10 Easy Cast Iron Skillet Dinners That Feel Extra Comforting

Easy, comforting dinners that shine in a cast iron skillet.

By Robin Shreeves
Published January 07, 2026
Baked Pot pie with one serving taken out of skillet and on a plate. Skillet is on a white tablecloth and has serving plates around it.

Serious Eats / Morgan Hunt Glaze

A cast iron skillet is one of the most versatile tools in the kitchen. It moves easily from stovetop to oven, cleans up simply when well seasoned, and holds heat exceptionally well—an especially welcome quality on cold winter nights. These cast iron dinners warm the kitchen as they cook and deliver deeply satisfying, cozy meals at the table.

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  • Easy Skillet Lemon Chicken

    Sliced chicken breast with sauce on it and fresh thyme, on a yellow plate, yellow napkin, and yellow textile

    Serious Eats / Morgan Hunt Glaze

    This simple chicken breast dinner relies on just a handful of ingredients and a smart stovetop-to-oven method. Skin-on chicken breasts are browned first, then finished in the oven, while a quick pan sauce made with chicken stock, miso, butter, and seasonings comes together in the same skillet. Spoon the sauce over the chicken just before serving for a satisfying meal.

  • Creamy Garlic Chicken Spanakopita Skillet Recipe

    20151112-creamy-garlic-chicken-spanakopita-skillet-plate-morgan-eisenberg.jpg
    Morgan Eisenberg

    Spinach cooks down first in the skillet, followed by chicken sautéed in butter and set aside. A quick sauce of butter, flour, chicken stock, and half-and-half comes together in the same pan before the chicken and spinach return. Top everything with butter-brushed phyllo and bake until golden and crisp for a savory, comforting Greek-inspired pie.

  • One-Pan Honey-Mustard Pork Chops

    Side view of sauced pork chops

    Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

    A short dry brine adds extra flavor to these chops, but it’s optional if you’re pressed for time. The chops are baked until just cooked through, then finished in a hot skillet for a reverse sear. A quick honey-mustard pan sauce brings everything together—mashed potatoes on the side are strongly encouraged.

  • Easy Weeknight Chicken Pot Pie

    Baked Pot pie with one serving taken out of skillet and on a plate. Skillet is on a white tablecloth and has serving plates around it.

    Serious Eats / Morgan Hunt Glaze

    Skip the pie plate and make this chicken pot pie entirely in one skillet. Chicken breast, vegetables, and seasonings form the base before a quick, creamy filling comes together with broth, cream, peas, and a touch of lemon. Top with puff pastry and bake until the filling is thick and bubbly and the crust is deeply golden.

    Continue to 5 of 10 below

  • Chicken Fricassée

    A plate with chicken fricassee served with mushroom sauce a fork lifting a piece of chicken

    Serious Eats / Qi Ai

    Chicken breasts stay moist and tender when gently browned, then poached in a creamy, savory sauce made with white wine, chicken broth, fish sauce, Dijon, and mushrooms. A short salting step helps season the chicken throughout, and the rest of the dish comes together on the stovetop in about 40 minutes.

  • Crispy Pork Hash

    20200614-pork-shoulder-hash-sasha-marx
    Sasha Marx

    This is an ideal way to use up leftover pork butt or pork shoulder. While the potatoes parboil, asparagus and a serrano chile char in the skillet, the pork crisps up, and everything comes together with plenty of seasoning once the potatoes are added. Top it with a fried egg or tuck it into tortillas with salsa verde and lime.

  • Crispy Kimchi Cheese Rice Recipe

    Spoon holding a portion of the final dish aloft
    Vicky Wasik

    Leftover rice is mixed with gochujang, soy sauce, rice vinegar, and scallion whites, then layered with butter and cheese in a skillet before baking. Once hot, it’s topped with kimchi and more cheese and briefly broiled until bubbly and browned. Finish with scallion greens and serve right away.

  • Foolproof Pan Pizza

    20190319-cast-iron-pan-pizza-reshoot-vicky-wasik-29
    Serious Eats Team

    A cast iron skillet is the key to this thick, crispy pizza, with a deeply golden bottom and a soft, puffy interior beneath layers of sauce and mozzarella. The no-knead dough requires some advance planning, but once it’s risen, assembling and baking the pizza is as simple as adding toppings and cranking the oven heat.

    Continue to 9 of 10 below

  • Mushroom Pot Pie

    Serving of Mushroom Pot Pie on a muted pink plate,with full pot pie in a skillet on the side. 2 glasses of sparkling water, and a rust colored napkin

    Serious Eats / Victor Protasio

    Like the chicken pot pie above, this version comes together entirely in one skillet. Roasted mushrooms form the base, joined by sautéed vegetables and a savory filling made with white miso, a porcini-enriched stock, milk, and flour. Top with puff pastry and bake until the filling is bubbling and the crust is deeply golden.

  • One-Pan Chicken, Sausage, and Brussels Sprouts Recipe

    20161102-Chicken-Sausage-Sprouts-03.jpg
    Matthew and Emily Clifton

    Brussels sprouts roast with shallots and lemon alongside chicken rubbed with a garlic, mustard, honey, and Worcestershire paste, with pieces of sausage nestled in between. As everything cooks together, the vegetables soak up the rendered fat from the chicken and sausage, becoming deeply flavorful by the time the pan comes out of the oven.

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