The best casserole dishes can be versatile pots, if you use them right. As an avid home cook with a tiny kitchen, I’m always on the lookout for cookware that performs across multiple functions. Also known as a dutch oven, casserole dishes are made for long, slow cooks at low temperatures, but the top options can also be used to fry and braise food or even bake bread.
There are traditional dishes made of cast iron as well as lighter options formed from aluminium and stainless steel. To find your perfect dish, consider your culinary needs. A lighter dish might be more versatile, while a more-traditional design may be better for cooking low and slow. While some casserole dishes only work either on the hob or in the oven, you may want to opt for one that does it all.
When it comes to caring for your dish, be sure to take note of the manufacturer’s instructions but, in general, for a happy pot, never put it on a high heat or use metal utensils to stir or extract the contents of the pot.
No matter your budget or cookery style, I’ve put a range of casserole dishes to the test. If you treat these dishes well, they are set to be long-term kitchen companions.
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The best casserole dishes for 2026 are:
- Best overall – John Lewis cast iron round casserole: £58, Johnlewis.com
- Best budget buy – Lakeland cast iron 24cm casserole: £39.99, Lakeland.co.uk
- Best lightweight option – Our Place perfect pot: £135 Fromourplace.co.uk
- Best aluminium design – M&S cast aluminium 4.5l casserole dish: £50 Marksandspencer.com
- Best small option – Salter Chester 20cm cast iron casserole pot: £32.99, Salter.com
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John Lewis cast iron round casserole
Best: casserole dish overall
Why we love it
- Holds up to more costly competitors
- Multipurpose dish
- Effective at retaining heat
- Great price
Take note
- Heavy
- Limited colour range
You don’t need a big brand name with an even bigger price tag to get the best casserole dish – as proven by John Lewis. Of all the dishes I tested, this one impressed by offering a good level of robustness without breaking the bank.
This dish retains heat nicely, and the lid fits perfectly, helping to trap steam inside. I was able to cook a one-pot chicken and rice dish without anything sticking or staining. In fact, this pot went back to looking like new after each clean.
Unlike other pots in this price range, such as the ProCook casserole dish (also included in this roundup), John Lewis’s pot has a cream interior, which gives it a premium feel. Plus, I liked that there was no jarring branding on the lid.
There isn’t a huge colour range but available options are pleasant and neutral, meaning they should fit in with any kitchen colour palette. What more could you want?
Key specifications
Buy now £58, Johnlewis.com
Lakeland cast iron casserole
Best: budget casserole dish
Why we love it
- Excellent value for money
- Flat lid is space-saving
Take note
- Lid handle gets very hot
- Flat lid not as good at moisture redistribution than a domed lid
For your first casserole dish, you can’t go far wrong with Lakeland’s pot. It’s undoubtedly the best value for money on this list, providing a decently sized dish (enough for about four to six servings) for just shy of £40.
The flat lid brings some big pros – it fits much more easily in the oven and it looks great – but it’s worse for moisture redistribution than a domed lid. Nevertheless, during testing, I wasn’t bothered by this design choice, as the little nubs on the underside of the lid were enough to drip condensation across a casserole.
There’s something about a shiny black interior that feels harsher than the Le Creuset or John Lewis cream-coloured design, and the darker interior makes if trickier to see what I’m cleaning off the dish after cooking (although it’s good for hiding any scorch marks gained over time).
Key specifications
Buy now £39.99, Lakeland.co.uk
Our Place perfect pot
Best: lightweight casserole dish
Why we love it
- Versatile
- Easy to clean
- Effective non-stick
Take note
- Steam escapes
- Built-in strainer can be tricky to use
A pot that markets itself as the ‘perfect pot’ had a lot to live up to but, with my flat full of casserole dishes, I have to say this Our Place design is the one I found myself reaching for the most. It’s incredibly lightweight, holding as much as the ProCook oval pot (also included in this roundup) but for a third of the weight, making it easy to use for a variety of dishes. It’s also a non-stick design, making it easier to clean.
