Can you use a wok on a glass top stove?

Are you looking into buying a wok to cook with in your kitchen? If you love to stir fry, it’s the way to go!

Typically, people use woks with gas stoves, since they are quite powerful. But what if you don’t have a gas stove? Can you use a wok on a glass top stove?

Yes, use a flat bottomed wok on a glass top stove. Flat bottomed woks do not require a wok ring so they heat quickly and evenly on your glass stove top.

Unlike a flat bottomed wok, a round bottomed wok sits on a wok ring. On glass and electric stoves, the wok doesn’t make direct contact with the heating element which means it won’t heat properly. Also, if the ring moves around at all, it can scratch your glass stovetop.

Don’t worry about heat damage. Quality glass top stoves are designed to handle extreme heat. But be careful to not drop the wok on the stovetop or it could break it. Even a drop from a couple of inches or a hit from the handle can damage your glass stovetop.

As far as material goes, cast iron is your best bet. Cast iron is a lot heavier than a carbon steel wok. But it keeps heat in and heats more evenly than other materials. Also, a cast iron wok won’t move around as much as other woks so it will be easier to avoid damage to your glass stovetop.

Carbon steel and stainless steel are also good options. Carbon steel is more durable than stainless steel, but also more prone to rust. Carbon steel is much lighter and conducts heat faster than cast iron.

On the other hand, since carbon steel is so light, you’ll have to be careful about scratching your glass stovetop. Avoid dragging your wok across the stovetop to keep it scratch-free.

It’s important that the bottom of your wok doesn’t get warped. If the material warps, it will move around on your glass stovetop which may cause damage over time. Warping occurs when you heat or cool the wok too quickly.

Some glass stovetops are more powerful than others. Before cooking with a wok, use your glass stovetop for a while. Determine if it heats up quickly, slowly, or somewhere in between.

If it heats up quickly, don’t turn the heat to the max all the time. Otherwise, your wok may warp. Or if it heats up slowly, make sure to preheat your wok for around 10 minutes before frying.

What kind of wok can I use on a glass top stove?

A flat bottomed cast iron wok works best to prevent scratching your glass stovetop since it’s quite heavy. Cast iron retains heat well too. Don’t use a round bottomed wok because the wok ring may scratch the stovetop.

Carbon steel and stainless steel are also good options. Carbon steel is more durable than stainless steel, but also more prone to rust. Carbon steel is much lighter and conducts heat faster than cast iron. Be careful about dragging your carbon steel wok across the stovetop, as it’s quite lightweight.

If you want to learn more about how to cook with a wok, here are nine practical tips to get you started.

How to Cook with a Wok - 8 Quick Tips

Set up at least two burners of varying heat.

The burners on an electric glass top stove take a while to heat up and cool down. So if you need to change the temperature, consider setting up two different burners. You could set one on low and one on high, for example. When you’re done stir-frying, swap it from the high burner to the low burner. If you don’t use two burners, your food could burn.

Let the wok preheat for about 10 minutes.

Compared to gas stoves, electric glass top stoves take a while to heat up. So preheating your wok is important to cook at the right temperature.

Add oil after preheating your wok.

Add oil to the wok and move it around to coat the entire pan. After just a couple of minutes, you should start to see ripples in your oil. This means you’re ready to fry. You can also use a thermometer to test the temperature.

Keep your food moving in the pan constantly to prevent burning.

While cooking, keep in mind that flat bottomed woks have a wider base than round-bottomed woks. That base gets really hot which means it’s easy to burn your food.

Stir-frying requires careful supervision so don’t leave your food unattended.

Don’t be afraid to crank up the heat for stir-frying with a wok.

When cooking with a wok, high heat is your friend. Be careful about turning it up to the max, though. For some glass top stoves, that’ll be necessary. But every stove is different.

If you have enough heat, you can even deep fry in a wok.

Make sure you’ve got a high-quality range hood over your stove before you get too carried away. Learn about why you need a vent hood over your electric stove in this article.

Avoid warping your wok.

Be careful when turning up the heat. Woks of any material – stainless steel, carbon steel, ceramic, etc. – can warp if they are heated up too quickly. You can also warp your pan if you put it under cold water while it’s hot. It’s best to let your wok cool on the stove before cleaning it or putting it into the dishwasher.

You might think that warping is not a big deal. Unfortunately, it can make cooking incredibly difficult. Woks have a small flat bottom and wide sloped edges to fit a lot of your delicious stir fry. The bottom of the pan is the hottest and that’s where most of your frying happens. Heat dissipates as you move up the sloped edges.

If a pan is warped, it’ll move your food to the sides which aren’t nearly as hot. This makes it difficult to cook food evenly! Not to mention if it’s too warped, it won’t stand still on your stovetop! An unstable wok can cause damage to a fragile glass stove top.

It’s true that on a flat bottomed wok, the bottom of the pan is much wider. So a little warping won’t be the end of the world.

Still, since you’ll be cooking at high heat, it’s important to be aware of warping at all times.

Don't put too much food in your wok.

Woks are designed to hold a lot of food. Their sloped round edges make it easy to put a little too much in the wok. Compared to a frying pan, you have much more space!

If you overcrowd your wok, food won’t cook evenly. The ingredients won’t get very hot and they will steam in the pan. The ingredients on the bottom will eventually burn while the rest of your food gets soggy. That’s not what you want when you’re frying!

Move your wok off the heat immediately after you’re done frying.

When stir-frying, it’s important to watch your food closely. Since the pan gets so hot, especially the bottom, you can burn your food if you’re not careful. Once you get the char you want, move your wok from the heat and it will cool down quickly.

That wraps up our article ‘Can you use a wok on a glass top stove?’ You can! Just be careful. Glass stovetops are prone to scratching.

If you found this article helpful, check out our other articles on woks below.