Skillets, Braisers and Grill Pans: The Best Enameled Cast Iron

Enameled cast iron is the pan for everything bare cast iron does not like. It holds heat the same way, but the glassy coating means you can simmer a tomato sauce for tinga, reduce a tomatillo salsa or braise pork in red chile without the acid eating into a seasoning layer, and you can wash it with soap. It is why so many Mexican home cooks keep at least one enameled pot next to the bare iron comal.

This guide is about the pans, not the pots. Enameled Dutch ovens already have their own guides on this site, so here we cover enameled skillets, braisers, a grill pan, a saucepan and a two-burner plancha, and only from makers whose own website or listing states that the enamel is lead-free or meets FDA and Proposition 65 limits. We explain that rule, and who it left out, further down.

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Quick verdict: which enameled pan to buy

The table below compares the five pans we would point most cooks toward, one for each job. All nine pans are reviewed in full after it.

Five enameled pans at a glance

One pick for each job in the kitchen, with what each maker or listing says about the pan.

Product images from Amazon. Sizes and finishes are as stated by each maker or listing; check the listing before you buy.

Our picks for the best enameled cast iron

These nine pans cover the enameled shapes a Mexican home kitchen actually uses: skillets for searing and pan sauces, braisers for stews, a saucepan for beans and salsas, a ridged grill pan for indoor carne asada, and a plancha that works like a big comal. Every maker here publishes a lead or cadmium statement for its enameled cast iron, which we quote in each pick. For enameled Dutch ovens, the deeper pots for birria and pozole, see our best Dutch oven and best large Dutch oven guides instead.

Why enamel matters for Mexican cooking

Bare cast iron is perfect for a comal or a fajita skillet, but it is not happy with long, acidic simmers. Tomatoes, tomatillos, lime juice and vinegar can wear away seasoning and pick up a metallic taste in a bare pan. Enamel is glass fused to the iron, so the food never touches bare metal. Lodge’s care guide says its enamel can handle acidic and alkaline ingredients, “even tomato sauce”, and Caraway’s FAQ makes the same point about cooking acidic foods without seasoning.

That makes enameled pans the natural home for the saucy half of the Mexican repertoire: chicken tinga in tomato and chipotle, chile colorado, salsa verde cooked down with tomatillos, enchilada sauce, or a quick pan of picadillo. If you are deciding which red or green sauce to start with, our guide to salsa roja vs salsa verde explains the difference, and enchilada sauces explained covers the cooked sauces that suit a braiser.

Enamel is not nonstick, though. America’s Test Kitchen’s review of enameled skillets reminds cooks that enamel does not become seasoned the way bare iron does, so use enough oil or fat, let the pan preheat gently, and do not try to move meat before it releases.

Our lead rule, and the makers it left out

Enamel is a glass coating, and some pigments and glazes have historically contained lead or cadmium. We are not in a position to test cookware, so we set a simple rule for this guide: we recommend a maker’s enameled cast iron only when its own website or Amazon listing states that the enamel is lead-free, or that it meets FDA guidelines or California Proposition 65 limits. We quote each statement as the maker’s claim, not as our finding.

• Staub states that its products meet FDA guidelines and Proposition 65 limits and that “Staub is Cadmium Free, Lead-Free”.
• Made In states that all of its enameled cast iron pieces are made without lead and cadmium and are third-party tested.
• Lodge states that it uses third-party testing to verify its cookware is free of PFAS and of “dangerous levels of Lead and Cadmium”.
• Caraway lists lead and cadmium among the substances its enameled cast iron cookware is free of.

Three well-known makers are not on this list for that reason alone. Le Creuset’s US website would not load for us when we tried to read its product and FAQ pages, and its Amazon listings we checked carry no lead statement, so we could not confirm one; America’s Test Kitchen’s top enameled skillet is a Le Creuset, and we would add it if we can read a maker statement. We found no lead or cadmium statement on Cuisinart’s page for its Chef’s Classic enameled fry pan, or on Tramontina’s pages for its enameled cast iron (Tramontina’s lead-free wording covers its ceramic cookware, not enamel). That is not evidence that those pans contain lead, only that the makers do not say so where we looked.

How to choose enameled cast iron for your kitchen

1. Start with the shape you will use most

A skillet or fry pan is the everyday piece: searing, sautéing and pan sauces. A braiser handles one-layer stews and oven dishes. A saucepan is for slow simmering of beans, rice and sauces. A grill pan gives marks for indoor carne asada, and a plancha replaces two pans for tortillas and fajitas. If you already own an enameled Dutch oven, a braiser or skillet adds the most.

2. Pick a size for your household

America’s Test Kitchen suggests a 12-inch skillet for most cooks, a 10-inch for two to four people and 8 to 9 inches for one or two. For braisers, 3.5 to 4 quarts feeds about four. Remember that the cooking surface is smaller than the rim: Made In’s 11.5-inch skillet has an 8.75-inch flat surface.

3. Light or black interior

Black matte enamel, as on Staub and Lodge’s skillet, hides stains and browns meat well; Le Creuset’s listings and Caraway’s FAQ both describe a patina forming on enamel with use. Light enamel makes it easier to see a sauce or fond darken. Glossy enamel, ATK found, cleans and releases a little more easily than matte.

4. Weight and handles

Enameled iron is heavy: Lodge’s 11-inch skillet is 5.65 pounds empty and its 3.6-quart braiser is 14.61 pounds. ATK calls a good, large helper handle a necessity on a skillet, and found small or slick ones easy to lose a grip on. Check the helper handle before you buy if you will lift full pans in and out of the oven.

5. Oven rating and lids

Ratings range from 500°F (Lodge, Caraway, Staub’s braiser and plancha) to 580°F (Made In) and 900°F on the listing for Staub’s fry pan. Glass lids and knobs often set the lower limit, so check the lid as well as the pan.

6. Care you will actually do

All of these pans are happiest washed by hand with a soft sponge. ATK advises against steel wool and metal utensils, and against high direct heat such as grills or campfires; Lodge says not to heat enamel empty and not to use its Essential Enamel pieces on a grill or over a fire. Let a hot pan cool before it meets cold water, to avoid thermal shock.

How we chose these nine pans

We started from what a working Mexican kitchen asks of enameled cast iron: steady heat for long simmers, an interior that stands up to tomatoes, tomatillos and lime, a shape that suits the dish, and handles you can hold with a mitt. We searched Amazon in the United States, checked every pick’s stock with Amazon’s product data, and kept only items in stock from identifiable makers. We then checked each maker’s own website for a lead or cadmium statement and dropped any maker we could not confirm. Specifications come from the makers’ websites and the brands’ Amazon listings, and we wrote “Not stated” where neither gave a figure. For independent judgment we read America’s Test Kitchen’s review of enameled cast-iron skillets. We have not cooked with these pans for this guide.

We also left out pans already recommended in our other cookware guides, such as the enameled braisers in our braiser guide and the enameled grill pans in our grill pan guide, so that this page adds new options rather than repeating them.

Enameled cast iron questions, answered

What are the best enameled cast iron brands?

Among the makers that publish a lead or cadmium statement for their enamel, Staub and Made In make their enameled cast iron in France, Lodge offers the lowest-cost Essential Enamel line, and Caraway sells a smaller range of skillets and a grill pan. Le Creuset is the best-known name, but we could not read a maker statement on its site, so it is not included here.

What enameled cast iron does America’s Test Kitchen recommend?

In its review of enameled cast-iron skillets, America’s Test Kitchen’s top pick is a Le Creuset Signature skillet. The Lodge 11-inch and Made In 11-inch skillets on our list were in the same review: ATK liked the Lodge’s light, easy handling but noted a rough interior and no spouts, and found the Made In the lightest pan with an easy-cleaning glossy interior but a hard-to-grip helper handle.

Is enameled cast iron worth it for the money?

If you cook acidic sauces or braises often, yes: one enameled skillet or braiser does work that would strip seasoning from bare iron. For a first piece, the Lodge Essential Enamel skillet or braiser costs much less than the French-made pans. If you mostly sear steak and heat tortillas, bare cast iron is cheaper and gets slicker with use; see our best cast iron skillet guide.

Is enameled cast iron safe to cook with?

The makers on this list each state that their enamel is free of lead and cadmium, or tested to FDA and Proposition 65 limits, and we quote those statements in each pick. Retire a pan if the interior enamel chips through to bare iron, and follow each maker’s heat and care instructions.

Can you use metal utensils on enameled cast iron?

Lodge does not recommend metal utensils on its Essential Enamel pieces, Made In recommends wood or silicone, and ATK advises avoiding them. Wooden spoons and silicone spatulas are the safe choice.

What is the difference between a braiser and a Dutch oven?

A braiser is wide and shallow, so meat sits in one layer and the sauce reduces faster; a Dutch oven is taller and holds more liquid for soups, beans and birria. Our Dutch oven vs braiser guide compares them side by side.

Our final word on enameled cast iron

Buy the Staub 12-inch fry pan if you want one enameled pan that sears hard and then takes a tomato or chile sauce in stride. Choose the Lodge Essential Enamel skillet to start cheaply, the Made In skillet for a French pan with the highest oven rating, and the Caraway skillet for a smaller household. Add a braiser for tinga and chile colorado, the Made In saucepan for beans and salsas, the Caraway grill pan for indoor carne asada and the Staub plancha if you make fajitas and tortillas for a crowd.

Related guide: Enameled vs bare cast iron.

For deeper pots, compare our best cast iron Dutch oven and best ceramic Dutch oven picks, and read what is birria before you plan a weekend braise. And when you would rather someone else does the simmering, look over the menu or call to order.