17 Veggie-Packed Dinner Recipes to Welcome Dutch Oven Season (2024)

FAQs

Can you roast vegetables in a Dutch oven? ›

Lightly oil or spray dutch oven. Place all vegetables in prepared oven, drizzle with olive oil; add garlic, rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper and toss to coat. Roast at 400 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until vegetables are tender and browned, stirring once.

On the stovetop

Place a steamer basket in a large saucepan or Dutch oven with about an inch of water, so that it comes almost up to the steamer basket but not past it. Bring the water up to a boil, add your vegetables to the steamer basket, cover and steam until crisp-tender.

Sear, pan-fry, sautee: A camping Dutch oven is also a great stand-in for a cast-iron skillet. Anything that can be cooked in a cast-iron skillet can be done in a Dutch oven too, like searing steaks, browning chicken thighs, sauteing vegetables, etc.

Anywhere between a 5- to 7-quart Dutch oven is the right all-purpose size for most cooking tasks. It has high walls that prevent spillage and enough surface area to brown meat for a braise, but it's not so big that you need help hauling it in and out of the oven. It's also the perfect size for bringing to the table.

Be Mindful When Cooking Acidic Foods

In an enamel-coated Dutch oven, prolonged cooking with acidic ingredients may discolor the interior coating but doesn't erode it.

Searing, Simmering, and Braising

The Dutch oven is the master of the stovetop. Since it's basically a wider, heavier version of a stockpot, it's a good pick to simmer broth or cook up big batches of beans. The cast iron core can get hot enough to quickly sear chunks of meat and brown veggies.

Veg to avoid steaming:

Any large chunks of hard veg, such as potatoes, squash or celeriac.

Why steaming is healthier than baking. If you're looking to get the most possible nutrients out of the veggies you're eating, Davis says steaming is the way to go. "Steaming is a healthier way to cook vegetables," she says.

Some of my favorite vegetables to steam fry are broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, bell peppers, onion, fennel, zucchini, and green beans. So they all cook at the same speed, these vegetables should be cut into bite-sized pieces for cooking. Aim for 1- to 2-inch lengths for green beans.

Can you cook everything in a Dutch oven? ›

You can do just about anything in a dutch oven, from a roast chicken to soups to baked beans to desserts.

A Dutch oven is a heavy-duty pot with lid designed for browning meat and veggies and then simmering on the stovetop or braising in the oven. It can also be used for soup and more simple tasks like boiling pasta. It's often used to make bread as well.

Dutch Oven Uses

Soups and stews: Dutch ovens are ideal for cooking things low and slow, which makes them perfect for hearty soups and stews. And they're typically generously sized, which means they can hold a lot of liquid.

Because enameled Dutch ovens are typically made out of cast iron, they can get scorching hot and retain that heat well, meaning they're great for searing all kinds of foods, including meats and veggies. A Dutch oven can stand in for a deep fryer when you need a large amount of oil.

Haring or 'Hollandse Nieuwe' (Dutch new herring) is probably the most famous Dutch food. If you like fish you should at least try it once. The raw herring is served together with chopped raw onions and gherkins.