‘I may have turned into a sausage by the time you read this’: the best casserole dishes for stews and pasta sauces – tested
With autumnal comfort food in mind, it’s time to find the perfect pot for pies, gratins and roasting. Our chef put nine casserole dishes, from Le Creuset to John Lewis, to the test
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
Le Creuset26cm cast-iron casserole dish£225.12 at Amazon - Best budget casserole dish
Habitat5.3l cast-iron casserole dish£29.99 at Sainsbury’s - Best casserole dish for slow roasting
Staub28cm round cast-iron cocotte£299 at Zwilling - Best lightweight casserole dish
Our Place6l ceramic nonstick perfect pot£135 at Our Place
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
The best of the rest
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
Originally published by theguardian.com. Syndicated material does not necessarily reflect the views of Vogue British.
