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Cast Iron Skillet Dinner for: Family | Healthy Meal Ideas

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Cast Iron Skillet Dinner for: Family | Healthy Meal Ideas

This cast iron skillet dinner will quickly become a family favorite as it’s added to your weekly dinner meal plans. It is simple, healthy, filling and delicious.

Plus, you can load it up with vegetables and make several variations. Cast iron skillet recipes are one of our favorite meals to make because we only need one dish. Any meal that requires fewer dishes is a favorite for me!

At the end of the day, we like to think back on how many different vegetables we ate. The longer the list, the better, anyone else do this? Or is it just me? Easy recipes like this really help me add a lot to that list.

We started making this simple cast-iron skillet dinner melt a while ago, and because it is topped with cheese, we call it a “melt.” However, most of the time we make it, we eliminate the cheese because we don’t do much dairy over here, but we still call it a melt. You can use any type of meat you prefer, and it always turns out delicious.

Go here to get our “Cooking with Essential Oils” ebook and favorite healthy recipes.

SIMPLE CAST IRON SKILLET DINNER

STEAK AND POTATO SKILLET MELTSteak and potato skillet melt with avocados, carrots, and green onions.

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HEALTHY MEAL IDEAS

This is the really cool part about this meal; you can switch it up and make it several different ways. Use different meats, vegetables, or spices to change the taste of the meal to be the way you want it.

WHAT KIND OF MEAT TO USE IN CAST-IRON SKILLET

We have made this with ground beef, turkey, chicken, steak, and tuna. Get creative, folks! Our family’s favorite is steak.

GROUND BEEF, TURKEY, OR VENISON

If you don’t have access to local meat, you can find grass-fed meat at the store. Be sure to read your labels! It is important for the label to say 100% grass-fed and not just grass-fed. A lot of times, cows will eat some grass and be finished on grain to fatten them up; it is hard to find meat that is truly grass-fed. The problem with this is that they are fed GMO corn and usually given added antibiotics and hormones. We buy our beef from a local cattle farmer that raises grass-fed cows.

We love this, and it is a great way to get healthy meat cheaper. We have made this dish with deer meat, and it is delicious. You can also use ground turkey. Our husband is a deer hunter, and usually, we have a freezer full of venison.

SHREDDED CHICKEN

It is a great way to use up that leftover chicken and stretch it into another meal. You can also bake chicken breast or chicken legs to use for this recipe. Cast-iron skillet chicken is a quick and easy meal for a busy weeknight by using leftover chicken.

We always prefer to use chicken with the bone so we can make bone broth. And we think it is tastier!

STEAK

Adding streak strips to this dish is another variation you can do. Sear steaks right in your cast-iron skillet and then cut it into strips. Our family absolutely loves it when we make a steak melt!

TUNA

We add two cans of tuna once the vegetables are soft and cook until hot. This one was our husband’s idea, and we have to be honest, we turned our nose up when he suggested making a tuna melt in the cast-iron the first time. But it was actually really good, and we make this one often!

VEGETABLES

The vegetables we add-in depends on the season or what we have laying around. During the summer, it feels as if we have unlimited amounts of zucchini, tomatoes, and yellow squash coming from our garden. This time of year, squash is expensive, so we stick to potatoes and onions. Add in handfuls of spinach, frozen peas, sautéed mushrooms, or diced tomatoes. Any vegetables work, and the more, the better! We don’t know if we have ever made this dish the same way twice.

CHEESE Cheesy cast-iron skillet melt with steak on wooden table.

The cheese adds a lot to this dish, but it can be eliminated if you are dairy-free, eating paleo, or on the whole 30. We have made this a lot without cheese, and it is still delicious.

As always, check your labels! When we do eat cheese, we stick to a few “rules” to make sure it is healthy. First thing, we never buy shredded cheese because it has a lot of additives in it to cause it not to clump. Usually, it is seasoned and can contain gluten, MSG, or cellulose. Shredding your own adds an extra step, but eliminates these ingredients.

