30+ Essential Recipes to Make in Your Dutch Oven

updated Sep 12, 2022

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A pot with Chicken Bog, a pilaf-style dish made of rice, chicken, onion, spices, and sausage — Credit: Kelli Foster
Chicken Bog

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 35 Dutch oven recipes for soups, stews, braises, pasta, bread, and more.

Lodge 6 Quart Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven

Easy Dutch Oven Recipes

From soup to one-pot meals to no-knead bread to classic pot roast, you’ll want to keep this lineup of easy Dutch oven favorites on repeat.

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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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Puerto Rican Arroz con Salchichas

This versatile and delicious Puerto Rican dinner comes together in a Dutch oven with a few pantry workhorses. Don't have Vienna sausages? Swap in Spam, tinned seafood, or canned legumes.

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Irish Seafood Chowder

A thin, milky broth barely holds together a mountain of smoked and fresh fish, tender potatoes and briny shellfish.

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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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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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Chili Cornbread Casserole

The trusty Dutch oven makes it possible to cook chili and bake a layer of cornbread on top all in one pot.

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One-Pot Braised Cabbage with Bacon

The South knows the best way to eat cabbage: braised with bacon, made in just one Dutch oven, and so satisfying to the body and soul.

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American Goulash

When you are looking for a dinner that will be a hit with the whole family and can be prepared from start to finish all in the same Dutch oven, look no further than American goulash.

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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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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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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 realized not only how easy it is, but also how delicious it tastes, you may never go back.

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Easy Pumpkin Soup

The easiest (and tastiest) pumpkin soup, thanks to a can of pumpkin and your spice drawer. And it comes together in just 20 minutes.

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Easy One-Pot Chicken Taco Soup

Loaded with juicy chicken, hearty black beans, and sweet corn, this quick soup was made with weeknight dinners in mind.

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One-Pot Weeknight Beef Stroganoff

Tender noodles, ground beef, and mushrooms all cooked together in a creamy, comforting sauce.

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One-Pot Mediterranean Shrimp and Rice Pilaf

This vibrant dinner has a little bit of everything: tender rice, protein-packed shrimp, crunchy fresh veggies, and tangy, creamy cheese.

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One-Pot Greek Orzo with Tomatoes, White Beans, and Feta

A hearty Greek-inspired orzo dinner flavored with creamy canned cannellini beans, briny olives, juicy tomatoes, and salty feta.

Dutch Oven Recipes That Are Vegetarian

From lentil and beans to all sorts of veggies, your Dutch oven can transform them all into a totally irresistible meal.

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Vegetarian Mushroom Stew

Once you’ve eaten it in a bowl with crusty bread, serve it again atop polenta or as an open-faced sandwich melt once the coconut-tomato broth thickens for an entirely different dinner.

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Brothy Tuscan White Beans with Garlic-Fried Bread

White beans, garlic, and fresh sage are stewed in a light tomato broth and served over thick toast in this wholesome and comforting pantry recipe.

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Teddy's Black Bean Soup

This classic Cuban soup is rich with garlic, oregano, and cumin, and brightened with a few generous splashes of cider vinegar.

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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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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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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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One-Pot Creamy Mushroom and Spinach Orzo

Simmering orzo pasta in milk helps ensure it's a super creamy counterpart to tender mushrooms, spinach, and plenty of Parmesan cheese.

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Easy French Ratatouille

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

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Tomato-Braised Lentils with Broccoli Rabe 

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

Dutch Oven Recipes with Chicken

It goes without saying there is no shortage of ways to cook chicken in your Dutch oven. These are happen to be some of our absolute favorites.

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This flavor-packed chicken stew recipe rivals even the heartiest beef stew.

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Easy Chicken and Dumplings

This version of chicken and dumplings starts with a couple smart shortcuts to make it easy enough to pull off on a weeknight, without skimping on the rich, savory flavor and tender dumplings you expect.

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What makes this dish stand out is its rich and creamy rice.

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Chicken and "Clunkers" Soup

This weeknight recipe starts with boxed chicken broth and a rotisserie chicken for ease and convenience.

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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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Shortcut Dutch Oven Chicken Pot Pie

This version tastes 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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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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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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One-Pot Creamy Chicken and Rice Casserole

If you’re looking for a comforting one-pot meal that will please the whole family, look no further.

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Easy One-Pot Chicken Taco Soup

Loaded with juicy chicken, hearty black beans, and sweet corn, this quick soup was made with weeknight dinners in mind.

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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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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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