Le Creuset
Round Dutch Oven
About the product
A beautiful product that cooks evenly and stands the test of time
Le Creuset is known for its fine enameled cast iron cookware, made in France since 1925, and the Signature series Round Dutch Oven is perhaps its best-known product. The Dutch oven’s colorful enamel glaze, heirloom durability and exemplary performance have impressed home cooks and professional chefs for decades.
To see how well it performs, the BestReviews Testing Lab spent a week cooking with it, and the results proved to us that its reputation is well-earned. While pricey, the Le Creuset Round Dutch Oven is the best enameled Dutch oven you can buy.
What is the Le Creuset Round Dutch Oven?
Product Specifications
Material: Cast iron | Coating: Enamel | Capacity: 5.5 qt | Weight: 12.7 lb | Oven-safe Temperature: 500 degrees | Dishwasher-safe: Yes (hand-wash recommended)
The Le Creuset Round Dutch Oven is an enameled cast iron Dutch oven available in sizes from 2 to 13.75 quarts. Its dense cast iron core allows for long, even heat retention and distribution, making it an ideal piece of cookware for braising and roasting.
Its enamel finish is non-reactive, suitable for long-simmered soups and stews and withstanding acidic ingredients. It has a heavy lid of the same construction to seal in moisture and heat and a pair of spacious handles for lifting and carrying. It comes with either a black phenolic knob that’s oven-safe to 500 degrees, or a stainless steel knob safe to any temperature. The Le Creuset Round Dutch Oven can be used on gas, electric, induction and halogen cooktops as well as in the oven. It’s available in as many as 26 different colors including limited-edition collector’s items.
See how it compares to other products in its space — check out our reviews for the best Dutch ovens.
Price and where to buy
The Le Creuset Round Dutch Oven's suggested retail price ranges from $260 to $625, depending on size and color. The 5.5-quart model we tested was $420. It is available from Amazon and other retailers as well as directly from Le Creuset.
Why we like it
- Heat retention: We found that the cast iron construction of the Le Creuset Round Dutch Oven distributes heat quickly and evenly across its surface.
- Nonstick enamel: The nonreactive enamel interior of the Le Creuset Round Dutch Oven, when properly heated, is nonstick and non-reactive to acids like tomatoes, citrus and vinegar.
- Surface compatibility: We liked that the Le Creuset is compatible with all the common cooktop categories, including gas, electric and induction, and that it works in ovens as well.
- Durability: With proper care, the Le Creuset Round Dutch Oven is an heirloom item that can be handed down from generation to generation with no loss of functionality or beauty.
What we don’t like
- Special handling: While Le Creuset promises the Round Dutch Oven is dishwasher-safe, we think hand-washing is safer. Though metal tools, such as whisks and spoons, can be used gently with it, silicone, heat-resistant plastic or wooden tools are recommended.
- Weight: Like all cast iron, the Le Creuset Round Dutch Oven, which weighs 12.7 pounds, can be quite heavy and a challenge to lift and hold.
- Size: In our experience, the Le Creuset Round Dutch Oven can be a challenge to store for people with limited kitchen or cabinet space.
Le Creuset Round Dutch Oven setup
The Le Creuset Round Dutch Oven arrives in a printed product box that opens at the top for convenience. The lid is packed upside-down for compactness and should be removed first. Beneath it is the body of the Dutch oven, packed in recyclable cardboard with small card bumpers to preserve the rim of the enamel. Due to the weight of the cast iron, you need two hands to lift the Dutch oven from its box.
Le Creuset instructs users to remove all stickers and labels from the lid and Dutch oven, checking the interior and underside. It’s then recommended to wash the Dutch oven and lid in warm soapy water and let dry before first use. The enameled surface of the Round Dutch Oven needs no seasoning or other preparation.
Design and materials
As enameled cast iron, the Le Creuset Round Dutch Oven is a versatile piece of cookware. Cast iron retains and distributes heat better than other common kitchenware materials, ideal for low and slow cooking methods like braising, roasting and stewing. Raw cast iron is highly reactive and needs seasoning to perform at its best, but enameled cast iron does not.
The vitreous enamel that coats the Le Creuset Round Dutch Oven is a form of glass that renders the oven impervious to moisture and rust while also offering a surface that’s almost completely nonreactive. Acidic foods such as citrus, tomatoes, wine and vinegar can be used in the Le Creuset Round Dutch Oven with impunity. It can even be used to marinate foods for long periods, something not recommended with raw cast iron kitchenware.
