Our Editors' Favourite Dutch Ovens, From Budget to Luxury
Photo illustration by Ian Sullivan Cant.
A cast iron Dutch oven is a true kitchen workhorse: while it handily sautés and boils, it's also ideal for long braises, deep frying and bread-baking, and often comes in an array of colours making the transition from stove or oven to table quick and pretty. Often, though, they can be a big investment: our editors boiled and fried and baked their way through a range of Dutch ovens at every price point to find you our favourites.
5.3-Litre Le Creuset Dutch Oven
The iconic cookware brand turns 100 this year; I’ve used their cast-iron dutch ovens for 15 of those years. Yes, they are pricey, but a couple of things give them an edge over the competition in terms of user experience. The handles are wider, which makes them easier to lift, the cast iron construction is slightly lighter (no small factor when it comes to a large cooking vessel) and the cream-coloured interior enamel allows you to monitor browning on cooked foods. —Chantal Braganza, deputy food editor, $610, lecreuset.ca
5.25-Litre Staub La Cocotte
In terms of heat retention, durability and how long it takes to boil water, this 50-year-old brand’s cast iron dutch oven operates almost exactly like Le Creuset. While it’s slightly heavier and its black enamelled interior requires a watchful eye (it’s harder to detect food browning), these differences don’t affect how well it performs—and may not really matter to an experienced cook. —C.B., $520, zwilling.com
6-Quart Amazon Basics Dutch Oven
I bought this Amazon Basics dutch oven on sale for $50 in 2019, expecting it to last a year until I could afford something more sturdy. It’s now 2025, and this workhorse is still going strong. But at such a low price, there are drawbacks: while the oven has thousands of five-star reviews, some say the enamel chips very easily (though I haven’t experienced this issue) and it’s hand-wash only. —Erica Lenti, deputy features editor, $85, amazon.ca
5-Quart Cuisinart Caskata Dutch Oven
This is a beautiful dutch oven, priced much more affordably than its luxury competitors. My 20-year-old Le Creuset oven of the same size boils water faster, but both ovens retain heat equally well. Given the $225 price difference, you might not mind waiting an extra five minutes for your water to boil—though whether the enamel holds up as well as my Le Creuset remains to be seen. —Gillian Grace, deputy digital editor, $250, cuisinart.ca
Lodge 6-Quart Dutch Oven
The enamel finish makes for an easy clean-up and the light interior is helpful to see how things are braising. (I do like enamelled dutch ovens as I also don’t have other worry about it being reactive to acids like a tomato sauce or stew, and I can leave liquids in there to cool or soak for cleaning.) The loop handles are sturdily attached and wide, which is great for grabbing the pot out of the oven with mitts on. The heat retention on this dutch oven is great: 10 cups of water came to a rolling boil in 14 minutes, and stayed hot for more than two hours after turning off the stove. But I will say: at 14 lbs when empty, this Dutch oven is heavy.—Aimee Nishitoba, art director, $190, walmart.ca
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Chantal Braganza is a writer and editor living in Toronto. She is deputy editor, food at Chatelaine, a cookbook nerd, lover of vintage dish ware, and currently training for yoga teacher certification. Her first book, Story of Your Mother, is out with Strange Light Press.
