Since it'll last you the better part of a lifetime, a high-quality Dutch oven is one of the most important kitchen buys you will make. Anybody searching for one typically hits the same fork in the road: Staub vs. Le Creuset. They aren’t the only good Dutch ovens on the market, but these two French brands hold a special place in the minds of both home cooks and pros due to their reputations for longevity and quality. While they typically get equal pride of place in the window displays of high-end kitchen stores like Sur la Table and Williams Sonoma, is one actually “better” than another?
Having tested pretty much every Dutch oven available for purchase in the US myself, I can say that there are certain qualities that make these Dutch ovens different from one another, it isn't so simple to crown one as the absolute best.
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Whether you’re currently shopping for a Dutch oven or are merely curious about what distinguishes these beloved pieces of cast-iron cookware from one another, this guide should answer all the questions you might have about Staub versus Le Creuset versus every other Dutch oven out there.
What makes a good Dutch oven good?
Dutch ovens are heavy-lidded, enameled cast-iron pots designed for slow-cooking preparations, especially those that split cooking time between the stovetop and the oven. The cast iron in a Dutch oven has excellent heat retention, and the enamel coating serves as a protective layer from rust and acidic foods without the need for a typical cast-iron seasoning layer. While they are prized for braises and stews, enameled cast-iron pots are pretty versatile; they’re well-suited to baking bread and deep frying as well.
The best Dutch ovens are easy to maneuver, relatively lightweight, and have tight-fitting lids that minimize the amount of moisture that can escape from the pot during cooking. In our product testing we found nearly all of them capable of braising pork, searing chicken thighs, simmering soups, and baking no-knead sourdough with comparable execution. Some had cold spots here and there, but heating inconsistencies are typical with all cast-iron cookware and are typically undetectable if you've thoroughly preheated the pot for 10 to 15 minutes. (If you’re really concerned about even heating, reach for your stainless steel instead.)
When you get down to it, the differences between different Dutch ovens is not as apparent in the quality of the food they produce. Physical characteristics like size, weight, handle shape, enamel interior and durability play a far more significant role in how we evaluate them.
What makes Staub and Le Creuset Different?
Both Staub and Le Creuset come from France. Le Creuset is the older cookware brand, founded in 1925. Staub cookware was founded in Alsace, France, in 1974 and is now owned by the German cutlery brand Zwilling J. A. Henckels. They each come in a variety of colors, with new releases every year.
Le Creuset Dutch ovens have nice wide handles that are easy to grip with oven mitts. They are lighter than most other enameled cast-iron Dutch ovens available today. The 5.5-quart Dutch oven from Le Creuset weighs in at a little over 11 pounds. They have a light-colored interior, which allows you to visually monitor your food as it cooks. This is most useful when using high heat or developing a fond to make sure things aren’t burning.
Staub Dutch ovens (or cocottes, as the brand prefers to call them) are slightly heavier than Le Creusets—the 5.5-quart Staub had about a pound on the Le Creuset—but are still lighter than most other similarly sized Dutch ovens.
The Staub cocottes feature a matte black enamel interior in contrast to Le Creuset’s glossy off-white. Both interiors are nonstick-ish (they’ll never be quite as nonstick as a well-seasoned, uncoated cast-iron skillet), but the Staub’s black interior hides stains and signs of wear in a way that the interior of a Le Creuset can’t. The drawback of the Staub’s black enamel is that it can be harder to tell when things are sticking to the bottom of your pan or burning. For people comfortable in the kitchen this isn’t a huge deal, but for beginners who haven’t honed their cooking instincts, a dark interior may be less user-friendly.
Both pots, though, have very high-quality enamel coatings that resist chipping and limited lifetime warranties. I’ve seen their durability up close in my own head-to-head tests over the years and in continual use of both Le Creuset and Staub in the Bon Appétit test kitchen. Many of the more affordable Dutch ovens—particularly the true budget models from Lodge Essentials and Amazon Basics— tend to chip after a couple of years.
Beyond the color of their interiors, the other big difference between Staub and Le Creuset is their lids. A Le Creuset lid has a simple sloping curve that allows condensation to circulate down the inside edges of the pot. Newer Le Creuset lids have metal knobs that can withstand temperatures up to 500°, but you may come across an older one with a phenolic resin knob (plastic, basically), which is only ovensafe up to 390°, at which point it will start to melt.
The Staub lid has a metal knob and looks sort of like a hubcap. It has a central impression surrounded by an upraised outer ridge. According to Staub, the unique design has a functional purpose. The shape of the lid, along with several “self-basting” bumps on the underside is supposed to create top-down circulation of moisture that will keep liquid from escaping between the seam of the lid and the pot itself. This design feature has been replicated by many new Dutch ovens, however we've yet to notice any actual impact on the outcome of a dish.
So which should I get? Staub or Le Creuset?
In terms of performance, these two brands are more similar than they are different. So the choice between Staub and Le Creuset really comes down to personal preference around look and feel. I prefer Le Creuset due to its slightly lighter weight and beginner-friendly light interior, whereas my colleague and fellow Dutch oven tester Emily Farris prefers Staub for the sear it imparts on meat. They’re expensive pieces of cookware, but they’ll never need replacing if you take good care of them (hand-washing only, please), and they’ll never disappoint.