Amazon’s $20 Best-Selling Cast Iron Skillet Is My Go-To Kitchen Companion — and Yes, It’s Worth the Hype

I love to cook, but it can be hard to find affordable, professional-quality cookware as an amateur home chef. My role as an Amazon shopping expert has led me to a ton of great finds, including the Lodge Pre-Seasoned Cast Iron Skillet. I’d seen the skillet top a variety of charts at Amazon — from trending sections to the consistent first-place spot on the best-sellers list for its category. I also read a number of the thousands of five-star reviews before adding the pan to my collection over a year ago.

The skillet, which is on sale for $20 right now, has been a game changer in my kitchen. It’s made of durable cast iron and finished with a pre-seasoned coating that makes it impressively nonstick. Seriously, once the pan is hot enough, I find it incredibly easy to flip chicken breasts, salmon filets, eggs, and other foods that would typically require more muscle work to move.

According to the brand, the pre-seasoned coating is just oil that’s been baked into the skillet — unlike other nonstick pans that use toxic chemicals or flimsy coatings to achieve the same effect. Plus, the more you cook with the skillet, the stronger the seasoning will get. I’ve used my pan regularly over the last year and haven’t found the coating any less effective.

Alongside its nonstick capabilities, the pan also has fantastic heat retention. I find food to sear crispier, brown more beautifully, and stay piping hot whenever I cook in the skillet. It can withstand up to 500 degrees Fahrenheit, so I like to use it in the oven or under the broiler, too. I’ve baked cornbread and skillet cookies before, and I’ve also used it to finish off savory meals. Just be sure to have oven mitts on hand (pun intended) when you’re using the skillet, since the entire piece, including the handle, gets super hot.

As is the case with most cast iron cookware, care can be a bit daunting. I don’t use soap to clean the skillet — although the brand recommends using a mild detergent, if any — and simply rinse it under warm water. From there, I dry the skillet and coat in the interior with a small amount of olive oil to pre-season it for my next use. For any tough-on pieces of food or yucky residue, the brand recommends using steel wool to gently scour.