When it comes to comfort food, Dutch ovens are ideal for creating deep flavors, delicious roasts, and crave-worthy meals. A good cast iron Dutch oven is a must for any serious home cook. Whether it’s a holiday or a normal weekday, this cookware will have your meals making the grade, and then some.
Using the right size and shape can make or break a Dutch oven dish. (see: Which Dutch Oven Size Should You Buy). Go for the tried-and-true Le Creuset vessel or an on-trend Staub cocotte-- no matter the style, any Dutch oven will open up endless recipe opportunities. Create beautifully braised meat, pot roasts, hearty beef stew, healing chicken soup or the creamiest mac and cheese. Use it like a slow cooker, a bread maker, or a pot for frying perfectly crispy doughnuts. Go for these easy Dutch oven recipes or try out a few more challenging ones for the ultimate reward: dinner.
See below for our favorite recipes to cook in a Dutch oven.
Viet Beef Stew with Star Anise and Lemongrass
Baguette and bo kho are great friends, but you also can serve the stew over pasta.
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Braised Kale with Bacon and Apples
Everything is better with bacon, including this fall-inspired braised kale with Granny Smith apples.
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Fisherman's-Style Seafood Stew
The crusty ciabatta toasts make this Fisherman’s-Style Seafood Stew warming winter meal.
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Best-Ever Cold Fried Chicken
This extra-crispy chicken retains its crunch in the fridge. It’s ideal for picnics or just eating right out of the icebox.
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Stout-Braised Short Ribs
Braising short ribs in beer makes them supertender and adds a slight bitter note.
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Lamb Barbacoa with Masala Adobo
Cook this dish in a smaller Dutch with boneless lamb and omit the leaves—the results are just as spectacular.
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Wine-Braised Beef with Green-Garlic Soubise and Young Chicories
These beef cheeks become fork-tender in the oven and add to the glistening, wine-fortified sauce.
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Lemon-Oregano Roasted Chicken with Potatoes and Olives
Tangy roasted Meyer lemons pair beautifully with quartered potatoes, olives, oregano and chicken in this simple one-pot recipe.
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Chicken with Herb Dumplings
Any number of fresh herbs would work well in these biscuit-like dumplings. Use parsley, tarragon, chives, cilantro or even mint.
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Rice Pudding with Macerated Guavas
Chef Sheyla Alvarado makes an elegant dessert by topping vanilla-flecked warm rice pudding with sweet guavas and ice cream.
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Root-Vegetable Minestrone
This minestrone is exceptional because it’s packed with so many great vegetables and delicious toasted angel hair pasta.
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Freshly Baked Bread
How to make bread at home the easy way, with tips on baking the perfect loaf without a sourdough starter.
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Pork Braised in Milk
The late cookbook author Marcella Hazan popularized this Italian method of slow-cooking pork shoulder in milk, which yields a velvety sauce for spooning over the pork and sopping with bread.
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Spicy Kimchi Tofu Stew
Warm Sausage and Lentil Salad
Three-Chile Beef Chili
With coffee, dark beer, smoky bacon and three kinds of chiles, this is one deep, rich, spicy pot of beef chili.
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Posole Rojo
This long-simmered tomato- and pork-based soup was Priya Krishna’s hangover cure when she lived in Mexico.
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Turmeric Chicken Stew
Swap hominy for noodles in this version of chicken stew. Fresh turmeric and lime juice add an irresistible deep flavor.
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Hanukkah Doughnuts
These fried treats are simply made from balls of yeast dough and filled with chocolate, creams, curd or, as here, jam.
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Gochujang Cioppino
This zippy dish with shrimp, squid, mussels and cod gets a lively Korean twist with tofu and gochujang (Korean red pepper paste).
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