5 Ways to use a cast iron Skillet on the grill

Once a cast iron skillet earns a place beside your grill, the real question is no longer whether you need one. It is what you can cook in it. I use mine for far more than steak: it catches small ingredients, turns the grill into an outdoor oven, handles complete one-pan meals and even bakes desserts. These are five practical ways to use a cast iron skillet on the grill, with enough ideas to put the pan to work instead of leaving it on a shelf.

Still choosing a pan? Start with my cast iron skillet buying guide for practical advice on size, weight, handles and finish.

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The quick answer: what can you cook in a cast iron skillet on the grill?

1. Use the skillet as an extension of your grill grate

One of the skillet’s greatest strengths is that it gives you a solid cooking surface almost anywhere on the grill. Depending on the pan and your setup, you can place it on the grate, on a plancha or over a controlled bed of coals. That makes it ideal for ingredients that would otherwise fall through the bars or lose their juices to the fire.

Think of caramelized vegetables, melted cheese, shellfish or a bubbling tartiflette. The sides of the pan keep the butter, stock and cooking juices where they belong. That is useful for shrimp, mussels, clams and vegetables that need time to soften without burning. A warm Spanish chickpea salad with chorizo is another useful example: the skillet keeps the seasoned oil and dressing around the chickpeas while the peppers roast directly over the fire.

A skillet also lets you combine two techniques in one dish. Grill the larger ingredients over direct heat while rice, pasta or a sauce cooks in the pan beside them. If you are unsure how to arrange those heat zones, my direct vs. indirect grilling guide shows how to build a practical two-zone setup.

💡 Practical tip: Cast iron holds heat for a long time. That is useful for keeping a sauce or side dish warm, but it also means the pan and handles stay dangerously hot after they leave the grill. Always protect your hands with heavy-duty heat-resistant BBQ gloves when moving the skillet around.

2. Turn it into a one-pan outdoor meal

Sometimes you want fewer dishes and more time around the table. A covered grill works much like an outdoor convection oven, so the skillet can replace a roasting pan for casseroles, gratins, braises and other complete meals.

Set the pan over indirect heat when a dish needs time to cook through without scorching the base. Keep the lid closed and let the hot air circulate around the skillet. The same approach works on charcoal, gas and pellet grills. If you cook on pellets, my pellet grill guide explains how that indirect setup behaves.

This is where comfort food works particularly well: a potato casserole, an Italian meat and porcini bake or a smoky lamb ragu all benefit from the steady heat and the small amount of smoke that enters whenever you open the lid. For a crowd, a deeper Dutch oven may still be the more practical choice.

💡 Pro tip: A cast iron lid designed to hold coals can help brown the top of a casserole. Never place hot coals on a regular lid unless the manufacturer explicitly says it is designed for that use.

3. Use cast iron for a hard, even sear

Not every grill has cast iron grates or a convenient direct-heat searing zone. A well-preheated skillet gives you a hot, even surface for building a browned crust on steak, pork chops or seafood. It also contains most of the dripping fat, which can make the final sear easier to control than working directly over flames.

Preheat the skillet gradually with the grill and give the iron enough time to heat through. For a large steak, leave part of the pan unused during the first side. You can then flip the meat onto that hotter, unused section instead of placing it back on a surface that has just lost heat.

This is the finishing method I use in my reverse-seared bone-in ribeye. A plancha can do a similar job when you need more surface area; my grilled tuna steak on the plancha shows that approach with seafood.

💡 Extra bonus: The browned butter and meat juices left in the skillet are an excellent start for a quick pan sauce. Deglaze carefully with stock, wine or another suitable liquid once the pan is away from aggressive flames.

4. Bake bread and pizza in the skillet

Cast iron is excellent for baking because it stores and distributes heat through the base and sides of the dough. Inside a covered grill, that creates the steady heat you need for a crisp bottom and a properly baked center. The fire also adds a subtle character that is difficult to reproduce in a kitchen oven.

My favorite example is a cast iron skillet pizza on the grill. The hot pan gives the crust structure while the closed lid melts and browns the cheese. The same principle works for focaccia, simple skillet bread and savory tarts.

Once the bread is baked, it can become the base for a complete BBQ meal. My smoked turkey focaccia with pesto rosso is a good example of how bread, smoked meat and a bright sauce can work together instead of treating the protein as the entire meal.

💡 Try this too: Use the warm skillet for queso fundido and serve it straight from the pan. The retained heat helps keep the cheese soft while everyone reaches for another chip.

5. Yes, cast iron works for desserts too

A skillet is not limited to meat, vegetables or savory bakes. Its steady heat also works well for fruit, cake batter and desserts that benefit from crisp edges and a soft center.

I like using cast iron for sweet experiments. Apples caramelized with butter and Calvados make a dramatic topping for dessert pizza. Cherry clafoutis develops darker edges while staying tender inside, and a Black Forest brownie remains soft in the center when you remove it from the heat at the right moment.

You can use the same approach for fruit crumble, s’mores, skillet cookies or a warm chocolate cake. Serve with ice cream and bring the pan to the table on a heatproof surface. Just remind everyone that the handle is still hot.

One skillet, far more than five possibilities

Whether you are searing meat, caramelizing vegetables or baking dessert, cast iron makes the grill more versatile. You do not need a complicated recipe every time. Often the simplest food becomes the most memorable when it arrives sizzling at the table.

Since I started cooking with cast iron, a skillet has become one of the first things I place beside the grill. Even when it was not part of the original plan, it usually finds a job. That flexibility is exactly what makes outdoor cooking more fun.

Frequently asked questions about using cast iron on the grill

BBQ Bastard BBQ Expert, auteur, recept ontwikkelaar, fotograaf & oprichter

For more than 15 years, Simon has been the driving force behind The BBQ Bastard. He is the author of the book 'Wood Pellets Taste Better' and founder of the Belgian BBQ Group, Belgium's largest community with over 65,000 members. In addition, he builds a tight-knit community of passionate firemasters with the Smoke Squad. Simon was crowned Heinz Foodie of the Year and, alongside Kamado and Traeger, specializes intensively in live-fire cooking. His mission: to make artisanal techniques and deep flavors accessible to everyone.

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