From Campfire Cooking to Cassoulet: 22 Delish Dutch Oven Recipes (2025)

Supplement your slow cooker with a Dutch oven and you’ll have the convenience of set-it-and-forget-it-meals on lockdown! Winter calls for comfort food and one of these heavy pots will get everything from succulent braised meat to crispy-crusted bread onto your plate with minimal effort. Enjoy these 22 terrific recipes!

1. Beef Brisket Pot Roast: Simple to make and simply delicious, this is a recipe you’ll want to commit to memory and make often! (via Simply Recipes)

2. Slow Braised Italian Meatballs: Braising meatballs in the oven instead of simmering them on the stovetop means there’s no need to watch the pot for hours on end. (via Chez Us)

3. Chicken Pot au Feu: A twist on a classic French one-pot meal, this version using chicken in place of beef is light and chock-full of veggies! (via The Healthy Foodie)

4. Osso Buco With Beer, Olives and Gremolata: Make this over-the-top recipe over a campfire the next time you go glamping. (via Family Spice)

5. Cassoulet au Canard: Love duck confit? You need to make this rich cassoulet immediately. (via Saveur)

6. No-Knead Bread: Flour, yeast, salt and water — those are the only ingredients you need to make this nouveau classic loaf at home! Baking it in a hot Dutch oven is the key to achieving an impressively crusty exterior. (via Babble)

7. Spicy Roasted Clams With Andouille: Flavor-packed clams with a short list of all of the right ingredients — garlic, spicy sausage and wine. You won’t believe how quickly these are ready to eat! (via The Weather in Cascadia)

8. Pork Roast With Apples and Onions: The braising liquid is reduced after cooking to create a sweet, apple-y glaze, the perfect accompaniment to fork-tender pork shoulder. (via The Pioneer Woman)

9. Four Hour Lamb and Provincial French Beans: Leg of lamb is accompanied by tons of garlic and creamy white beans to create a dish that’s perfect to serve all year long. (via A Feast for the Eyes)

10. Short Ribs Bourguignon: Beef bourguignon gets even more indulgent by using succulent short ribs. (via Smitten Kitchen)

11. Dutch Oven Cinnamon Rolls: Know anyone on the fence about camping? Make a promise that you’ll bake up a batch of these cinnamon rolls over the fire on your next adventure, and, maybe, just maybe, that’ll sweeten the pot a bit. (via Julie Buckles)

12. Baked Mushroom Risotto: Hands off! Instead of stirring endlessly, bake your risotto instead. (via The Kitchn)

13. Pineapple Braised Pork Roast: Fans of ham-and-pineapple-topped pizza will fall in love with this pork roast. (via The Healthy Foodie)

14. Djaj Mqualli: No need to pick up a tagine to make this chicken, olive, and lemon Moroccan stew. It can be made just as well in a Dutch oven. (via Saveur)

15. The Miracle of Five Hour Caramelized Onions: A heavy-bottomed pot over a diffuser is the key to making these long-cooked caramelized onions. (via Food Orleans)

16. Homesick Texan Carnitas: Skip the local taqueria and make carnitas at home! (via Smitten Kitchen)

17. Teochew Style Braised Duck: This richly-flavored Chinese duck is a throwback to one of the author’s favorites. (via The Chronicles of Ms I-Hua and The Boy)

18. Short Rib Ragu: Serve this flavorful ragu atop polenta for a bowlful of stick-to-your-ribs warming goodness. (via Beantown Baker)

19. Dutch Oven Huckleberry Peach Cobbler: Boxed biscuit mix means you’ll be digging into this cobbler in no time! (via Completely Delicious)

20. Honey-Glazed Chicken With Quinoa Stuffing: Roasting chicken in a Dutch oven is a revelation. Stuffed with a souped up quinoa dressing, this bird deserves to take center stage on the dinner table ASAP! (via Canuck Cuisine)

21. Beef and Guinness Stew: Bookmark this recipe for St. Patrick’s Day for a more traditional Irish meal than corned beef and cabbage. (via Food Republic)

22. BBQ Pulled Pork: Homemade, spicy-smokey (and paleo-friendly!) barbecue sauce is the key to creating this irresistible pulled pork. (via The Healthy Foodie)

Are you team Dutch oven or slow cooker — or do both vessels have a place in your kitchen? Share your tips, tricks, and tasty recipes in the comments!

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Heather Sage

Heather Sage is a gluten-free recipe developer and freelance writer living in Orlando by way of the Silicon Valley. When she isn’t playing around with alternative flours in the kitchen, she can be found tackling DIY projects around the house or exploring her neighborhood. Check out her gluten-free recipe blog, A Sage Amalgam.

