12 Easy and Healthy Dutch Oven Recipes

Cooking with a Dutch oven is a convenient and flavorful way to create healthy recipes that satisfy any appetite. This versatile pot keeps chicken, turkey, beef and pork juicy and bursting with savory flavors. Whether you’re making stews, soups, chili or curries, the Dutch oven ensures fragrant and delicious results.

A Dutch oven is a wide, heavy pot with a tight-fitting lid that can be used on the stovetop or in the oven. Its thick walls maintain a steady temperature for even cooking of all ingredients. With a Dutch oven, you can effortlessly prepare family-friendly meals without spending hours in the kitchen.

These healthy Dutch oven recipes simplify cooking – just combine the ingredients and let the flavors develop. From classic pot roast to comforting soups and easy bread baking, these recipes are one-pot wonders for simple preparation and clean-up. Approved by Nutrisystem dietitians, these meals support your weight loss plan while satisfying your taste buds.

Enjoy these nutritious Dutch oven recipes for a delicious and stress-free cooking experience!

1. Dutch Oven Lasagna

This is the real thing. With every forkful you dig into layers of pasta, ricotta and mozzarella cheese, tangy marinara sauce, and meaty ground turkey. In the Dutch oven, the layers turn warm and melty. At the end, you take off the lid to get the crisp, brown top that is the finishing touch to lasagna.

Get the Dutch Oven Lasagna recipe.

2. Dutch Oven Pot Roast

If you want to bring your family to the table on a chilly evening, put a budget-friendly beef chuck roast in your Dutch oven and let the aroma of it cooking for an afternoon waft through the house. The meat will become tender, juicy and perfectly savory. Add potatoes, carrots and parsnips, and you’ve got a balanced meal.

Get the Dutch Oven Pot Roast recipe.

3. Dutch Oven Honey Garlic Shrimp and Rice

With a Dutch oven, you can whip up a sweet and spicy shrimp and rice dish that’s lip-smacking delicious. The seafood, along with broccoli and sweet bell peppers, become succulent and tender as they cook, then you glaze them with a homemade honey-garlic sauce. You don’t have to buy any special ingredients, but it tastes like a meal you’d order at a restaurant.

Get the Dutch Oven Honey Garlic Shrimp and Rice recipe.

4. Ukrainian Borscht

The first thing you notice about this traditional beet soup is its bright red color, but you will remember its blend of sweet and earthy flavors. You make it in the Dutch oven with potatoes, carrots and cabbage, along with the beets. Sour cream is the standard topping, but we use non-fat Greek yogurt so it’s healthier and just as creamy as it should be.

Get the Ukrainian Borscht recipe.

5. Dutch Oven Beef Stew

When you need to satisfy a famished appetite, a steaming bowl of beef stew hits the spot. To make this version, you fill the pot with beef chunks, potatoes, carrots, parsnips and mushrooms, along with beef broth and tomato paste. The slow cooking blends the flavors and creates a gravy that’s so rich and thick that you’ll spoon up every drop.

Get the Dutch Oven Beef Stew recipe.

6. Minestrone Soup

This soup is a winning combination of exceptional flavor and powerful nutrition. It’s made with lots of veggies like carrots, zucchini, butternut squash and crushed tomatoes. Kidney beans and whole wheat elbow macaroni add fiber, so a bowlful will fill you up. Be sure to make extra so that you can freeze the leftovers to heat up anytime you need a quick and filling meal.

Get the Minestrone Soup recipe.

7. Dutch Oven Creamy Winter Vegetable Soup

Soups are a tasty way to load up on all the essential nutrients in vegetables. We use carrots, butternut squash and other seasonal veggies to create this savory and lightly sweet soup. Pesto punches up the taste and a splash of milk turns it creamy. You can make it even more satisfying by including shredded chicken or turkey breast.

Get the Dutch Oven Creamy Winter Vegetable Soup recipe.

8. Dutch Oven French Onion Chicken and Potatoes

Here’s a dinner that is elegant enough to serve guests, but easy enough for a weeknight. It starts with lean chicken breasts paired with crisp potato slices and caramelized onions. A layer of melted gruyere cheese on top adds the “French” twist to the dish.

Get the Dutch Oven French Onion Chicken and Potatoes recipe.

9. One-Pot Salmon Chowder with Corn

Salmon is a healthy PowerFuel because it’s high in protein and low in saturated fats. Its briny taste complements the sweet corn and the zesty garlic and onions in this soup. Real half-and-half provides the creamy texture that makes it soup slurp-worthy.

Get the One-Pot Salmon Chowder with Corn recipe.

10. Dutch Oven Honey Whole Wheat Bread

Homemade bread is a treat for all your senses. This recipe makes it simple, even if you’ve never baked it before. It uses whole wheat flour so it has plenty of fiber, and honey for hint of sweetness. The Dutch oven bakes it evenly and it comes out with a nice chewy crust.

Get the Dutch Oven Honey Whole Wheat Bread recipe.

11. Chicken Tinga

Indulge in a delectable Chicken Tinga recipe featuring slow-cooked, tender chicken in a flavorful sauce of ripe tomatoes, chipotle peppers and sweet onions. This dish promises a symphony of flavors that will delight your taste buds. From the smoky heat of chipotle peppers to the savory sweetness of tomatoes and onions, each bite offers comfort and deliciousness in one.

Get the Chicken Tinga recipe.

12. Easy Lasagna Soup

You can have everything that you love about lasagna in a soup that’s easy to enjoy anytime. We make it with ground turkey, whole-grain lasagna noodles, rich tomato sauce and nutritious spinach. A dollop of fresh mozzarella and ricotta cheeses takes the place of the creamy layer in this version of lasagna.

Get the Easy Lasagna Soup recipe.