8 Best Lab-Tested Dutch Ovens
Le Creuset may make the most iconic Dutch oven, but it didn’t beat out these models in our rigorous lab tests
When you shop through retailer links on our site, we may earn affiliate commissions. 100% of the fees we collect are used to support our nonprofit mission. Learn more.
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 recorded handle temperatures and evaluated how easy each is to clean.
All of the Dutch ovens we’ve tested are round and hold about 5 to 6 quarts—ideal for everyday cooking—and work on any type of stovetop, including induction. Prices range from under $40 to more than $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 ones come with high prices, 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 20 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 heating, according to our 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, two measures of success in our baking tests. We also rated it very good in our tests of handle temperature and heating speed.
The GreenPan Stanley Tucci Ceramic Non-Stick Dutch oven, like the highly rated cookware set from the same brand, is a top scorer in our performance tests. It aces our evaluations for heating speed, cooking evenness, sauce simmering, and ease of cleaning. It also does a very good job in our bread-baking test, in which we look for a crisp crust and a soft, airy interior. It’s oven-safe to an impressive 625° F, and it’s induction-compatible. We did find that the handles can get very hot, so you’ll definitely want to use potholders with this one.
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 over 7 pounds, it’s the third-lightest Dutch oven in our ratings. But 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’ve 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 potholders. 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 potholders 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 budget-friendly 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 simmering 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. At over 13 pounds, though, it’s quite a lift.
The Mainstays (Walmart) Cast Iron Ceramic Enamel Round Dutch Oven is budget-friendly option that has a very good Overall Score, earning strong marks in our tests for bread baking, sauce simmering, and cooking evenness. Plus, although it’s cast iron, which isn’t always quick to heat, this Dutch oven earned an excellent score in our heating speed tests. You’ll probably want to use a potholder to lift it, though: We measured its handle temperatures above 140° F, which can cause burns.
BEST TIME TO BUY:
