Ninja ZEROSTICK Classic 20cm Frying Pan

The little black pan that has earned its place in Vanilla

Campervan cooking equipment presents me with a familiar problem: I want something sturdy enough to cook proper food, but I don’t want to fill every cupboard in Vanilla with pots and pans.

That is where my Ninja ZEROSTICK Classic 20cm Frying Pan, model CW50020UK, comes in. It isn’t enormous, complicated or particularly glamorous—but it is exactly the sort of dependable bit of kit that earns its place in a campervan.

It is compact, lightweight, genuinely useful and suitable for both gas and induction. In other words, it covers almost every way I’m likely to cook while I’m away.

The important specifications

• Diameter: 20cm

• Weight: approximately 500g

• Overall dimensions: approximately 6.7 × 21 × 40.3cm

• Material: aluminium

• Hob compatibility: gas, electric, ceramic and induction

• Recommended induction ring: approximately 13cm

• Oven safe: up to 180°C

• Dishwasher safe: yes

• Metal-utensil safe: yes

• Guarantee: 10 years, including the ZEROSTICK coating, when registered and used according to Ninja’s instructions

The full length is worth remembering because the pan itself is compact, but the fixed handle makes the entire thing about 40cm long. It still fits comfortably into Vanilla, but the handle is the part that dictates where it can be stored. Product details are listed by Amazon, while Robert Dyas confirms the dimensions and guarantee.

Why 20cm works for me

A 20cm frying pan might initially sound a little small, but I normally cook for one in the campervan. That changes the calculation completely.

It is large enough for:

• Two fried eggs

• A two or three-egg omelette

• A burger

• A decent steak

• Sausages

• Bacon cooked in batches

• Fried onions

• A small pancake

• Reheating a portion of curry or chilli

What it will not do is accommodate an entire café-sized full English breakfast at once. Bacon, eggs, sausages, mushrooms, tomatoes and fried bread would have to take turns like aircraft waiting to land at Heathrow.

For my normal campervan meals, however, 20cm is about right. A larger 28cm or 30cm pan would occupy more cupboard space, require a larger heat source and be unnecessary for most meals I cook.

Using it on my induction hob

One of its biggest advantages is that it works on induction.

My single Tefal induction hob is an efficient and convenient way to cook inside Vanilla, particularly when the weather is poor and I don’t fancy standing outside trying to stop the wind from stealing all the heat.

The Ninja pan is designed to work with an induction ring of around 13cm, so it should match a compact portable induction hob nicely. Because the aluminium body and induction base heat relatively quickly, I don’t need to attack everything on maximum power.

A medium setting is normally enough. That gives me better temperature control, is kinder to the non-stick coating and avoids wasting Jackery power simply to make the pan hot as quickly as humanly possible.

Using it on the CADAC

The same pan can also be used on a gas stove, including the CADAC 2 Cook 2 Pro QR I have been looking at.

This gives me a very flexible campervan cooking arrangement:

• Induction inside Vanilla when I have sufficient electrical power

• CADAC outside when I want to conserve the Jackery

• Gas cooking at festivals and campsites when solar conditions are poor

• Induction cooking when wind makes outside gas cooking less attractive

The 20cm size should sit securely on the CADAC’s pan support without feeling ridiculously oversized. At around half a kilogram, it also has enough substance not to feel like one of those featherweight camping pans that threatens to leave the site whenever there is a stiff breeze.

I would still position the handle carefully. It should be turned away from the edge and kept clear of the second burner, particularly if I have another pan or kettle beside it.

Breakfast in Vanilla

This pan is particularly well suited to my normal campervan breakfast.

I can cook a few rashers of bacon first, remove them and keep them warm, then fry two eggs in the same pan. The retained bacon flavour improves the eggs, and I only have one pan to wash afterwards.

For a bacon and egg roll, it is virtually the perfect size.

An omelette is another easy option. A two or three-egg omelette fits nicely, and the ZEROSTICK surface should make folding and serving it straightforward. Add a bit of cheese, ham or leftover cooked sausage and I have a proper breakfast without turning Vanilla’s kitchen into the catering department of a cross-Channel ferry.

Evening meals

The Ninja is equally useful later in the day.

