Easy Dutch Oven Recipes (2024)

Updated now to 46 easy dutch oven recipes you can use at home or when you’re camping. From dinners like Dutch Oven corned beef and cabbage, to bread and dutch oven desserts too you will find a variety of simple and easy to put together meals here you can cook in your cast iron pot. I love this thing!

Do you love easy dutch oven recipes? I do!! Ok I will admit that I am new to the whole concept. Kinda’ like using my crockpot but that seasoned goodness from cast iron cooking. (originally published 2/18, affiliate links present)

Simple Dutch Oven Recipes

I have had a few cast iron skillets since I got married and use those frequently but last year I was really curious about using a cast iron pot so I bought one. Quickly I realized that even baking bread in a Dutch Oven was better than other methods!

You don’t have to be a camper (I am definitely not) to use one of these. I use it all the time for dinners, side dishes and even baking right at home. You can even deep fry in it like we did with our fried whole chicken a few times. Works great. In the oven and on the stovetop is ideal too.

FIRST – You should sign up for my free newsletter so you get new posts emailed to you twice a week and never miss out on anything! If you’re new to using this enclosed cast iron pot, let me share a little information:

• This is the dutch oven I have and love.
• I recommend having a good set of oven mitts to lift it in and out of your oven.
• You need a good trivet if you’re going to put this directly on the table to serve.
• For more ideas, grab this dutch oven cookbook here.

Cast Iron Dutch Oven Recipes

I first made thisDutch oven stew that came out SO good and I loved how easy it was to dump everything in. Just throw it in the oven and have a really tender meal is created. All of these are perfect for Fall and Winter time. It’s a feel good comfort food we probably all ate growing up for sure.

Same goes for Dutch oven chili. If you have your own stovetop recipe for this classic hearty dish I suggest you make it in this cast iron pot. Especially if yours is well seasoned and you cook your meat in it the flavors are out of this world amazing.

Another thing that reminds me of my childhood was this green veggie. Didn’t like it back then but boy is dutch oven cabbage so good now! You can make it as seasoned as you like, add meat like our cabbage stew or just buttered like cabbage stewed with just salt and pepper.

Easy dutch oven recipes

This is what my cast iron pot looks like. I have a 7 quart, linked below, which has been a good size for the 5 of us. I would say it is adequate for up to 6 in the family. There are larger styles to fit let’s say our Pot Roast Chicken and smaller versions too.

It is different from other pots you might have as most come “seasoned” and you don’t wash it and scrub it like you would with a ceramic or teflon pan. You jus need a wipe down really once you’re done.

If you need some tips on cast iron skillet care for your dutch oven we have a bunch of those too! Olive oil is key.

How I store my cast iron pans is to put each one inside a paper grocery bag and stack them like that so they aren’t sticking together.

• If you are curious about it this is similar to the 7 qt. dutch oven I bought which wasn’t too expensive.
• Another great thing about it is it’s great for camping.
• Dutch oven recipes are so versatile. Since it holds quite a bit it is perfect for making stew, roasts, soups and more.

There are a variety of sizes and looks too which is nice. Ceramic coatings make an ordinary black cast iron pot super pretty and you can serve Hot Braised Chicken Thighs or other dishes right out of the pot. However you use it I hope I have a few more recipes you can try in your cast iron pot.

What Kind of Meals can You Cook in a Dutch Oven

If you’re looking for main dishes for dinner I have a lot of ideas here from me, like our beef stew recipe without wine, and from friends. There are also many soups as well as side dishes, dessert, and even how to cast iron bread recipes! Some take 30 minutes and some take a while longer. It is so versatile I tell you.

Dutch Oven Recipes for Camping

If you’re looking for a new way to cook chicken for dinner you’ve got to try this Dutch oven whole chicken recipe (shown below).

• Hungarian goulash recipe is kinda’ like rigatoni with sausage, a hearty meal everyone loves
• You can make our garlic butter chicken thighs in this baby, anything with a cast iron skillet could be used in this really.
• Creamy Chicken Stew is easy to make with vegetables.
• Crusty Artisan bread is amazing with some fried chicken, or make Dutch Oven Biscuits
• Homemade corned beef hash recipe with red peppers is great
• Grandma’s meat and dumplings casserole sounds amazing right?? Well you’ve gotta’ try this one and let us know in the comments below once you do.

