36 Recipes to Cook in Your Staub Pots & Pans

If you love to cook—or you just like to look like you love to cook—chances are you've gotten yourself a Staub pot. The classic French cookware line is a favorite at the Food52 Shop and no wonder: Staub's products are gorgeous, timeless, and top-notch kitchen performers.

Staub's cookware is so versatile that, if you're a new Staub owner, you may be feeling overwhelmed by the choices of what to actually make with your pot or pan. The good news is, you really can't go wrong—honestly, what can a French oven not do?—but to get you started (or re-inspired, if you're a longtime Staub owner), here are a few suggestions for what to make in all our favorite Staub designs, along with some tips for cleaning and caring for your pots.

Once you've removed the labels and ribbon from your new pot, rinse it with warm water and dry it thoroughly. Brush a small amount of vegetable oil around the inside of the pan (like you would if you were seasoning a cast iron skillet), which will optimize the nonstick features. Heat the pan over a low flame until most of the moisture has steamed out, and once it's cooled, wipe any excess with a towel. Now you're good to go!

An enameled coating on the cast iron of every Staub pan make them a breeze to clean—and Staub recommends that you hand-wash them, rather than running them through the dishwasher, to preserve the patina and brightness. After drying, you can brush the inside with a little vegetable oil to maintain the black matte finish.

Unlike unfinished cast iron—which must be seasoned and carefully care for—enameled cast iron can handle anything you throw at it, from acidic ingredients to dish soap.

Now the fun part: what to use all those beautiful pots and pans for. Along with cooking up plenty of delicious braises, stir-fries, and crêpes, we love our Staub for their warm-weather prowess as well (did you know they keep things extra cold, too?). Here are some of our most popular Staub designs and our favorite ways to use them.

Make braises! Give any hunks of meat you're cooking a good sear, add aromatics, then cover in a delicious liquid and let it bubble away in the oven. Stews do well in it, too. Less expected: Chill your wine!

If you're backyard-challenged, get your grilled chicken and burger fix with this cast iron grill pan. But don't stop at meat: Consider grilled pizza and salads (and fruit), too.

Raise your hand if you've ever made pasta in a wok. (Just me?) With this wok, you don't have to feel bad—it's designed to do everything. Of course, it can turn out a beautiful stir-fry, but it can also braise fish, slide into a 500° F oven, and, yes, boil pasta water.

More: Thinking about upgrading that old rusty wok? Don't toss it—make a lamp!

You can soon be in Gratin Heaven, a world in which lovely bubbling gratins are cooked in perfectly-sized pans that go straight from oven to table. See also: lasagnes, baked pastas, layered vegetables, and braise-roasted chicken.

From banana bread to meatloaf, there's little this trusty loaf pan can't do. Our latest trick? Using it to store fresh-made ice cream so it stays extra cold.

The rough cooking surface of this fry pan results in perfect browning, improving everything from pancakes to crab cakes to latkes. But if all you want to do is make the perfect fried egg sandwich or the most beautiful cobbler, we won't blame you in the slightest.

Just as functional as a French Oven, but in different shapes (like an oval! Or a tomato! ) that accommodate oblong fish, vegetables, and meat, this is another perfect pot to embrace the braise. They also make a festive ice basin for chilled soups, like salmorejo and gazpacho.

Beloved by the Food52 team, the most charming-looking Staub pot is actually one of the most useful. It perfectly cooks not only rice (of course), but grains of all sorts—we even use it to boil eggs.

This pan is the answer to all your crêpe curses (hard to spread, even harder to flip, hole-ridden by the time the cooking ordeal is through). Crêpe-making will become such a breeze, you may find yourself wanting to venture out from the classic breakfast variety: Stack them into a Nutella cake, enrich them with buckwheat, and fill them with ricotta, brie, and vegetables.

What do you cook in your Staub pots and pans? Inspire us in the comments!