Forget Le Creuset And Caraway: Consumer Reports' Highest-Rated Dutch Oven Is More Affordable

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For many home cooks, a Dutch oven is an important piece of kitchen equipment. The heavy, thick-walled pots might not always seem as necessary as a regular pan but their slow cooking abilities are unmatched — and a good one should last a lifetime. The most famous brand is probably Le Creuset, but there are plenty of other companies producing top quality Dutch ovens for less than this pricey, premium option. According to Consumer Reports, one of the best is an affordable, stylish option: the Perfect Pot from Our Place.

The independent testing agency gave the Our Place Perfect Pot ($149) a nearly perfect score, which was higher than the Caraway Dutch Oven ($165). The Our Place pot even beat out the iconic Le Creuset Traditional Round Dutch Oven, which costs up to $435. The Our Place pot performed incredibly well in a range of tests that analyzed how easy the pot was to clean, how evenly it cooked, and how fast it heated up.

Consumer Reports tests its Dutch ovens by browning meat in them, using them to bake bread, and timing how long it takes them to heat 4 quarts of water. According to the results, the Our Place Perfect Pot is ideal for fresh baked sourdough bread and it also received top marks for holding the temperature of a simmering tomato sauce. The only downside was that the handles of the pot received a mid-range score for temperature, so you need to be careful not to burn yourself by using oven mitts.

Our Place is a fairly new contender in the market. The social media darling began as a startup in 2019 and quickly soared to cult status with the help of celebrities like Oprah and the Beckhams. The brand is known for its minimalist, eye-catching designs and non-toxic ceramic coating that promises to be free of "forever chemicals." The Perfect Pot is marketed as an "8-in-1 family-sized, stovetop-to-oven pot" that can be used for boiling, baking, frying, steaming and more.

You can buy add-ons to make the pot even more versatile and it features a lip for easy straining. Customers seem to love the product, according to online reviews. One person called it the "best cookware I've ever owned" on the Our Place website, while an Amazon shopper wrote, "The pot is not heavy but feels solidly thick. Works perfectly on my induction cooktop. Heats up super fast and cooks evenly...Nothing sticks in this pot and nothing stains it."

However, some users have faced issues over time with the color fading or chipping, scorch marks appearing, and the non-stick properties diminishing. Others don't feel the price tag is worth it unless you care about the aesthetics. If you want to review some other options, Consumer Reports gave the GreenPan Stanley Tucci Ceramic Nonstick Dutch Oven the same score and Caraway wasn't far behind. As alternatives, here are 12 best Dutch ovens according to online reviews, and despite the slightly lower score, you can never go wrong with the lifespan offered by Le Creuset.