Dutch oven ham is perfect for Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner. I mean it doesn’t have to wait until the holidays y’all, make one year round for sure. Then make a ton of leftover ham recipes with it.

Outdoor dutch oven recipes

Sometimes for Christmas we ditch the ham and make a dutch oven tri tip instead. It is so moist and delicious I tell you.

• Dutch oven braised beef is much better in one of these pots
• TenderDutch oven herbed potatoes could be altered to use sweet potatoes too
• Then try our dutch oven pork roast with rice
• EasyDutch oven spaghetti with roasted tomatoes and NO need to boil the noodles
• GreatDutch oven ribs come out super tender cooked on low heat with the top sealed tight
  • and short ribs are good to try too, then see which one you like the best

I would say that soup is probably the most common thing I make in this. It creates very even heat and keeps it warm for a really long time even if the heat is off. Our Chicken Poblano Soup is one of my husband’s favorites.

WarmDutch oven broccoli cheese soup is great during the Wintertime. Pair it with some easy pull apart bread with fresh veggies inside for a homemade soup you’ll all love.

FlavorfulDutch oven chicken pot pie is our favorite next to chicken soup on chilly days. It heats very evenly which is why it is so great for dishes that are best cooked low and slow like our Hashbrown Soup let’s say.

• Dutch oven baked ziti is great with meat or make a vegetarian pasta version too
• BestDutch oven chuck roast with vegetables in it like brussels sprouts and/or butternut squash is amazing.

What is the Best Thing to Cook in a Dutch Oven

If you want to go for really simple and healthy I would start off with our Dutch oven chicken breast and vegetables recipe. Use bone in or boneless skinless ideally with onions and carrots so it’s a one pot meal everyone loves.

• So goodDutch oven potato cheese soup is a favorite of ours too
• Gotta try thisDutch oven pizza made with any toppings you like
• Winter timeDutch oven vegetable beef soup can be really packed with fresh veggies and made vegetarian too without the meat.

Throw some vegetables in the pot too to soak up that delicious chicken broth too and you have a complete meal when it is done. OR if you have two of these you can make sateed red cabbage on the side and serve together.

Uncover for a bit to get a nice golden brown on top like this so not only is the chicken moist and delicious but the skin is super flavorful as well.

Recipes in a Dutch Oven

Looking for pasta to cook in your dutch oven, we have a few ideas for you here including a no boil spaghetti recipe above and one of my favorites which is goulash.

I mean we all had that growing up right, and simmered nice and slow in your cast iron pot it is even better.

• Dutch oven chicken and potatoes is simple, healthy, and easy to throw together in the morning
• GreatDutch oven chicken cacciatore is something my mom made for us when I brought my husband over for the first time

Mashed potatoes in your cast iron pot are possible too if you have never tried them. Yes they take longer than Instant Pot mashed potatoes but it’s fun to test other methods of cooking to see which one you love most.

Lodge Dutch Oven Recipes

This dutch oven corned beef and cabbage is amazing and something you should cook way more often than just on St. Patricks Day.

• Great dinner is thisDutch oven balsamic chicken and vegetables
• Try dutch oven mac and cheese too when you’re camping
• Dutch oven chicken and dumplings is amazing if you ask my 3 girls

This is where it all started though, with a simple whole chicken in a dutch oven which came out amazing. Similar to slow cooked as it fell off the bone with NO knives required. The pot though gave it a nice added flavor you can’t get elsewhere.

I have a bunch more to choose from here. I love a great pot of soup when it is chilly outside, so do my kiddos. If you didn’t know you could cook a yummy batch of pasta in your cast iron pot, you can!! Give a few of these a whirl too this week like……

• Zucchini chowder
• Chicken in white wine
• Southwestern pasta
• FlavorfulDutch oven goulash
• Never knew you could makeDutch oven cheesy garlic bites
• Sausage pinwheels

Dutch Oven Desserts

• 7 Layer brownies
• Dutch oven pineapple upside down cake
• The bestDutch oven cheesecake
• Apricot Raspberry dutch baby cakes
• BreakfastDutch oven blueberry biscuits

Dutch Oven Snacks

• Dutch oven popcorn

You can find more dutch oven recipes on my easy camping recipes and meal planning post.

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See Also

Slow Cooked Beef Shin Ragù (Slow Cooker + Oven Instructions Included)