Products · Cookware · Le Creuset
Le Creuset Signature Round Dutch Oven
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French enameled cast iron with a lifetime limited warranty and a published chemical disclosure for each color. The full lists name cadmium pigments for Cerise, Flame, Flamme Dorée, Nectar and Olive, so look up your color first.
Best for Cooks who want a heavy enameled pot for braises and bread and will check the disclosure for their color before buying.
- Our quality rating
- Fair (3 of 5)
- Price range
- Premium
- Size
- 2, 4.5, 5.5, 7.25, 9 and 13.25 qt (SKU 21177US covers every size)
- Made in
- France (stated by the maker)
approx. $285 to $680 depending on size (2 to 13.25 qt)
See it on Le Creuset’s site →We are not affiliated with Le Creuset. This link goes to the maker’s own page, with no tracking code. How we're funded.
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Your review
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How we evaluated it
Why we chose it What put it on our list
- The material is simple and stated: enameled cast iron made in France, with a “light colored smooth interior enamel” and no coating that needs seasoning.
- Limits are written down: all stovetops including induction, oven safe to 500°F, dishwasher safe with hand washing recommended.
- The warranty is spelled out: free from defects in material and workmanship at purchase, for the original consumer owner. It excludes abuse, overheating, commercial use and use against the instructions, and ends if the pot is sold.
- Le Creuset publishes a searchable chemical disclosure (California AB 1200) for each color and size. In all 63 records for the 5.5 qt pot, the food-contact list names silica, boric acid, disodium tetraborate, iron, copper, chromium, manganese, nickel and phosphorus, with antimony compounds or titanium dioxide in some colors. None lists lead, cadmium or any fluorinated compound.
Trade-offs What to weigh before you buy
- Cadmium pigments appear for some colors. In the 5.5 qt records the full list, but not the food-contact list, adds them for Cerise, Flame, Flamme Dorée, Nectar and Olive, which are on the current color list, and for Cayenne and Garnet, which are in the database but not on the page. A 7.25 qt Flame record shows the same pigments. Colors such as Licorice (black), White, Marseille, Oyster, Sea Salt and Thyme list none. The page also offers Onyx and Château, for which we found no record, so ask before buying those.
- The disclosure is Le Creuset’s statement of what it added, with no amounts. It is not a lab test of what the pot releases, and we found no outside test. Le Creuset says only that it does “internal and reputable third-party laboratory evaluations”. The food-contact list does include nickel, chromium and antimony compounds.
- It is expensive and heavy, and the enamel can chip if the pot is dropped or knocked. Le Creuset’s suggested retail prices run from $285 for the 2 qt to $680 for the 13.25 qt.
- The product and FAQ pages say nothing about lead or cadmium. The only place we found it is the disclosure database.
What to know Details worth knowing first
Enameled cast iron is the option in our cookware guide for long, acidic cooking, because the glass-like enamel does not react with food and, in a lab test our cast iron article cites, released almost no iron. Le Creuset is the best-known maker, and this pot is made in France.
What sets it apart is the paper trail. Le Creuset publishes a chemical disclosure for each color and size in its disclosure database, and in every record we opened for the 5.5 qt pot the food-contact list has no lead and no cadmium.
The catch is color. For Cerise, Flame, Flamme Dorée, Nectar and Olive, and for the Cayenne and Garnet records, the full list adds cadmium pigments outside the food-contact list. Cadmium away from the cooking surface is a different thing from cadmium where food touches, but you may prefer a color whose record lists none, such as Licorice, White or Marseille (see cadmium in food). Look up your color and size before you buy. The disclosure is the maker’s own statement, not an outside test.
Quality & testing How it measures up against our checklist
| What we checked | What we found |
|---|---|
| No PTFE or PFAS coating Maker’s claim | Porcelain enamel on cast iron. None of the 63 disclosure records for the 5.5 qt pot lists a fluorinated compound. This is the maker’s disclosure. |
| Plain, named materials Maker’s claim | Enameled cast iron, made in France, per the page’s specifications. The disclosure database lists the enamel’s constituents by color and size. |
| Built to last Maker’s claim | Enameled Cast Iron Lifetime Limited Warranty: covers defects in material and workmanship at purchase, for the original consumer owner. Excludes abuse, overheating, commercial use and use against the instructions. |
| Fits how you cook Maker’s claim | All cooktops including induction. Oven safe to 500°F. Dishwasher safe, hand washing recommended. |
| Lead and cadmium in the enamel Maker’s claim | Food-contact lists in all 63 records for the 5.5 qt pot show no lead and no cadmium. The full lists add cadmium pigments for Cerise, Flame, Flamme Dorée, Nectar, Olive, Cayenne and Garnet. A White Marble 4.5 qt record lists none. Not a lab result. |
| Notices and recalls Verified | No California Prop 65 notice names Le Creuset cookware. One 2025 notice, about thermal receipt paper in stores, names Le Creuset of America among many retailers. CPSC lists a 2011 recall of Le Creuset glass lids, not the enameled cast iron lid. |
What the labels mean
- Verified We opened an independent record that confirms it: a certifier’s listing, a regulator’s list or a lab report. It is linked under Sources.
- Maker’s claim The maker says so on its own page or label. We read it but found no independent record.
- Not verified We looked and could not confirm it, or the maker does not say. Treat it as unknown.
Sources Where our facts come from
- Le Creuset Signature Round Dutch Oven product page. Maker’s page. Open ↗
- Le Creuset Chemical Disclosures for Cookware. Maker’s page. Open ↗
- Disclosure records: Signature Round Dutch Oven, 5.5 qt (all 63 records). Maker’s page. Le Creuset’s legal disclosure, hosted on a catalog service. We opened every record on 22 Oct 2026. Each has a “CA AB1200 Chemicals - All” list and a “Food Contact” list. Open ↗
- Disclosure record: Signature Round Dutch Oven, 5.5 qt, Licorice. Maker’s page. No lead or cadmium in either list. Open ↗
- Disclosure record: Signature Round Dutch Oven, 5.5 qt, Flame. Maker’s page. Cadmium sulphoselenide red and orange and cadmium zinc sulphide yellow pigments are in the full list, not the food-contact list. Open ↗
- Le Creuset warranty details. Maker’s page. The enameled cast iron terms are in a collapsed section of the page. Open ↗
- California Attorney General: Prop 65 60-day notice search. Certifier or regulator listing. Searched by alleged violator on 22 Oct 2026. The one notice naming Le Creuset of America, 2025-02130 (30 June 2025), concerns bisphenol S in thermal receipt paper. Open ↗
- CPSC: Le Creuset Recalls Glass Lids Due to Laceration Hazard (23 Feb 2011). Certifier or regulator listing. Covers 24, 28 and 30 cm glass lids sold after October 2010. Open ↗
Alternatives Other options to compare
- Lodge Essential Enamel Dutch Oven About $90 for 6 qt, made in China or Vietnam, with a published materials chart that puts cadmium in red and orange items only.
- Staub La Cocotte round Dutch oven Also made in France. Staub’s page lists oven safe to 500°F and a lifetime warranty, but nothing on lead or cadmium, and we found no disclosure page.