Silicone Pancake Molds Are Not the Best Option, Experts Say

A few years ago, I threw out all of my nylon cooking utensils and replaced them with silicone. Silicone is easier to clean, but I also mistakenly assumed it was a material that’s free of controversy. It felt like winning the cooking jackpot. 

But sometimes science catches up to products and makes you rethink your choices.

Nonstick silicone pancake molds are popular. But silicone-based food-contact products are not necessarily as safe as previously believed, says CR senior scientist Michael Hansen. “With silicone ‘nonstick’ molds, it’s normally considered that silicone-based cookware is safe, and the FDA even approved use of silicone dioxide as a food additive in the late 1970s.” 

That said, Hansen says many of these silicone-based molds and other cookware products are made with or contaminated with a number of other chemicals, including ones known to be carcinogens, due to impurities in raw materials. The Danish Ministry of Environment put out a report in 2005 noting that some siloxanes (the chemical building blocks for silicone products) may impair fertility and be potentially carcinogenic. A 2021 study found that siloxanes are also released during baking.

The concern isn’t just about using silicone bakeware, it’s about repeated use of it, Hansen says. As recently as December 2022, the European Consumer Organisation (BEUC) published a report on 44 different baking mold products sold in the EU and found that 23 percent of the 44 sampled products released chemical(s) in high concentration or in increasing amounts over time, which Hansen says suggests that the products aren’t suitable for repeated use.

Bottom line: Silicone-based food-contact products are not necessarily as safe as previously believed—and there’s a good chance that the heart-shaped pancake mold you’re eyeing is made from silicone.

With silicone cookware deemed suspicious, can you maintain some semblance of pancake pride by choosing stainless steel pancake molds instead? The answer depends on whether your stainless steel mold is coated or not. 

If stainless steel molds are coated with Teflon, Hansen says this raises risks that long-lasting chemicals per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, commonly known as PFAS, can be released and potentially lead to harmful health effects in humans and animals, such as decreased fertility and increased risks of some cancers. In 2022, CR shed light on how Teflon-coated pans carry risks and revealed that when heated to high temperatures, Teflon-coated molds and baking materials can give off gas compounds that are deadly to small birds. In this same test, CR uncovered that even nonstick frying pans that claim to be “PFOA-free” can contain PFAS that include PFOA chemicals that have been linked to health risks in humans. Potential health issues linked to these chemicals can include thyroid disease, kidney and testicular cancers, high cholesterol levels, and more.

At this point you may be thinking: I don’t want to risk anyone’s health OR kill small birds—I just want to make pretty pancakes! We hear you, and that’s why we’re happy to report the good news: Use all of the pancake and egg molds your symmetry-loving heart desires—just shop for molds that are made from uncoated stainless steel to avoid potential risks. “Stainless steel is the best option,” says James E. Rogers, PhD, CR’s director of food safety research and testing. “However, I also know that it is more difficult to keep them clean and more difficult to prevent the foods from sticking.” Rogers says he accepts that stainless steel won’t look pretty after a while, that using oil or butter to coat can help with sticking, and oven cleaner, steel wool, and good old-fashioned elbow grease can help keep them clean. But keep in mind: Any metal utensil (including a pancake mold) can also scrape a nonstick pan and release toxic chemicals into your food.

Perhaps you don’t want to spend money on another kitchen tool that takes up space. So you fall down the TikTok rabbit hole searching for pancake hacks and find people going to creative lengths to get pancake shapes without molds. One dedicated TikToker formed a heart from aluminum foil. Another TikTok video shows a pancake enthusiast finding another use for Mason jar lids—as round pancake molds.

No matter how clean your Mason jar lid, Rogers cautions against this hack. “I would be wary of using the lids,” Rogers says. “I doubt if the rings are made of something certified food-safe, and they may leach chemicals into the food when heated.” As for the aluminum foil pancake heart hack, Rogers says he is “indifferent” to the material. “Foil is used to store food and cover dishes, etc., so it should be good for this too,” Rogers says after reviewing the video. “It looked like a lot of work to get it just right.”

I make pancakes at least once or twice a week for my kids, plus I appreciate aesthetically appealing food, so I decided to give the Norpro Stainless Steel Round Egg/Pancake Rings a try and report back to the pancake curious. The rings come in a pack of two and are designed from uncoated stainless steel, so I felt safe using them. They feature a convenient handle that you lift up from the ring when you’re ready to use it, with a rounded knob at the end that doesn’t get hot and is perfect for pulling the ring up and off the pan without burning your fingers on hot metal.

After preparing your batter, grease your pan (I usually reach for butter). Space the rings out on the hot pan and spray each ring with cooking spray. Add a ladle of batter to the inside of each ring. If some batter slips outside the ring, no worries: You can just let it cook and remove it later, and it won’t affect your perfectly round pancake shape. Knowing when to flip your pancake is always a mystery, but CR’s registered dietitian Amy Keating says she generally flips when the bottom surface is lightly browned and the batter on the top surface starts to bubble. Remove the ring before flipping, allow the other side of your pancake to cook, and you’ve got yourself one gorgeous pancake. 

The verdict: My round pancakes were much prettier than their usual blob-like shape. But no one in my house noticed anything different about how their breakfast looked. How it tasted was another story. “They are fluffier,” my 9-year-old son remarked. Could it be that because the batter is more contained and denser, they are also tastier? 

The molds were fun to use, but not the most efficient way of cooking pancakes, in my experience. I am usually able to cook three hideous-looking pancakes in the same pan I used, but I could fit only two pancakes when using the rings. Also, learn from my mistake: On day two of trying out my pancake molds, I sprayed the molds once with cooking spray at the start of my cooking session but forgot to spray them before each subsequent addition of batter. The molds stuck to the batter while cooking, affecting their shape, and they looked like they’d lost a war against pancake batter when all was said and done. As long as you spray the molds often enough, I do think they were easier to flip, though—the batter didn’t seep out at all. And cleaning them was a cinch: Caked-on batter came right off with a little soap and water.