The Best Cast-Iron Skillet

The Lodge Chef Collection 12-Inch Cast Iron Skillet is our top pick after testing 16 skillets since 2017. It’s lightweight, sears well, comes pre-seasoned, and features comfortable handles, making it perfect for tasks from searing to roasting.

Everything we recommend

The Lodge Chef Collection 12-Inch Cast Iron Skillet delivers excellent results with steaks, cornbread, and eggs, thanks to even heating and easy release. Weighing 6½ pounds, it’s lighter and easier to handle than traditional models, with sloped sides for convenient stirring and flipping. While not ideal for deep-frying, it remains affordable, made in the USA, and worth the slightly higher price.

For deep-frying and heavy-duty tasks, the Lodge Pre-Seasoned 12-Inch Skillet is a great pick. It excels at searing, frying, and baking, with added depth for frying chicken or braising. Though heavier and with a shorter handle, it’s more affordable than the Chef Collection.

Who this is for

Cast-iron skillets are kitchen staples for over a century, ideal for searing, frying, baking, and even making eggs. When properly seasoned, they offer a durable, nonstick alternative to coated pans and withstand high heat, including broiling. Unlike nonstick skillets, which last 3–5 years, well-maintained cast iron can last generations. Though it requires some care, it retains heat better than other materials, making it perfect for high-temperature cooking and searing. However, it heats unevenly, so careful monitoring is needed for delicate tasks like eggs or pancakes.

How we picked

Through our testing, we found that most cast-iron skillets handle basic tasks like searing and frying similarly, but certain features make some easier and more enjoyable to use. Here’s what we look for in a great cast-iron skillet:

Factory-seasoned: Most skillets now come preseasoned with a layer of polymerized oil, giving them a nonstick, rust-resistant finish. Well-seasoned pans have an even black or brown color without blotches, ensuring food releases easily.

Ease of handling: Cast iron is heavy—like the 8½-pound classic Lodge skillet—so a comfortable main handle and a large helper handle are crucial for secure lifting. Rounded stick handles offer better grip, and both handles should accommodate bulky mitts for safe use when hot.

Functional pour spouts: Good spouts prevent messy drips when pouring grease or liquids. Given the skillet’s weight and heat, well-designed spouts are essential for clean and precise pouring.

Affordability: After testing pans from $20 to $300, we found performance differences minimal. High-end models may be lighter and smoother but aren’t significantly more nonstick than rougher, less expensive options like Lodge’s $40 pans, which smooth out with use. Expensive pans often require extra work to build seasoning and can stain more easily during high-heat cooking, like searing steaks.

For those curious about vintage pans or modern replicas, we also explore why some cooks might prefer heirloom-style skillets.

How we tested

To test the cast-iron pans, we evaluated pouring ease, handle comfort, and heat distribution by heating oil and checking for dribbling. We assessed even browning with greased, floured surfaces and tested factory seasoning by cooking bacon, cornbread, steaks, and eggs. Most pans performed well, with good nonstick release and effective searing, though none browned perfectly evenly.

Our pick: Lodge Chef Collection 12-Inch Cast Iron Skillet

The Lodge Chef Collection 12-Inch Cast Iron Skillet excelled in all tests and is the lightest among affordable options. Its sloped sides are ideal for searing and roasting, and it features a comfortable handle, good factory seasoning, and USA-made quality. It performed well in every task, from drip-free oil pouring to crisp bacon, golden cornbread, perfectly seared steak, and nonstick-like fried eggs.

The Lodge Chef Collection skillet stands out for its lightweight design and affordability. Weighing just 6½ pounds, it’s 2 pounds lighter than the classic Lodge and comparable to high-end $200-$300 pans. Its slightly lower, rounded sides reduce steaming for better searing and make flipping and stirring easier, without sacrificing the 10-inch cooking surface, which accommodates large portions like steaks, bacon, or multiple eggs.

The angled stick handle is more ergonomic than the straight handle of the classic Lodge, and the large helper handle offers a secure grip even with a bulky potholder. Together, these features ensure excellent control, even when pouring hot oil.

The Lodge Chef Collection skillet is widely available and affordable, though slightly pricier than classic Lodge models. It can be found on Amazon, national retailers, and in hardware and cooking stores.

How the Lodge Chef Collection Skillet has held up

Flaws but not dealbreakers

The Chef Collection skillet is shallower than the classic Lodge and holds about 2 cups less, which can be an issue for braising or frying large portions, like pork chops or chicken, as it may lead to oil overflow. If you need more capacity, the original 12-inch Lodge skillet is a better choice.

The lighter weight of the Chef Collection could impact browning thick cuts of meat, like a tomahawk steak, since heavier pans retain more heat. However, we didn’t notice a significant difference when searing thinner cuts, like strip steaks.

While Lodge doesn’t offer a formal warranty, their skillets are known for lasting 15 to 20 years without issues. Their durability and strong customer service make the lack of a warranty less of a concern.

Also great: Lodge Pre-Seasoned 12-inch Cast Iron Skillet

If you need a pan with higher sides for frying or braising, the Lodge Pre-Seasoned 12-inch Cast Iron Skillet is a great choice. It’s well-seasoned and performs comparably to much pricier skillets in our tests. At 8½ pounds, it’s heavier than the Chef Collection, but still manageable with the large helper handle.

The extra weight helps retain heat, which is beneficial for cooking thick meats, but overall it performs similarly to the Chef Collection, searing steak and releasing eggs easily. Its high sides make it perfect for deep-frying, braising, or baking, as it holds about 2 cups more than the Chef Collection.

While the stick handle is smaller and lacks the angled design of the Chef Collection, it still offers a good grip. The large helper handle ensures better control when lifting or pouring. At a reasonable price of $20 to $30, it’s slightly cheaper than the Chef Collection and, like all Lodge products, is durable and well-regarded in the kitchen.

How the Lodge Classic Skillet has held up