it bakes in the oven.
Alternatively, if you don’t want to use a cookie sheet, look for silicone muffin tins that are stabilized by a piece of metal either running around the perimeter, or in between the muffin cups. These inserts reduce the amount of floppiness, while still retaining the flexible nature of silicone, offering up the best of both worlds. Many of them can even be used in the microwave. However, silicone muffin tins with metal inserts are often more expensive than those without.