Ever wondered how to clean the stains from a Dutch Oven?
My Le Creuset Dutch Oven is one of my favorite (and oldest) pans. It’s an investment piece that I want to last forever. But over the years the bottom has gotten stained. There’s no food there. Just stains.
I tried lots of methods to fix it. Some of them are even listed on the Le Creuset website. But none of those worked. Then I finally discovered the best way to clean stains from a Dutch Oven.
BEFORE
AFTER
Materials: What You Need to Clean Stains from a Dutch Oven
- 4 cups water
- 1/4 cup bleach*
That’s it!
*Cooks Illustrated suggests using a ratio of up to 3 parts water to 1 part bleach. I didn’t need that much bleach to fix my pan but it’s an option for really baked on pans.
Instructions: How to Clean Stains from a Dutch Oven
- Pour the water in the pan. Add bleach.
- Cover with the lid.
- Allow to set for 4 hours. Peek to see the progress. Need more time? Allow to soak overnight.
- CAREFULLY pour out the bleach solution and clean with soap and fresh water.
My Dutch Oven and Braising Pan are so important to me. I use them ALL the time for our family’s favorite meals. This method will help me get the stains out, then keep both looking great for years to come. For things like this:
Easy Pot Roast with Vegetables
10-Minute Buttery Chicken with Zucchini
Faster Bolognese Sauce
Big Dutch Baby Pancake
Honey-Mustard Chicken
Best-Ever Taco Bake with Veggies
Wow! Why didn’t I think of that?! Gonna go try that right now! I’ve had some tomato stains in my enameled Dutch oven forever! Thank you for this!
Right? I didn’t think of it either! This is honestly the result of YEARS of trying all the things. Hooray for a pan that looks nice again.
I just finished doing this and my ceramic Dutch oven looks great! I had tried the manufacturer’s recommendation of baking soda along with other treatments but non of them had much effect. I used about 3-to-1 water to bleach and I left a scotch-brite pad in the solution and every half hour or so, I used it to lightly scour the inside of the pot and the underside of the lid. Within 3 hours, the whole pot looked fantastic! Thank for posting this.