Temperatures are dropping, snow is slowly on its way, and spooky Halloween decorations are quickly making way for mistletoes and jingle bells. That can only mean one thing: We are officially in the holiday season. This typically involves hosting your friends and family over a delicious meal, and what better way to welcome them then with a hearty dish prepared directly out of your Dutch Oven?
From the classic Lasagna, to a slow-cooked stew, the French or Dutch Oven is the ideal piece of cookware to help you prepare a true holiday feast. This iconic piece of cookware is extremely versatile and can be used to tackle a number of different cooking techniques, including sauteing, braising, searing and even baking. Crafted with enamelled cast iron, the French Oven is built to last and is great for slow-cooking, allowing you to spend quality time with your loved ones.
Here are 9 Dutch Oven holiday recipes for the whole family to enjoy.
Dutch Oven vs. French Oven
Dutch Oven and French Oven are often used interchangeably given their similarities, but the latter differs in one crucial way. The French Oven refined the original Dutch Oven design from the 18th century, replacing the pure cast iron with enamelled cast iron. This change improved durability and heat retention, exposing ingredients to a consistent heat source throughout. It is also commonly referred to as a cocotte.
Classic Lasagna
No recipe screams the holidays quite like our classic lasagna. This recipe is relatively easy to make and is sure to become a staple in your household for Christmas dinners. Featuring many layers of cheesy goodness between soft layers of pasta, including mozzarella and ricotta cheese, the French or Dutch Oven’s rounded base and cast iron construction exposes ingredients to a consistent heat source.
A great lasagna ultimately comes down to the quality of its meat sauce. The French or Dutch Oven pot is perfect for simmering the lasagna’s meat sauce, ensuring the rich flavours of the ground beef and sausages are front and center in this dish.
This recipe takes just over an hour to prepare from start to finish and is good for up to eight and 10 servings, making it a great meal for the whole family. Simply swap the ground beef and sausages for vegetables for a delicious vegetarian lasagna.
Beer Steamed Clams with Fennel and Tarragon
This recipe is perfect for the seafood lovers in the family, featuring littleneck clams as the star of the dish. Our beer steamed clams with fennel and tarragon recipe makes for a great centerpiece on your holiday table, offering a great alternative to classic meat dishes.
The French or Dutch Oven is best suited for our steamed clams recipe, accommodating the different cooking techniques needed to pull it off. Firstly, begin by sautéing the garlic, shallots, fennel, and celery in a 6.7 L Round French Oven. Once this iconic piece of cookware reaches medium heat, introduce the clams and beer and steam them until they are completely open.
Finish by bringing the French Oven to a boil and gradually whisk a tablespoon of butter into the beer until it is melted. This recipe takes just over an hour to be ready, serving more than 10 people at a time with four simple steps.
Provençal Bouillabaisse
Offer your guests a taste of Marseille with our provençal bouillabaisse recipe. Originating from the port city of Marseille, this dish is typically served as a fish stew using bony rockfish. In recent years, however, many chefs have elevated this age-old classic with a variety of ingredients. Our provençal bouillabaisse is no different, featuring mixed mussels, clams, calamari, and white fish.
Where a bouillabaisse separates itself from typical stews is its rouille. Simply put, a rouille is a provençal sauce made from fresh spices and herbs. Our rouille includes basil leaves, a small fennel bulb, fresh garlic gloves, and multi-colored cherry tomatoes. The Dutch Oven pot will simmer the sauce to perfection, injecting some much-needed flavour and complexity into the dish.
The Provençal Bouillabaisse takes just under two hours to prepare, but is well worth the wait. This recipe is ideal for an intimate gathering and serves up to four people. If you are expecting more guests, simply adjust the portions accordingly and enjoy!
Pot-Roast Chicken
Whether you’re ringing in the new year, or need a hearty meal for Christmas Eve, you can’t go wrong with a traditional pot-roast chicken. The French or Dutch Oven offers the chicken the ideal environment to self-baste in the juices of the vegetables, while the bacon slowly cooks until it is delightfully crispy.
This iconic piece of cookware will roast the chicken for you thanks to its thick walls and tight-fitting lid, offering superior heat retention along the way. Its rounded base, by contrast, allows you to loosely pack the vegetables along the surface, exposing them to a consistent heat source.
The pearl onions, bacon, carrots, and celery compliment the chicken to perfection, slow-cooking beneath it. Our pot-roast chicken recipe can go from stove to table in under two hours and offers up to six servings. Serve it directly from the French Oven for added colour at the dinner table this holiday season.
