15 Great Cast Iron Skillet Recipes

First up in our cast iron skillet recipes: cast iron pizza! This epic homemade pan pizza tastes just like the thick crust pizza from your favorite pizzeria. The smell wafting from the oven is enough to make you visibly drool (we did!). Cooking in a cast iron skillet makes the crust crispy on the outside and soft on the inside: and the cheese goes all the way to the edges. These supreme-style toppings with gooey cheese and garlicky tomato sauce…well, it’s true perfection.

Ever crave a skillet of perfectly browned fried potatoes? Introducing the perfect cast iron potatoes! These thin potato rounds are browned in a cast iron skillet until they’re crispy and golden. And the seasoning is perfect: just the right amount of smoky, salty, and savory. With the hint of sweetness from the potatoes, there’s a lot going on with only a few ingredients. They work as breakfast potatoes, or an easy side dish for dinner.

Want to eat more breakfast vegetables? You’re not alone. Eating more veggies to start the day is starting to trend. How to eat vegetables for breakfast? Try this Cast Iron Skillet Breakfast Scramble! You can make it two ways: with eggs or tofu, depending on your diet. It’s full of savory flavor…and loaded with nutrients, too.

Here's a stellar cast iron skillet recipe: shakshuka! Shakshuka is a dish of eggs poached in a tomato sauce that originates from North Africa and the Middle East. Usually the tomato sauce includes onions and peppers, and is flavored with cumin and paprika. It's eaten from Tunisia to Israel to Morocco, and it’s gotten very popular in the US in restaurants and with home cooks! Try it for a stunning brunch or easy dinner.

Here’s a way to cook shrimp that you’ll find yourself coming back to again and again: blackened shrimp in a cast iron skillet! Blackening is a Cajun cooking technique that’s all about the spices. Combine homemade blackened seasoning with skillet fried shrimp, and you’ve got a mix of savory, herbal, and salty flavors that makes it over the top irresistible!

Here’s a fun dessert idea that you can whip up right in your cast iron skillet...because a skillet's not just for savory food! The cozy spiced apples are topped with tender biscuits, all nestled in a skillet and baked until golden brown. Serve with a bit of melty ice cream and it’s totally irresistible.

Check out that gooey, melty cheese! This skillet Mexican cheese dip is the ideal cast iron skillet recipe. It’s perfect for parties: tailgating, a game day gathering, or a party table full of finger foods. It’s a play on white chili, using white beans, mild green chiles, corn, and a gooey mess of Mexican cheeses. Grab some tortilla chips and get dipping!

Want a salmon recipe to impress? This Cajun Salmon in a cast iron skillet is so tender and full of savory flavor, everyone around the table will fall head over heels! This beautiful piece of fish has a crispy blackened top, seasoned with a special blend of homemade Cajun spices. Even better: pan searing salmon is the fastest and easiest way to cook it! Just a few minutes in a blazing hot pan, and you’ve got dinner.

Also try: Blackened Salmon

Did you know naan bread is an essential cast iron skillet recipe? This Indian skillet flatbread is always a crowd pleaser: it’s soft, supple, warm and garlic-scented. There’s not much better to sop up a curry! There are all sorts of creative ways to turn naan into dinner too: like naan pizza! It’s easy to find this famous bread at the store, but the very best way to eat it: homemade, right off the skillet. 

Also try: Vegan Naan Bread

Homemade hash browns are incredibly delicious, and here’s the thing: they’re not much harder than cracking open a bag of frozen ones. The tradeoff in flavor is absolutely worth it! These cast iron skillet hash browns are browned and crispy, with flecks of tender moist shreds that combine into a texture that tastes like a cozy hug. Salt them to perfection with lots of black pepper, and you might not be able to put down your fork.

Grilled nachos are a perfect cast iron skillet recipe to wow a crowd for entertaining! The grill brings a smoky, charred flavor to the nachos and they look stunning in the skillet. Serve them right out of the pan with a few sides and you've got a tasty dinner...or snack.

Here's another dessert that's a cast iron skillet recipe, too: bananas foster! Here the bananas are sauteed in a gooey sauce of caramelized sugar and rum, and served over ice cream. There’s usually a flame too, which brings in over the top drama! The best part: you can make it in 10 minutes!

Little green shishito peppers have quite a cult following. Because here’s the thing: they’re just as irresistible as French fries! Cook them at high heat in a cast iron skillet until they’re tender and their skin is blackened, then sprinkle with salt. Each bite is a mini-explosion of sweet, salty and charred flavor! Here’s exactly how to cook them.

Many of our readers swear by this enchilada skillet recipe! It’s got enchilada sauce, tortilla strips, and a bunch of veggies and black beans, all nestled together in a cast iron skillet with just the right amount of cheese. It’s so flavorful! Use your favorite store-bought enchilada sauce or our homemade version (made in advance).

Last but not least in our cast iron skillet recipes...a vegetable stir fry! Cast iron is perfect for high heat cooking like stir fries. These vegetables are colorful and taste so delicious, you won’t want to stop eating them! It’s great way to eat all the best healthy vegetables! Making a stir fry is easy, but you also need to know a few tricks to get it right. Here's everything you need to know to make a tasty skillet of stir fried vegetables.