Stovetop Temperature Guide (With Tables)

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Almost all stovetops will have knobs, dials, or buttons that indicate the heat level that you can set the stove to, but these are not always the same, so it can be confusing trying to understand the heat settings on various stovetops.

It is so important to cook food at the right temperature on the stovetop, and cooking a recipe at the wrong heat can lead to the meal being burned, undercooked, or overcooked, which is obviously something you don’t want.

How can you determine the various stovetop temperatures?

Stovetops work on a heat scale, usually with 1 being the lowest heat setting, and the highest number being the highest heat setting. If the stovetop does not show numbers, there might be an indication of the temperature with the size of a flame shown, a small flame is low and a bigger flame is high heat.

However, even knowing this is not enough to determine the temperature, so read on to find a complete stovetop temperature guide, with all the information you might need to get the best results from your stovetop!

Stovetop Temperature Ranges

A common way to control heat on a stovetop is through numbers on a dial or knob, usually ranging from 1 to 10. Obviously, this isn’t the same for all stovetop controls, but it is a good scale to work off of.

When using the number on the stovetop, from 1 to 10, to set a temperature, it would take around 5 to 8 minutes for your pan to reach this temperature once placed over the heat, so that is the temperature you should expect to reach after some time, not immediately.

It is important to note that the preheating time, and even the temperatures, will differ between various stovetop types and brands, and the type of pot or pan you use will play a factor in what the eventual temperature is too.

However, here is a general guide to various stovetop temperatures, which should be roughly correct for more types of stovetops:

Stovetop Setting	Temperature
1	275°F
2	300°F
3	325°F
4	350°F
5	375°F
6	400°F
7	425°F
8	450°F
9	475°F
10	500°F

Some stovetops might even offer temperature notches halfway between these settings, which gives you even more control of the temperature range you get to use.

Some stovetops might also come with only 5 heat settings, which does not mean the stove does not get as hot, but rather there is a bigger temperature increase between each number, and you have slightly less control over the temperature setting.

The best way to determine the temperature range of your stovetop is to read the instruction manual if possible!

Low, Medium, and High Heat Settings

Looking at the more practical side of temperature settings on a stovetop, you will notice that recipes do not call for you to set the stovetop onto settings 4, 6, 8, or whatever number, because there is variance between stovetops.

Instead, recipes will tell you to put the stovetop on low, medium, or high heat. This might seem simple enough at first, but how do you actually set your stovetop to these different levels?

Some stovetops might very well have low, medium, or high heat settings, but if your stovetop does not, here is a guide to follow on how to set your stovetop to the right temperature:

Low Heat

Low heat on a stovetop usually means that the dial needs to be set between 1 and 3. Most of the time, however, the stovetop would need to be on 2 or 3, as 1 might be too low for most cooking methods.

Anything higher than 3 might be too hot for a low heat setting, and it might not cook your food the way it was meant to be cooked.

If your stovetop has heat dials up to 5, then 1 or 2 would be considered low heat.

Medium Heat

Medium heat is probably the most common cooking level for most recipes. You can do so much over medium heat, whether cooking vegetables, simmering a stew, or browning meat.

Most often, medium heat means either 4 or 5 on the heat dial. However, you do need to be careful when setting the stove to medium heat, as there can be a very fine line between medium heat and high heat, and your food might burn easily.

If you know that your stovetop runs hot, then rather set it to 4 for medium heat. If it runs lower, then 5 might be perfect. Just keep a check on the food as it cooks to make sure the setting is not too high.

If your stovetop only has heat settings up to 5, and not 10, then 3 would be considered medium heat.

Medium-High Heat

Before we move on to high heat, it is definitely worth covering medium-high heat, which is a temperature setting you would come across more often than high heat.

Medium-high heat is great for sauteing, frying, and searing meat and vegetables. You likely won’t be cooking the food on medium-high only, as it is usually used to color and sear food before the food is cooked in the oven or with other ingredients.

To turn your stovetop on medium-high heat when there are 10 heat options, you would need to set it at either 6 or 7. These are higher than medium, but not so high that your food will burn.

You do need to keep a watch on the food to make sure that the temperature is not too high, but also that it is high enough to have the desired effect on your food.

If the stovetop you are using goes up to 5, then 3 or 4 would be ideal for medium-high.

High Heat

There is a difference between cooking on high heat, and cooking on the highest heat on your stovetop and then burning your food.

High heat is not used very often in cooking, as it can very quickly lead to overcooked or burned food. Controlled properly, you can give your food a beautiful sear or crispy exterior with high heat.

For most stovetops, high heat can be achieved at setting 8, and for stovetops that only read 5, then 4 or 5 would be a good setting. You can set the temperature onto dial 10 for high heat, but it is better to start off at 8 and work your way up from there if needed, just so that it isn’t too hot to start off with.

