35 Cast-Iron Skillet Recipes, From One-Pot Dinners and Desserts to Brunch Favorites (2024)

FAQs

What foods should you not cook in cast iron? ›

Your cast iron cookware is perfect for homemade cornbread and biscuits, sourdough bread, pies, and cakes.

For one, cast iron pans aren't perfectly smooth and foods like eggs may get stuck. For the best results, make sure to keep your cast iron pan seasoned, and preheat the skillet for a few minutes before you add any food to it. This allows the pan to heat evenly and prevents most food from sticking. Add fat as needed.

When cooking in cast iron, you should add a little oil to the pan before adding your food. This helps ensure the food doesn't stick, and it helps build layers of seasoning. You can generally use whatever oil you prefer, as long as the cooking temperature is below the smoke point of the oil.

Start with Vegetables

Any seared, sautéed, or pan-roasted vegetable recipe is a great place to start breaking in your skillet.

Eggs fall into the category of sticky foods that are not ideal for cast iron skillets that haven't built up their seasoning yet. While cast iron can become non-stick with sufficient use over time, a newer skillet will almost certainly cause your eggs to stick to its porous surface.

If cast iron is left in the sink to soak, put in the dishwasher, or allowed to air dry, it will rust.

Myth #1: You should never cook tomatoes and other acidic foods in cast iron. A well-seasoned pan can handle acidic foods with impunity. Mark does caution, though, against jumping into menu plans with tomatoes while using a newly purchased Lodge product.

Place the cookware in the oven upside down. Place a large baking sheet or aluminum foil on the bottom rack. Bake at 450-500 degrees F for one hour.

Wash your cast iron cookware by hand. You can use a small amount of soap. If needed, use a pan scraper for stuck on food. For stubborn, stuck-on food, simmer a little water for 3-5 minutes, then use the scraper after the pan has cooled.

Do you preheat cast iron before baking? ›

The Benefits of Preheating

The skillet holds heat better than other materials, is incredibly versatile and actually adds a bit of iron to your diet. But despite some popular cooking myths, cast iron does not heat evenly—or quickly. That's why preheating is such an important (and often overlooked) step.

The disadvantages of cast iron

One of the main drawbacks of cast iron pans is their weight. Cast iron is significantly heavier than other types of cookware, which can make handling and maneuvering them more challenging, especially for individuals with physical limitations.

Since olive oil is such a pantry staple, many people naturally wonder if they can use olive oil to season cast iron. You can use olive oil to season cast iron, but you need to choose a high quality extra virgin olive oil, which should have a smoke point close to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Pour 2 to 3 tablespoons of coarse kosher salt into your cast iron skillet. (If you have a smaller pan, one tablespoon will do just fine.) It's important that you use a coarse grained salt—this will provide the traction you need to remove food particles.

A thick-cut steak such as a ribeye or New York strip is best for cooking in a cast iron skillet because it can withstand the high heat of the skillet and develop a gorgeous crust, while remaining juicy and tender in the middle. Avoid lean cuts like flank steak or skirt steak, as they are prone to drying out.

Cast iron pans can leach a sizeable amount of iron into your food, exceeding dietary intake in some cases. Acidic foods will contribute to much more leaching while an old, heavily-seasoned pan will leach much less iron than a newer one.

Cast iron is not only safe for everyday cooking but also offers several health benefits. When properly seasoned, the surface becomes virtually non-stick, reducing the need for excessive oil or fats in cooking.

Cast iron works best for browning, sautéing, baking, and frying but should be avoiding when boiling and simmering. Meats, vegetables, and baked goods work really well in cast iron but acidic foods like tomatoes should be limited.