The Best Casserole Dishes (At Every Price Point)

For those on a strict budget, we’ve already helped you out with the best kitchen tools under £5 pounds and the best kitchen tools under £10. We’ve even directed you to where you can find the best value kitchen knives and some of the essential kitchen tools you need in your kitchen.

A really good Dutch oven isn’t something you necessarily need but it's a very handy bit of cookware to have. Not everyone has the funds to do so and we totally get that. If you’re able to afford one of these large and in charge dutch ovens, however, we’d recommend that serious cooks give it some serious consideration.

Buying cheap pots that you keep replacing isn’t great for the environment and not having a decent vessel to cook your food in can negatively impact your dishes. Making a big investment like that isn’t easy, though, so that’s why we’re here to help direct you to some of the best Dutch ovens out there. From Staub to Le Creuset, these are the best casserole dishes that money can buy.

An icon. A queen. A workhorse of the kitchen. Le Creuset is a brand that has a reputation; its impressive pedigree for producing high-quality cookware is matched by its equally impressive cult-like following. Like all of their products, Le Creuset’s Cast Iron Round Casserole is built to last. With the price of this dutch oven starting from £170 for the 18cm version all the way up to £330 for the largest 30cm behemoth, you’ll be glad that’s the case. This is a product you can legitimately consider passing down to your children after you’re gone. It’s the Patek Phillipe of dutch ovens. And it comes in a fetching array of colours.

PRICE: £170

Friendly on your wallet and friendly on the eyes, John Lewis’s Cast Iron Round Casserole is a great purchase to make for your first ever bit of cast iron. It’s not as long-lasting as some of the other entries on this list of the best Dutch ovens (meaning it’s unlikely your progeny will get any use out of it) but if you want to spend under £100 on a piece of cookware that’ll do the job, this is the one to go for. The largest 28cm option is big enough for feeding a decent-sized group of people and is only £65.

PRICE: £65

Topped with a stainless steel handle, this cast iron casserole from ProCook is supremely useful. The 30cm-size is the largest available and you’ll hardly find yourself wanting it to be larger thanks to its roomy 6.2L capacity. Cast from molten iron, it’s not cheap but it’s a good bit of kit that’s suitable for all hob types and oven safe up to 260°C. Does the job, this dutch oven.

PRICE: £79

Denby is a proper classic British brand. The kind of manufacturer that has just as much clout with your nan as it does with your niece and nephew. Their line of study cast iron casseroles are practically asking for you to fill them to the brim with a bubbling shepherd’s pie or a hearty beef stew. That won’t be all that hard considering this casserole dish doesn’t have as much depth as the rest of the entries on this guide. Despite its shallower shape, it’s a beautiful addition to your kitchen. Plus, it’s dishwasher safe and very easy to clean.

PRICE: £155

The STAUB cocotte is one of the loveliest casserole dishes out there. And that’s not just because it’s got such a sweet name like “cocotte”. It’s ideal for slow-cooking meats and vegetables and offers super even heat distribution throughout its 26cm of perfection. I don’t want to say that this is the best casserole dish that money can buy but, honestly, it pretty much is just that. They’re also built to last and guaranteed to get better with time.

PRICE: £249