We Tested 4 Cast Iron Skillets That Celebrity Chefs Love — And We Liked Ina’s Pick the Best

Look at any celebrity chef’s list of favorite tools and it’s almost a guarantee that you’ll see a cast iron skillet on there. (We’re not exactly famous, but we always have a cast iron skillet on our list of Kitchn Essentials every year.) It makes sense: Cast iron skillets can be used on any heat source, go from stove to oven with ease, and cook almost anything (be it delicate fried eggs, fried chicken, or cornbread). And they’ll last for generations with minimal care.

Related: The Best Cast Iron Skillets You Can Buy Right Now

We were thinking the other day: What are the brands that our favorite celebrity chefs use? The specific cast iron skillets they swear by? (Deep thoughts over here at Kitchn!) And how do they stack up against one another? And then we got to work: We gathered up some of these beloved skillets and put them to the test — cooking scrambled and fried eggs to judge their nonstick prowess and pan-frying potatoes and searing steaks to evaluate their browning abilities and heat retention. Here’s how it went.

We all know Ina Garten can afford to buy the most expensive cookware on the planet, and yet her cast iron skillet of choice is none other than good old-fashioned, no-frills, budget-friendly Lodge, made in Tennessee. She loves Lodge skillets so much, the 10.25– and 12-inch pans are included on the list of recommended items on her website.

Ina Garten’s recipes never let you down … and neither do her cookware recommendations. A Lodge skillet is pretty close to perfection: It comes pre-seasoned, has pour spouts, a looped handle for hanging, a thick base for deep, even browning, and a truly affordable price (the super-versatile 10.25-inch skillet is just $27). 

What’s not to love? The surface is more rough and pebbly than vintage cast iron and today’s modern brands (like Smithey, which we’ll talk about below!). Because it has a rougher surface, things are more prone to sticking until the pan’s been seasoned a bit more. After a couple of rounds of cooking, though, even delicate fried eggs released easily. Scrambled eggs did leave a thin, cooked-on coating of egg on the pan’s surface, but the same was true of all the skillets we tried.

Overall, we found the Lodge performed just as well as the more expensive brands for a fraction of the price.

Rating: 9.5 / 10

Top Chef’s most charming “cheftestant” alum and guest judge adores his Finex skillet. Perhaps because, in part, Finex hails from Portland, Oregon, just like he does. After all, Portlanders do love their locally made goods. 

Related: Gregory Gourdet’s Inclusive, Feel-Good Cooking Is Exactly What You Need Right Now

But provenance isn’t its only virtue. Gourdet sung Finex’s design praises in the Wall Street Journal and Architectural Digest. (And more praise showed up on his Instagram feed as he developed recipes for his winter restaurant pop-up, Kann PDX, and his new cookbook, Everyone’s Table.) He particularly loves the pan’s handle, which is meant to cool quicker than traditional cast iron handles.

There really is a lot to love about Finex. The octagonal shape is a showstopping stunner on the stove and at the table, making this skillet ideal for dishes served out of the pan. The skillet’s shape also means you can pour from any angle, and the tight-fitting lid is a serious bonus. The lid costs extra, but it’s domed and essentially turns this deep skillet into a shallow Dutch oven. 

The coil handle looks interesting, but is also practical: It diffuses heat so the handle stays cool. Of course, if you put the whole thing in the oven the handle will, indeed, get searingly hot. But it stayed cool during our tests, even when cooking steaks at high heat for 10 minutes.

Does it have any cons? With its high sides and really thick base, the Finex skillet is heavy — even by cast iron skillet standards. This definitely makes the pan harder to lift and tilt. It also means it takes the pan longer to evenly heat. While we thought the extra heft would give it a leg up when searing steaks, it performs on par with the Lodge. Finex’s skillet does have a smooth surface that’s more nonstick from the get-go. But it is pricey. That said, the Finex is a kitchen showpiece with a unique design that, for some, may be well worth the investment.

Rating: 9 / 10

David Chang is the founder and head genius of the Momofuku Restaurant Group. And while he doesn’t name drop a specific cast iron skillet he loves, according to his Instagram feed, he does to turn to Smithey Ironware Co.’s Dutch ovens when cooking with his favorite cut of beef, the chuck roast. So, he’s a fan of Smithey’s cast iron in general!

Smithey is one of the new breeds of manufacturers making hand-forged cast iron the old way — with super-smooth, absolutely stunning surfaces and an heirloom feel. While aficionados comb estate sales and eBay for 90-year-old Griswolds, the South Carolina-based company makes brand-new pans with the same attributes of the vintage cookware — no hunting required. 

Smithey is, indeed, as impeccably smooth as vintage skillets — and lighter too, which makes it a bit more responsive to heat changes than thicker cast iron pans like Finex and Lodge. It also retains heat beautifully. And steak seared in the Smithey was just as evenly caramelized as those made in the heavier skillets. 

Attention to detail is really what sets Smithy apart. There’s a loop on the long handle as well as three circular cutouts on the pan’s helper handle, which is perfect if you use a cookware rack or pegboard to store pans. If you opt for the 10-inch skillet, you can also get this griddle, which doubles as a super-tight-fitting lid for the skillet. All of Smithey’s pans come pre-seasoned and have their little quail logo etched onto the skillets handles, which ups the charm factor.

Overall, Smithey pans are serious workhorses, but with a chicness that makes them incredibly special. Is that worth six times the price of the Lodge? That’s up to you!

Rating: 9.5 / 10

Seamus Mullen made his name cooking Spanish cuisine in his New York City restaurants (the now-closed Tertulia and El Colmado), gathering accolades and James Beard nominations, and making frequent guests appearances on television. These days, he’s a podcast host and an outspoken voice for the food-as-medicine movement, having gained control over his rheumatoid arthritis by changing his diet.

And cast iron skillets are a big part of his (dairy-, gluten-, and refined-sugar free) cooking repertoire. He often employs cast iron cookware to roast meats and vegetables, make frittatas, fry eggs, and put together one-pan meals. The brand he recommends? Pennsylvania-based Stargazer. “They are oven-safe and perfect for dishes that start on the stove and end in the oven,” Mullen says here.

Mullen is right: The Stargazer pans are perfect for stove-to-oven dishes, just as any cast iron pan is. But Stargazers’ are pretty enough to go from the oven to the table, too. 

Stargazer’s skillet is polished smooth on the inside and, like Smithey, lighter-weight. But with Stargazer, you can opt to buy the skillet bare or pre-seasoned. We opted for pre-seasoned.

Most often, pre-seasoned cast iron skillets become splotchy after their first use. Of course, the more you cook, the more the seasoning builds back up. But the Stargazer’s seasoning didn’t wear away at all; it held on tight and just got darker and darker with each use. Stargazer’s skillet is also super well-designed. It has a large, wide helper handle, which makes it easy to lift, move, and transfer from the stovetop to the oven. The top edge of the skillet is rounded and flared — common on stainless steel pans, but rare for cast iron. This makes it drip-resistant; the pan doesn’t have pour spouts, but it’s still easy to pour from.

Overall, this is a pretty skillet that combines good looks with classic function and has more of a middleground price point that’s very appealing. Note: Some of Stargazer’s cookware is substantially backordered.

Rating: 9 / 10

Do you have a favorite cast iron skillet? Tell us about it in the comments!