Consumer Reports

CR’s take: The pricey Butter Pat, $295, is worth every penny. It aces our tests for baking cornbread and searing a juicy New York strip steak, and is the only cast-iron pan that earns a Very Good rating for heating evenness. At just over 6 pounds, it’s also one of the lighter models in our tests. Its handle gets hotter than the handles of other frying pans in our labs, though, so you’ll want to be careful handling it while cooking. The Butter Pat is sold only on the company’s website. Check out other options in “Best Cast-Iron Frying Pans From Consumer Reports’ Tests.”

CR’s take: The Lodge Seasoned Cast Iron Baking Pan is the smallest of all the sheet pans in our tests, but at almost 8½ pounds, it weighs the most—by far. In fact, it’s difficult to remove it from the oven with just one hand. On the plus side, it doesn’t warp, and cleanup is easier than it is for all the other uncoated pans.

CR’s take: The pricey Butter Pat aces our tests for baking cornbread and searing a juicy New York strip steak, and it's the only cast-iron pan that earns a Very Good for heating evenness. At just over 6 pounds, it’s also one of the lighter models in our tests. Its handle gets much hotter than the handles of all the other frying pans in our labs, though, so you’ll want to be careful handling it while cooking. The Butter Pat is sold only on the company's website.

TechGearLab

The Lodge Seasoned Cast Iron Set is our favorite cast iron cookware set because it offers excellent heat retention and cooking performance. It can sear a tuna steak like no other, fry up eggs and pancakes, and includes a dutch oven in the set, which we used for baking bread. When properly maintained and seasoned &#40;and not overheated&#41;, cooking performance is unparalleled. If you're seeking a skillet, dutch oven, and tortilla maker that'll last you for decades, this cast iron set is a great choice. Plus, it's only a hair more expensive than the Amazon set, which we think is an excellent deal in itself. 
Extra care, seasoning, skills, and maintenance are required to use cast iron sets in general, and some folks simply aren't interested in taking on these chores. The surface comes with a pebble finish, which may scrub off over time when metal tools are used. Be prepared to heat it slowly and use oil or butter for all cooking dishes; otherwise, you'll be dealing with stuck-on foods. Even though it's marketed as "pre-seasoned", we recommend seasoning it yourself to ensure its non-stick performance. Cleaning is straightforward and doesn't require delicate care like non-stick pans, but you do need to dress it with oil after use. While maintenance does take a little extra time, you won't be disappointed with its cooking performance or longevity. 

America's Test Kitchen

While this skillet started out with a rougher surface than those of the artisan pans, its gently nubbly texture quickly gained seasoning, and by the end of testing it released food and cleaned up perfectly. At about 8 pounds, it’s heavy, but that weight helps with heat retention and browning. Its roomy surface and high sides make it a versatile performer—all at a great price for a pan that will last forever.

We loved how deeply this pan browned foods: The steak had a dark crust and the fond made a flavorful pan sauce. It came preseasoned, but some scrambled eggs stuck to the surface, and we saw traces of black cast-iron seasoning on the crust of apple pie. (It’s worth noting that this pan will become more nonstick with use over time.) Plus, it requires seasoning after every use. However, these are minor quibbles. It’s a great pan at an excellent price, and it will last a lifetime.

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expert-review

The Best Cast-Iron Skillet

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The classic Lodge sears well and is deep enough for frying chicken, but it is hefty to maneuver around the range.

The Victoria is one of the lowest-priced pans we’ve tested, but it browns and sears just as well as some higher-priced ones, earning top scores on both tests. But it was only so-so in our cornbread test, and scored a Fair on our heating evenness test, the lowest rating of the pans here. At 6.9 pounds, it’s lighter than many other pans in our tests.
For more options: Best Cast Iron Frying Pans

Lodge has been making cast-iron frying pans in its Tennessee foundry since 1896. It’s one of the few surviving iconic American brands. This 12-inch Lodge cast-iron pan is top-notch at browning scallops and earns an Excellent rating for searing a steak. Baking is only so-so, though. Heating evenness is also mediocre. It weighs 7.8 pounds, which is about average.
For more options: Best Cast-Iron Frying Pans

CR’s take: Lodge has been making cast-iron frying pans in its Tennessee foundry since 1896 and is one of the few surviving iconic American brands. This 12-inch Lodge is top-notch at browning scallops and earns an Excellent rating for searing a steak. Baking is only so-so, though. Heating evenness is also mediocre. It weighs 7.8 pounds, which is about average.

CR’s take: The Victoria is one of the lowest-priced pans we've tested, but it browns and sears just as well as some higher-priced ones, earning top scores on both tests. But it was only so-so in our cornbread test, and scored a Fair on our heating evenness test, the lowest rating of the pans here. At 6.9 pounds, it’s lighter than many other pans in our tests.

Lodge has been making cast-iron frying pans in its Tennessee foundry since 1896. It’s one of the few surviving iconic American brands. This 12-inch Lodge cast-iron pan is top-notch at browning scallops and earns an Excellent rating for searing a steak. Baking is only so-so, though. Heating evenness is also mediocre. It weighs 7.8 pounds, which is about average.For more options: Best Cast-Iron Frying Pans

The versatility of cast iron is not to be overlooked—it lends itself to cooking up a variety of dishes, from pancakes and pies to one-pot dinners and so much more. The Lodge uncoated cast-iron frying pan scores an Excellent rating in our tests when it comes to searing steaks and browning foods. It comes pre-seasoned with a thin layer of oil baked in, and if you keep it that way, it will last for generations. The seasoning is what also makes it so easy to clean—with the exception of one, all the uncoated cast-iron skillets in our tests earn a Very Good rating for ease of cleaning.

