To Find the Best Cast Iron Skillets, I Seared Steaks, Baked Cornbread, and Fried Dozens of Eggs

Cast iron skillets are a polarizing piece of kitchen gear: Chefs and foodies geek out over them, while some home cooks fear them. (“The maintenance!”) As a former restaurant cook and longtime home cook, I think both positions are a little extreme. 

Cast iron skillets are some of the simplest pieces of kitchen equipment. They’re pans cast out of an alloy of iron, carbon, and silicon that are sanded and sometimes pre-seasoned. Sure, like most gear, the design and price tag vary depending on the manufacturer but, at their core, cast iron skillets are just a big honkin’ piece of metal. No cladding, no nonstick coating—just a solid pan that retains heat really well. They’re also super versatile, equally excellent at searing (whether it’s a T-bone steak or a slab of cauliflower), baking up a mean cornbread with crunchy, caramelized edges, or shallow frying a batch of buttermilk-brined chicken. Because they’re tough as nails, you can even throw them on the grill or over a fire pit. I've used cast iron for years and have yet to find a crack or sign of wear—they're that solid.

Options abound: pricey and cheap, smooth-surfaced or pebbled, big and small. But much of what makes a great cast iron skillet boils down to a cook’s preferences. To find the best ones for cookware geeks and the cast iron-trepidatious alike, I tested 12 cast iron skillets for two weeks, and have been cooking with the winners ever since.

The Winners, at a Glance

The Best Cast Iron Skillet

Lodge 10.25 Inch Cast Iron Pre-Seasoned Skillet

$35 $20 at Amazon $20 at Walmart $25 at Target

You just can’t beat this cast iron skillet that’s been a longtime Serious Eats favorite. It sears superbly and has hovered around $25 to $30 for time immemorial. If you’re new to cast iron, this no-frills, durable skillet is a solid choice to start with. It's the one I recommend to anyone who asks.

The Best Lightweight Cast Iron Skillet

Lancaster No. 8 Cast Iron Skillet

$175 at Amazon View on Lancastercastiron.com

The 10-inch Lancaster weighs a little over four pounds, so it was easy my wrists and heated up fast. It seared steak superbly, turned out evenly golden cornbread, and produced perfect pan-fried eggs that slid right off the surface. This is a gorgeous piece of metal that’ll impress seasoned (heh) cast iron skillet users and new-to-the-pan cooks alike. 

Another Great Lightweight Cast Iron Skillet

Field Company No. 8 Cast Iron Skillet

$159 at Amazon $165 at Home Depot View on Fieldcompany.com

An ode to simplicity, this dark gray skillet is elegant and lightweight but still sturdy. It doesn’t have pour spouts, but the flared sides helped funnel out liquids neatly.

The Best Budget Cast Iron Skillet

Victoria Cast Iron Skillet - 10” Diameter

$27 at Amazon

Calling this budget doesn’t seem super fair, since it’s only a few bucks less than the Lodge, but hey, it is a steal. The curved handle made it easy to move and the surface heated up steadily and quickly.

A Great Enameled Cast Iron Skillet

Le Creuset Signature Enameled Cast Iron Skillet

$220 $195 at Amazon $175 at Williams Sonoma $220 at Sur La Table

If you want the benefits of cast iron without the maintenance, an enameled cast iron skillet is a good option. The enamel makes the skillet more nonstick than uncoated cast iron (and it doesn’t need to be seasoned), but it still has good heat retention. In our test of enameled cast iron skillets, this spacious offering from Le Creuset emerged as a winner for its excellent searing and maneuverability.

The Tests

Throughout testing, I used our winning enameled cast iron skillet from Le Creuset as a control. 

• Heat Conduction Test: I set the skillets over medium heat and immediately took the temperature of the cooking surface (left, center, right) with an infrared thermometer. Then, I set a timer in 30-second increments and took the temperature in the same manner, repeating this for four minutes in total. This showed me how quickly the pan heated up. 
• Fried Egg Test: I cooked two over-easy fried eggs on each skillet, using a metal spatula to flip them and noting if they stuck to the surface.
• Steak Test: I seared filet mignon steaks on each skillet and examined if they got a nice, golden crust. 
• Cornbread Test (Winners Only): I used the winners to bake cornbread, noting how evenly it cooked and if it released easily from the skillet after cooling slightly. I also melted butter in the skillets and poured it into the other ingredients, testing the skillets’ pour spouts (if they had them) and maneuverability. 

What We Learned

Which Size Cast Iron Skillet Was Best?

A 10- to 10.25-inch skillet will serve most people well—it’s the perfect size for frying up some eggs, flipping a few pancakes, or searing steaks. It’s what we reviewed in the past and what I stuck to in this update. That said, if you’re looking for a slightly larger skillet, all of our winners are available in bigger versions. A 12-inch skillet, for example, is large enough for a family of four or for more substantial servings.

For example, I like using my dual-handled Lodge cast iron skillet for cooking pancakes or shallow-frying; its spacious cooking surface lets me cook more in one go. The Yeti cast iron skillet I tested was the 12-inch model, so it was a little heavier and larger than most of the 10-inch ones, but I didn't count that against it.

What Can You Cook in a Cast Iron Skillet?

I often reach for my cast iron skillet when I'm shallow frying meatballs or chicken piccata, searing steak, or cooking up pancakes. Cast iron excels at these tasks partially because it has a high thermal mass—basically, it retains heat really, really well. This means you can add pancake batter, remove the cooked pancakes, and the pan will still be quite hot—immediately ready for the next batch. It also means that frying oil stays at a more consistent temperature, so it'll take less time to reheat again when you want to fry that next set of breaded chicken cutlets.

What you don't want to cook in an uncoated cast iron skillet is slow-cooked acidic dishes, like Sunday gravy. The acidity from the tomato sauce can actually eat away at your pan's beloved seasoning—not good! But, as Kenji explained in his myth-busting article, a wine pan sauce or quick-deglaze with vinegar won't harm your beloved skillet.

Smooth vs. Pebbled Pan Surfaces

One difference between old-school and new-school cast iron skillets is the color and texture of the pans. Newcomers like Lancaster and Smithey make brassy pans with smooth, shiny surfaces, while Lodge and Victoria sell black skillets with a grainy texture. 

The pan’s color reflects its seasoning: The darker it is, the more seasoned it is. (Seasoning is a buildup of polymerized fat, which creates a nonstick surface.) The brass-colored pans I tested (from Lancaster, Stargazer, and Smithey) were pre-seasoned, just perhaps not quite as much as the pitch-black Lodge and Victoria. That said, the Lancaster and Stargazer were still quite nonstick—even fried eggs released easily. 

“All new Lancaster Cast Iron pans come with two coats of seasoning and are ready to use right out of the box,” says Mark Longenecker, co-founder of Lancaster. “The seasoning on the pan is what gives the cast iron skillet the beautiful copper or bronze hue. Once you begin cooking on your skillet, you’ll notice the color begin to change as your seasoning builds. In time, the color will darken until you have a beautiful black patina.” As I've continued to use the Lancaster, I've noticed this exact phenomenon happening, with a dark patina forming in the center of the pan.

Pan texture is a matter of manufacturer preference. Lodge’s pans, for example, tend to be pebbly while newcomers like Lancaster and Field Company sell polished skillets inspired by cast iron pans of yore. 

“When we think of modern-day cast iron, we often think of heavy or rough pans that are challenging to clean and are relatively slow to heat up and cool down. This has not always been the case,” says Longenecker. “High-quality antique cast iron was once made to be lightweight and smooth. Smooth and lightweight cast iron is not only easier to handle, especially when filled with food, but it is also easier to clean, responds more quickly to heat, and will still have all the amazing benefits of cast iron, such as durability and heat retention. To achieve a smoother and lightweight feel we have incorporated several extra steps including our tumbling process.” 

