‘I may have turned into a sausage by the time you read this’: the best casserole dishes for stews and pasta sauces – tested
We are now firmly in slow-cooking season. Each weekend, you’ll likely find me tinkering over a pot in the kitchen, glass of wine in hand, tunes on, before retiring to the sofa to watch a film while the scent of beef shin ragu wafts through the house. A good casserole dish is essential to bring this vision into reality.
Many of my favourite meals emerge from them – from stews and lasagnes to gratins and pasta sauces. The quality of your casserole dish plays a vital role in how pleasurable the process of cooking such things is, so I’ve put some to the test.
As with many others, I’ve long been a Le Creuset loyalist, an allegiance so strong that I’ve never owned another casserole dish. Can these tests challenge my faithfulness?
At a glance
Best casserole dish overall
£225.12 at Amazon
Le Creuset 26cm cast-iron casserole dishBest budget casserole dish
£29.99 at Sainsbury’s
Habitat 5.3l cast-iron casserole dishBest casserole dish for slow roasting
£299 at Zwilling
Staub 28cm round cast-iron cocotteBest lightweight casserole dish
£135 at Our Place
Our Place 6l ceramic nonstick perfect pot
Why you should trust me
I’ve cooked professionally for a decade, in restaurants and, in more recent years, as a recipe developer. I am all about comforting, relaxed home cooking. My cookbook, Tucking In, is packed with recipes for lasagnes, pies and pastas. I am not known for proteinmaxxing or nutritious salads; I’m a cook who loves sausages, butter and potatoes, and my style lends itself to cooking with casserole dishes. So I do, multiple times a week, professionally and for my own enjoyment.
I have cooked hundreds, probably close to thousands, of meals in casserole dishes. So while I wouldn’t proclaim to be an expert in much, I would say that making a cosy dinner in a casserole dish is as close as I’d get.
How I tested
This test has seen me cook many sausage stews (my sausages with squash and beans from Feast, to be specific) in nine different pots. I may have turned into a sausage by the time you read this, but it will be worth it for you to know which pans are worth your salt, dear reader.
I studied many things. How evenly did the pans conduct heat? How well did the coating hold up over multiple cooks? How well did they retain heat? Would you have to take out a small loan to buy one? How pretty does it look on your hob?
Because they can be pricey, you want a casserole dish to last years. I haven’t been able to road test these over multiple years, alas, but after a couple of cooks, I got a good sense of which ones should stand the test of time.
The best casserole dishes
Best casserole dish overall:
Le Creuset 26cm cast-iron casserole dish
Le Creuset
26cm cast-iron casserole dish
from £225.12
What we love
Exceptional quality; maintains heat well
What we don’t love
The price
★★★★★
The most famous brand is in fact the best, even in light of the price. These enamelled cast-iron casseroles are beautifully made and finished, and available in a range of colours, shapes and sizes, to suit whatever vibe you are after.
Why we love it
As you would hope with a pan in this price range, it’s a joy to cook with. Sausages browned beautifully, and onions softened evenly in the enamelled cast-iron base, even after multiple cooks.
The pot maintains heat magnificently, too, with temperatures still sitting at 73C after 30 minutes off the heat. Food caught a little in hotspots on the base of the pan during browning, but these easily lifted off when deglazed. Le Creuset offers a lifetime warranty for faulty workmanship and materials, although wear and tear is not covered. Even so, I’m confident that if you opt for Le Creuset, you’ll be investing in many years of happy cooking.
It’s a shame that … it comes in on the pricier side, as it is otherwise a fairly faultless pan.
Le Creuset
26cm cast-iron casserole dish
from £225.12
What we love
Exceptional quality; maintains heat well
What we don’t love
The price
Best budget casserole dish:
Habitat 5.3l cast-iron casserole dish
Habitat
5.3l cast-iron casserole dish
from £29.99
What we love
Brilliant heat retention at an excellent price
What we don’t love
Lid could fit better
★★★★☆
I was pleasantly surprised by how well this pan performed, especially as it’s considerably cheaper than its Le Creuset competitor.
