The Best Dutch Ovens

This perfect, pricey pot bested the competition again. It was substantial enough to hold and distribute heat evenly without being unbearably heavy. The light-colored interior combined with low, straight sides gave us good visibility and made it easy to monitor browning and thermometer position. The broad cooking surface saved us time since we could cook more food at once. The lid was smooth and easy to clean. This pot is expensive, but it was exceptionally resistant to damage.

Like our favorite highly recommended full-size Dutch oven, this smaller pot’s light-colored interior and low, straight sides allowed us to easily monitor browning, and its large looped handles made it easy to move, even when filled with 4 pounds of short ribs. It had excellent heat retention, and French fries emerged golden brown and crispy. The one drawback? Its shorter stature meant that a pile of short ribs were slightly cramped; however, the end result was still excellent.

This pricey pot didn’t just look beautiful (it comes in 20-plus colors)—it cooked beautifully, too. White rice came out fluffy, and pear crisp had evenly cooked fruit and a well-browned top. We liked its relatively wide cooking surface, which allowed us to sear 11 meatballs at once with plenty of room for browning (we could fit 17 meatballs in Le Creuset’s 7.25-quart Dutch oven). The lid’s black phenolic knob stayed cool to the touch, even after being on the stovetop for 20 minutes, and its large handles helped us easily move the pot into and out of the oven.

This large Dutch oven heats up evenly, making moist, consistently cooked rice. Its broad cooking surface provides plenty of room for browning lots of meat at once or cooking a large recipe for a big family. Its large, looped handles were comfortable to hold, even when we wore thick oven mitts. It’s durable, showing no damage after we whacked and hit it 25 times. The light interior helped us monitor fond development and offered good visibility when using a probe thermometer for deep frying. Our only quibbles about this pot? It’s got taller walls, making it a little harder to see into the pot, and it's about 2.5 pounds heavier than our winner, so it’s a little more difficult to lift and transport.

With an exceptionally broad cooking surface and low, straight sides, this 7-quart pot had the same advantageous shape as the Le Creuset. It was heavier but not prohibitively so. The looped handles were comfortable to hold, though slightly smaller than ideal. The rim and lid chipped cosmetically when we repeatedly slammed the lid onto the pot, so it's slightly less durable than our winner.

This very durable pot was heavy enough to conduct heat well, and it had a nice broad cooking surface, which saved us time when we were browning in batches; however, the dark interior made it harder to see what was going on inside. The knob on its lid frequently became wiggly, though it was easy to tighten. The handles were looped, which we liked, but a little small. The lid had spikes designed to cycle moisture back into the food (though we saw no measurable benefit) and a deep ridge; both made it harder to clean.

With an especially broad cooking surface, this pot got through its searing stages faster than other models. We liked the looped handles, though they weren't as roomy as some. The low, straight sides let us see and work inside the pot without craning our necks or hitching our elbows awkwardly. However, the dark interior made it harder to monitor browning and position our thermometer probe. The lid had spikes designed to drip moisture back into the pot (we didn't notice a difference in the food) and a deep ridge around the underside, a design element that comes from the days of cooking with coals, as the ridge would cradle the coals a bit; both features made the lid harder to clean. This model was very resistant to damage.

This pot had large looped handles that were easy to grab even with oven mitts on. It also had a light interior so we could make sure our fond didn't burn. The medium weight was hefty enough to conduct heat nicely without being burdensome. It had taller sides and a slightly smaller cooking surface; this combination made it harder to maneuver in and slower at times, as we had to sear beef in three batches instead of two. But it made great food and was resistant to chipping.

This 7.5-quart pot had a light interior that made it easy to see into and large looped handles that were easy to grab, even with clumsy oven mitts. It was the heaviest pot we tested, and we found that extra weight trying when we had to haul it out of the oven full of beef stew or flip it during cleaning. But for all that heft, it had a comparatively small cooking surface, thanks to sides that sloped in, eating up flat, usable space; this meant it took more batches to sear the beef and meatballs. It passed our durability test handily.

This pot had a light interior, which made it easy to monitor browning. However, its sides were taller and its cooking surface was narrower, so it was harder to see and maneuver inside. We often had to sear food in more batches, which cost us 10 minutes or so. Its handles were looped, which we liked, but they were fatter, robbing some of the usable space. It was heavy enough to conduct heat nicely, though not so heavy that we dreaded using it. The smooth lid made it easy to clean. This model is not recommended for use at temperatures above 400 degrees because of the material of its knob; we cooked a single loaf of bread at 425 degrees and didn't encounter any issues.

