What are your thoughts on Le Creuset enameled dutch ovens? Are they worth the cost? I have heard some good things about Staub as well...appreciate any input.

Buy once cry once.

Cheap enameled cast iron dutch ovens are still...... enameled cast iron. They're chemically and functionally identical. The enamel is the exact same on all of them.

There is nothing that a $350 La Creuset does that a $50 lodge does not also do.

My $60 Crockpot Brand enameled cast iron dutch oven has been used 1-2x per week for the last 3 years. It's still flawless.

I also bought a $50 one (I think Martha Stewart brand) about 15 years ago and it still works as well as the first time I used it.

I have Lodge, Martha Stewart and Le Creuset.

They are all identical in how they cook.

Do not spend big money on this. Go to TJ Maxx and buy Lodge enameled cast iron for 25% the cost of Le Creuset. They're identical in how they cook.

Stuab if you are trying to flex on those in the know.

LaC if you want to avoid your wife's friends seeing it and thinking "i guess he couldn't afford a LaC. "

Lodge, Martha, etc if you want one, dont care about status and have other uses for the money.

Thanks everyone. Gonna get a Lodge most likely. Off to TJMaxx / Home Goods.

We've stocked up on the Martha Stewart ones at Macy's when they go on good sale or somehow end up in the clearance section.

We use to live close to a LeC outlet and we got some decent pieces for discounted prices.

I can't say whether the brands are worth the cost but my la creuset dutch oven and staub enameled cast iron skillet are pretty much all I use unless I need a pot to boil something.

Cuisinart CI670-30CR Chef's Classic Enameled Cast Iron 7-Quart Round Covered Casserole, Cardinal Red https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0017HRLFC/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_NGUuEb3HX637Y

We have this one . It's fantastic.

Of course there is this option

https://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/le-creuset-star-wars-darth-vader-dutch-oven/

hbc07 said:

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We've stocked up on the Martha Stewart ones at Macy's when they go on good sale or somehow end up in the clearance section.

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We have a full set of these (8qt oval, 5qt round, 2.5qt round x2 and a skillet). Absolutely love them. They're work horses.

We were given a Le cruset Dutch oven as a wedding gift. Didn't register for it (or anything else for that matter) and I thought it was a waste of money when we were given it. And then for years it was a workhorse of our kitchen. Everything from typical Dutch iven tasks like making a roast or stew to being our go-to pasta pot because it heated up so well. Only having kids cut down on our cooking slowed it's roll jn our rotation.

That being said, there's nothing special about it being a LC. I'm sure any of the other enameled vends work just as well.

Just FYI if you are LC fan.

https://www.lecreuset.com/factorytotabledallas

Duncan Idaho said:

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Stuab if you are trying to flex on those in the know.

LaC if you want to avoid your wife's friends seeing it and thinking "i guess he couldn't afford a LaC. "

Lodge, Martha, etc if you want one, dont care about status and have other uses for the money.

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My first thought when reading this is who needs their cookware to do the flexing in the kitchen? Cant remember a time anyone has said "this is awesome but didn't I see you using a restaurant supply pan and knife to prepare it".

Texker said:

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Just FYI if you are LC fan.

https://www.lecreuset.com/factorytotabledallas

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We are doing this on Thursday.

Texker said:

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Just FYI if you are LC fan.

https://www.lecreuset.com/factorytotabledallas

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That looks awesome. Wish I was closer to Dallas to take advantage.

I am a fan of Le Creuset even if it is overpriced. I have found that they are on sale all the time and have never paid full price for a piece.

I had a Lodge enamel dutch oven and it was a piece of junk. Got discolored and the enamel was coming off the bottom fairly quickly. Maybe I had a bad one. Got a Le Creuset dutch oven at one of their outlets and it's been great, lives up to their reputation. Had it for years, no issues to date, use it all the time. If you have an outlet nearby they will have options at reasonable prices, or if you keep an eye on their website they will have pieces on sale too. Just gotta keep your eye out for a color you like to go on sale.