A burger with fried onions is easy, although I would cook the burger first and do the onions afterwards. A steak also fits, provided I am not trying to cook something the size of a roofing tile.

It can also handle a small chicken breast, pork chop or a portion of sliced vegetables. For something like a curry, I could fry the meat and onions in the pan before adding sauce, although the shallow sides mean I would keep the quantity sensible.

That is the key to this pan: it is extremely capable within its limits. It is a one-person frying pan, not a family wok.

The ZEROSTICK coating

The main attraction is Ninja’s ZEROSTICK non-stick surface. Ninja describes it as scratch-resistant, dishwasher safe and suitable for metal utensils.

That sounds reassuring, but I still intend to treat it properly.

Even if a manufacturer says a pan is metal-utensil safe, I see little advantage in repeatedly scraping it with a metal spatula. A silicone, nylon or wooden utensil costs very little and gives the surface an easier life.

My sensible care routine is:

1. Use low or medium heat for most cooking.

2. Avoid leaving the empty pan over a high flame.

3. Use silicone or wooden utensils whenever possible.

4. Allow the pan to cool before washing it.

5. Avoid stacking rough cookware directly inside it.

6. Put a cloth or pan protector over the surface during transport.

It might survive harsher treatment, but looking after equipment has always been cheaper than replacing it.

Cleaning it in a campervan

Although it is dishwasher safe, that feature is largely academic when I’m parked at a campsite. Unless Ninja has secretly developed a dishwasher that fits under Vanilla’s passenger seat, I will be cleaning it by hand.

Fortunately, a good non-stick pan should need little more than warm water, washing-up liquid and a soft sponge. Because the pan is only 20cm across, it is manageable in a campervan sink and doesn’t require half the onboard water supply to clean it.

That is a bigger advantage than it might sound. Large domestic pans can be a nuisance in a compact sink, especially when I am trying not to splash water over the worktop, floor and half the van.

What I like

The strongest points are:

• It works on both induction and gas.

• It is sturdy without being unnecessarily heavy.

• The 20cm size suits cooking for one.

• It heats quickly.

• The non-stick surface makes cooking and cleaning easier.

• It fits comfortably into a campervan setup.

• It is suitable for everyday meals, not just basic camping food.

• The guarantee is unusually generous when the pan is registered and cared for correctly.

Most importantly, it means I don’t need separate frying pans for the induction hob and the CADAC.

What could be better

No product is perfect.

The fixed handle makes the pan much longer than its 20cm cooking surface suggests. A detachable or folding handle would make it even easier to store in a campervan.

The cooking area is also too small for a complete cooked breakfast in one go. Anyone regularly cooking for two people would be better served by a 24cm or 26cm version.

Finally, although it is oven safe to 180°C, that feature is not particularly important to me in Vanilla. It is nice to have, but gas and induction compatibility are far more useful.

My ideal cooking scenarios

A quick festival breakfast

Bacon followed by two fried eggs, served in a roll with brown sauce. One pan, minimal washing-up and no need to power up half the kitchen.

A wet evening inside Vanilla

Induction hob on, burger in the Ninja pan and onions cooked afterwards. Warm, dry and no need to stand outside underneath an umbrella.

Conserving Jackery power

Put the pan on the CADAC and use gas instead. Its manageable size means it heats quickly without needing a huge flame.

A simple campsite steak

Steak in the pan, rested on a plate, followed by onions or vegetables in the same cooking juices. Proper food without carrying a full domestic cookware collection.

The Super Nix verdict

The Ninja ZEROSTICK Classic 20cm Frying Pan is not the most exciting item in Vanilla, but it might be one of the most practical.

It is the right size for one person, works with both my induction hob and a gas stove, weighs only around half a kilogram and is easy to clean in a small campervan sink. It can handle breakfast, burgers, steaks, eggs, omelettes and plenty of other everyday meals.

A larger pan would be useful if I regularly cooked for two, but for my normal solo trips, the 20cm Ninja covers almost everything I need without wasting cupboard space.

SUPER NIX RATING: 9/10

Compact, sturdy, versatile and campervan-friendly. I already own it, it suits Vanilla perfectly, and I certainly don’t need to buy another frying pan just for the CADAC.

Sometimes the best new piece of camping equipment is the perfectly good piece of equipment you already have.