7 Easy Cast Iron Skillet Recipes You Need to Try | Allrecipes

Pull your cast iron skillets out of the cabinet because I'm showing you seven things you need to be cooking in it other than cornbread and fried chicken. I love a cast iron skillet because not only do they deliver delicious food, but they're not that expensive. Around 30 bucks, you can get a decent skillet and it will stay with you and your family forever. You just gotta take care of it. I feel like if you do have a cast iron skillet, you've only used it for one thing. I'm gonna show you seven new ways to use it, starting with casseroles. You need to be building casseroles in your cast iron skillet and I'm gonna show you why. Cast iron skillets are perfect for casseroles because you can build the layers of flavor in there just like any of my favorite one pan meals, but then it also, of course, can go straight to the oven. So a lot of times when you're making a casserole, you're mixing everything, maybe browning some stuff on the stove and then putting it in a casserole dish. No casserole dish needed. So I've already started by cooking off some bacon. I've got that here and now to the drippings, I'm gonna brown my meat. I'm making cowboy casserole. Starts off with ground beef and ground sausage in addition to the bacon. So think about anything with cowboy is generally something you would cook or expect to be cooked over a campfire. Speaking of which, you can cook with a cast iron on a campfire. Cowboy dishes tend to be extra hearty and this is no exception because it's gotta feed those cowboys after a long day on the range. Yeah. Browned and crumbled. Now in go the veggies. Of course, we'll link the recipes because you can adapt this method to countless recipes. Just cook these veggies until they soften a bit, then we mix everything else in and pop it in the oven and we can take it off the heat to do that. All right, now we just finish building the casserole, which is a can of cream of mushroom, little bit of sour cream, some milk, frozen corn. This is definitely one of those casseroles that appeals to everybody. Very family friendly. Stir back in the bacon, little bit of cheese, salt and pepper. And now for the good part. Every casserole should have a good topping. Tater tot topping, yes please. Top it with some more cheddar than our tater tots. And you wanna arrange them in a little circle. Keep it cute. Not every casserole has to be rectangular. I'm gonna save just a little bit of cheese to fill in the nooks and crannies. All right, then this goes into the oven, 375 degrees until those hash browns are good and crispy and it's hot and bubbly. It's not your grandma's cast iron skillet recipe. Oh my gosh. Cast iron skillets for casseroles make for a beautiful presentation. Like all casseroles, you're gonna wanna let it sit for a minute so that way it comes together a little better. I'm gonna top this one with some green onions. Just feels right. I'm gonna let it sit for a couple minutes before I dig in. Yum. Ooh, I'm gonna let it sit for 10 minutes so you can see how piping hot it still is. Cast iron skillets know how to hold their heat, baby. I'm gonna top this with a little more heat since it's cowboy inspired. Taking the extra time and getting those tater tots extra crispy on top, key, the flavors in here are so satisfying. This is definitely a meal that's gonna stick to your ribs, keep you full a long time, and keep those cowboys happy. Did you know a cast iron skillet is the perfect vessel to roast a whole chicken or other large cuts of meat? Well, it is, and you know now. A bonus is that you get your side dish in there as well. It's good to kind of build a base. Potatoes are the perfect thing to use. Then as the chicken roast, it flavors the potatoes. So good. Because cast iron skillets can withstand a high heat in the oven, plus they hold their temperature for a long time. So it cooks evenly, it gets nice and hot. So I'm gonna get the veggies in the bottom, toss in some rosemary. I'm gonna go in with some olive oil, a little garlic powder, salt and pepper. Just like if you were making roasted potatoes and now you don't have to dirty a second pan. It can all happen in here. Okay, and then I'm just gonna kind of season the chicken the same way. It's nice and dry, so that means it's gonna get good and crispy. So I'm just gonna go ahead and season it as well. Salt and pepper. Don't forget the inside. I'm gonna stick some of that rosemary inside. I'm gonna go on with a little bit of lemon pepper too, just because I like a little lemon pepper roasted chicken. Make sure it's all well seasoned, and then you're gonna wanna tuck the wings back just so they don't burn. And you could tie the legs together with twine if you want to. And just set that chicken right on top. This will go into the oven 425 degrees for about 50 to 60 minutes, or just until that chicken's done. Not all the potatoes will get nice and roasted brown, but the ones around the edges will. The ones right under the chicken probably aren't, but they're all gonna absorb that good chicken juice that starts dripping and cooking. Oh my gosh, so good. Probably