30 Recipes You Can Cook in Your Cast-Iron Skillet

Searing a steak is the kind of task that the cast-iron skillet was made for. Its heavy bottom will retain a steady, even heat which makes scoring a deep brown crust with crackling edges a cake walk. This recipe has you top the steaks with a flavorful scallion butter and it gets served alongside crispy smashed potatoes.

We wanted a quick dessert we could make on a whim. One skillet and two steps later, this easy and delicious cookie was created. The well-insulated cast iron lightly toasts the edges while center stays protected from overbaking, so the cookie winds up being chewy, gooey, and crisp all at once.

A well-seasoned cast-iron skillet is a great choice for making pancakes because of its ability to retain a steady and consistent temperature. Though it may take a few extra minutes of preheating due to its heft, it's worth it to not have to fuss with the dial the whole time.

If you've only ever had steamed green beans and feel pretty meh about them, give them to your cast-iron to transform. This easy skillet side comes together in under 20 minutes and produces a tasty char on the beans, which enhances flavor and brings out their natural sweetness.

Let a cast-iron skillet be the cradle for some seriously good nachos; the high sides of the pan allow for many cheesy layers.

While we'd never judge you for having dip and chips for dinner, we'd like to offer this skillet dinner as an alternative: chicken cutlets are seared in a little butter until golden brown, then simmered in a creamy spinach-artichoke sauce. Serve over rice or pair the chicken with crusty slices of bread for dipping.

This beloved Thai noodle dish gets its signature flavor from the caramelization that happens in the pan. If you don't have a decent wok setup, a cast-iron is a great substitute since it can get (and stay) ripping hot.

When you want a moist, tender cornbread that has a buttery crust all around the edges, there's only one skillet for the job. Don't believe us? Ask your grandma! Perhaps the most famous use for cast-iron skillets, cornbread has found a home in this pan for generations.

A riff on Greek spanakopita that's far from authentic, this approach to a spinach-feta pie goes a little easier on the butter and streamlines the prep, making it ideal for a quick and plant-based weeknight dinner.

One of the hurdles with roast chicken is that the white meat is typically done before the dark meat. This recipe solves the problem by roasting it in a cast-iron skillet; the dark meat gets a jumpstart from its proximity to the super-hot pan, allowing everything to finish at the same time.  

The next best thing to a standalone pizza oven, a cast-iron skillet will do a great job baking a chewy, golden-brown crust. Whip up a pie in this trusty skillet and we promise it will be the star at your next pizza night.

Cast-iron skillets were pretty much made for campfire cooking. They can go right over the open flame, be it on an actual fire, coals, or backyard grill—try this hash over fire sometime soon.

The steady, consistent heat that a cast-iron skillet can bring is great for shallow-frying these breaded pork chops. The same skillet is later used to dress the crispy chops in a vinegar sauce right before serving.

This simple cake will highlight a wide variety of different fruits depending on the season. From strawberries in the summer to apples in the fall, what doesn't change is how easy and delicious this cake is to make.

When it comes to easy-to-cook proteins, scallops are a sure bet. The secret? A ripping hot pan and a cooking oil that can take the heat without turning your kitchen into a smoke show. A cast-iron skillet and this recipe that uses safflower oil are your ticket to perfectly-cooked scallops with a deep golden crust.

Your dinner guests will flip for this skillet dish inspired by the Persian delicacy tahdig. Pile saffron-scented rice atop a layer of thinly sliced potatoes and let it cook on the stovetop. While the rice steams, the potatoes brown and crisp. Before serving, invert the mixture out of the skillet and onto a platter for a stunning presentation.

The steam created by pouring the batter into a super-hot cast-iron skillet is what sends this Dutch baby to new heights. Once the pancake poofs up in the center and the edges look brown and crisp, take it out and pile on the berries and cream.

You can take a cast-iron skillet can from stovetop to oven to table without having to think twice about the handle melting off or chemical off-gassing. Its versatility is quickly proved here in this delicious weeknight dinner of Swiss-style enchiladas.

This entire meal is cooked under the broiler in just one skillet, and there's no better choice than cast-iron for this high-temperature endeavor.

This one-dish dinner is inspired by Spanish paella and comes together in about 30 minutes. It puts the stovetop, oven, and broiler to work; it's a good thing a cast-iron skillet can do all three with ease.

These little potatoes are parboiled then finish in a cast-iron skillet, so they stay soft and fluffy on the inside and brown and crispy on the outside for a simple, satisfying accompaniment to a Sunday roast.

On those mornings when standing at the stove flipping a dozen little pancakes just isn't going to work, turn to this skillet recipe. Pop a tray of bacon in the oven to cook alongside it and serve your giant pancake in wedges with softened butter and warmed maple syrup on the side.

The trick to this great stir-fry is to cook the ingredients separately over very high heat before combining them with the gingery sauce.

Here's a great recipe to call on when camping—a cast-iron skillet can be put over a campfire or backyard grill and cook whole pieces of trout to perfection.

A small cast-iron skillet is used for this irresistible chocolate spoon bread that features a crackly crust and pudding-like interior.

As the beef roast cooks in the oven, its drippings go right on top of a sizzling bed of shallots and are the start of a delicious pan sauce.

In this case, a healthy start to the day begins in a cast-iron skillet, where squash and carrots are sautéed with kale and cilantro to make a hash. Eggs baked sunny-side-up complete this picture of health.

This fancy grilled cheese is a little like French onion soup in sandwich form. As the Gruyère cheese and onion jam filling melt on the inside, the outside is being crisped up in a cast-iron skillet until golden brown.

A large cast iron skillet that is well-seasoned is perfect for a quick dinner like this fried rice; its surface stays extra hot as you work in batches to pan-fry thinly sliced pork and veggies like carrots and onion. A fiery sauce of chile paste, ginger, garlic, and soy sauce is added near the end to season every bite.