The Best Pizza Stone Is Actually This Cast Iron Pan

We love a great homemade pizza. Cranking up the oven and customizing your own delicious pie is the ultimate luxury. Drizzle the pie with a little olive oil, sprinkle with Parmesan, and pop open your favorite bottle of wine and you have the best dinner plan possible to share with family, friends, or enjoy all to yourself. The only question is: what do you bake it on?

A pizza stone is a foolproof way to get the crispiest pizza crust. It sears away moisture while cooking the dough evenly, leaving a perfectly baked pie. We scoured the best options and as it turns out, the ultimate pizza stone is actually a cast iron from one of our favorite brands. Meet the Lodge 14” Cast Iron Baking Pan.

The cast iron baking pan is wide enough to accommodate your largest pie creations, and the handles on either side make it easy to pull in and out of the oven (unlike classic pizza stones). It’s pre-seasoned with vegetable oil so it’s ready to go on arrival, and the cast iron only builds on its seasoned properties as you use it. It cleans up better than stone as sticky ingredients and olive oil will never seep in and are easily scrubbed away with steel chain mail or salt and brush. What’s more, it has a perfect five stars from over 2,000 Amazon shoppers, so you know some incredible margherita pies have been made with glowing reviews.

“So by now you have probably guessed we have used many different pizza pans, even a pizza stone. The Lodge Pro-Logic P14P3 is by far the best we have purchased in our 11 years of marriage,” writes a reviewer, “It is made from cast iron, so you need to season the metal, and suggest to hand wash after use. This pan makes your pizza dough to be a little crispy, but does not burn. It is nonstick and the lip helps to keep all the contents of your pizza in your pan, and not on the bottom of your oven.”

To buy: Lodge 14” Cast Iron Baking Pan, $40 at amazon.com

The smartest thing about the Lodge baking pan, however, is its versatility. If you’re going to own and store a large and heavy tool, you want to know it serves multiple purposes. This pan goes beyond pizza and is perfect for everything from smash burgers and fried eggs to pancakes and dosas, all in one pan. It works in the oven as well as outside on a grill, so it’ll show its worth in every season.

If you’re ready to step up your pizza game, the Lodge cast iron baking pan is 34% off right now at just $40 (usually $60). It’s a smart investment all around.