A saucepan is deep with tall sides, made for boiling or simmering liquids; a skillet is shallow and heavy, made for frying. If you are making soup, reach for the saucepan; if you are frying onions, reach for the skillet.
The core difference
A saucepan is deep for boiling and simmering, while a skillet is a shallow, heavy pan for frying.
- saucepan — a deep cooking pot with a long handle, used on a stovetop for boiling or simmering food: Fill a saucepan with water and bring it to a boil.
- skillet — a heavy frying pan, often used for stovetop or open-fire cooking: She fried the onions in a cast-iron skillet.
How to tell them apart
Depth and purpose are the giveaways. A saucepan has tall, straight sides that keep liquid in for boiling or simmering, whether it is soup, pasta water or a sauce, which is exactly what its name describes. A skillet is shallow with sloped or low sides, built for frying food quickly over direct heat, and is often made of heavy cast iron.
The names reflect that split in purpose: "saucepan" is a plain combination of "sauce" and "pan", while "skillet" comes via Old French from a Latin word for a small dish or tray, a nod to its use as a shallow cooking vessel.