The Le Creuset Round Dutch Oven has a lid knob made of phenolic resin sometimes with a metallic finish. While essentially a plastic, the Le Creuset’s phenolic knob is safe to 500 degrees, so it can go into a hot oven without damage or odors. The lid itself is slightly domed, providing vertical space for a whole bird or round bread loaf. Two loop handles are of a single piece with the oven and provide a spacious, reliable grip even with oven mitts.
Le Creuset’s enameled cast iron is well-known for the vivid, glossy colors of its exterior enamel. There are 26 available colors as of this writing. Le Creuset has adopted the marketing trend of limited-edition “drops” of rarer colors that become collectible.
Performance
We found the Le Creuset Round Dutch Oven to provide exemplary cooking performance in our testing, as long as we remembered certain guidelines. It functions well without the need to use high heat on the cooktop; if high heat was used, foods had a tendency to stick and burn. We were also mindful that excessive high heat might damage the finish.
With low to medium heat, the Round Dutch Oven was more than up to all sorts of cooking techniques. We simmered soups, braised meats and boiled pasta, and also used it as a slow cooker. The Round Dutch Oven is also oven-safe, in which case the high heat considerations are less important.
We noted that Le Creuset recommends using silicone, wood or heat-resistant plastic when cooking with the Round Dutch Oven to avoid marring the enamel. The interior enamel is light-colored, which makes it easy to see browning and fond, which is the French term for the tasty bits of food you’ll find stuck to the bottom of the Dutch oven. We like that the handles are large enough to grip comfortably even when wearing kitchen gloves or oven mitts. The lid produces a good seal, although it lacks the interior dimples for self-basting that other Dutch ovens have.
Our experience with the Le Creuset Round Dutch Oven leads us to believe it will last for many years, even decades with proper use. Other Le Creuset products have been passed down from generation to generation, and we’re confident today’s Round Dutch Oven will too.
Cleaning
The vitreous enamel that makes the Le Creuset Round Dutch Oven safe for all types of food also makes it easy to clean. When used correctly at medium heat, many foods release easily with minimum sticking, and any stuck-on bits can be loosened with some moisture. Le Creuset recommends letting a Round Dutch Oven sit with some water if it has stubborn food residue before washing.
The Round Dutch Oven is dishwasher-safe, but we feel that, like all fine kitchen items, hand-washing is ideal. Le Creuset recommends avoiding using metal or highly abrasive products to scrub the enamel. Instead, use a nylon scrubber or dish brush. If washing by hand, we think you should dry the Round Dutch Oven immediately.
The size and weight of the Round Dutch Oven is one of its few drawbacks. While not the heaviest cast iron Dutch oven available, it is somewhat heavy and bulky. Store it on a low shelf where it has plenty of space to avoid chipping along the rim.
How does it compare to other Dutch ovens we’ve tested?
The Le Creuset Round Dutch Oven compares well with the Staub Round Cocotte, which we also tested. Both are enameled cast iron Dutch ovens and both are made in France. The Staub has slightly squarer handles than the Le Creuset and somewhat flatter sides. Most notably, the Staub’s lid has spikes that evenly distribute condensed steam rather than letting it run down the sides like the Le Creuset. The Staub’s lid knob is steel, which withstands hotter temperatures than the Le Creuset’s phenolic knob. The Le Creuset is also more expensive than the Staub at the same size.
Testing the Le Creuset Round Dutch Oven
We tested the Le Creuset Round Dutch oven in real-life situations in a home setting. We graded it on design and materials, including size and weight, and noted its attractiveness and collectability,
We tested its performance by cooking a variety of foods on it, on both gas and electric cooktops, including slow cooking, stewing, braising and roasting. We noted how fast or slowly it heated, how evenly it distributed heat, how easy or difficult it was to release food from its surface, and any conveniences or drawbacks it offered while cooking. We also took note of its performance in the oven and its suitability for storage and as a serving dish. We noted its weight while cooking and whether its handles were comfortable and useful
After cooking, we observed how easy it was to clean, noting whether or not it was dishwasher-safe, and, when hand-washing, how easy or difficult it was to remove any stubborn bits of food.
Should you get the Le Creuset Round Dutch Oven?
The Le Creuset Round Dutch Oven is the best enameled cast iron Dutch oven available and one of the most useful and versatile cooking vessels one can own. While it has a high price, we believe its quality, longevity and versatility are worth it, and it should serve you and your family for decades.