However, this is also the pot I burned my hands on the most – I kept reaching for the handles of the built-in strainer, forgetting that they get as hot as any other casserole dish, rendering the strainer less useful than it should be.
Also, if you’re looking for your low-and-slow cooking container, the strainer leaks steam and the dish doesn’t hold onto heat quite as long as cast iron alternatives. This is still a fantastic pot but it may not be for you if you’d prefer a traditional casserole dish.
Key specifications
Buy now £135, Amazon.co.uk
Marks & Spencer cast aluminium casserole dish
Best: cast aluminium casserole dish
Why we love it
- Relatively lightweight
- Effective non-stick
Take note
- Silicone grips get easily lost
This dish is the perfect middle ground in multiple ways – it’s made from lightweight aluminium, but it doesn’t cool down too quickly. It’s shallow but has steep sides to make sure it has maximum volume, landing it in the middle of the leaderboard when it comes to capacity.
Its black interior isn’t shiny like the ProCook and Lakeland dishes featured in this roundup, but it acts more like a normal non-stick pan.
In an attempt to mitigate the hot handle problem of classic casserole dishes, this one comes with removable silicone handle grips but found that I kept misplacing them – you can’t keep them on during cooking, as they’ll get too hot to perform their purpose. That being the case, I just ended up reaching for a trusty tea towel instead. However, that aside, I still loved this M&S casserole dish overall.
Key specifications
Buy now £50, Marksandspencer.com
Staub stackable three-piece pot set
Best: stackable casserole dish set
Why we love it
- Three pots that only take up the space of one
- Beautiful design
- Hardwearing
- Lifetime warranty
Take note
- One shared lid
- Expensive
You can tell a lot about a casserole dish brand from the warranty it provides, and Staub’s lasts a lifetime. This French brand has its own unique style of black, textured enamel, which had me a little dubious at first, but the frittata I made in the smallest size didn’t stick at all, while browning meat in the biggest didn’t lead to any hard-to-remove residue. Overall, I found it to be hard-wearing, and easy to cook with and clean.
This stackable set can replace other pots and pans cluttering up your kitchen, while taking up minimal space on your shelves. It’s great that the set comes with plastic protectors to put between the pots when stacked, but it’s worth noting that there’s just one lid to share between the three pots. However, I didn’t find this too much of a problem during everyday use.
Key specifications
Buy now £359, Johnlewis.com
Le Creuset cast iron shallow casserole
Best: shallow casserole dish
Why we love it
- Very versatile
- Lifetime warranty
- Lid effectively seals in steam
Take note
- Heavy lid
- Expensive
For many, Le Creuset is the first brand that comes to mind when considering casserole dishes. Like Staub, the brand offers a lifetime warranty, and has created its products with the intention of becoming family heirlooms. Although, there’s no denying that the brand’s cookware is pricey.
There are all manner of shapes and sizes to choose from when shopping for Le Creuset, but the 30cm shallow casserole dish is the one that made it to list. The dish can go from hob to oven without a problem and features a heavy lid that seals in steam. This dish also has the added benefit of being great for pot pies and shallow frying. The brand also offers the widest colour range of any on this list.
Key specifications
Buy now £217, Amazon.co.uk
Salter Chester cast iron casserole pot
Best: small casserole dish
Why we love it
- Dinky size makes it easier to store
- Great price
Take note
- Not large enough for batch cooking
If you don’t need a casserole dish big enough to feed an army, Salter’s range goes down to a diminutive 20cm – about the size of a normal saucepan – while maintaining the quality of a larger model.
Even better, the flatter lid is a space-saving design. I didn’t have to move around a single shelf in order to slot this dish into my oven, and there was even room for another shelf to roast a side dish of vegetables.
Though it’s not quite as versatile as the Le Creuset or the Our Place perfect pot options included in this roundup, it makes for a great starter casserole dish.
