9 Awesome Cast Iron Skillet Recipes

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Heat oil in a large oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat. Season the chicken generously with salt and pepper and sear, skin-side down, until golden, 4 to 5 minutes per side. Transfer the chicken to a plate and pour off half the fat from the skillet.

Return the skillet to medium heat and add garlic, thyme and red pepper flakes. Cook until fragrant, 1 minute, then stir in the broth, heavy cream, sun-dried tomatoes and Parmesan. Season with more salt. Bring to a simmer, then return the chicken to the skillet, skin-side up.

Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake until the chicken is cooked through (and juices run clear when chicken is pierced with a knife), 17 to 20 minutes. Garnish with basil and serve.

Note: The sun-dried tomato cream sauce will make EVERYONE fall in love.

Heat your grill to 400°F.

Meatballs. Mix all the meatball ingredients in a bowl. Form meat into golf ball-sized balls. In cast-iron skillet, pour in enough vegetable oil to glaze bottom. Heat over direct flames until you see a little smoke rising from the skillet. Carefully drop in balls. You may need to cook in batches to keep from overcrowding the pan. Keep turning them about every two minutes until cooked through and browned on all sides. Drain off excess grease. Leave balls in skillet, but remove from direct heat.

Sauce. In saucepan on grill or stove, sauté onions in butter until translucent, and then add garlic, and cook for another minute. Don’t put the garlic in at the same time as the onions, or it will burn before onions are ready. In small bowl, make thickener by whisking cornstarch into water or stock until dissolved. Add this to the sauce, and let come to a boil as you stir. Once sauce thickens, pour over meatballs or into a container to refrigerate, and take to tailgate the next day. Once you add the sauce to the meatballs, put them over direct heat for about 15 to 20 minutes to rewarm. Serve hot.

Reserve 2 tablespoons of the olives. Blend the remaining olives, yogurt, parsley, cilantro, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, paprika, cumin, turmeric, salt and pepper flakes. Set aside.

Rinse any ice glaze from the frozen salmon under cold water, and pat dry with a paper towel.

Preheat grill to medium-high.

Coat a heavy skillet with oil, and place on the grill to preheat. Brush both sides of the salmon with oil. Place it in the heated skillet and cook, uncovered, about 3 to 4 minutes, until browned. Turn the salmon over and sprinkle with lemon pepper. Cover the pan tightly and reduce heat to medium. Cook an additional 6 to 8 minutes for frozen salmon or 3 to 4 minutes for fresh or thawed fish.

Serve by spooning sauce over each salmon portion and sprinkling with reserved olives and slivered onion.

Preheat the smoker to 250°F. 

Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl, reserving a tablespoon of the Parmesan cheese. 

Butter an 8-inch cast-iron skillet. Add the mixture to the skillet, lightly pressing down to smooth it out. Sprinkle the reserve Parmesan cheese on top.

Smoke for 1½ to 2 hours, until top is lightly browned and bubbling. Serve with chips, crackers or crostini.

Preheat the grill to 400^oF, direct heat.

In a 12-inch cast-iron skillet, heat the butter and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Add hash browns and cook until browned and crispy around the edges, about 5 to 8 minutes. Flip the potatoes over with spatula, top with cheddar cheese and remove the skillet from the heat.

In a sauté pan, add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil, onions and asparagus. Cook on medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes. Add ham, tomatoes and 1 tablespoon of the green onions, and cook for additional 2 to 3 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste.

Layer the ham mixture on top of the potatoes and cheese in the skillet.

Crack the eggs into a bowl one at a time, trying not to break the yolks. Pour gently on top of the ham and potato layers in the skillet. Arrange the rosemary sprigs around the edges of the skillet.

Place the skillet back onto the grill and close the lid. Continue to cook at 400^oF for 15 to 20 minutes or until the eggs are done to the desired consistency. Top with remaining green onion. Enjoy!

Bring an inch or so of water to a boil in a saucepan fitted with a steamer basket. Add the potatoes, cover and steam until slightly softened but not tender, 5½–7 minutes. Remove the basket from the saucepan.

Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon oil and butter in a 10 1/4-inch Lodge cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and green pepper and cook, stirring often, until the vegetables start to soften, 4–5 minutes. Add the corned beef, salt, pepper and smoked paprika, and cook stirring, 2 minutes. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil to the mixture, and stir to coat.

Add potatoes and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, and scraping up and turning over the potato mixture with a metal spatula, until the potatoes are tender, browned and forming a crust on the bottom of the skillet, 8–12 minutes. Add the half-and-half, and stir to coat.

Reduce the temperature to medium-low. Create 4 wells in the potato mixture and crack an egg into each. Sprinkle with the cheese and cover the skillet with a lid or sheet of foil. Let cook until the cheese is melted and the eggs are set but the yolks are still runny, 5–6 minutes. Serve warm.

Preheat oven (or grill) to 350°F.

In a large bowl, stir together 1 1/4 cups of the mozzarella, cream cheese, ricotta, 1/4 cup of the Parmesan, Italian seasoning and red pepper flakes. Season with salt.

Transfer dip to a small oven-safe skillet or baking dish (or cast-iron skillet, if baking on a grill) and spoon over the pizza sauce. Top with remaining 3/4 cup mozzarella and 1 tablespoon Parmesan, then the pepperoni.

Bake until golden and bubbly, 25 to 30 minutes.

Cool 10 minutes, then blot any grease from pepperoni (or don’t!) before serving with baguette.

Preheat oven (or grill) to 400°F. Grease a large oven-safe skillet with cooking spray (use a cast-iron skillet, if baking this on the grill).

In a large bowl, whisk together corn muffin mix, egg, sour cream and creamed corn. Transfer to the prepared skillet and bake until golden, 20 minutes. Let cool.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium heat, heat the oil. Add the onion, cumin and chili powder. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until soft, 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, 1 minute more. Add the ground beef and cook, breaking up meat with a wooden spoon, until no longer pink, about 6 minutes. Drain the fat.

Poke the entire surface of the cornbread with a fork and pour the enchilada sauce over it. Add beef and top with cheeses.

Cover with foil and bake until cheese is melty, about 20 minutes. Switch oven to broil, remove foil, and broil until cheese turns golden, about 5 minutes.

Set up the grill for indirect cooking, and preheat it to medium. Spray a cast iron skillet with a non-stick spray.

Beat together brownie mix and nondairy milk, coconut oil and vanilla, until batter is formed. Spread batter evenly in the cast iron skillet.

Cover with marshmallows. Make a dome out of foil and cover the skillet. Make sure the dome leaves enough space for the marshmallows to expand without getting stuck to the roof.

Place the cast iron skillet on the grill and cover with the lid. Let cook for 10 minutes. Remove the foil and continue to cook for 5 minutes. Using a pot holder, remove the skillet from the grill and let cool. Enjoy!

Note:  Best when slightly undercooked so the brownies are still really fudgy and perfect for scooping up with some graham crackers.