Do you want to learn how to season cast iron? Vegetable oil is one of the most popular cooking oils and it works great for seasoning. You probably have it sitting in your pantry right now.

Here’s our step-by-step guide on seasoning cast iron with vegetable oil.

Note: If your pan has a wooden handle, you’ll need to season your cast iron on the stovetop.

What You Need

• ~1 tbsp vegetable 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 F. 

Vegetable oil has a smoke point of about 400º to 450º F., so it’s important to keep the oven temperature below that.

A little smoking is fine – in fact, this tells you the seasoning is working. But prolonged excessive heat will cause your vegetable 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.

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 vegetable oil to the entire pan: bottom, handle, sides, and interior.

Add some vegetable 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 the vegetable 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 vegetable 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.

What is considered a vegetable oil?

Vegetable oils you find at the store are a blend of plant-based oils. These oils include corn, sunflower, olive, soybean, and coconut oil, to name a few. Most vegetable oils are low in saturated fats with the exception of coconut oil.

Is olive oil a vegetable oil?

Yes, olive oil is vegetable oil. While olive oil is made from grinding olives, vegetable oil is a blend of many different types of plant-based oils. Vegetable oil has a higher smoke point and a more neutral flavor than olive oil. Vegetable oil is a better cooking oil for baking, frying, and other high heat cooking.

Is vegetable oil the same as canola oil?

Vegetable oil and canola oil are quite similar. Canola oil is a type of vegetable oil, while vegetable oil is a blend of many different plant-based oils. Both canola and vegetable oil have a high smoke point, so they’re great for baking and frying.

Is vegetable oil healthy to cook with?

Yes, vegetable oils are rich in unsaturated fats which have been shown to improve heart health. They’re also low in saturated fats (coconut oil is one exception), which can raise bad cholesterol levels (American Lung Association).

Is vegetable oil OK for frying?

Yes, vegetable oil is great for frying due to its high smoke point of 400º to 450º. It won’t burn at high temperatures. If you want vegetable oil with a higher smoke point, try avocado oil. It has a smoke point of 520º.

What does vegetable oil taste like?

Vegetable oil is refined so it has a neutral taste. Olive oil, on the other hand, has a strong smell and taste. It’s made of pressed olives. Vegetable oil is ideal for frying and baking.

How’d your seasoning turn out? We hope this method worked well for you! If you want to try seasoning with different oils, check out the links below!

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