Eat Well, Live Happy: Le Creuset Enameled Cast Iron Review

This is another post that I found in my drafts folder that I started in May 2020. Enjoy!

Over the years I have acquired a few Le Creuset pieces and I wanted to write a little bit about each of them, mostly due to boredom during this coronavirus stay-at-home order! Le Creuset is very pricey, but I received one as a wedding gift and purchased most of the others either on sale and with a 15% military discount and/or using gift cards. I only paid a total of $104 out of my own pocket for the first five pieces listed below!

Edit in January 2024: A few months ago I purchased the 1.75-quart Saucepan in Deep Teal from Williams-Sonoma. It was on clearance plus an additional sale because they were discontinuing the color. I also had a gift card so after the 40% discount and using the gift card, I only paid $2.63 for it! This saucepan is small so I usually use it to heat food up (single serving of soup, small amount of sauce, canned vegetables, etc.). Online pictures don't do this color justice - it is so pretty in person!

1.75-qt. Saucepan in Deep Teal

The next smallest Le Creuset that I have is the 2.25-quart Saucepan in Caribbean. I love this saucepan and use it any time I make rice or mac and cheese or if I'm cooking a smaller amount of sauce. I never considered purchasing a Le Creuset saucepan until last summer when I was having issues with my Calphalon cookware. My 2.5-qt. stainless steel saucepan got the most use and I wanted another saucepan the same size so I could use them simultaneously, but I was not going to order more Calphalon. One day I was looking online at other brands of saucepans and found this one on sale for a great deal. Most websites were sold out of the Caribbean color in this size, so I ended up ordering it from Amazon. I would not normally order Le Creuset from Amazon because I always read that they sell "seconds" or ones with slight blemishes for the same price as other websites sell "firsts". I didn't want to miss out on the low price though, and I was able to convert credit card points to an Amazon gift card so I paid even less for it, only $77. I'm glad I ordered it because I use this saucepan all of the time! This saucepan is also made in smaller (1.75-qt) and larger (3.25-qt.) sizes, but I find this size to be perfect for me. It is great for 2-3 people.

2.25-qt. Saucepan in Caribbean

I have a 3.5-quart Round Wide Dutch Oven in Matte Navy, which I can no longer find on Williams-Sonoma's website, but I think it is very similar to if not the same as the 3.5-quart Essential Oven that they now sell. This is the one that I use most since I cook for me and my husband and two toddlers who don't eat much. It's also what I use when I make Dutch Oven Bread. It's wider and more shallow than the regular 3.5-quart Dutch Oven and I love that about it (and it's less expensive too!). This was a wedding gift off our registry, and it has always been one of my favorite gifts that we received! It's the perfect gift for a new couple starting their life together. This is great for 2-4 people.

3.5-qt. Round Wide Dutch Oven in Matte Navy

I have a 3.5-quart Braiser in Caribbean as well. I purchased this from Williams-Sonoma using a 15% military discount and paid for it mostly using gift cards acquired from credit card points - I ended up only paying $27 for this braiser! This is another very versatile pan that is perfect for meat dishes and anything that does not need to cook in much liquid. I've used it a lot for pork loin and vegetables, tacos, fajitas, etc. If you are more of a meat and potatoes kind of person and do not cook sauce, soups and stews, this shallow braiser is the pan for you! The braiser comes in smaller (1.5-qt. and 2.25-qt.) and larger (5-qt.) sizes as well. The size I have is great for 3-4 people.

3.5-qt. Braiser in Caribbean

I also have a 6.75-quart Oval Dutch Oven in Caribbean. This is another item I paid for completely with gift cards acquired from credit card points, after receiving the 15% military discount. I have only used this one a handful of times so far. I debated between buying this or the 5.5-quart Round Dutch Oven, which I think would be the perfect size and shape for most people. I love the Caribbean color and wanted an oval dutch oven for cooking larger cuts of meat that would fit better in this than in the round ones. I've yet to do that but I have used it for soups and stews, mostly just to get some use out of it. If I HAD to choose one, this is the one dutch oven I own that I could do without just because it does not get used much due to the oval shape and the types of food I cook. I still sometimes wonder if I should have just gotten the 5.5-quart Round Dutch Oven instead, or not gotten either. The oval dutch ovens come in a variety of sizes - see the chart towards the end of this post for more info. This is a great size for cooking for 6-7 people.

6.75-qt. Oval Dutch Oven in Caribbean

Edit in June 2021: I found the 5.5-quart Round Dutch Oven in Caribbean color on sale for a great price (considering how expensive they are full-price now) from the Navy Exchange (military tax-free website), and ordered it. I later sold the above oval dutch oven since it was rarely used, and since I usually cook on the stovetop and the oval shape does not fit on the burners as well as the round shape. I can't wait to make chili, soups, stews, and sauce in this new round dutch oven this fall and winter. This 5.5-qt. round dutch oven is the perfect size for cooking for 5-6 people, and will likely be what I end up using the most for my family of 4.

