6 Best Lab-Tested Dutch Ovens
Le Creuset may make the most iconic Dutch oven, but theirs didn’t beat out these models in our rigorous lab tests
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You might be tempted to store a bulky Dutch oven in the back of a cabinet, but given its versatility, it’s worth keeping in a handier spot. Equally at home on the stovetop, in the oven, or on the table, a Dutch oven can be used to brown, boil, braise, bake bread, deep-fry, and serve.
Our test engineers put a selection of Dutch ovens through their paces in the lab, boiling water, browning meat, simmering tomato sauce, and baking bread. They also record handle temperatures and evaluate how easy each is to clean.
All the Dutch ovens we test are round and hold about 5 to 6 quarts—ideal for everyday cooking—and they work on any type of stovetop, including induction. Prices range from $40 to $400.
Our tests found that any of the pots below can do a fine job braising meat, and most can quickly bring 4 quarts of water to a near-boil. But we also found significant differences.
Here’s a look at the top Dutch ovens in our tests, listed in alphabetical order. Because many top-rated Dutch ovens come with high price tags, we’ve also included a few of the best performers you can buy for under $100. Consumer Reports members can see more details in our complete ratings of 15 Dutch ovens. If you’re not already a member, click below to become one and get access to ratings and reviews for all of the products we buy and test, including dishwashers, refrigerators, cell phones, and cars.
Best Dutch Ovens
You can expect the Caraway Dutch Oven to achieve a steady sauce simmer with no burning or uneven cooking, according to our lab tests. Our lab technicians also found that this Dutch oven provides even cooking across its surface and is easy to clean. Bread baked in this model comes out with an even color and crisp crust, measures of success in our baking tests. We also judged it as very good in our tests of handle temperature and speed to heat.
In our tests, the Merten & Storck Enameled Iron 1873 bakes bread like a champ, earning an excellent score, plus it’s a cinch to clean. Its heating speed was also excellent, and at just under six pounds, it’s the second-lightest Dutch oven in our ratings. However, its performance in our sauce simmering and cooking evenness tests was just mediocre. It also received a middling score in our handle-temperature tests, in which we measure temperature at several points along the handles.
The Our Place Perfect Pot is a top scorer in CR’s ratings, with excellent performance across our bread-baking, sauce-simmering, cooking evenness, and speed-of-heating tests. It’s also the lightest Dutch oven we tested and is exceptionally easy to clean. The only test it fell short in is our handle-temperature test, so you won’t want to use this one without a potholder. Notably, this Dutch oven only has a 30-day warranty, while some other models on this list have a lifetime warranty.
At 5 quarts, the Staub Enameled Cast Iron Essential French Oven may have a capacity on the smaller side, but at close to 12 pounds, it’s nearly twice as heavy as other Dutch ovens in CR’s ratings. Even so, it excels in our speed-of-heating tests. Cooking evenness was just as impressive, and our lab testers found it exceptionally easy to clean. Its sauce-simmering score was just middling, however, and you’ll want to make sure you have a potholder handy when using it, because its handles can get hot.
Best Dutch Ovens Under $100
The 6-quart Ayesha Curry Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven is one of the most affordable in our ratings. It’s also among the easiest to clean, earning an excellent rating in that evaluation as well as our speed-of-heating test. It did fall short in our challenging sauce simmer test, which evaluates the ability to maintain a steady simmer without burning or scorching. Weighing nearly 15 pounds, this Dutch oven is definitely on the hefty side. It’s oven-safe to 500° F, dishwasher-safe, and comes with a lifetime warranty.
With more than 120 years in the business, Lodge knows a thing or two about cast iron, and the 6 quart Lodge Essential Enamel Cast Iron Dutch oven is one of the best cast iron Dutch ovens we’ve tested, turning out bread that’s nicely browned and crispy and receiving very good ratings for its cooking evenness and speed of heating. We also found this enameled Dutch oven exceptionally easy to clean, and it’s dishwasher-safe.
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