We also like to buy organic, raw, and grass-fed cheese. This makes the cheese a bit more pricey, but it is so delicious!

We am a sharp to extra sharp kind of girl, but you can use any kind.

SPICES

We don’t think there is a wrong way to do it. Again, this is time to get creative! During the summer, we throw in fresh herbs, and during the winter, we add in essential oils. You can go the Mexican route and add in cilantro and lime. Or you can go Italian and add in basil, thyme, oregano, and rosemary. Or keep it simple with salt and pepper.

Try out some of our homemade season salts with this recipe.

Try this dish out and let me know what you tried and liked. We always love having new and fresh suggestions!

HOW TO MAKE A CAST-IRON SKILLET DINNER

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 pounds steak (we used deer because that is what we had, but you can also use beef.)
  • 6-8 small red potatoes
  • 1 onion
  • 2 carrots
  • 2 celery stalks
  • 1 block of cheese (our favorite is organic sharp cheddar!)
  • 3 tablespoons of coconut oil for cooking
  • Pink Himalayan All Purpose Seasoning (This is our favorite seasoning, you can find it here.)

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Add 1 tablespoon of coconut oil to a cast-iron skillet over medium heat.
  2. Sprinkle the steaks with the seasoning and place them in a heated cast iron skillet, let cook for 5 minutes, and then flip them. Sprinkle the other side with the seasoning and let cook for 5 more minutes, while the meat is browning dice the red potatoes, onion, carrots, and celery.
  3. Once the meat is done, remove from the skillet.
  4. Add in the rest of the coconut oil, diced red potatoes, and carrots. Let them cook for about 10 minutes or until starting to feel soft. Add in the onions and celery. Cover with a lid and let them cook until soft. Turning only once!
  5. Once the vegetables are soft, add the steaks back into the skillet. Stir in and let cook for about 5 minutes.
  6. Cover with cheese and place in a 400-degree oven for 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted.

If you don’t already have a cast-iron skillet, see this one here.

PIN IT FOR LATER

We hope you enjoyed this easy recipe for a healthy weeknight dinner. See below for more easy recipes using a cast-iron skillet.

5 from 22 votes

Cast Iron Skillet Steak Melt

By the studio Ascher Prep: 2 minutes minsCook: 45 minutes minsTotal: 47 minutes mins Servings: 8 people Sharp cheddar cheese, deer steak, red potatoes, carrots, celery, and onion one dish healthy meal recipe. SaveSaved Pin Print This cast-iron skillet dinner will quickly become a family favorite and become part of your weekly dinner meal plan. It is simple, delicious, and healthy.

Equipment

  • 12" cast iron skillet

Ingredients

  • 2 lbs steak
  • 6-8 small red potatoes
  • 1 onion
  • 2 celery stalks
  • 1 block sharp cheddar cheese
  • 3 tbsp coconut oil, for cooking
  • Seasoning Salt
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Instructions

  • Add 1 tablespoon of coconut oil to a cast-iron skillet over medium heat.
  • Sprinkle the steaks with the seasoning and place them in a heated cast iron skillet, let cook for 5 minutes, and then flip them. Sprinkle the other side with the seasoning and cook an additional 5 min. While the meat is browning, dice red potatoes, onion, carrots, and celery.
  • Once the meat is done remove from the pan.
  • Add in the rest of the coconut oil, diced red potatoes, and carrots. Let them cook for about 10 minutes or until feeling soft. Add in the onions and celery. Cover with a lid and let them cook until soft. Turning only once!
  • Once the vegetables are soft add the steaks back into the skillet. Stir in and let cook for about 5 minutes.
  • Cover with cheese and place in a 400-degree oven for 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted.

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 398kcal, Carbohydrates: 27g, Protein: 26g, Fat: 22g, Saturated Fat: 12g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 8g, Cholesterol: 69mg, Sodium: 90mg, Potassium: 1054mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 3g, Vitamin A: 34IU, Vitamin C: 15mg, Calcium: 28mg, Iron: 3mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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