How to Season Cast Iron with Grapeseed Oil

Do you have some grapeseed oil lying around in your kitchen? It’s the perfect cooking oil to season your cast iron skillet!

Here are eight quick steps on how to season cast iron with grapeseed oil. This is an oven method. If your cast iron pan has a wooden handle, season it on the stovetop and not in the oven.

What You Need

~1 tbsp grapeseed 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.

Grapeseed oil has a smoke point of about 420º 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 grapeseed 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 grapeseed oil to the entire pan: bottom, handle, sides, and interior.

Add some grapeseed 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 grapeseed 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 grapeseed 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 grapeseed oil healthier than olive oil?

Both olive oil and grapeseed oil are healthy options. They are rich in unsaturated fats and contain around 10% saturated fat. Grapeseed and olive oil are great sources of Vitamin E, an essential nutrient for vital organ function including your eyes, brain, and skin.

Can you fry eggs in grapeseed oil?

Yes, add a quarter-sized dab of grapeseed oil to your pan and move it around the pan. Heat the pan for a couple of minutes before cooking your eggs. It’s that easy!

Is avocado oil or grapeseed oil better for cooking?

Avocado oil has an incredibly high smoke point of around 480º F. compared to grapeseed oil’s 420º F. If you do a lot of high heat cooking avocado oil is the best option. Both have a subtle nutty flavor.

Can I use grapeseed oil instead of olive oil for cooking?

Yes, like olive oil, grapeseed oil is rich in unsaturated fats and vitamin E. Grapeseed oil has a high smoke point of about 420º compared to olive oil’s, at about 375º. It’s great for frying and other high heat cooking.

Is cooking with grapeseed oil healthy?

Yes. Rich in vitamins C, D, and E, grapeseed oil promotes the health of your skin, brain, and other vital organs. It’s also rich in polyunsaturated fats which have been linked to reduced cholesterol and improved heart health.

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