Enameled, Bare or Stainless? Choosing the Best Dutch Oven

Every Mexican kitchen has a pot that does the slow work. It holds the pozole that simmers all morning, the birria that braises until the meat falls apart, the frijoles de la olla that need a steady, gentle heat for hours, and the mole that has to be stirred without scorching. In most home kitchens that pot is a Dutch oven: a heavy, lidded pot, usually cast iron, that browns meat on the stove and then moves into the oven without a second thought.

The choice looks simple until you shop. Enameled cast iron from France costs several times what a pot from Lodge or Tramontina does, bare cast iron needs seasoning, and stainless steel pots are sold as Dutch ovens too. This guide explains what actually separates them, names the eight pots worth buying, and is honest about where the expensive ones earn their price and where they do not.

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Quick verdict: which Dutch oven to buy

The table lines up the five pots we would point most cooks toward. All eight picks are reviewed in full after it.

Five Dutch ovens side by side

One pick for each kind of cook, with the specifications each maker, listing or America’s Test Kitchen states.

Product images from Amazon. Weights are as weighed by America’s Test Kitchen where it reviewed the pot; check the listing before you buy.

Our picks for the best Dutch oven

These eight pots cover the real choices: two French enameled pots, a French-made newcomer, two enameled pots at a fraction of the price, an oval for whole chickens and long loaves, a bare cast iron pot that can go over a fire, and a stainless steel pot for anyone who cannot lift fifteen pounds of iron. Most sit between 5.5 and 7 quarts, the range America’s Test Kitchen recommends for a single all-purpose pot. Each pick explains who it suits and one honest reason to skip it.

How to choose a Dutch oven for your kitchen

Brand is the least useful thing to compare. What matters in a working kitchen is how much the pot holds, how much flat floor it has, whether you can see what is happening inside, and whether you can lift it when it is full.

1. Size

America’s Test Kitchen thinks a 7-quart pot is the best single choice, with room for a whole chicken or a full batch of stew. A 5- to 6-quart pot can do almost everything a 7-quart pot can, including full recipes of soup and large loaves of bread; you will simply brown meat in more batches and wait a little longer for sauces to reduce. If you regularly cook pozole or menudo for a crowd, go to 7 quarts. For two people, or as a heavy saucepan for rice and beans, ATK likes 3- to 4-quart pots.

2. Cooking surface and wall height

Capacity tells you what a pot holds; the flat floor tells you how fast you can brown. ATK prefers at least 8.5 inches of flat cooking surface on a 5- to 7-quart pot and at least 9 inches on a 7-quart. Pots with sloping sides, like the Lodge enameled models, have less usable floor than their size suggests. Lower walls also make it easier to see in and let liquids reduce a little faster.

3. Light or dark interior

A light enamel interior shows you the fond, so you can deglaze before it burns. That matters when you toast chiles, fry a recaudo or brown meat for birria. Dark interiors, on the Staub and bare iron pots, radiate heat better and give bread a deeper crust, and they hide stains. Most cooks are better served by light; bakers often prefer dark.

4. Enameled or bare cast iron

Enamel is a glass coating that makes cast iron nonreactive and maintenance-free: no seasoning, no rust, and you can simmer tomatoes or store leftovers in it. Bare cast iron is cheaper, cannot chip and can go over a fire, but it has to be dried and oiled after every wash, and acidic dishes can strip young seasoning. ATK thinks both are good choices. If you want bare iron with a lid that doubles as a pan, see our guide to the best cast iron skillet with a lid.

5. Weight, handles and knob

The enameled pots here run from about 11 to almost 17 pounds empty. ATK found its favorite pots were on the lighter side of the range and had large looped handles you can grab with oven mitts on. Check the knob rating too: some phenolic knobs are rated lower than the pot, which matters if you bake bread at high heat. The ratings in each pick above come from the maker or the listing.

6. Durability and price

ATK’s view, after decades of reviews, is that you do not have to spend a lot to get a pot that cooks well. The two reasons to pay more are durability, because pricier enamel was less likely to chip in its tests, and ease of use, because pricier pots tended to be lighter. If you will use your Dutch oven several times a week, those differences add up over the years.

How we chose these eight Dutch ovens

We started from what a restaurant kitchen asks of a heavy pot: steady heat for long simmers, a broad floor for browning, a lid that fits, handles you can grab with a towel, and a body that survives being banged around. We then looked for pots sold and in stock on Amazon in the United States, from makers that publish their own specifications, and checked capacity, materials, oven ratings, care and country of manufacture against the listing, the maker’s site or Lodge’s trade catalog.