Tumbling sounds just like its name: Skillets are placed in a rotating drum filled with pieces of metal and as the drum turns it smooths out lumps and bumps, resulting in a polished pan. 

So, today, you have brands like Lancaster that sell slightly less seasoned, smooth skillets and others, like Lodge, that sell heavily seasoned, rougher skillets; both styles released foods well in my tests, so it’s more a matter of personal preference (and price, since smoother skillets tend to be more expensive). 

A note: The more heavily seasoned pans from Lodge and Victoria were a whole lot smokier when I first used them; they released a potent smell (akin to a hot airport tarmac), but it dissipated after a few uses.

Cast Iron Was (and Is) Durable 

Cast iron skillets are sometimes misunderstood. I’ve known people who refuse to buy one because they think they’re too high-maintenance and yet others who have balked when they see me using a metal spatula to squish and scrape smashed burgers on my favorite dual-handled Lodge skillet. 

To all of them, I say: It’s going to be okay. 

Cast iron is an incredibly forgiving material; unlike PTFE-coated nonstick pans, you can safely use a hardy metal turner without ruining the surface. And while it’s true you need to thoroughly dry a cast iron pan after washing (yes, you can wash it with plain old dish soap and a sponge) and give it a swipe of oil, it’ll maybe add 30 seconds to your dish-cleaning routine. And if it does get a bit of rust, it’s not a big deal: Just grab some steel wool or a chainmail scrubber and give the rusted areas a hardy scouring with soap and warm water. Rinse, dry, and oil, and your skillet is good to go. This is exactly why I love cast iron, and why I push people to move beyond their (often unfounded) fears.

Heat Conduction Varied, But Didn’t Matter Much

While it’s true that cast iron isn’t a great conductor, I still wanted to get a feel for how quickly the skillets heated up. The answer: fast. Five saw an average temperature increase of 34% after one minute, while the Lodge Cast Iron Skillet -10.25 inch went up by a whopping 53.4%. The Smithey No.10 Skillet and the Smithey No.10 Chef Skillet were the slowest, increasing by 18% and 13.6%, respectively, in the first minute. That said, all of the pans did a good job searing steak and baking cornbread, so while interesting to observe, heat conduction wasn’t an indicator of performance.

Lightweight Options Were Easy on the Wrists

Cast iron skillets have the (rightful) reputation as the type of pan that’ll give you massive forearms. The heaviest in my lineup (from Smithey) weighed nearly six pounds, and a good number of other skillets were in the five-plus-pound range. 

However, some newcomers to the cast iron market have upended this convention, manufacturing lightweight options that are easy on the wrists but still durable. The Lancaster weighed the least at four pounds, 4.3 ounces, and was easy to maneuver in and out of the oven when baking cornbread. The Field Company skillet was a close second in terms of lightness, clocking in at 4.5 pounds, and was similarly untaxing to wield. And even though it doesn’t have pour spouts, because of its flared sides and weight it was easy to pour out melted butter.

The only negative about lighter pans was that they wobbled slightly when heated empty over my glass-top electric stove. That said, once I put food in them they evened out. 

All of the Cast Iron Skillets Performed Well

While stainless steel skillets have layers of cladding and nonstick pans add synthetic coatings to the mix, with cast iron, you get what you see: a durable pan made of an alloy of iron, carbon, and silicon—that’s it. Sure, the details—diameter, thickness, weight, finish, handle—might change, but the truth is, most cast iron skillets on the market will serve you well. 

Editorial director Daniel Gritzer found this when he tested cast iron skillets in 2019: “For all the nerding out one can do about cast iron, there's practically no difference in performance from one pan to the next. Yes, you read that right: For all their variations in weight, size, smoothness, and form, most cast iron pans perform about the same under the same conditions.”