This uncoated cast-iron pot came preseasoned, but we had to dry and oil it immediately after each use. The cast-iron finish never made our food taste metallic, as we've witnessed in past testings. Still, some care is warranted: The manual says that acidic foods “can damage seasoning, and should be avoided until the seasoning is well-established.” The pot was shaped nicely, with a broad cooking surface and low, gently flared sides. The dark interior made it harder to see browning, and while the handles were looped, they were smaller than ideal. Loaves of bread baked in this pot were exceptionally crusty and well browned.

This well-made Dutch oven had a broad cooking surface that let us cook full recipes of rice, stew, and bread with ease. Low sides allowed us to see into the pot and maneuver utensils comfortably. While its dark interior did make it a touch harder to tell when beef had browned sufficiently, it also ensured especially well-caramelized loaves of bread and camouflaged stains. It’s somewhat heavier than our favorite, and its lid was a bit of a pain to clean, thanks to self-basting spikes and a groove around the perimeter that collected food.

This budget-friendly pot aced nearly every test: White rice was fluffy, meatballs were browned, and French fries were crispy. We liked its light interior, which allowed us to easily monitor browning. Though its helper handles were a bit smaller and the pot was nearly a pound heavier than the Le Creuset, it was still fairly easy to lift and maneuver. The Cuisinart’s smaller size and cooking surface did mean that a full batch of short ribs were a bit too snug and we could fit fewer meatballs. Overall, though, this is an excellent Dutch oven at a bargain price.

This Dutch oven made great food and was a pleasure to use. Its broad cooking surface is nearly as big as our favorite 7-quart model’s, comfortably accommodating large loaves of bread and requiring relatively few batches to sear beef for stew. And because its interior is light colored, it was a cinch to monitor browning. Low walls allowed us to see into the pot easily, and large looped handles allowed us to grip the pot securely. Two small complaints: It’s heavier than our favorite 5.5-quart model, and the self-basting spikes on its lid were a pain to clean.

Available in a wide variety of colors, this attractive Dutch oven looked very similar to our favorite and made food just as well. It had a light interior and relatively low sides, so it was easy to see into the pot and to monitor browning. We liked its relatively large looped handles, which were easy to grip. The cooking surface could have been a tad bigger, though it was still large enough to accommodate a large loaf of bread. It’s not quite as durable as other models we’ve tested—its rim chipped when we banged it with a spoon—but as long as you’re reasonably careful, it should serve you well for a good long time.

Although it was the smallest model in its category, this 5-quart Dutch oven was still capable of making full recipes’ worth of stew, rice, and bread. It didn’t chip, and large looped handles made it easy to move and clean. That said, because it had such a small cooking surface, it took us about four batches to brown all the beef for our stew. Relatively tall sides made it a little trickier to maneuver a spoon or spatula inside.

This Dutch oven was solidly made and resisted our efforts to chip its rim when we banged on it with a metal spoon. It produced great food, from rice to stew to bread. Low sides made it easy to see into the pot and to maneuver a spoon or spatula. And it’s significantly lighter than its 7.5-quart version, making it relatively easy to lift and wash. Our main quibble? Like its larger sibling, its cooking surface is smaller than it might seem at first glance, since the sides slope in at an angle.

This Dutch oven delivered well-cooked rice, meatballs, and pear crisp. Its light-colored interior helped us easily monitor browning. Two small drawbacks: The pot had a smaller cooking surface and taller sides than the Le Creuset model, which meant that we could fit fewer meatballs, and its handles were not as large as the Le Creuset’s, so moving the hot pot around took a little more care. However, we still think that this is a great pot at an even better price.

This pot's light interior made it easy to position our thermometer probe and to monitor browning. It was heavy enough to hold heat well but not so heavy that it was a bear to use. The smaller cooking surface couldn't brown as much beef or as many meatballs at once, which added to our cooking time. Its handles were looped, but they tapered to a point that dug into our hands; this was particularly painful when cleaning the pot or transporting it laden with food.

This pot's slightly smaller cooking surface meant we had to sear in more batches than was ideal. The flat handles were small and dicey to hold, particularly when the pot was full and the handles were greasy from frying or searing. At 5.35 pounds, the lid was notably heavy and stressed our wrists when we checked on food. The interior was dark, which limited our visibility.

This 7-quart ceramic pot was the only one in our lineup not made of cast iron and was comparably light at just under 10 pounds. It cooked a bit more slowly and had a slightly smaller cooking surface and a dark interior finish that made it hard to monitor browning. The bowed-out sides sometimes blocked our view of the food. Its flat handles were hard to grasp, especially once they’d been splattered with grease. Our major gripe: Ceramic is just too fragile for a workhorse pot. We were always nervous when washing it, and the lid cracked when we firmly plopped it onto the base from a mere 2 inches above.