one of the more impressive roast chickens you've ever seen, am I right? Great thing about the cast iron skillet is the even heating, so everything is evenly cooked. And the bonus, when you see those potatoes, get ready. Maybe some of the best you've ever had. Like all roasted meats, we gotta let it rest. Let me show you these potatoes. They're so tender, and then there's some caramelization that happens around the outside, but all this juice, that is liquid gold. All right, let's check out this chicken. See that crust, I mean, did we take a moment to appreciate that crispy crust? Juicy, tender, just gotta make a little sample plate. Don't forget to cook up a green veggie to go with. Tell you, it's really like three delicious things in one skillet. You get so much flavor from the caramelization that occurs, and that helps flavor the veggie side dish and the juices, and then you get perfect roasted chicken. Hear that? That melts in your mouth. But this is my favorite part. It's one of the best potatoes I've had in a long time. If you're not roasting your meat in the cast iron skillet, I promise you, you're missing out on a lot of good things. You know what else you need to be making in your cast iron skillet? Pot dips, my favorite food. I'm whipping up campfire queso, intended to be made on a campfire. You can cook it and serve it straight from here because, like I said, it holds the heat for a long time, so your dip will stay nice and melty. You don't need a crock pot, genius. Campfire queso, similar to the cowboy casserole in its flavors, but we're gonna start by cooking off some sausage and ground beef. This is just a fun thing to do as the weather starts getting nicer and people wanna be outside grilling. Don't even dirty the kitchen at all. Make everything outside on the grill. That brown and white, everything else. Now I'm going in with some jalapeno, some red onion, some red bell pepper. I'm gonna cook that down also till those veggies are good and soft. All right, now the main cooking is done. Gonna stir in the cheeses, and that's when you wanna set it on the indirect heat on your grill or in your smoker set on low. A little Rotel, cream cheese, and some Velveeta. And this is typically when you would put this in the slow cooker and let it go low, but we're doing it campfire style. We'll pretend campfire. And some pepper jack cheese. I know it looks like it's not gonna fit, but it will. Cover it up, let it go low and slow. Go grab yourself a cold beer. Check this out. Some cowboy queso. And what's good is nothing's gonna burn, so you can really let this go, you know, an hour or two on that low smoker, plus you would get some of that smoke flavor in there. It's really easy. You can just serve straight from the skillet. The best part about serving out of the cast iron skillet is that it holds its heat for a long time, so a hot dip is perfect, no crock pot required, because it's gonna stay warm and melty for a while. I mean, to me, this is dinner. And like I said, no need to dirty up the kitchen for anything. You can make your appetizers, your main entree, and even your dessert in a cast iron skillet. We'll get to that one in a little bit. Mm. This will work for any of your hot dip recipes, but this one is the recipe you should try first. That is divine. I'm gonna have to restrain myself. You've seen me do this next method before, but you really haven't seen me do it in a cast iron skillet. I am making chicken fra diavolo. It's another one pan chicken meal, similar to what I've done in the past, but a different recipe. While I don't use a cast iron skillet a lot in my videos, this is the way I always do it at home, and it produces the best crispy skin. I do have three different sizes of cast iron skillet, none expensive at home, but I like a large one, so you want like a 12 to 14 inch, and then an eight to 10 inch, and then I've got like a small little baby for some small projects. This is the time to break out the big one. And you can attribute the good crispy skin to, again, that even heating, plus the fact that it can withstand a high cook temperature. Some people like to start their chicken thighs in a cold pan to render that fat out. I don't think it's necessary. I think you can still get crispy skin this way. Just give it a little press when you put it in. Skin is on the other side, and you know the rule. Walk away, let it go. Let it cook until it's good and crispy. Was it loud enough? I probably could've used one less chicken thigh so it wasn't so crowded in there, but we made it work. And look at all the flavor we have developed on the bottom of the skillet. I mean, the crispiness that is achieved in the cast iron skillet is almost unmatched. Maybe it is unmatched. So to that, we cook our veggies like normal. This is fra diablo, which means like devilish, so it's extra spicy. Some red pepper. In goes some garlic and crushed red pepper to keep it even spicier. A little Italian seasoning. Recipe calls to add butter when we're browning those, but you can see we didn't need that because we rendered out a good bit of fat. Right now, we're gonna further lift the flavor