After a myriad of tests, including examining heat conduction, frying eggs, searing steaks, and baking skillet cornbread, I can confirm this is still true: A cast iron skillet is a cast iron skillet. 

While in the past we only recommended inexpensive pans, I couldn’t discount the artistry of some of the pricier skillets. The Lancaster and Field Co were gorgeous, lightweight, and aced cooking everything I put in the pans. In the end, If you want to splurge on a gorgeous, smooth, brassy pan, go for it. But if you’d rather not drop a chunk of change, that’s totally fine, too—I found fantastic options for every budget. 

The Criteria: What to Look for in a Cast Iron Skillet

A cast iron skillet should be durable and easy to maneuver—you’re dealing with a ripping hot pan after all. All of my top picks were on the lighter side, which made lifting cornbread out of the oven less of a workout. Helper handles and pour spouts were optional features that, while helpful, weren’t essential. Surface texture is often an indicator of price (silky smooth pans tend to be more expensive) but it doesn’t really affect how the pans perform. All of the pans I tested were pre-seasoned and most were quite nonstick right out of the box—a boon if you’re new to cast iron.

Our Favorite Cast Iron Skillets

The Best Cast Iron Skillet

Lodge 10.25 Inch Cast Iron Pre-Seasoned Skillet

$35 $20 at Amazon $20 at Walmart $25 at Target

What we liked: This no-frills skillet from Lodge has been a longtime Serious Eats favorite—and for good reason. It’s affordable, durable, and nonstick out of the box. It beautifully seared steak, baked golden cornbread, and fried eggs slid right off the surface. 

What we didn’t like: It’s on the heavier side compared to other winners (though it wasn’t the heaviest skillet I tested). When I heated it the first couple of times it emitted a potent, asphalt-esque smell and quite a bit of smoke. The cornbread stuck a little bit when I turned the skillet over, but after letting it sit for a minute it fell out neatly. 

Key Specs

• Weight: 5 pounds, 7 ounces
• Thickness: 4 millimeters
• Bottom diameter: 9 inches
• Top diameter: 10.25 inches
• Handle length: 5 inches
• Helper handle: Yes
• Pre-seasoned: Yes
• Cleaning: Hand-wash, dry, and rub with high smoke point, neutral oil
• Induction-friendly: Yes

The Best Lightweight Cast Iron Skillet

Lancaster No. 8 Cast Iron Skillet

$175 at Amazon View on Lancastercastiron.com

What we liked: This beautiful skillet was a joy to use. It’s just over four pounds, which made it easy to maneuver and meant it heated up quickly. The slick surface was nonstick right out of the gate, and it turned out perfect, golden-brown cornbread. 

What we didn’t like: It wobbled a little bit when heated on my glass-top stove since it’s thin. There is no helper handle, though the pan is so light that I didn’t miss it. 

Key Specs

• Weight: 4 pounds, 4.3 ounces
• Thickness: 3 millimeters
• Bottom diameter: 9.25 inches
• Top diameter: 10.5 inches
• Handle length: 5 inches
• Helper handle: No
• Pre-seasoned: Yes
• Cleaning: Hand-wash, dry, and rub with high smoke point, neutral oil
• Induction-friendly: Yes

Another Great Lightweight Cast Iron Skillet

Field Company No. 8 Cast Iron Skillet

$159 at Amazon $165 at Home Depot View on Fieldcompany.com

What we liked: This dark gray skillet has a smooth, silky surface that released everything neatly—steak, eggs, and cornbread. While it doesn’t have pour spouts, it sports flared sides that, paired with its manageable weight, make it easy to pour out butter or oil. 

What we didn’t like: Like the Lancaster, since this is a lightweight skillet it is prone to spinning and wobbling if heated empty on a glass-top stove. 