Why we love it
It’s a reassuringly heavy enamelled cast-iron pot with a sleek look, and is oven safe up to 260C. It comes in a few colours, too, from cream to red.
Sausages built up an impressive crust, and the brilliant heat retention meant that it bubbled easily on low heats. It also kept food hot for a long time after cooking. And it managed to do all that while keeping the handles relatively cool compared with others on my stovetop tests, which is handy for when you need to stir.
It’s a shame that … the lid didn’t fit snugly enough, so there was some water dripping down the sides of the pan during cooking. There was more onion sticking on subsequent cooks, too, but otherwise I was impressed.
Habitat
5.3l cast-iron casserole dish
from £29.99
What we love
Brilliant heat retention at an excellent price
What we don’t love
Lid could fit better
Best casserole dish for slow roasting:
Staub 28cm round cast-iron cocotte
Staub
28cm round cast-iron cocotte
from £299
What we love
Beautiful; clever lid helps food stay moist during cooking
What we don’t love
The dark interior
★★★★☆
For me, the most beautiful pan in the test, and available in an array of colours and finishes.
Why we love it
The dappled interior of the lid stops food from drying out by dripping condensation back into the pan, a useful design mimicked by some of the cheaper pans in this test to maintain moisture in your cooking.
The black enamelled cast-iron surface allowed sausages to brown marvellously. Although it’s the weightiest pan of the bunch (7.12kg), it had similar heat retention to some of the more lightweight pans, so this heft is potentially unnecessary. There is a lifetime warranty available for Staub pans – though it covers defects in manufacture and materials, not normal wear and tear – that may help ease the pain of the eye-watering price.
It’s a shame that … there was sticking even on the first cook, and the dark surface makes it a harder pan to clean (and harder to tell when it was clean).
Staub
28cm round cast-iron cocotte
from £299
What we love
Beautiful; clever lid helps food stay moist during cooking
What we don’t love
The dark interior
Best lightweight casserole dish:
Our Place 6l ceramic nonstick perfect pot
Our Place
6l ceramic nonstick perfect pot
from £135
What we love
Even nonstick cooking; easy to clean
What we don’t love
Harder to build crust on meat than with cast iron surface
★★★☆☆
A stylish Japandi-esque pan, with a built-in strainer and beechwood spatula included.
Why we love it
The Our Place pot heated up quickly and cooked onions evenly on the ceramic nonstick base, but this also meant it was harder for the sausages to get the good grip they need to form a nice solid crust.
I found that food cooled down faster than in the more traditional cast-iron pans, too, perhaps unsurprisingly because of the lighter weight (2kg) and aluminium body. The sheen of the pan’s nonstick surface did mean it was a breeze to clean, though.
It’s a shame that … cooking performance can’t compete with its heavier competitors due to the lightweight design, though this makes it easier to handle in the kitchen.
Our Place
6l ceramic nonstick perfect pot
from £135
What we love
Even nonstick cooking; easy to clean
What we don’t love
Harder to build crust on meat than with cast iron surface
The best of the rest
John Lewis 24cm cast-iron round casserole dish
John Lewis
24cm cast-iron round casserole dish
£65
What we love
Solid heat retention; good looking
What we don’t love
Hotspots resulted in some sticking
★★★☆☆
A good one for fans of the Le Creuset look, but on a budget. This John Lewis dish has an attractive, deluxe finish. I found its heat retention to be pretty solid, though it took some effort to lift off caramelised sausage juices, and onions cooked unevenly on subsequent cooks owing to hotspots in the pan.
It does have a 10-year warranty, which for a pan at this price is handy, though, again, it’s against faulty workmanship and/or material failure, not wear and tear.
It didn’t make the final cut because … I wasn’t convinced by the quality of its interior surface.