5.5-quart Round Dutch Oven in Caribbean

Edit in January 2024: A few months ago, I purchased the 6.75-qt. Round Wide Dutch Oven in Lapis. This is hands down the most versatile shape and size! It can double as a braiser and a dutch oven, eliminating the need to own both. I don't know how I missed this piece the first few years it was sold. I found this last year when it was being phased out and had a hard time finding it in the color I wanted (Deep Teal), and ended up settling on getting it in Lapis (which is a color exclusive to Williams-Sonoma) and luckily I purchased it when it was still being offered at their sale price. I just saw that Le Creuset is now selling this size again in many colors, but at full price, which is a lot more than I paid for mine. Even at full price, if you only own one piece of Le Creuset, this is the one I would recommend! It can hold so much and the large surface area makes it perfect for browning large amounts of meat. It is perfect for soup, sauce, chili, roasts, one pan pasta dishes, etc.

6.75-quart Wide Round Dutch Oven in Lapis

6.75-quart Wide Round Dutch Oven

The biggest size I have is the 7.25-quart Round Dutch Oven in Matte Navy. This was on our wedding registry but we did not receive it, so we used gift cards that were given to us for our wedding to purchase it, along with the 15% military discount. This is perfect for making big pots of soup, sauce, chili, etc. I don't use it much yet, but I imagine that as my two young boys grow bigger and eat more and more over the years, I will be glad I have it! This is great for big families, those who like to cook for a crowd, and smaller families who like to have or freeze leftovers (that's us!). The round dutch ovens also come in a variety of sizes - see the chart towards the end of this post for more info. This size is great for 7-8 people.

Update January 2024: Since I could not find the 6.75-qt. Wide Round Dutch Oven in Deep Teal and that color was being discontinued (and went on clearance prices), I ended up purchasing the 7.25-qt. Round Dutch Oven in Deep Teal and selling the Matte Navy one. Since I bought it on such a good clearance price and my Matte Navy one was kept in such good condition that I could easily sell it, I didn't lose any money and I ended up with a color that is much more my style now. Deep Teal is really gorgeous in person and I can't believe they discontinued such a pretty color!

7.25-qt. Round Dutch Oven in Matte Navy

7.25-qt. Round Dutch Oven in Deep Teal

One thing I love about Le Creuset is the color options. There are several colors available and many stores carry colors that are exclusive to them, for example the Matte Navy that I have is only available at Williams-Sonoma but the Caribbean can be found at several stores. Unfortunately, I heard that the Caribbean color is being discontinued which is disappointing because it's so beautiful and definitely my favorite of all the colors they make. Some people prefer to have everything in the same color or everything in all different colors. I love the two colors I have and they compliment each other nicely. I chose the two Matte Navy dutch ovens when we were registering for our wedding because our wedding colors were navy and grey. I was living in a townhouse at the time and my husband was about to deploy for the majority of our first year of marriage, so we did not know what colors would be in our future kitchen. I figured navy was a safe bet. After he returned home, we went to Aruba to celebrate our first anniversary, and while we were there I decided that if I bought any more Le Creuset pieces, they would be the Caribbean color to remind me of how beautiful the water in Aruba was. We have now been living in our house for 3.5 years, and the colors in our living room (which adjoins to our dining room) go perfectly with all of our Le Creuset pieces, which I have displayed on shelves in our dining room (except for the small saucepan which stays in our kitchen cabinet with our All-Clad stainless steel cookware). No matter what your favorite color is, I'm sure you will be able to find a Le Creuset color that you love! I later added a few Deep Teal pieces to my collection because they go so well with my Caribbean pieces and I love the deeper color in them - another beautiful color that reminds me of the ocean!

Another thing to note is that all of my pieces are "Signature", not "Classic". The classic pieces cost less but they have smaller handles on them. These are big, heavy pieces of cast iron and the big handles are much more helpful when carrying them (full of food!) around or moving them from the stove to the oven, to the table or sink, etc.

Le Creuset Colors available at Williams-Sonoma
(more colors are available from Le Creuset and other stores)

Another great thing about Le Creuset is that there are several sizes to choose from - below is a great guide to help you figure out which size Dutch Oven would be best for you. I highly doubt I will ever get anything bigger than my 7.25-quart as it is pretty big and heavy. I like having different types of Dutch Ovens in various styles (wide, round, oval) and different sizes because I use each one for different dishes that I make.

If you are considering purchasing Le Creuset, I hope this review has been helpful! I love every piece we have. They look beautiful, cook well, and clean up easily - just soak in hot water and soap for a bit and then clean with a sponge (I use the yellow Dobie pads). Cast iron retains heat very well so never cook on anything higher than medium heat. It is also recommended to only use wooden or nylon utensils, no metal, which could scratch the enamel. For stubborn stains, Le Creuset makes a cast iron cleaner, but I do not have it and have never tried it. I have, however, used Bar Keepers Friend to successfully remove grey marks left on the enamel by metal utensils. It works wonders on our All-Clad stainless steel pots and pans as well! I have read that it can dull the finish on the enamel, so I use it sparingly.

This concludes my review, but below are some photos that I took last year of my five Le Creuset pieces. If you're interested in reading about my two Le Creuset skillets, that review can be found here.