If you’re ever stuck on a desert island with just one pan, you’d better hope it’s a cast-iron skillet. Whether you’re searing, roasting, baking, frying, or braising, the skillet’s weight, nonstick surface, and heat-retaining properties make it the best choice. These recipes, from appetizers to desserts, take advantage ofcast-iron’s great benefits. Can’t get enough? Check out our latestspecial issue, devoted entirely to cast-iron cooking.
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RecipeSkillet-Roasted Rosemary Potatoes
Roasting these potatoes in a cast-iron skillet helps brown and crisp up the skins while the interiors stay moist and creamy. -
RecipeBlack-Pepper-Crusted Beef Tenderloin with Chimichurri Sauce
Not only does the cast-iron skillet give this sear-roasted steak a beautiful crust, but its weight comes in handy too: you can use it to crush the whole peppercorns for the coating. -
RecipeCornbread with Scallions & Bacon
Skillet-baked cornbread is a classic, and for good reason: pouring the batter into a searing-hot skillet greased with hot fat, then baking, makes for a beautifully golden-brown, crisp crust. -
RecipeFig, Taleggio & Radicchio Pizza
Here’s a novel use for the cast-iron skillet: its ability to retain heat makes a great stand-in for a pizza stone if you don’t have one, producing that crackly, pizzeria-style crust. -
RecipeSweet & Spicy Fried Peach Pies
For crispy fried foods, cast iron can’t be beat because it holds a fairly constant temperature even when food is added to the oil. As a result, the crust is quickly sealed and absorbs less oil, making it crisp, not greasy. -
RecipeChocolate Chunk Skillet Cookies with Toasted Coconut and Pecans
These cookies are excellent made into sundaes; the slight dip in the middle of a mini skillet cookie makes a perfect hollow for the ice cream. If you don't have mini skillets, you can bake these as one big cookie in an 8-inch skillet.
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RecipeBeer-Battered Coconut Shrimp with Rémoulade Sauce
Not only does the cast-iron help keep the oil hot, but the skillet’s large surface area allows you to cook a lot of small things, like these coconut shrimp, in one batch without overcrowding. -
RecipeChicken Under a Brick
Putting a foil-wrapped brick on these chicken breasts maximizes their contact with the cast-iron pan, which gives them deep golden-brown crisped skin, while the meat stays moist and juicy. -
RecipeSouthwestern Braised Lamb Shanks
A cast-iron skillet keeps the temperature steady even when the heat is low, as is ideal for low-and-slow braises like these lamb shanks. -
RecipeGerman Pear Pancake
This light and airy German-style pancake develops a superior crunchy crust when baked in cast-iron. -
RecipeTex-Mex Chicken with Chiles and Cheese
Grab your skillet, your chicken breasts, and kick dinner up a spicy notch tonight. If you've got a little time, make homemade corn tortillas and turn this Tex-Mex dish into a wrap.
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RecipeBroiled Mushrooms with Goat Cheese and Thyme
Broiling mushrooms is a quick way to brown them and bring out their deep flavor. Serve with seared steak or roast chicken.
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RecipeQuick Chocolate Bread Pudding
The cast-iron skillet’s virtue in this recipe is that it goes from stovetop to broiler to table, so you can have a homey, comforting bread pudding on the table in just 30 minutes, with only one pan to clean. -
RecipeSautéed Sausages with Grapes and Balsamic Glazed Onions
Sausage and grapes are a classic Italian pairing. The addition of balsamic vinegar and caramelized onions turns this into a quick, warming braise. Piercing the sausages with the tines of a fork will allow them to release some of their juices and infuse the broth.
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RecipeSkillet Shepherd's Pie
This kind of dish is perfect for a still-cold spring night. It’s hearty and filling, but the peas and mint hint at the warm weather to come.
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RecipeRoast Chicken with Fingerling Potatoes, Leeks, and Bacon
Sautéing the leeks and garlic before layering them with the potatoes renders them meltingly tender and slightly caramelized. The roast chicken on top comes out incredibly juicy, with delicate herbal notes
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RecipeQuick Skillet Mac and Cheese
谁说你不能放纵的食物a weeknight? This mac and cheese goes from stovetop to broiler, so it's ready in a flash, and a cast-iron skillet handles the heat beautifully. -
RecipeDouble Chocolate-Tahini Skillet Cookie
Tahini (sesame paste) adds a welcome savory element to this brownielike cookie.
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RecipeCheesy Skillet Potatoes
A quick and indulgent answer to potato gratin, these potatoes are delicious with baked cod, roast lamb, or pork chops.
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RecipeShirred Eggs with Vegetable Hash and Smoked Cheddar
In this single-skillet supper, eggs are cracked over a tender sweet potato and zucchini hash, which is then topped with smoked Cheddar and broiled.
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RecipeApple Cornbread Skillet Cobbler
Honey, cinnamon, and coarse sugar lend a sweet sparkle to the topping on this rustic cobbler. A few McIntosh apples in the filling break down during baking to form a sauce that ties everything together. Serve this right from the skillet for a casual alternative to apple pie.
