20 Dutch Oven Meals That Are Perfect for a Cozy Night In

Ask a chef what their most prized piece of cookware is, and there’s a decent chance they’ll point to their Dutch oven. A high-end model, like a Le Creuset, is a serious investment, but for the money, you get a wonderfully versatile pot that you’ll use for all sorts of things—cooking rice, frying chicken, baking bread, you name it.

A Dutch oven’s true calling, though, is making stews, braises, and other one-pot dinners, so it’s an essential piece of equipment for easy, hearty, comforting meals on chilly winter nights. The combination of their deep shape, ample size, and the heat-retaining powers of cast iron makes Dutch ovens the best tools for browning meats and vegetables, then slowly cooking them to perfect tenderness. To help you appreciate your Dutch oven as much as any chef, we’ve rounded up 20 of our favorite Dutch oven dinners, from chicken cacciatore and Portuguese caldo verde to Guinness stew and oven-cooked pulled pork.