from the bottom with some acid, wine, and tomato. Going with some tomato paste and some fire-roasted tomatoes. Doesn't that look so good? It smells even better. Now I'm gonna put the chicken back in along with any juices that have accumulated, and I'm gonna keep the skin exposed to keep it good and crispy. Just like I mentioned before, a benefit to cooking in the cast iron skillet is you can go straight from the stove to the oven. So these are gonna finish cooking in the oven. It's just easy. Have I convinced you to pull out your cast iron skillet yet? This is heavenly. This is your restaurant meal. Our skin is still good and crispy, but that meat under there is gonna be so tender. Finish it with some fresh basil, a little more crushed red pepper to make it spicy like the devil. Can you smell it? Other than that beautiful crispy chicken, the sauce is the star of the show. So I'm gonna serve this with pasta because you want something to soak up that goodness. You could just serve this with crusty bread if you want. I like to take my little pasta fruit and swim in the sauce first. Beautiful chicken thigh and sauce. You spoon the sauce over at the last minute, you won't lose so much crispiness on your chicken. And then a final touch, a little grated parm. See, you can get a restaurant-quality meal in that cast iron skillet easy as pie. And then you can really cut that with a fork. That is so tender. That Diablo kick is in there for sure, but it's that good kind of spice. It just kind of sits there. It doesn't make you want to like, feel like you have to reach for the milk or anything. So much flavor, the little burst of tomato. Chicken, tender as anything. If you're not pan roasting and making a delicious sauce in your cast iron skillet, you're missing out. What are you doing? Some of the best pizza you can make at home comes out of your cast iron skillet. Why? Because it can get super hot, therefore it can lend itself to giving you a crispy crust on the bottom, and that's what I'm here for. I love a pan pizza when it's kind of almost a little greasy and crunchy on the bottom. That's what we're making. You can use whatever dough and toppings you want. I am just going to show you the method because it's all about the method. Starting with, you want to preheat your skillet. Go into your oven about 450 degrees and let it go for about five minutes. When it comes out, we're going to put some oil in the bottom while it's nice and hot, and then it's almost going to kind of fry the dough. That's how you get that crispiness. You can use any kind of store-bought dough or from your favorite pizza place, or you can use the recipe I have for a perfect pan pizza. It's so good, it just requires a little time because you have to let it go overnight. Hot, and you kind of want to act a little bit fast so you can get it in there and get it crispy. Little bit of oil down, enough to kind of coat the surface there, and then carefully down with your pizza dough. Make sure you stretch it out as far as you can to the edges without touching the pan, obviously. And then to keep this crust good and crispy, I like to put a little cheese down first so that the sauce doesn't just make it soggy. So I go in with some parm, especially around the edges. Once it hits the heat, it's a little easier to stretch out so you can kind of work it to where it kind of almost goes up the sides a little bit, and just a little bit of your mozzarella, and then down with your sauce. And a classic, pepperoni, and then some more cheese. And this goes back into that hot oven till it's all gooey and the crust is golden brown. Perfect pizza. Now for the test. If it is not as crispy as you want it on the bottom, you can finish it on the stove. So let's see. Yeah, I'm gonna go just a little bit longer so that the bottom gets extra crispy. This is something you can't do with a pizza stone. You can hear it sizzle a little bit, and then check out the sides. Now we're talking. It's a good looking pizza, huh? Finish it off my way. A little parm, a little crushed red pepper, some fresh basil. Do you know when you get takeout pizza, and by the time it gets to you, that crust is not crispy anymore, it gets a little soggy? Cast iron skillet is key. That's what the cast iron's all about when it comes to pizza. Crispy crust. It's perfect. It's nothing like it. You just can't beat it, it's perfect. So the key things to remember, preheat your pan, make sure your oven's really hot, and if you need to, finish it on the stove top to get that crust extra crispy. Cast iron skillets are arguably the best vessels to cook steaks and burgers, in my opinion. You've seen me do steaks before, but I haven't done a burger in a while, so now is the time. I'm gonna prove to you that a cast iron skillet makes one of the best burgers of all time. I would prefer this burger over a grill burger any day. Why? I'll show you. First, it's gonna develop a nice crust, so I'm gonna start by seasoning my burgers on the outside. Got a little steak seasoning on the inside. The grill is good, because you get the grill marks and the grill flavor, but it doesn't give quite the