This affordable pan is lighter than a traditional cast-iron skillet and a little shallower. It’s an ideal shape for searing, roasting, and sautéing.

powerreviews

The Lodge Dual Handle 12" is a larger surface skillet that offers unsurpassed versatility in both cooking and baking. We love this skillet for cooking up generous, "one-pot" dishes like stir-fry and warm couscous salads. Compared to other Lodge pans, this skillet is cast with a thinner base, so it feels significantly lighter than its size might suggest. From pizza to apple pie, cinnamon rolls to tarts, this skillet will become a go-to for baking. The dual handles make it much easier to lift in and out of the oven, and a quality finish means that the pan quickly begins to accept excess oil and butter as seasoning.
However, the only time we really noticed any remarkable difference was when simmering sauces &mdash; the pan's center is significantly hotter than the sides. While this pan does not specifically include a lid &#40;which would come in very handy with some baked goods&#41;, it is universally compatible with any Lodge 12" top. For large family meals that you want to transfer directly from the stovetop to the table, this is our choice to double as a skillet and serving dish &#40;paella, perhaps?&#41;

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Silky-smooth from the get-go, this roomy pan didn’t let food stick and stayed impressively slick throughout testing. Its heavy weight helped it retain heat, so it seared food evenly and deeply. The pan’s bronze color became blotchy as we used it, but it will gradually gain a nice patina with lots of use.

"I’ve been a bit intimidated by cast-iron skillet maintenance and care as long as I’ve been in the kitchen; I’m always worried I’ll strip the seasoning. After multiple conversations with Lisa McManus, who recently re-reviewed cast-iron skillets, I felt more confident, and I decided to splurge on our winner from Smithey Ironware. It’s absolutely perfect, with a smooth cooking surface that reliably releases food and a handsome design that will make for a beautiful family heirloom." - Chase Brightwell, Assistant Editor, ATK Reviews

"I recently tested cast-iron skillets and came to appreciate the generous size and weight, terrific heat retention for browning and frying, and easy food release of our top-ranked favorites. The Smithey is a hand-crafted, artisan-made beauty, polished inside for nonstick slickness, while the very affordable Lodge became equally nonstick within a few uses. You could add a copy of Cook It in Cast Iron for creative inspiration and some terrific, unexpected ways to use these classic pans." -LM

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CR’s take: You might not associate the name Crock-Pot with something that isn’t, well, a crockpot. But it makes this well-priced Crock-Pot Artisan pan, which can sear a steak and earns Very Good ratings at both browning scallops and baking cornbread. And after all that cooking, it’s easy to clean. Unlike the other enameled pans featured here, the inner coating of this one is white rather than black. The only advantage? It makes it easier to see how your food is browning.

CR’s take: Sold at Bed Bath & Beyond, the Artisanal aces our browning tests, earning an Excellent rating and making perfect scallops. It's just as good at searing a steak, too. It bakes cornbread that's moist and golden brown, but not quite as good as the cornbread from our top-rated pan. The downsides: This pan isn’t great at heating up evenly, and at 8.3 pounds, it’s the heaviest in our tests.

CR’s take: When it comes to searing, this pan from Chrissy Teigen knocks it out of the park. So if steak or pork chops are your thing, it’s worth a look. It also did well at browning scallops, earning a Very Good rating. Cornbread came out moist and tasty, and this pan is easy to clean. Like all cast-iron pans, you can move it from stovetop to oven.

us.amazon.com

We have loads of praise to pile on the Greater Goods 10". For starters, it's the only product we tested with a machine-milled, burnished cook surface. This old-time craft finish is often reserved for cast iron pans that cost three times the price. Though it's still necessary to season the skillet properly by cooking with butter or oil, its smooth finish is remarkably non-stick compared to the competition. The Greater Goods 10" was clearly designed with balance and ergonomics in mind: it has a long, extruded handle that offers a comfortable grip and doubles as a utensil holder.
Though there are many positives to this pan, it's not without its flaws. The steeper sidewalls means it cooks more like a classic sauté pan rather than a skillet &#40;skillets generally have rounder sidewalls&#41;. The milling process results in a bottom that is quite thin compared to other similarly-sized pans. This presents an interesting dichotomy as related to cooking evenness: this skillet exhibits nearly uniform temperatures across its cook surface, but its lightweight construction results in poor heat retention. This type of fine temperature control will appeal to those who are on top of managing burners &#40;read: professional chefs&#41; but will likely prove annoying to some of us with less cooking experience.

We have loads of praise to pile on the Greater Goods 10". For starters, it's the only product we tested with a machine-milled, burnished cook surface. This old-time craft finish is often reserved for cast iron pans that cost three times the price. Though it's still necessary to season the skillet properly by cooking with butter or oil, its smooth finish is remarkably non-stick compared to the competition. The Greater Goods 10" was clearly designed with balance and ergonomics in mind: it has a long, extruded handle that offers a comfortable grip and doubles as a utensil holder.
There are many attributes to enjoy, but like most things, this pan is not without flaws. The steeper sidewalls mean it cooks more like a classic sauté pan rather than a skillet &#40;skillets generally have rounder sidewalls&#41;. The milling process produces a bottom that is quite thin compared to other similarly-sized pans. The result is an interesting dichotomy as related to cooking evenness: this skillet exhibits nearly uniform temperatures across its cook surface, but the lightweight construction equates to poor heat retention. This type of fine temperature control will appeal to those who are on top of managing burners &#40;read: professional chefs&#41; but will likely prove annoying to some of us with less cooking experience.

Cast Iron Skillet Comparison