The Best Cast Iron Skillets (2024), Reviewed by Our Experts

With proper care, cast iron cookware can last a lifetime or longer, whether you spend $30 or $300. But the best cast iron skillet for you depends on more than just price. To get the most useful recommendations for every budget, we turned to the experts, who have tested dozens of pans, used them to develop recipes, and worked with them in both home and professional kitchens. Here are their top picks.

The best cast iron skillets

A cast-iron pan is one of the most versatile pieces of cookware you can own. It’s as useful on the stovetop as it is in the oven, as dependable for braising cabbage as it is for shallow-frying chicken. It’s ideal for Dutch babies, frittatas, or these aromatic chicken thighs. Cornbread, obviously. Other baked goods, too. Roast a whole chicken in your cast-iron, and you’ll find that the combination of low sides and great heat distribution leaves you with perfectly bronzed skin, jammy lemon slices, and gorgeous, already reduced drippings. And lastly, it’s pretty much unparalleled when it comes to searing indoors. If you aren’t lighting up a grill, a cast iron skillet is your New York strip steak’s best friend.

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The best lightweight cast iron skillet: Lancaster Cast Iron No. 8

The good: Lightweight, smooth cooking surface, heats quickly, two pour spouts
The bad: No helper handle, pricey, slight warping/wobbling when heated and empty

The expert home cooks at our sister site Epicurious are known for their thorough product reviews, and after testing 20 cast iron skillets, they found the Lancaster No. 8 to be the best cast iron skillet money can buy. Speaking of money, it is pricey, though at $175 at the time of publishing, it’s certainly not the most expensive cast iron pan on the market.

If price isn’t a concern, this skillet is worth buying. It’s a lighter weight cast iron pan with a smooth surface that’s quite slick and nonstick out of the box. At 4.5 pounds, the 10.5-inch pan is at least a pound lighter than comparably-sized options, and though the cast iron is thinner than on comparable pans, it distributes heat beautifully. It does warm and cool more quickly than pans made of thicker cast iron, but it still turns out delicious cornbread with crispy edges.

The Epi product reviewers did experience one issue with the Lancaster due to the thinner cast iron: When the pan was empty but heated it warped and wobbled ever so slightly. But it was subtle and fleeting. The pan went back to normal when food was added and when the pan cooled.

Size(s): 10.5 in (4.5 lbs), 12 in (6 lbs), 13.5 in (7.5 lbs)
Pre-seasoned: Yes

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Another beautiful, high-end cast iron skillet: Smithey No. 10 Traditional Cast Iron Skillet

The good: Nearly nonstick out of the box, aesthetically pleasing, American-made brand
The bad: Heavy, loses bronze sheen with use and seasoning, short handle

For something equally stunning and a little sturdier, consider a Smithey Ironware cast iron skillet.

“I’m a big fan of my No.10 Skillet from Smithey,” says chef Todd Schulte, owner of Earl’s Premier and Bacaro Primo in Kansas City, MO. “Not only is it as solid as any [pan] for everyday use, but its great looking satin-polished finish just lures you to cook.” Like the Lancaster above, Smithey is another small American company that has mastered the vintage style of cast iron pan that shows up with a smooth surface, in this case polished to a gorgeous bronze sheen, as opposed to the less expensive rough surfaces of brands like Lodge.

The pan has two pour spouts, which means you can cleanly do things like pour out fry oil using whichever hand you favor, and a helper handle on the front of the pan with three holes, so it can be hung on a pot rack from either end. Smithey cast iron pans come with a few thin layers of oil already on the pan to aid in the nonstick-ness, but as you can continue to cook with them they’ll an even better nonstick coating with use (though you will notice that beautiful bronze sheen will start to turn black, so it won’t be quite as beautiful as the day you unboxed it). Like all cast iron, the Smithey is induction-compatible. We’d also suggest getting one of Smithey’s lids, which, unfortunately, don’t come included with the pans. The gold rimmed lids are just as good looking as the pan and seal up tightly if you need to keep heat in.