The Best Cast Iron Skillet Brands: Reviews and Guide

Cast iron skillets are one of the most traditional types of cookware available for many reasons. While they do require a bit more maintenance than some of the newer cookware options available, they offer resilience and supreme cooking finish that can’t be found in any other kind of cookware. Many recipes turn out better when cooked in cast iron, so we’ve collected the best cast iron skillets brands and their top products here to give you an idea of what kind of modern selection is available.

The versatility of cast iron makes it one of the most appealing options for cookware. It can easily transition from stovetop down into the oven and even out on to the grill or over a campfire. This makes it great for taking with you on camping trips and the perfect choice to cook most of your family meals. A good cast iron skillet will often be kept on the stovetop and use daily.

Best Cast Iron Skillets – Top 5 Reviewed

1. Legend 12″ Cast Iron Skillet with Lid

For many years one of the biggest drawbacks to choosing a cast iron skillet was its lack of a lid. As time has gone on this has changed though. Now Legend offers this 12-inch cast-iron skillet with a glass lid and even includes a silicone handle cover. This makes for an ideal skillet setup. The glass lid is lightweight and perfectly fits the cast iron skillet, and the silicone handle grip ensures you won’t burn yourself even when that handle gets hot.

At 12 inches in diameter, this is one of the largest cast iron skillets available. This makes it great for cooking large family meals since it can easily handle any size recipe you throw at it. Unfortunately, it also makes it one of the heaviest options available. Despite being made with a slightly thinner cast than some brands, the Legend cast iron skillet is still one of the heaviest out there. On the upside, you’ll end up with impressive biceps if you cook with this pan regularly.

What I Like:

• Handy glass lid
• Comfortable silicone grip for the handle
• Large enough for big meals

What I Don’t Like:

• Very heavy

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2. Lodge L8SK3 Cast Iron Skillet 10.25″

When you look up cast iron, the first brand you come across will always be Lodge. There is a reason for that. It’s a brand that is known for casting a high-quality heavy-duty very durable skillet. This 10.25-inch size is the ideal choice for most home cooks. It is large enough to handle almost any meal, however, it is small enough to still be light enough to lift with one strong hand.

It is cast in a very thick layer to ensure its durability too. This means that the handle will not break off, nor do you have to worry about any cracking or breaking happening. In fact, when treated right the Lodge L8SK3 cast iron skillet is one that can be passed down from generation to generation. Like all cast iron skillets, it does get better with time as it becomes seasoned over years of use. This particular model includes two very handy pour spouts to make using it easy, though it does not include a silicone handle grip, nor does it come with a lid.

What I Like:

• Big enough to cook large portions
• Small enough to lift with one strong arm
• Convenient pour spouts reduce mess

What I Don’t Like:

• No lid

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3. Lodge 3 Quart Cast Iron Combo Cooker

The Lodge 3-quart cast iron combo cooker is lodge’s response to so many requests for a lid to be included with a skillet. It makes this combo cooker the single most versatile set of cast iron cookware available. The three-quart Dutch oven style cooker makes it easy to sear roast on the stovetop before sliding it into the oven. Of course, if you are cooking over a campfire, you’ll still get that same searing effect so long as you heat the cast iron first.

The included lid makes it easy to turn this into a fully enclosed oven, even when using charcoal as your heat source. Of course, when it is time to take the lid off, it can be flipped over and used as a fantastic skillet or griddle. The lid is just deep enough to ensure that nothing will spill over the sides while providing the appropriate size and surface you need for most skillet purposes.

This combo cooker is, unfortunately, one of the heaviest available. This is due to the solid cast iron construction and the importance Lodge places on ensuring their cast iron cookware is thick enough to survive the extreme temperatures that you may subject it to. The lid has a weight to it that allows it to seal to the three-quart cooker well enough to ensure a solid cooking experience. The lid can be comfortably handled with one hand, but the cooker will require two. When the two are placed together you’ll want to have your strength at the ready.

What I Like:

• Great versatility
• Large size makes big meals easy
• Skillet top is perfectly deep

What I Don’t Like:

• Very heavy
• Handles do get hot

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4. Lodge 10.5 Inch Square Cast Iron Grill Pan

This square grill pan by Lodge is the perfect choice for when you want to get beautiful grill marks seared into your meat. It has the raised grill lines that allow grease and fat to drain down from the meat into the base of the pan while providing the classic grill marks we have all come to know and love. At 10 inches square it is a great size and can easily fit two large steaks.