crust that you get in a pan, or sometimes on the griddle. I do love a griddle burger, too. But if you don't have a griddle, and obviously you don't have that restaurant flat top at home, cast iron skillet. It's the way to go. So get it hot and let her rip. Season the other side. Similar to how we cook those chicken thighs. Let it go. Don't worry about it. You'll know it's time to flip it, A, when it releases easily from the pan, but also when you can start to tell that the burger's halfway cooked when it starts to cook up the sides a little bit. Second reason why it's so good besides the crust is the fat renders out in here, and then the burger cooks in its own fat. That is liquid good. See how the color's changing on the patty about halfway up? That means it's probably time to flip. Crust equals flavor. Now I turn the heat down slightly and let it finish cooking to your desired degree of doneness. Don't judge. I don't like a medium rare or even a medium burger. I don't like soft ground beef, I just don't. See all that flavor that a skillet burger gets to cook in? All right, so when it's almost done, time to add the cheese. No better cheese for a cheeseburger than the Good American. Let that be melting, and then you get the final benefit. You wanna cook your bun in those drippings. It's like a sponge of flavor. See that? See that flavor? Usually you get just enough drippings based on how many burgers you cooked. Truthfully, what you get from that cast iron skillet, you don't even have to put anything on your burger. I mean, it's so good like this, this is like diner style situation. Or you can dress it up how you normally want to. Cast iron skillet burgers, greater than all other burgers. Let me just make sure of that. I can't describe the amount of flavor that comes just from the crust and the way the bun gets to absorb the leftovers. It's savory, it's tender, it's 100% a perfect burger. Let's end it with a sweet treat because did you know you can make desserts in your cast iron skillet? Some of the best desserts to come out of a cast iron skillet are cobblers, brownies, cinnamon rolls, and I'm showing you a pizookie, a cookie pizza. Something like that. This will work with any cookie dough recipe that you like. This is a variation of a chocolate chip cookie with a little more pizzazz. So just like any cookie recipe, start by creaming your butter and sugar until it's light and fluffy. Some people have multiple cast iron skillets because they don't want to make their something sweet in something that might still taste like a hamburger. But if it's cleaned well, you probably won't have that problem. However, like I said, they're not very expensive. So you could have one for sweets and baked goods like biscuits and cornbread, and then one for your more savory things. Add in the eggs, a little vanilla, and then go in with the dry ingredients. This recipe also includes oats and a little cinnamon. A whole bag of chocolate chips and chopped pecans. I would call this optional. I'm gonna do half the amount. This will work with any store-bought cookie dough as well. I think what's so nice about it is you can serve it straight from the skillet. So again, with that presentation, it just looks fun and special. You wanna make sure your cast iron skillet is well seasoned, meaning that you've treated it a long time so it's gonna release easily. It's almost like a nonstick pan. And you can always add in a little more oil for extra insurance. It is easier than rolling all those cookies. This goes into the oven 350 degrees for about 35 minutes. Oh man, it's smelling good in here. The pizookie. Now look, if you are serving this family style, plop some ice cream right in the center and give everyone a fork. That's really the way to do it. Otherwise, you do need to let it sit, kinda come together so that we can try to get a good slice out. It didn't stick. You can tell it's releasing easily from the sides. I think that's why people are a little intimidated to make desserts in a cast iron skillet. But a good, well seasoned and well taken care of skillet will produce anything perfectly. I'm gonna restrain myself for about five minutes. Here's a good chance I should've waited a little longer, but might get a prettier slice if I would've been a little more patient. It is like a cookie meets a brownie, thanks to the whole bag of chocolate chips that goes in. You know what you gotta top this with. That's sort of sinful. So gooey and rich. It came out of the skillet easily. It didn't stick around the edges, but it did form such a nice crust around it so you get that kinda crunch on the outside, but gooey on the inside. And you know that's how I like my desserts. And it's gonna hold that heat for a while so you'll get that warm cookie experience for a long time. You're gonna start serving your desserts out of your cast iron skillet? I thought so. There's a whole lot of flavor that you could be unlocking from your cast iron skillet, so go ahead and take it out of the cabinet. You can do a whole lot more than make a batch of cornbread in it. Although cast iron skillet cornbread sure is good. That's a wrap.