From Campfire Cooking to Cassoulet: 22 Delish Dutch Oven Recipes (2025)

FAQs

How to cook with a Dutch oven on a campfire? ›

Using Coals

Arrange the charcoal by placing them under the oven in a circular pattern so they are at least 1/2 inch inside the oven's edge. Arrange the charcoal on the lid in a checkerboard pattern. Top or bottom, do not bunch the charcoal. Bunching can cause hot spots that will burn food or damage the oven.

How to use a Dutch oven in a fire pit? ›

For this dish, place your Dutch oven over a fire on a metal grate or rack, which will be hotter for sauteeing. If you don't have a grate, let the fire burn down, and then bury the oven well into the coals so there's plenty of heat.

How to cook in a Dutch oven for beginners? ›

Fill your dutch oven no more than halfway with oil and then heat to your recipe's prescribed temperature. Submerge your ingredients in the heated oil until cooked, then rest them on a paper towel or wire rack to remove excess oil.

Do you put coals on top of a Dutch oven? ›

CC: A Dutch oven is intended to cook with coals on top and underneath to create an oven effect of the heat surrounding it. Make sure the oven lid has a lip around the edge to keep the coals from falling off and 3 legs. If you have one without legs you can use a trivet made for a Dutch oven.

What not to cook in a cast iron Dutch oven? ›

Don't cook acidic foods

If your Dutch oven is enamel coated, then you can easily use it to cook homemade tomato sauce or any other acidic foods. However, it's not a good idea to simmer these types of foods when you're using any type of kitchen kit made from cast iron.

What is the best oil to season a Dutch oven with? ›

Vegetable oil or lard. Vegetable oil and lard have high smoke points, so you can get your Dutch oven smoking hot without burning the coating off, which will affect your food's flavor. Olive oil or butter is not suitable, but peanut, canola, sunflower, or soybean oil can withstand high heat. Paper towels or a soft rag.

What happens if you don't season a Dutch oven? ›

Without a good seasoning coat, your food won't taste as good as it could, your dutch oven will rust, and cleaning up after cooking will be more difficult.

What temperature do you season a Dutch oven? ›

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit (around 200 degrees Celsius). Apply about one tablespoon of vegetable or seasoning oil to the Dutch oven. Using a clean cloth or paper towel, wipe the oil evenly all over the cast-iron surface. Use a second cloth to remove any excess, leaving only a thin layer of oil.

How many briquettes for a dutch oven? ›

For a 10-inch oven, you need 20 briquettes. For a 12-incher, you need 24 briquettes, and so on.

How hot does a dutch oven get on campfire? ›

Dutch Oven Temperature Chart
Temp8″ Oven12″ Oven
325°F15 coals 10 lid 5 under23 coals 16 lid 7 under
350°F16 coals 11 lid 5 under25 coals 17 lid 8 under
375°F17 coals 11 lid 6 under27 coals 18 lid 9 under
400°F18 coals 12 lid 6 under29 coals 19 lid 10 under
2 more rows
Sep 24, 2021

What do you do with a Dutch oven before first use? ›

You should wash it first.

Before you use your Dutch oven for the first time, wash it in hot, soapy water, and dry it with a soft cloth. While many Dutch ovens are dishwasher-safe, it's generally recommended to hand-wash it when you can.

Do you preheat a Dutch oven with the lid on or off? ›

The most common method is: Preheat Dutch oven in the oven with the lid off at 500F/260C. Many bakers will continue preheating for 10-20 minutes after the oven reaches target temperature to ensure the Dutch oven is at its hottest. Lower the loaf into the Dutch oven using a sling made of parchment or silicone.

Can you put a Dutch oven on an open fire? ›

Home Dutch ovens (such as those made by Staub and Le Creuset) are made of cast iron and sealed in enamel. This enamel, which is beautiful and makes for easier cleaning, can become damaged when exposed to the high direct heat of an open campfire.

Is a Dutch oven good for camping? ›

The Dutch oven, an 18th-century invention from the Netherlands, is much more than a cooking pot—it's a symbol of culinary history that has stood the test of time. Rugged and dependable, a Dutch oven's ability to evenly distribute and maintain heat makes it ideal for the unpredictable conditions of campfire cuisine.

Can enameled cast iron be used over a campfire? ›

Enameled cast-iron cookware

It's not recommended for use over open fire (while standard cast-iron is a campfire classic). Heating one while empty can crack or damage the enamel, and temperature recommendations for oven use are mixed from brand to brand.

Can you put cast iron directly on fire? ›

Not only are cast iron pans more durable than modern makes (you can literally put one on a burning coal), they are also great at delivering extra flavorful food without packing your whole spice rack.

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