Key specifications
Buy now £32.99, Salter.com
ProCook cast iron casserole dish oval
Best: large casserole dish
Why we love it
- Excellent value
- Large enough to roast meats
- Heats up evenly and retains heat well
Take note
- Large logo on top detracts from aesthetics
- Heavy
The largest pot on this list, with a 6.2l capacity, surprisingly doesn’t feel humungous nor heavy, thanks to its oval shape. You get all the benefits of a cast iron dish, but at a low cost and with a streamlined design.
Even with my electric hob, there wasn’t too much of a hot spot where the pot was larger than the hob ring – the whole thing heated up evenly and held onto heat for a good length of time.
It’s a shame that ‘ProCook’ is emblazoned on the top lid in a round font that won’t fool anyone into thinking it’s a Le Creuset, but at least the colour options are inoffensive. The shiny black interior makes it hard to see what you’re cooking, but is the trade off you tend to make for the price tag. On the other hand, you get a 25 year guarantee, which is huge for a dish in this price range.
Key specifications
Buy now £75, Procook.co.uk
Smeg casserole pan with lid
Best: casserole dish with a glass lid
Why we love it
- Handles are easy to grip
- Glass lid makes it easy to check on cooking progress
- Fairly lightweight
- Good heat retention
Take note
- Not as stylish as some other options
This Smeg casserole pan may not look like the other dutch-oven-style dishes on this list, but it holds its own. It features wide, ergonomic handles on the sides and lid, and it isn’t too heavy. The handles didn’t get too hot to handle when cooking on the hob, either.
Compared with a typical pan, this one has a thicker, ridged base for better heat retention, and the lid seals in steam surprisingly well – with the added benefit of being made of glass, so you don’t have to lift it to check on the food you’re cooking.
It may not be the most eye-catching but it has its own unique style and super functionality.
Key specifications
Buy now £149, Ao.com
Aga stainless steel casserole
Best: stainless steel casserole dish
Why we love it
- Lightweight
- Pint and litre marks inside
- Flat lid for easy stacking
Take note
- Less good at retaining heat than cast iron
This Aga casserole dish feels a little left-field compared with the others on this list – it doesn’t have the cottage-core aesthetic of the John Lewis pot, nor the striking colour of the Salter pot, and I had my reservations that stainless steel would be able to keep up with such heavy-duty competitors.
However, the lid creates such a good seal that you’ll practically forget you have anything cooking, retaining steam far better than the Our Place perfect pot (also included in this roundup).
It’s a dream to clean, and is completely flat on top, making it much easier to fit in the oven and stack other dishes on top for storage. It holds onto heat better than your average stainless steel pot but not quite as well as cast iron – though that does mean you don’t have to wait as long for the lid and handles to cool down.
It’s dishwasher safe, and a guarantee of 25 years is the cherry on top of the casserole, giving you peace of mind that you’re protected against any unexpected defects.
Key specifications
Buy now £155, Agacookshop.co.uk
What is the best casserole dish?
John Lewis’s casserole dish ticks all the boxes – it’s functional, hardy and beautiful, and shows you don’t need to drop top dollar for a decent dish. If you’re on a tighter budget, you can’t go far wrong with Lakeland’s 24cm casserole dish. If you’re after a less traditional option that will be more versatile, the Our Place perfect pot was the one I found to be the most handy. Meanwhile, Staub and Le Creuset are on the pricier side but both have a lifetime guarantee for a reason – they’re both of impeccable quality.
How I tested casserole dishes
I spent three months testing casserole dishes of all kinds, using each one to cook casseroles (of course) as well as a variety of other meals. During the testing process, I considered the following criteria.
Why you can trust IndyBest reviews
The Independent’s reviews are written by experts in their fields, following thorough, real-world testing. This review was written by Maria Mellor, a food and drink writer who has covered everything from recipe books to restaurants. Maria tested each of the casserole dishes in her kitchen, to bring you her honest pick of the ones worth buying.
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