The Recommended Stovetop Temperatures for Various Methods

You won’t always be following a recipe when cooking, but you still might need to know the temperature to cook your food on to ensure it turns out perfectly.

There are many different cooking methods to use on the stovetop, such as simmering, frying, sauteing, searing, and more. These are all done at different temperature levels.

Take a look at the table below for the different cooking methods, and the temperature levels they should be done at:

Cooking Heat	Stovetop Setting	Temperature	Cooking Method
Low	1	275°F	Simmering
Medium-Low	2	300°F	Rendering, Sweating.
Medium-Low to Medium	3	325°F	Scrambling Eggs
Medium	4	350°F	Sauteing, Pan-Roasting
Medium	5	375°F	Shallow-Frying, Browning
Medium-High	6	400°F	Browning, Roasting
Medium-High to High	7	425°F	Searing, Stir-Frying, Pan-Frying
High	8-10	450°F-500°F	Charring, Searing, Blistering

Does the Temperature Change With the Pan You Are Using?

Another important factor to consider when cooking food on the stovetop, other than the temperature setting, is the pan or pot you are using.

The material that the pan or pot is made with will play a factor in the temperature that your food is cooked at, as the various materials conduct and retain heat differently.

There is not one clear answer as to what pan or pot you should use to cook, as various materials suit different foods, and you might have a preference over one rather than the other.

To help you choose which pan would be best to use on your stovetop to achieve the right temperature needed, here is a little more on the different options you have:

Carbon Steel

Carbon steel has great heat retention, which means that it holds onto heat really well, but the heat distribution is not as great, which means food might end up cooking at an uneven rate. However, it is lightweight and non-stick, which are big bonuses.

Aluminum

Aluminum has ideal heat retention, and it distributes heat well. It holds onto a temperature evenly for cooking. It is also lightweight, but this means that it is prone to warping, and it is not long-lasting.

Stainless Steel

Stainless steel is a great option, as it has both great heat retention and heat distribution, and it is probably the best material to use to achieve a true, consistent heat on the stovetop.

There are some cons to stainless steel though, with it not being as non-stick as other options.

Cast Iron

Cast iron has one of the best heat retention capabilities, but this can work to its disadvantage, as it means that the pot or pan will keep heating up past the temperature point, which could lead to overheating or burning your food.

If kept at a lower, controlled temperature, cast iron is a reliable material to use that will give consistent heat.

Does the Type of Stovetop Affect the Temperature?

There are various types of stovetops, with the most popular being gas, electric, and induction. All of these work using various heating elements, which means that the temperature settings can be affected.

It can be a little more difficult to control the temperature on a gas stove, as you are working with a flame, instead of precise heating elements like you would be with an electric stove.

However, with any type of stovetop you are using, you need to follow the temperature dial settings, whether they range from 1 to 10, 1 to 5, or are shown through the size of the flame printed onto the controls.

Low, medium, or high on an electric stovetop should be the same on a gas stovetop or an induction stove, but you will just need to understand the temperature controls of the stovetop you are using to achieve these different temperature ranges.

What Oil to Use at Different Temperatures?

One thing that many people don’t consider when looking at various temperature settings on the stovetop is the oil that is suited to be used at a certain temperature.

There are many different oils that you can choose from, but all of these have different smoke points. The smoke point of an oil is where the oil will be at too high of a temperature and will begin to smoke and even burn.

Some oils can handle much higher temperatures than others, so you cannot just use any oil when cooking.

All the cooking oils can be used to cook at low heat, but not all can be used at high heat. If you are cooking on medium, medium-high, or high heat, then it would be best to use an oil with a high smoke point, such as avocado, canola, sunflower, peanut, or sesame oil.

These all have smoke points over 400 degrees Fahrenheit, and will not burn or smoke when used for frying or sauteing at a high heat.

Ensuring that you use the right oil not only stops your kitchen from smelling like burned oil and smoke, but it ensures your food tastes and turns out just how it was meant to.

Does Stovetop Temperature Really Matter?

You might not be thinking in exact degrees when cooking on the stovetop, but cooking your food at the right temperature is so important.

You might have to do some trial and error before figuring out the different heat settings on your stovetop, but it is really worth the effort. Think about cooking different foods at the wrong temperature, and how that could affect how they turn out.

Cooking scrambled eggs at high heat will give you hard, dry, and chewy eggs, and frying a steak at low heat will give you a colorless, chewy, dull piece of meat that would not be appetizing at all.

Simmering and boiling foods on the stovetop also require quite specific temperature ranges, so you do need to pay attention to the temperature range on your stovetop!