Best cast iron skillets for a first-time owner
Cast iron has a reputation for being difficult that it mostly does not deserve. What to buy first and what the seasoning question really involves.
2 products ranked Updated
Our rankings are built from published testing by named outlets, not from our own lab. We earn a commission when you buy through our links, and it never changes the order.
The short answer
- 1 Lodge Classic Cast Iron Skillet Best first cast iron pan From $12.95 depending on size; about $44 for the 12-inch, per America's Test Kitchen
- 2 Smithey Ironware No. 12 Cast Iron Skillet What $220 actually buys $220
Prices checked 9 September 2026. They move constantly — the retailer's own page is the authority.
Around From $12.95 depending on size; about $44 for the 12-inch, per America's Test Kitchen
Lodge Classic Cast Iron Skillet
4 / 5
Our reading of America's Test Kitchen — their Best Buy — equivalent performance at a bargain price , 2025
Our source is explicit that this gives equivalent performance to the $220 pan once it is broken in, and that "sticky at first, excellent after a few cooks" is precisely the experience a first-timer needs to expect rather than be alarmed by. **Buy the 10.25-inch, not the 12.** Their favourite 12-inch pans weigh around 8 pounds, and a pan you can lift one-handed is a pan you use. Lodge sells every size from one page, so the price shown spans the range.
Pros
- Equivalent performance to the $220 pan, per the test
- Pre-seasoned, so it works from the box
- Cheap enough that disliking cast iron costs you almost nothing
Cons
- Pebbly and sticky for the first few cooks — expected, but off-putting
- The 12-inch is around 8 lb; get the 10.25-inch as a first pan
- Price varies by size and the linked page covers all of them
Where these findings come from
- America's Test Kitchen: Best Buy at about $44 for the 12-inch; surface felt pebbly and was sticky at first, then released food like a champ after a few rounds of cooking
Smithey Ironware No. 12 Cast Iron Skillet
4.5 / 5
Our reading of America's Test Kitchen — their best overall — aced every test and released food like a nonstick pan , 2025
The best cast iron pan in the test, and the honest description of what the money buys is narrow: a machined-smooth interior that releases food properly from the first use instead of after a fortnight of cooking. That is a real thing and it is roughly $175 for two weeks of patience. Buy it if you already know you love cast iron. Price verified on Smithey's own store at $220 today, above the $200 our source quotes.
Pros
- Best overall in the test; releases like non-stick from new
- Machined-smooth interior rather than a raw sand-cast finish
- Price and image verified on Smithey's own store
Cons
- $220 — and the cheap pan matches it once seasoned, per the same test
- Currently $20 above the price our source quotes
- Heavy, like all 12-inch cast iron
Where these findings come from
- America's Test Kitchen: best overall; smooth polished interior, aced searing, baking and browning, and released food like a nonstick pan would, at about $200
What actually matters
Pre-seasoned or bare. Nearly everything sold now is pre-seasoned, which means you can cook on it immediately. Bare iron needs several rounds of oiling and baking before it is usable. For a first pan, pre-seasoned removes the part that puts people off.
Surface finish. Older pans were machined smooth; most modern ones have a slightly pebbled cast surface. Smooth releases food better from the start, but a rough pan smooths with use. It is a matter of patience rather than quality.
Weight, honestly. A 12-inch skillet is heavy enough that some people will not use it. A 10-inch pan gets used, and a pan that gets used is better than a bigger one in a cupboard.
Handle length and a helper handle. A long handle stays cooler; a helper handle on the far side makes it liftable with two hands, which at this weight matters.
Where this comes from, and why there are only two picks
We do not test pans. Our source tested cast iron on searing, baking and browning and found something that shapes this whole page: the artisan pans with glassy-smooth interiors release food almost perfectly from the start, while the cheap pebbly ones start sticky and become non-stick within a few rounds of cooking.
So this category has genuinely two answers, not five: pay a lot for a smooth surface now, or pay very little and let the seasoning do it for you over a fortnight. Everything else is a variation on those two. We are not going to pad the page to three.
Our order is not our source's. Their overall winner is the $220 pan. For someone buying their first cast iron — the person in the title — the cheap one is the right answer, because the difference disappears with use and the cost of discovering you dislike cast iron should not be $220.
What we are leaving out
Enamelled cast iron, which is a different product needing no seasoning, and anything above 12 inches.
Where this comes from
We did not test these. These people did.
Every score on this page rests on the testing below. The ranking is ours; the measurements are not. How we research.
- America's Test Kitchen — Tested on searing, baking and browning, with attention to how surface finish affects release from new and over time.
Questions people ask
Can I use soap on cast iron?
What if it rusts?
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