LaC outlet + sale + coupon. My wife keeps an eye open and slowly we are swapping everything out. I use a lot of lodge as well. I too cheap to pay retail or for some "rare" color. But I don't mind buying up when it's discounted a few times.

I would've been fine buying a lodge or similar and treating it as more or less disposable.

I ended up finding a Staub at home goods for $100 and for me it was worth the extra $50-60 to get something with more reputation. Worth an extra $200? No way.

A few years ago Staub was all over the home goods/tuesday morning type places for big markdowns. Wish I had bought more at the time.

I don't buy the notion that the lower end stuff is just as good as LC/Staub in quality. It probably cooks the same, but I would bet the longevity is noticeably different from a bird's eye view. Have plenty of people cooked for a long time on their Lodge without issue? You bet. Do they fail at a slightly higher rate than LC or Staub? Most likely.

I WOULD believe that over the long term the Lodge would still cost less even if you had to replace it a couple times. Just depends on how good of deal you can find on the premium stuff.

You aren't a female in her first marriage

Have several years and several uses with my Lodge and it's just fine.

We have a full set of Le Creuset pans and Dutch ovens. We have had them for years and love them.

Don't recommend them for glass cooktops as they have some weight to them. Also recommend using wooden or soft utensils in them.

Duncan Idaho said:

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You aren't a female in her first marriage

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This is important. I do all the cooking, and I have no doubt all enamel cast iron cooks pretty much the same. However, my wife loves the colors of our LeC pieces.

FYI Woot has a few Cuisinart cast iron pieces today. Prices don't look materially better than places like Home Goods, but maybe if you like the color or something . . .

https://home.woot.com/plus/cuisinart-kitchen-favorites?ref=w_cnt_cdet_home_dly_tl

America's test kitchen said the le creuset was the best in their tests, but that the Cuisinart was the best buy.

and if you watch any of their content, you can see they actually USE the Cuisinart. they are stacked up in the background and they use them when cooking all the time.

so, that seems like a pretty good testimonial to me.

Duncan Idaho said:

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You aren't a female in her first marriage

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He generally posts like one though.

RK said:

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Duncan Idaho said:

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You aren't a female in her first marriage

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He generally posts like one though.

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Hahaha oh that's good.

If you want the same performance but want to go even cheaper than Lodge at TJ Maxx, try Cocinaware at HEB.

I Am A Critic said:

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If you want the same performance but want to go even cheaper than Lodge at TJ Maxx, try Cocinaware at HEB.

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Oh I forgot about those... they good?

Regarding the HEB brand - we received a casserole dish from there and it has held up poorly. The enamel is cracked throughout. While the dish was great looking, it didn't last. It was only used for basic stuff in the oven. Whereas, our le creuset dutch oven has been put through the paces for many years more with no blemishes.

Something else to consider is Le Creuset will come with a lifetime warranty. I assume Staub does something similar and have no idea about Lodge.

FIDO*98* said:

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Duncan Idaho said:

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Stuab if you are trying to flex on those in the know.

LaC if you want to avoid your wife's friends seeing it and thinking "i guess he couldn't afford a LaC. "

Lodge, Martha, etc if you want one, dont care about status and have other uses for the money.

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My first thought when reading this is who needs their cookware to do the flexing in the kitchen? Cant remember a time anyone has said "this is awesome but didn't I see you using a restaurant supply pan and knife to prepare it".

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I use my restaurant supply pans to flex. "Yeah, I use what they use in the kitchens of the finest restaurants. I go through a lot of them", as I'm dropping sea salt from a height while vigorously pan tossing a dish over a roaring flame.


I'm a Lodge guy. I love Lodge but I do it to totally spite a brand hoooor buddy who thinks he has to get $50 skewers at Sur La Table and that the only place in town that sells food is Central Market.

I was just coming over here to ask if the Le Creuset dutch oven was worth the money. And which size to buy if you're only going to buy one. Was thinking 5.5 qt.

I have a Le Creuset outlet not far from me but never been. Do they really have good deals there?