Some Meals Just Taste Better In A Cast Iron Skillet (Here’s 15 Recipes That Prove It)

Certain foods are just meant to be cooked in a cast iron skillet. These might include dishes that require an extra crispy crust or foods that need uniform cooking to turn out well. Luckily, cast iron skillets are renowned for their impressive heat retention and distribution. As they get used over time, they develop a nonstick coating, which makes them ideal for baking since food can be easily released from them. This also means that you can use less oil while cooking, which is always a plus!

Cast iron skillets are also adaptable since they can move from the stovetop to the oven with ease. As you can see, there are many benefits to this cookware. So, today, we are sharing some recipes that work well with cast iron skillets. These recipes include juicy steaks, cheesy pizzas, and moist cornbread. With such a unique lineup, we guarantee at least one of these recipes will catch your eye!

1. Loaded Potato Skillet Pizza

When you use a cast iron skillet, our recipe for a Loaded Potato Skillet Pizza comes out perfectly. The crust benefits from the cast iron! To try this recipe, you will need nonfat Greek yogurt, self-rising flour, potatoes, ranch dressing, and cheese. To give it more flavor, you can add center-cut bacon and diced red onions (or green onions). Enjoy this pizza with your favorite side salad.

2. Cast Iron Skillet Seared Salmon

Salmon benefits from being cooked in a cast iron skillet because it turns out beautifully golden brown on the outside and moist and flaky on the inside. This recipe can be ready to enjoy in as little as 20 minutes! All you need is salmon fillets, butter, garlic, honey, and seasonings. The recipe suggests using salt and pepper, but you can use other seasonings, too, if you wish, such as fresh herbs.

3. Cast Iron Skillet Apple Crisp with Caramel

Make the most delicious apple crisp when you use your cast iron skillet! This recipe makes eight hefty servings, and you can make it in under an hour. The primary components of this dish are brown sugar, cinnamon, apples, flour, and caramel topping. The caramel drizzle serves as a gorgeous garnish that upgrades the presentation. You can also serve vanilla ice cream scoops on top of the crisp when it comes out of the oven!

4. Southern Macaroni and Cheese

This mac and cheese recipe turns out incredible with the use of a cast iron skillet. It has flavors of elbow macaroni, onion, garlic, heavy cream, and evaporated milk. The best part is that it contains three cheeses: American cheese, cheddar cheese, and pepper Jack cheese. You’ll know this mac and cheese is done when the top is slightly browned and the edges are bubbling. You don’t even need to set the oven to broil to achieve this browning!

5. Cast Iron Skillet Lasagna

Assemble the best lasagna of your life using this recipe by Dash Of Savory. It features Italian sausage, onions, ricotta cheese, and lasagna noodles. It also has marinara sauce and other types of cheeses, as well as fresh parsley. Since you cook the lasagna in a 12-inch cast iron skillet, it yields eight servings. Serve this with roasted vegetables, garlic bread, or Caesar salad.

6. Cast Iron Skillet Chicken Pot Pie

Making a homemade chicken pot pie is much better than purchasing a pre-made one from the store! Making it in a cast iron skillet is especially useful since you can first sauté the veggies on the stovetop and then transfer the skillet to the oven. This pot pie contains mushrooms, onions, carrots, chicken breast and thigh meat, and green peas. For the topping, you can use Pepperidge Farm puff pastry.

7. Cast Iron Skillet Chocolate Chip Cookie

Make a gigantic skillet cookie that is fit for a party. You can utilize a 12-inch cast iron skillet to make this recipe! First, brown the butter in the skillet over medium-low heat. Then, you can add the other ingredients to form a dough and transfer the skillet to the oven for baking. This yummy chocolate chip cookie contains typical baking ingredients, semi-sweet chocolate morsels, and chopped nuts for extra texture!

8. Cast Iron Skillet Garlic & Parmesan Potatoes

Soulfully Made created this recipe for crispy, garlicky potatoes that you can make in a cast iron skillet. This is a 30-minute recipe! And it has a simple ingredient list. For instance, you need baby potatoes, olive oil, butter, garlic, fresh parsley, and parmesan cheese. Include some cheese when cooking, then add more for a garnish later. These potatoes can become a side dish for many different types of meals!

9. Cast Iron Skillet Chicken Breasts

Create beautifully browned and delicious chicken when you use this recipe! The cast iron skillet is handy with this dish since you can first brown the chicken on the stovetop. Then, you can move them into the oven until they reach their minimum internal temperature. This recipe requires skinless chicken breasts, seasoned bread crumbs, eggs, cooking oil, and your preferred seasonings.

10. Cast Iron Garlic Butter Dinner Rolls

You’re missing out if you’re not using a cast iron skillet to make bread! This is because the skillet’s even heat distribution is particularly beneficial for bread-making. Don’t worry, though. You can try it out by making this recipe. It combines bread flour, yeast, water, sugar, milk, and eggs. You’ll also need some butter and salt! In the end, you end up with delicious, fluffy dinner rolls. Finish them off with heavenly garlic herb butter.

11. Easy Sausage Cast Iron Pizza

Serving Dumplings created this recipe for sausage pizza, which you can make in your cast iron skillet. You can use store-bought pizza dough to make it easy or follow the recipe for homemade crust. The creator also explains how to make a homemade tomato sauce with fresh crushed tomatoes. Lastly, the toppings include Italian sausage, mozzarella, ricotta, oregano, and red pepper flakes.

12. Perfect Cast Iron Skillet Steak

Do you ever wonder how to create a steak that’s as good as your favorite restaurant? With the help of your cast iron skillet and this recipe, you can! You will need rib-eye or sirloin steak, kosher salt, clarified butter, and pepper. When you finish cooking the steak, top it with fresh herbs, crispy onion flakes, and basting solution left in your cast iron pan. Serve with mashed potatoes, grilled veggies, or other side dishes.

13. Easy and Delicious Sweet Cornbread

Cast iron cornbread is wildly decadent because it turns out perfectly moist and fluffy. This recipe by Attainable Sustainable requires cornmeal, baking powder, salt, flour, and milk. You will also need some eggs, sugar, and butter when making the batter. This cornbread only takes about 25 minutes to bake! Serve it with your favorite chili, meatloaf, or stew. You can even smother it with honey butter!

14. Homemade Hamburger Helper

Try out our version of a Weight Watchers-friendly Hamburger Helper. While you can use other pans to make this, we highly recommend a cast iron skillet! The recipe includes tomato paste, extra lean ground beef, cheddar cheese sauce, pasta, and garlic. It’s packed with plenty of seasonings, so you don’t have to worry about how it will turn out. The best part is that the whole family will love this dinner.

15. Cast Iron Skillet Frittata

This hearty Cast Iron Skillet Frittata contains a mixture of vegetables (onions, peppers, spinach) with meat (ham, bacon, or sausage) and cheese. With all of these ingredients combined with fluffy eggs, you can start your morning off on the right foot! Making it in a 9-inch cast iron skillet makes enough servings for four to six people. So it’s perfect for making for your family on the weekends!