How to Season Cast Iron with Olive Oil (In the Oven)

Are you anxious to start cooking with your cast iron pan? It’s time to break out the olive oil and get it seasoned.

You should have olive oil around your kitchen somewhere. It’s quite popular! If not, try lard, bacon grease, grapeseed oil…you have a lot of options!

Here are the steps to season your cast iron with olive oil.

Table of Contents

What You Need

~1 tbsp olive oil (depending on the size of the pan)
Abrasive scrubber – sponge or scrub brush
Dish towel
Dish soap
Oven
Sink
Baking sheet or aluminum foil

1. Preheat your oven to 350º.

Olive oil has a smoke point of about 375º so it’s important to keep the oven temperature below this. A little smoking is fine – in fact, this tells you the seasoning is working. But prolonged excessive heat will cause your olive oil to burn.

If that happens, you’ll want to reseason the pan. When oil burns off, it becomes bitter and will impart that flavor into the pan.

Compared to other cooking oils, olive oil has one of the lowest smoke points. Watch the pan carefully for the first few minutes to ensure it doesn’t smoke much. If you see a lot of smoke, turn the oven off and let it cool. Reheat it to 325º instead of 350º.

2. Add a layer of foil or a baking sheet under the pan to catch drips.

3. Clean your pan thoroughly with an abrasive scrubber and dish soap.

When your cast iron pan arrives from the factory, it often has a factory coating that needs to be removed before seasoning. Scrub the pan with a scrubby sponge or steel wool and dish soap to completely remove this coating.

After you season your cast iron cookware, we don’t recommend using abrasive scrubbers to clean cast iron. But in this case, you are preparing the pan for seasoning, So scrub away!

4. Dry the pan thoroughly with a towel, then on your stovetop.

Before seasoning, you want to remove all moisture from the pan. After drying it with a towel, heat the pan up for a couple of minutes to remove the last remaining water from it.

5. Apply a thin layer of olive oil to the entire pan: bottom, handle, sides, and interior.

Add some olive oil into your cast iron pan and spread it with a paper towel. You don’t need to be too generous with the coating. Just make sure you cover the entire pan.

6. Bake your cast iron pan upside down in the oven for one hour.

You don’t want olive oil to pool in the bottom of your pan while it’s baking. Otherwise, it will come out sticky. So make sure it’s upside down!

7. Let it cool in the oven for at least 30 minutes.

8. Start cooking!

Seasoning your pan with olive oil is that simple! Remember to reseason it twice a year. If you cook often with acidic food or do a lot of high heat cooking, you may need to season your pan more often.

You can repeat steps five to seven a few times to toughen up the layer of seasoning on your pan if you’d like. But it’s not required.

Is olive oil good for frying?

You can do some frying with olive oil but keep in mind that it has a relatively low smoke point. If you’re cooking at 400º F. or more, you’re better off using avocado oil or canola oil.

How long does olive oil last?

Olive oil will last about three to six months after it’s been opened. Oil can last up to a year and a half in the fridge but it gets cloudy. It’s still healthy to cook with but it’ll look different than usual.

Does olive oil go bad?

Unopened olive oil can last around a year and a half. Once it’s opened, olive oil will last a few months. You can store it in the fridge to make it last up to a year. If your olive oil tastes better or has a strong smell, it’s probably rancid.

What is the smoke point of olive oil?

Olive oil has a smoke point of about 375º F. It’s not the best option for high heat cooking, but it can work for some people. If you cook consistently at 400+º F., consider buying avocado or grapeseed oil for cooking.

We hope you found this article on seasoning cast iron with olive oil helpful. To learn more about cooking with and caring for cast iron, check out the articles below!

Can you use cast iron on an electric stove?

How to Repair a Cracked Cast Iron Skillet

Is nitriding cast iron safe?

Is olive oil good for frying?

You can do some frying with olive oil but keep in mind that it has a relatively low smoke point. If you’re cooking at 400º F. or more, you’re better off using avocado oil or canola oil.