Like all Lodge products, this grill pan does not come with a lid, nor does it include any kind of protective grip for the handle. This does mean you want to be prepared for that handle to get hot and of course, it is heavy enough to warrant having two hands available to help lift it. That said, its weight also ensures its durability, and its price is affordable. This is a grill pan designed to last a lifetime or two. It does not include any pour spouts to drain the grease, however, the four corners work well as pour spouts when necessary.

What I Like:

• Leaves beautiful grill marks
• Allows fat to drain from meats
• Large enough to hold a lot
• Small enough to keep the weight manageable

What I Don’t Like:

• No lid
• Handles get very hot

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5. Cuisinel Pre-Seasoned Cast Iron Skillet 2-pc Set with Lids

Cuisinel is one of the few brands to offer a set of cast iron cookware. Even better, they include lids with both skillets. This set includes a 10-inch and a 12-inch skillet, ensuring that you’ll have access to a smaller skillet that you can use daily. While it will be light enough to lift with ease, you will also have a 12-inch skillet that can handle even your largest family meal. Both skillets include dual pour spouts to make emptying the skillet easy when the time comes.

They both include silicone grips to prevent you from burning yourself when the handles of the skillets become hot. Quiz nail also had the foresight to recognize how important a lid is. Both the 10-inch and a 12-inch skillet come with their own glass lid that is lightweight and very convenient. Not only does the glass make the lidless cumbersome than a cast-iron lid, but it also ensures that you can see your food as it cooks.

There is one very important thing to note with Cuisinel cookware. They list their cast iron as being pre-seasoned, however, this is really misleading. While many companies can say that their cast iron is pre-seasoned comma the reality is that all cast iron cookware will need to be thoroughly seasoned when you first get it. Even after that, it will need to continue to be seasoned regularly to develop that non-stick, smooth surface that we all love about good cast iron cookware.

What I Like:

• Convenient glass lids
• Handle covers keep handles cool
• Useful sizes
• Convenient pour spouts

What I Don’t Like:

• Thinner casting makes these more fragile than other brands

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Buyer’s Guide

Cast iron cookware is quickly becoming one of the most popular cookware choices. This is happening as people realize the Benefits of a well-seasoned cast-iron skillet. Unfortunately, that well-seasoned part cannot be purchased; It must be earned over time and through good use. While this need to care for the cookware is what often scares home cooks away from cast iron, it is not as daunting as it may first appear. In fact, many home cooks find their cast iron skillet lives on top of their stove and gets used almost daily.

Cast Iron Care

The difference between people who love cooking in cast iron and people who hate it is often their understanding and preparedness to care for cast iron correctly. A cast-iron skillet that is correctly cared for is often passed on from generation to generation. This is because cast iron can last forever. It is actually cookware that gets better with each use. Every time cast iron is heated used and then properly cleaned seasoned and stored it develops a thicker nonstick surface.

This means that older cast iron skillets are often in better shape than the brand new one you will purchase. That means to get the non-stick smooth cast iron surface you loved about your grandmother’s skillet, you will need to have patience. It will not come out of the box that way. You can however earn that durability and wonderful cooking surface through love.

Initial Seasoning

Notice that this initial seasoning is not listed as a first seasoning. The idea that a cast iron skillet can be seasoned just once would be very misleading. Ideally, it should be seasoned daily for the first week or two. That also means it should be used regularly for the first couple of weeks.

Luckily seasoning a cast iron skillet, even when new, is easy. Follow these simple steps:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Use a metal scrubby to thoroughly clean the surface of the skillet
3. Wipe the entire skillet, inside and out, with a thin coating of oil
4. Place the skillet in the oven upside down and allow it to bake for 20 to 30 minutes
5. Do not open the oven at all during this time
6. When the time is up, turn off the oven but do not move the pan
7. Allow the pan to cool in the oven

At this point, your cast iron skillet has received its first seasoning. This does not mean that it suddenly has a smooth, nonstick surface. This just means it’s time to start using the pan. Repeat the seasoning process after every use for the first several uses. Each time you use the pan and scrub it with a metal scrubber, the inside surface of the pan will become more and more smooth. Each time you season it with oil you are causing a chemical reaction that creates that buildup of a nonstick surface on the inside of the pan.

Regular Use

One of the most overlooked benefits of using a cast-iron skillet is actually its iron content. In a world where anemia is a common problem, cooking in cast iron is an easy solution. Every time a food is cooked in a cast-iron skillet, the skillet adds small amounts of iron nutrition to the food. This is a good and healthy byproduct of cooking in cast iron. It comes from a unique chemical interaction between the food we prepare and the cast iron cookware.