Key Specs

• Weight: 4 pounds, 5 ounces
• Thickness: 2 millimeters
• Bottom diameter: 9 inches
• Top diameter: 10.25 inches
• Handle length: 5.5 inches
• Helper handle: Yes
• Pre-seasoned: Yes
• Cleaning: Hand-wash, dry, and rub high smoke point, neutral oil
• Induction-friendly: Yes

The Best Budget Cast Iron Skillet

Victoria Cast Iron Skillet - 10” Diameter

$27 at Amazon

What we liked: This skillet, with its rougher surface and pitch-black coloring, is similar to the Lodge. The main difference between them is in the shape of the handle, which arches slightly, making it easy to lift and move or tilt. It performed well in every test, producing an even sear on steak and turning out perfect cornbread. 

What we didn’t like: Like the Lodge, the pre-seasoned surface emitted an asphalt smell the first few times I heated the pan. It’s also one of the heavier skillets I tested. 

Key Specs

• Weight: 5 pounds, 8.9 ounces
• Thickness: 4 millimeters
• Bottom diameter: 8.75 inches
• Top diameter: 10 inches
• Handle length: 6 inches
• Helper handle: Yes
• Pre-seasoned: Yes
• Cleaning: Hand-wash, dry, and rub with high smoke point, neutral oil
• Induction-friendly: Yes

A Great Enameled Cast Iron Skillet

Le Creuset Signature Enameled Cast Iron Skillet

$220 $195 at Amazon $175 at Williams Sonoma $220 at Sur La Table

What we liked: This hefty enameled cast iron skillet heated up very quickly and seared like a dream. Enameled cast iron is great, too, because you can stew acidic things like shakshuka (which isn’t recommended in an uncoated cast iron pan) and cook sticky dishes like scrambled eggs without gunking up the surface. For a 10-inch skillet, it’s surprisingly spacious since it features gently flared sides. 

What we didn’t like: It’s a bit heavy, though the large helper handle lets you get a better grip when lifting. The flared sides do slightly cut down the cooking area. 

Key Specs

• Weight: ​​5 pounds, 6.8 ounces
• Thickness: 4 millimeters
• Bottom diameter: 8 inches
• Top diameter: 10.75 inches
• Handle length: 5.5 inches
• Helper handle: Yes
• Cleaning: Dishwasher-safe (though we'd recommend hand-washing to preserve its longevity)
• Induction-friendly: Yes
  

The Competition

• Yeti Cast Iron Skillet 12: This new-school style skillet retained heat well and cooked foods nicely. Steaks emerged golden-brown and crusty, while cornbread released easily from the pan. My qualm is with the price: $250 for a 12-inch skillet (or $200 for the 10-inch one) is more than my most expensive pick here, and the Yeti skillet wasn't exponentially better.
• Lodge Blacklock Triple Seasoned Cast Iron Skillet: This was our previous lightweight cast iron pick and, in my tests, it still performed well. The one drawback was its handle, which had a sharp seam around the edge that was uncomfortable to hold. It’s also heavier than my other lightweight picks (though it is cheaper). 
• Stargazer 10.5-Inch Cast Iron Skillet: Like most of the skillets I tested, this one seared steak nicely and fried up eggs without a hitch. But I didn’t love the wide, deeply indented handle—it was uncomfortable to grasp. 
• Lodge Chef Collection 10 Inch Cast Iron Skillet: This isn’t a bad pan per se; it seared well and didn’t have any issues cooking fried eggs. However, I didn't love the curved sides, which reduced cooking space and made crowding more likely. While the idea is that you can toss food in the pan (very cheffy), it’s a hefty piece of cast iron. If you want to send vegetables flying at the flick of a wrist, I’d go with a stainless steel or carbon steel skillet instead. As of September 2024, it's unavailable.
• Victoria 10-Inch Skillet, SIGNATUREsoft: While this was another fine performer, it’s $165—and it wasn’t that much different from the cheaper Victoria, save for looks. 
• Smithey No 10 Skillet: This is a beautiful skillet, but it was the heaviest of the lineup at five pounds, 13 ounces, which made it difficult to maneuver, especially when I took cornbread out of the oven. The fried eggs stuck quite a bit, though I suspect with more use and seasoning the surface will become more nonstick. 
• Smithey No 10 Chef Skillet: Like the Lodge Chef Collection skillet, this has rounded edges that make the cooking area cramped.