For how the pots cook, we relied on reviews we read in full: America’s Test Kitchen’s Dutch oven review and its lightweight Dutch oven review. Where we quote cooking results or weights, they are ATK’s. We have not cooked with every pot on this list ourselves, and where ATK has not reviewed a pot, as with the Staub oval and this exact All-Clad, we say so.

Some well-known pots are missing for practical reasons. ATK’s overall winner, the Le Creuset 7.25-quart, was in short supply on Amazon when we checked. Smithey’s bare cast iron pot, which ATK recommends, is sold by its maker rather than on Amazon. ATK’s Best Buy, the Cuisinart Chef’s Classic, is also left out: we left out enameled picks whose makers give no lead-free statement. For more lower-cost pots, see our best value Dutch oven guide.

Caring for a Dutch oven, the way the makers say

1. Preheat gently. Lodge advises warming enameled cast iron gradually, with oil, on a burner close to the pot’s size, so it heats evenly.
2. Use soft utensils on enamel. Lodge recommends wooden, silicone or nylon tools, because metal can scratch the finish. Bare cast iron can take metal utensils.
3. Let it cool before washing. Lodge says to let enameled iron cool, then hand wash with warm soapy water and a sponge or nylon brush. For stuck-on food, it suggests boiling 2 cups of water with 4 tablespoons of baking soda for a few minutes, then using a pan scraper.
4. Expect some staining. Lodge notes that a little staining on light enamel is normal and does not affect performance. Made In suggests a baking soda paste.
5. Dry bare iron and the rims. Bare cast iron must be dried and lightly oiled after every wash. On enameled pots, the rim is usually bare iron; Lodge suggests wiping a little oil around it if rust appears.

Dutch oven questions, answered

What are the best Dutch oven brands?

Le Creuset and Staub, both made in France, are the long-standing premium names, and America’s Test Kitchen says that after decades of reviews it still rates Le Creuset the best Dutch oven on the market. Made In, Lodge and Tramontina make credible pots at lower prices, and ATK recommends pots from all three. Brand matters less than shape, interior color and weight.

What is America’s Test Kitchen’s best Dutch oven?

In ATK’s most recent review, the Le Creuset 7.25-quart round is the overall winner and the Le Creuset 5.5-quart round wins among 5- to 6-quart pots. Its Best Buys are the Cuisinart Chef’s Classic 7-quart and 5-quart casseroles. Its lightweight winner is the All-Clad D3 stainless 6-quart stockpot.

Is a Le Creuset worth it for the money?

For cooking results alone, probably not: ATK found the Cuisinart performs about as well for roughly a quarter of the price. Where the Le Creuset earns its price is durability and handling. It was more resistant to chipping and lighter in ATK’s tests, which matters if you use your pot several times a week for decades.

What size Dutch oven is best for home use?

For most households, 5.5 to 7 quarts. ATK prefers 7 quarts as a single all-purpose pot, but says a 5- to 6-quart pot does nearly everything, just with more batches when browning. A 5.5-quart pot comfortably holds a family-size pot of beans; for that job, a clay olla for beans is the traditional alternative.

Can you bake bread in any Dutch oven?

Any cast iron Dutch oven with an oven-safe lid works. ATK found dark interiors, like the Staub and the bare Lodge it tested, gave the crustiest loaves, while stainless steel pots made paler bread. Check the knob rating before baking at high heat. Our guide to the best Dutch oven for bread covers sizes and shapes for sourdough.

Is enameled cast iron better than bare cast iron?

Neither is better for everything. Enamel needs no seasoning, handles acidic sauces and can store food; bare iron is cheaper, cannot chip and can go over a fire. ATK found neither affected flavor in its latest tests, provided the bare pot’s seasoning is well kept.

Our final word on Dutch ovens

By material: the best cast iron Dutch ovens, the best budget enamel Dutch ovens, the best ceramic Dutch ovens, the best stainless steel Dutch ovens and the best nonstick Dutch ovens. By size and shape: the best large Dutch ovens, the best oval Dutch ovens and the best lightweight Dutch ovens. For specific jobs: the best affordable Dutch ovens for bread, the best camp Dutch ovens and the best Dutch oven cookbooks. Still deciding on a pot? See Dutch oven vs braiser.

Related guide: Best le creuset dutch oven.

Related guide: Dutch oven alternative.

Related guide: Dutch oven vs slow cooker.

Related guide: Dutch oven vs stock pot.

Buy the Le Creuset 5.5-quart if you want the pot America’s Test Kitchen trusts most and will use it for decades. Buy the Tramontina 6.5-quart if you want an ATK-recommended enameled pot for far less, and the Staub if you bake bread as often as you braise. Whatever you choose, it will be the pot that carries your slow cooking, from charro beans to a long-simmered mole. And when you would rather someone else did the simmering, Julia’s is at 5402 N Highway 6 in Houston: call to order.