Cast iron skillet substitutes

The closest match: seasoned bare metal that sears hard, goes in the oven and under the broiler, and releases food once it is well seasoned.

Best for

searing steaks, chops and burgers, stove-to-oven dishes, cornbread and skillet pizza, frying eggs and potatoes

Texture

the same crust

Prep

Use it as the recipe says. It is thinner, so it heats faster: preheat for 2 to 3 minutes, where cast iron would need 5 or more.

Thinner metal holds less heat, so the pan cools more when cold food goes in; cook fewer pieces at a time. Like cast iron, long simmering of tomato, wine or vinegar strips the seasoning.

A heavy stainless skillet with an aluminum core browns well, goes in the oven, and makes a better pan sauce because the surface does not react with acid.

Best for

searing meat followed by a pan sauce, stove-to-oven chicken and pork, tomato, wine and lemon dishes, shallow frying

Texture

good browning, slightly thinner crust

Prep

Heat the dry pan over medium-high for 2 to 3 minutes, add oil, and wait for it to shimmer. Lay in the food and leave it alone until it releases on its own, about 2 to 4 minutes. Check the maker's oven limit; many are rated to 500°F.

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Food sticks if the pan or oil is not hot enough or if you move it early, so it is a poor choice for eggs and cornbread. It holds less heat than cast iron, so leave space between pieces or the meat steams.

A 9-inch round metal cake pan or an 8x8-inch square metal pan has about the same surface as a 10-inch skillet and bakes cornbread, skillet cookies and upside-down cakes.

Best for

cornbread, skillet cookies and brownies, upside-down cake, Dutch baby pancakes

Texture

softer, paler bottom crust

Prep

For cornbread, put 1 to 2 tablespoons of fat in the pan and heat it in the oven at the recipe's temperature, usually 425°F, for about 5 minutes, until the fat is hot. Pour in the batter, which should sizzle at the edges, and bake for the recipe's time.

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A thin pan holds less heat, so the bottom crust is paler and less crisp than from cast iron. It cannot go on a burner to melt butter or caramelize fruit first; do that in a saucepan. A recipe written for a 12-inch skillet overflows an 8x8: bake it in a 9x13-inch pan, where it sits thinner, and start checking 5 to 10 minutes early.

Its tall sides get in the way of flipping but contain splatter.

Best for

shallow and deep frying, searing roasts and chops, cornbread, stove-to-oven dishes

Texture

slightly less crust on seared food

Prep

Preheat over medium heat for 4 to 5 minutes with a film of oil in the pot; enamel should not be heated empty on high. For cornbread, heat the pot and fat in the oven as you would the skillet.

High walls trap steam around the food, so a steak or a batch of potatoes browns more slowly; cook in small batches. Light-colored enamel is not nonstick, and eggs will stick.

A rimmed baking sheet heated in the oven gives food the hot-metal contact a skillet would, for recipes that roast in the skillet.

Best for

skillet-roasted chicken thighs and sausages, roasted potatoes and vegetables, pan pizza and flatbreads, reheating to crisp

Texture

browned underside, less deep than a sear

Prep

Put the empty rimmed sheet in the oven while it heats to 425 to 450°F, about 10 minutes. Oil the food, not the pan, lay it on the hot sheet, and roast.

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It cannot go on a burner, so there is no stovetop sear and no pan sauce. Thin sheets can warp with a bang when preheated; use a heavy one. Rendered fat pools in a shallow rim, so pull the sheet out slowly and level.

Direct radiant heat browns the surface of a steak, chop or burger without a pan.

Best for

steaks and chops, burgers, salmon fillets, charring peppers and tomatoes

Texture

less even crust

Prep

Set the oven rack 4 to 6 inches from the broiler and preheat for 5 minutes. Put the meat on a broiler pan or a wire rack over a rimmed sheet, and turn it once. Leave nothing unattended under a broiler.

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The crust is spottier than an all-over skillet sear, and there are no browned bits left for a pan sauce and no butter basting. Do not line the pan with parchment under a broiler.

Covers the gentle jobs a well-seasoned skillet does, where easy release matters more than heat.

Best for

fried and scrambled eggs, pancakes and grilled sandwiches, fish fillets over medium heat, reheating

Texture

pale, soft surface with little crust

Prep

Cook over medium heat with a little fat in the pan. Do not preheat it empty on high.

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It does not sear well: the coating is not meant for the high heat a crust needs. Makers set an oven limit, often 400 to 500°F and lower for pans with plastic handles, and it never goes under a broiler. Do not use it for cornbread that calls for a smoking-hot pan.

An oven-safe baking dish is not a stovetop pan.

Best for

oven use only

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Glass and ceramic bakeware can shatter over a burner's direct heat, and glass should not be preheated empty or put under a broiler. For cornbread in a glass dish, skip the preheating step: grease the cold dish, pour in the batter, and bake at 25°F below the recipe's temperature.