This is a symbiotic relationship that can only be found when cooking in cast iron. Every time we use a cast iron skillet the skillet gets better. It also makes our food healthier for us. As you use your new cast iron skillet, you will find that the surface becomes smoother with time. That helps the nonstick surface develop.

Appropriate Cleaning

Cast iron cannot be put in a dishwasher, ever. It should always be washed by hand, preferably immediately after use. That said, if the skillet does sit dirty, do not ever let it soak. Water and cast iron will always result in rust. This is the enemy of good cast iron cookware. It is best avoided by using as little water in the cast iron cookware as possible.

To correctly clean your cast iron skillet, scrub with a steel or copper scrubber. While some people prefer not to use dish soap on their cast iron cookware, it is fine, so long as the soap and water are not allowed to sit in the pan for any length of time. Once the cast iron skillet is clean, it should immediately be dried.

While this can quickly be done with a towel, it can also be dried by placing the cast iron skillet on a stovetop burner on low heat. Once it’s fully dry, simply wipe it down with oil and allow it to heat until it begins to smoke. Turn off the heat, and allow the skillet to cool, and it will be ready for its next use.

Utensils

I’ll never forget the first Teflon pan my father bought my mother. I started to stir the pot with a metal spoon, and my mother’s screams of terror are forever etched in my mind. That will never happen with cast iron. A good cast iron skillet can withstand any utensils. You can attack it with a metal fork, cut inside it using a metal knife, or gently stir with a wooden spoon. Cast iron skillets can handle any utensils you decide to stir them with.

Storage

The key to understanding cast iron is to remember its hatred for water. Water will cause cast iron to rust no matter how old, well-loved, or well-cared for it may be. This means that storing cast iron should be done in a way that ensures it remains dry no matter what period some people do this by hanging their cast iron skillets. If you choose to go this route, just be sure that whatever hook you hang them from is well secured to a stud or other sturdy beam. Remember cast iron is heavy.

Others choose to store their cast iron in their cabinets, however, they add a layer of cloth Cardboard or other absorbent material to ensure the cast iron stays dry and does not develop any moisture as temperatures change period the most common storage place for a good cast iron skillet though, is actually on top of the stove. Since cast iron performs best when used often, leaving it on the stove and using it daily is a great way to keep it dry and in great condition.

Best Cast Iron Skillet Brands

Lodge

Based in Tennessee, Lodge has been making cast iron cookware for more than 120 years. They are known for casting high-quality cookware that is designed to last for numerous generations.

Cuisinel

While Cuisinel is newer to the cast iron cookware industry, their commitment to aligning cast iron cookware with the expectations of modern cookware make them stand out as a leader in this growing industry.

FAQs

The key to being satisfied with your cast iron skillet is understanding how it works. This means that even after all you’ve read you may still have a few questions about what it means to cook in cast iron. We’ve collected those questions here along with some simple answers to help ensure your understanding.

How do I decide if cast iron cookware is right for me?

Designing of cast iron cookware is right for you is the key to determining whether or not you’ll be happy with it. Those who love cast iron cookware tend to have a few things in common:

1. Do you cook at home at least 3-5 times each week?
2. Do you find that you use the same one or two pans for everything?
3. Are you willing to do a quick scrub of a pan by hand?
4. Are you willing to commit to developing a strong seasoning layer?

If you answered yes to the questions above cast iron skillets are likely the right choice for you. They are one of the few kinds of cookware that will do as much for you as you are willing to do for it. They certainly get better with time.

How often do I need to season my skillet?

You’ll want to season it often at first. After a few good seasonings, regular use, cleaning, and oiling is sufficient, though many people will do a full seasoning once or twice each year.

What’s the difference between oiling and seasoning?

Seasoning a cast iron skillet heats the oil to a temperature where it undergoes a chemical change that allows it to bond to skillet and creates a smooth, non-stick surface.

Oiling a cast iron skillet adds a protective layer of oil that prevents water or moisture from the air from reacting with the cast iron and causing it to rust.

Bottom Line

After reading this guide comma you should have a better understanding of what it Means to use cast iron cookware in your kitchen. Hopefully, now you can make a choice based on this information without fearing the unknown of cooking with cast iron. Cast iron skillets offer many benefits that cannot be found in any other cookware. While they are heavier than other options, they have a durability that cannot be found anywhere else. Cast iron is the only kind of cookware known to be passed down from one generation to another along with those famous family recipes.