John Lewis
24cm cast-iron round casserole dish
£65
What we love
Solid heat retention; good looking
What we don’t love
Hotspots resulted in some sticking
M&S large cast-iron casserole dish
M&S
Large cast-iron casserole dish
£42
What we love
Excellent heat retention
What we don’t love
Uneven cooking
★★★☆☆
Another enamelled cast-iron dish, though clunkier-looking than some of the others in the test. The M&S large cast-iron casserole dish shares the self-basting lid design of the Staub pan, which is great for keeping your food moist.
I found that fat pooled around the edge of the pan on the first cook, and onions stuck a fair bit on the second use. It retains heat well, though: the sausage stew was still 75C after 30 minutes off the heat. I tested the 5.2 litre size, which would be a great pan for cooking dinner for a big crowd where you’d need the food to stay hotter for longer.
It didn’t make the final cut because … the pan didn’t cook food as evenly as I would have hoped, even on the first cook.
M&S
Large cast-iron casserole dish
£42
What we love
Excellent heat retention
What we don’t love
Uneven cooking
ProCook 30cm oval cast-iron casserole dish
ProCook
30cm oval cast-iron casserole dish
£60
What we love
Good nonstick coating
What we don’t love
Heat retention after cooking is so-so
★★★☆☆
An attractive pan that comes in several chic colours, though the black interior meant it was harder to see what was happening to the food or when it was clean. That shiny enamelled interior did, however, act as a good nonstick coating and made cooking onions a breeze.
It maintained a simmer even on low heats, which I’m putting down to the weighty (6.5kg) design, although I was surprised that didn’t translate to better heat retention when off the stove.
It didn’t make the final cut because … despite the heaviness, it didn’t retain heat as well as I would have hoped when off the heat.
ProCook
30cm oval cast-iron casserole dish
£60
What we love
Good nonstick coating
What we don’t love
Heat retention after cooking is so-so
What I learned
The price disparity between different casserole dishes is slightly bananas and can make the shopping experience feel confusing. Ultimately, all of the casserole dishes I have tested here will cook your dinner. Some will retain heat for longer, some will cause ingredients to stick more, but none of the ones I have recommended would render what you cook inedible. You can expect any of them to stick a little after multiple uses, and some will last you longer than others, but there are still reliable options in each price category.
Here are a few things you should consider before making your chunky purchase.
Your budget
While the best-performing pan sits on the pricier side, lots of cheaper pans were still solid performers. My budget pick, the Habitat dish, performed so well against the big cheeses that I’d happily recommend it to anyone who isn’t looking for an investment piece.
The warranty
Lots of casserole dishes have warranties that cover enamel cracking, warping and pinholes developing in the cast iron, which is worth factoring in when deciding your budget, as it may prevent you from having to repurchase sooner than you’d wish. The cheaper pans tend to have smaller (if any) warranty periods, whereas the pricier ones, from the likes of Le Creuset and Staub, have lifetime warranties (though not for normal wear and tear).
The appearance
Aesthetics are a major factor in our buying habits. Some of us like to surround ourselves with pretty things, and as with many items in the modern day, a casserole dish has become a status symbol of sorts. A Le Creuset or Staub will look beautiful on your hob and could even attract the envy of your friends, but whether it is worth the price is down to your priorities.
The size
How you cook and who you cook for should be a factor in deciding how big a dish to go for. Casserole dishes come in tiny sizes suitable for cooking for one, or enormous pots better suited for crowds. If you regularly host massive get-togethers or love batch-cooking a big pot of bolognese, consider getting a 28cm casserole. For most people, a 24cm pan that cooks for four to six people will do the job.
Sophie Wyburd is a cook and food writer specialising in simple, hearty comfort food, and finds herself cooking in casserole dishes multiple times a week. You can find her recipes in the Guardian, in her cookbook Tucking In, and in her fortnightly newsletter Feeder
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