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20 Essential Recipes to Make in Your Dutch Oven

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Credit: Photo: Meghan Splawn

Easy, Melt-in-Your-Mouth Dutch Oven Pot Roast

Dutch ovens are the workhorses of pots. They go from stovetop to oven with ease, making them ideal for braises, soups, bread, and more . Even better, Dutch ovens can be covered to keep foods warm or to transport a hot dish over to a sick friend. Whether you choose a classic cast iron Dutch oven or the ever-popular enameled version, Dutch ovens are easy to clean and can last decades with proper care.

I like to think of the day I brought home a Dutch oven as the day my kitchen changed forever. That may sound dramatic, but seriously — there really is no better pot around. I now cook with my Dutch oven so much that it has a permanent spot on my stove. Rather than getting tucked away after I am done with it, like all my other pots and pans, it stays put because I am almost certain I’ll be reaching for it again the next night.

Want to get hooked like me? Embrace these 20 Dutch oven recipes for soups, stews, braises, pasta, bread, and more.

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1 / 20

Vegetarian Chili

Thanks to creamy beans, tender vegetables, and stewed tomatoes, this vegetarian chili provides all the hearty satisfaction of a meat-heavy dish (sans the meat).

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2 / 20

Creamy Macaroni and Cheese on the Stove

A big batch of creamy mac and cheese is likely to be the most comforting meal to ever come out of your Dutch oven.

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3 / 20

One-Pot Meatballs & Pasta Os

Dutch ovens are perfect for making one-pot pasta recipes. This is a great one to get started with because it shows you just how utilitarian a Dutch oven can be. The large size of the pot means you can cook everything — pasta and sauce — all together to make a single dish without feeling like you're cramped for space. Plus you can top the whole dish with cheese and move a Dutch oven to the broiler with ease.

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4 / 20

Italian Wedding Soup

Sure, you can make soup in any ol' pot — but make it in a Dutch oven and you can feed a crowd or simply make enough to eat for lunch all week or freeze in batches for another day. I keep my Dutch oven on the stove at all times just so I can churn out a big pot of soup weekly. The larger the oven, the larger the crowd you can feed.

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5 / 20

Kale and Cannellini Bean Stew

Like soup, stew is another great fit for the Dutch oven. The heavy weight of the pot allows you to simmer things low and slow for the hours required to result in a deeply flavored stew. It's the only excuse you need to stay in your sweats all Sunday, letting the stew bubble away as you finally finish your book.

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6 / 20

Honey-Garlic Shrimp Stovetop Rice Casserole

No need to dust off your casserole dish when you already have your Dutch oven within reach waiting for you. Sauté aromatics; layer them with ingredients like rice, vegetables, and protein; and you've got a one-pot casserole that's easy and satisfying. You often don't even have to transfer the pot to the oven.

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7 / 20

Easy, Melt-in-Your-Mouth Dutch Oven Pot Roast

Unlike most Dutch oven pot roasts, this shortcut version requires a minimal amount of hands-on cooking.

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8 / 20

Whole Chicken Dinner in the Dutch Oven

Your Dutch oven not only roasts the bird well, but it also roasts the side dishes at the same time. Place the chicken on top of a pile of vegetables and let the steady heat of the pot do all the work. That means a comforting chicken dinner is suddenly a possibility any night of the week, and it's a mess-free affair at that.

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9 / 20

Lamb Bolognese

You might not have an Italian nonna to simmer a ragu for you all day long, but having a Dutch oven means you're equipped to still whip up a delicious Sunday sauce. The heavy pot has the great ability to retain heat, which is ideal when you're simmering something on the stove for a long time, like a ragù. Any good meat sauce, whether it's a classic Bolognese or something more unique, is a great contender for a Dutch oven.

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10 / 20

Braised Short Ribs in the Oven

It's hard to argue with the perfection of juicy, fall-off-the-bone short ribs — they're truly comfort food at its best. Since a Dutch oven can go seamlessly from stove to oven, it's the ultimate choice when making any sort of braised meat that's browned on the stovetop and then cooked in the oven, slowly, for hours. That will give you plenty of time to make the mashed potatoes, because you know you'll need them.

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11 / 20

Risotto at Home

If you've never made risotto before, the thought could be intimidating. But trust me — the Dutch oven will give you all the courage you need. Plus, you get to admire your pretty new pot as you stir and stir. Suddenly you'll feel like an accomplished cook and want to invite all your friends over to show them you can make killer risotto. (You definitely should do that, by the way.)

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12 / 20

How to Cook Beans on the Stove

While it's smart to keep some canned beans on hand, taking the time to simmer a pot of dried beans on the stove really makes you the pantry maven you strive to be. The Dutch oven can do all the work here, so let it. The results will be ridiculously flavorful beans you'll want to turn into soup, pile onto salads, and even whirl into hummus.

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13 / 20

Shortcut Dutch Oven Chicken Pot Pie

This version takes just like the classic, but leans on smart grocery store buys to make it totally doable on a weeknight. Truly. Everything comes together quickly in a Dutch oven before you drop mounds of homemade cream biscuit dough on top, then slide it into the oven.

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14 / 20

Dutch Oven Braised Turkey

Cooked in a Dutch oven, this braise delivers both the main course and sides, plus a rich sauce that serves as your stand-in the for traditional gravy. It’s a Thanksgiving-style one-pot meal that delivers turkey so tender it falls off the bone with the touch of a fork yet still boasts ultra-crispy skin.

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15 / 20

No-Knead Bread

If there is one Dutch oven recipe that will spoil you, it's this one, which is just what you deserve after working your way through all these firsts with you and your pot. Since it can retain such great heat, your Dutch oven has the ability to mimic a bread oven that rivals those at bakeries. Once you've baked your own bread and realize not only how easy it is, but also how delicious it tastes, you may never go back.

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16 / 20

Chicken in Coconut Milk with Lemongrass

Your heavy Dutch oven is just right got holding the chicken snuggly in the pot as it braises in rich coconut milk and gets infused with warm spices and aromatics.

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How To Make Bone Broth on the Stove

Bone broth is made by simmering beef bones with vegetables until you end up with a rich, nutritious, deeply savory broth. It's a perfect base for soups.

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Braised French Onion Chicken with Gruyère

French onion soup meets ultra-tender braised chicken thighs in this comforting Dutch oven dinner.

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Easy French Ratatouille

You'll want to pull out your biggest ditch oven for this thick and silky French stew made with eggplant, zucchini, sweet peppers, and ripe summer tomatoes.

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20 / 20

Tomato-Braised Lentils with Broccoli Rabe

This plant-forward dinner is wholesome, rich, and totally comforting.

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Sheela Prakash

Senior Contributing Food Editor

Sheela is the Senior Contributing Food Editor at Kitchn and the author of Mediterranean Every Day: Simple, Inspired Recipes for Feel-Good Food . She received her master's degree from the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Italy and is also a Registered Dietitian.

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Source : food