Snow-crab pasta
One-pot pasta dishes make for a great meal this holiday season for the whole family. Our snow-crab pasta recipe is extremely easy to make and is a true sight to behold in the already colorful French Oven. Wide pasta is typically used for this recipe, giving you the option between tagliatelle, pappardelle, or fettuccine.
The vegetables, including fresh artichokes and asparagus, offer a unique twist on a traditional pasta dish, injecting a much-needed green component to your holiday meal.
The French or Dutch Oven is ideal for our snow-crab pasta recipe, ensuring all the rich flavours of the seafood and spices immerse themselves into the dish. Finish by adding the garlic bread topping atop the tagliatelle and dinner is served! This recipe takes just under two hours to prepare and can serve between six and eight people.
Roasted Leg of Lamb
Are you looking for a recipe to set and forget in your French or Dutch Oven? Our leg of lamb recipe is exactly this with the iconic piece of cookware roasting the lamb to perfection in just under two hours. The Oval French Oven offers a large surface for the lamb to sit atop the potatoes and absorb all the flavours of the surrounding spices.
The shallots, garlic, lemon, and rosemary combine exceptionally well to season the lamb and are sure to inject a delicious aroma into your kitchen this holiday season. This recipe is extremely easy to put together, requiring two simple steps, and can accommodate between four and six people.
Trussed Beef Pot Roast with Vegetables
Our trussed beef pot roast has emerged as a classic holiday dish and embodies everything a Christmas meal should be. Equally hearty as it is delicious, this recipe is great when hosting friends and family and allows you to make the most of your French or Dutch Oven.
This iconic piece of cookware is designed for this recipe due to its versatility, helping you brown the vegetables and slow-cook the trussed beef. Our recipe also includes three simple steps on how to truss beef.
This recipe takes over two hours to prepare, however, the Dutch Oven pot will do much of the cooking for you, offering a convenient option. This beef pot roast can serve between four and six people at a time, however, it can be easily adjusted for larger portions.
Rib Stir Fry
Spice things up this holiday season with our rib stir fry recipe. This dish combines the freshest ingredients, including Asian pear, peeled ginger, and oyster mushrooms to offer your friends and family a delicious stir fry in no time.
While this recipe is traditionally prepared in a wok, the Chef’s French Oven can also be used. This piece of cookware offers superior heat retention and will expose the ribs to consistent heat until they are perfectly browned.
The trick to this recipe lies in getting the sauce just right. The soy sauce, sesame oil, and gochujang (Korean chilli paste) makes for a diverse flavour profile and is designed to inject spice into this delicious rib stir fry. Our rib stir fry is ready in just over two hours and can serve a family of four. Garnish with a few pinches of gochugaru and sesame seeds to taste!
Coq au Vin Mousseux
This traditional recipe dates back to the early 20th century, with unconfirmed versions of it allegedly going all the way back to ancient Gaul and Julius Caesar. Our Coq au Vin Mousseux transforms the original recipe, replacing the typical red Burgundy wine with two cups of sparkling wine – hence the name ‘Mousseux’.
The French or Dutch Oven simplifies this recipe, with its enamelled cast iron base searing the chicken to perfection. Once the chicken is ready, introduce the parsnips and onions into the pot and slow-cook them with the sparkling wine. This will ensure a diverse flavour profile, offering a well-rounded dish this holiday season.
This recipe takes over two hours to prepare and can serve between four and six people. While it may take more time than a typical chicken recipe, we are confident your guests will thank you for preparing Coq au Vin Mousseux.
Host a magical holiday dinner
Rather than slaving over the stove this holiday season, fire up your French or Dutch Oven and get cooking. The pot’s self-basting cycle does much of the work for you, tenderizing ingredients until they are ready to be served. Its tight-fitting lid and thick walls will lock in moisture and flavour, delivering a final dish befitting your holiday feast.
Whether you’re looking to prepare a pot roast chicken, or a roasted leg of lamb, the French or Dutch Oven can accommodate all your recipes, offering superior heat retention. This iconic piece of cookware is perfect for beginner and seasoned chefs alike and even makes for a wonderful Christmas gift.
These were just nine of our favourite French or Dutch Oven Holiday recipes. For more inspiration, visit our featured recipes and step up your cooking game this holiday season with some of our favourite meals.