FAQs

What's the difference between bare, seasoned, and enameled cast iron?

A bare cast iron skillet has not been seasoned (take a gander at the next FAQ to find out how to do this!). A seasoned cast iron skillet has been coated with fat and heated, creating a polymerized layer that’s naturally nonstick. Finally, an enameled cast iron skillet has a cast iron core that’s coated in, well, enamel. This makes it more nonstick out of the box, and it doesn’t require seasoning. 

How do you season a bare cast iron skillet?

It’s easy! First, take your freshly unpackaged skillet and give it a wash just in case there are any errant metal bits from the manufacturing line. After hand drying, you can set it over medium heat for a few minutes to ensure all the water is gone. Then, preheat your oven to 450°F. Rub the entire skillet with a neutral, high-smoke point oil (canola oil works) and place it in the oven for 30 minutes. Carefully remove the skillet (it’ll be hot), rub with more oil, and repeat another three to four times. Et voilà, it’ll be seasoned and ready to use. 

All of the cast iron skillets we tested were sold pre-seasoned or had a pre-seasoned option. In this case, you don’t need to do any more seasoning off the bat—you can get cooking and let that seasoning grow over time.

Should you oil your cast iron pan after every use?

Yes! Giving a cast iron skillet a light coating of oil after cleaning helps prevent rust. Using a neutral oil with a high smoke point is best—think canola or corn oil. 

What's the best way to clean a cast iron skillet?

Contrary to popular belief, you can use soap on a cast iron skillet. Give it a wash with warm water, a sponge, and some good old elbow grease and it’ll be spick-and-span. Round it out with a swipe of oil and dang, that thing’ll glisten like a new penny. The only no-no is soaking the pan in water, since that can cause rust.

How do you get rust off a cast iron pan?

First, don’t panic—the pan is going to be okay. Rust forms when moisture builds up in the pores of the skillet, and removing it is as easy as giving it a good scrub and oil. You can read more on how to do this here. 

Is cast iron nonstick?

Technically, no. But as you use the cast iron skillet it’ll build up layers of seasoning, which make it more nonstick over time. And you don’t have to worry about the surface degrading like you do with nonstick skillets. 

A word of warning: Since cast iron doesn’t have a nonstick coating, food can stick to the surface (especially if you don’t heat and lubricate the pan properly before adding, say, an egg).

Is it healthy to cook in cast iron?

There are some health benefits to cooking on cast iron, but we consulted a registered dietician to learn the deets. "Most of us think of iron as a nutrient that women need—and we do—but it's also a key nutrient for everyone! Iron helps shuttle oxygen throughout our entire body. It helps with muscle metabolism, making hormones, and more," says Brierley Horton, M.S., R.D.. "Research has shown that the iron content of meat and vegetables doubles when you cook them in cast iron. And other foods (peas and other legumes, spaghetti, and apple sauces) increase in iron, too. Put super simply, cooking with cast iron helps you get more iron in your diet."

Why We’re the Experts 

• Grace Kelly is a commerce editor at Serious Eats, where she’s been testing equipment for over two years. 
• She previously tested gear at America’s Test Kitchen and worked in restaurants and bars, too.  
• For this review, Grace tested 10 cast iron skillets (with the Le Creuset enameled skillet as a control) by examining their heat conduction, frying eggs, searing steak, and, in the winners, baking cornbread. As part of long-term testing, she's been using the winners from Lodge and Lancaster in her daily cooking.
• Daniel Gritzer first tested cast iron skillets back in 2019. His favorite from that testing, the Lodge Cast Iron Skillet, is still our winner.