Yahoo Lifestyle TBH, Our Favorite Cast Iron Skillet Is Only $25—But Not For Long
- 1/9
TBH, Our Favorite Cast Iron Skillet Is Only $25—But Not For Long
Cast-iron pans, like first dates, can be intimidating. But with a little bit of effort and some guidance on self-care (do you know how to season a cast-iron pan?), you’ll quickly settle into a long-lasting relationship with a skillet made from forged steel and iron.
We talked to the Good Housekeeping Institute and Nicole Papantoniou, director of their Kitchen Appliances & Culinary Innovation Lab, about how cast-iron skillets help home cooks incorporate restaurant-level techniques into their dinner routine.
“A cast-iron pan can handle higher heats and temperatures than a non-stick pan, and you can pop it into the oven,” says Papantoniou. “The pan can get really hot, which lets you get a nice crust on food without overcooking it or setting off the fire alarm.”
Cast iron skillets come in a wide range of sizes, with features that make lifting and pouring easier. We’ve assembled a list of cast-iron skillets that will work in your kitchen, whether you’re making dinner for yourself or a crowd. Here are the best cast-iron skillets we tested.
Our top picks
How we picked these products
Let’s look at the sizzle reel. To find the best cast-iron skillets, we consulted our friends at the Good Housekeeping Institute. Their team of on-staff experts—which includes all types: engineers! data analysts! registered dietitians!—rigorously put everyday products to the test (and then more and more tests) in their New York City-based labs to determine which ones you can trust. They examined the features and finishes of cast-iron skillets, using them in the Lab, as well as at home. They also considered the weight and size of different skillets, and how easy they might be to clean.
Sarah Ceniceros - 2/9
1) Lodge 10.25-Inch Cast Iron Skillet
Lodge
Amazon
$24.90
Lodge has been making cast iron skillets for over a century and there’s a reason they’re found in kitchens across generations. The 10.25-inch cast iron skillet is pre-seasoned, which means you can start using it immediately. It heats evenly, can be lifted with one hand (it’s a little over four pounds), and is less expensive than comparable models. There’s a shorter helper handle on one side and a longer handle with a red silicone sleeve.
Lodge - 3/9
2) AmazonBasics 15-Inch Cast Iron Skillet
Amazon Basics
Amazon
$28.05
Three words. Blistered shishito peppers. Whether it’s on a grill or your stove, the AmazonBasics 15-inch Cast Iron Skillet can add that welcome char or crisp crust to pork chops. Fit a brunch’s worth of eggs, bacon, and hash browns in this pre-seasoned pan with flared edges; but keep in mind that it is 10.8 pounds before you add your breakfast to the skillet. There’s also a 12-inch model.
Amazon - 4/9
3) Stargazer 10.5-Inch Cast Iron Skillet
Stargazer Cast Iron
Star Gazer
$115.00
The Stargazer 10.5-Inch Cast Iron Skillet is a choose-your-own adventure pan in that you can opt for either a pre-seasoned or bare pan. Its design echoes vintage pans with higher, sloped sides and a flared rim that makes up for the lack of pour spouts. The forked handle, shaped to make it cooler than other wider handles, was a bit harder for the Good Housekeeping Institute testers to grip. The pan also has a lifetime warranty.
Stargazer - 5/9
4) Utopia Kitchen Pre-Seasoned 12.5-Inch Cast Iron Skillet
Utopia Kitchen
Amazon
$24.99
Cast iron skillets don’t need to have a high price tag to earn a spot in your dinner rotation. The Utopia Kitchen Pre-Seasoned 12.5-inch Cast Iron Skillet has a lot to offer without putting a huge dent in your wallet. The hefty pan, it weighs in at 8 pounds, has a pair of pour spouts for adding the cream-based pan sauce to your steak au poivre. A helper handle makes it easier to lift the pan on and off the stove, and pre-seasoning means your pork chops should slide out of the pan too.
Utopia Kitchen - 6/9
5) Le Creuset Enameled Cast Iron 10.25-Inch Skillet
Williams Sonoma
$190.00
If any pan was going to take up permanent residency on your stove, it would be the Le Creuset Enameled Cast Iron 10.25-Inch Skillet, which comes in 15 different colors. The enamel coating acts like a non-stick coating and is easier to wipe clean. You do need to be more careful with the skillet to avoid chipping or scratching the coating. While the pans are dishwasher safe, hand washing is a safer bet. The Le Creuset is also available as a 9-inch or 12-inch pan.
Le Creuset - 7/9
6) Butter Pat Heather Skillet
Butter Pat
$215.00
With a smooth polished surface, the Butter Pat Heather Skillet is a nonstick pan that makes it easy to cook up a pan of cornbread to go with your chili. The sleek, handcast pans are made in America and come with a 100-year warranty, which helps to offset the fact that it was the most expensive pan tested by the Good Housekeeping Institute. The kitchen test experts appreciated the lightweight pan (it’s 4.8 pounds) and the helper handle that made it easy to maneuver the skillet in and out of the oven. You can also purchase a glass lid, which is perfect if you’re melting cheese on a smashed burger.
Butter Pat - 8/9
7) Field Company No. 8 Cast Iron Skillet
Field Company
$185.00
Cast iron skillets can make you feel like you’ve just spent an hour pumping iron (get it?) at the gym. But at 4.3 pounds, the Field Company No. 8 Cast Iron Skillet was the lightest 10-inch skillet reviewed by the Good Housekeeping Institute. That was important because the pre-seasoned pan doesn’t have pour spouts, so you’ll have to use the two handles to pour out your bacon grease into a caddy or yogurt cup. The Field Company also offers a cast iron care kit (seasoning oil, chain mail scrubber, and brush) if you’re new to using a cast iron skillet.
Field Company - 9/9
8) Delish By Dash 12-Inch Lightweight Cast Iron Pan
DASH
Amazon
$32.08
The key to getting a great sear on steak is cooking at high heats. And the Delish By Dash 12-Inch Lightweight Cast Iron Pan is oven safe up to 500 degrees Fahrenheit. If you’re new to cast iron cooking, it also comes with a set of recipes from pancakes to pasta developed by Delish. The enameled pan – it’s available in blue, black, or red – also comes in three sizes: 8-, 10- or 12-inch.
Dash
