Costco Has a Le Creuset Look-Alike Set for Just $60

A beautiful, quality Dutch oven for $30? We're listening.

There’s something about cooking in an enamel cast iron Dutch oven that sort of makes us feel like we’re on set cooking pasta with Ina or soup with Stanley. A stainless steel Dutch oven, while similarly functional, doesn’t always have the same vibe.

But, that “I’m a celebrity chef’s guest” cookware vibe can often come with a price tag that only a celebrity chef can afford. The Le Creuset version, even when on sale, can cost hundreds of dollars. Sure, there are advantages to the coveted brand, such as a limited lifetime warranty, but it’s still out of financial reach for many home cooks. Fortunately, there are other brands of Dutch ovens that work really well and look similar to Le Creuset.

Recently, Aldi offered its own version of an enamel cast iron Dutch oven for $30, and shoppers scooped it up. Now, Costco is offering a 3.5-quart and 5.5-quart Tramontina set of this versatile cookware for $60, and Instagram’s Costco Guide found them in the wild and showed them to her followers.

“Set of 2 Cast Iron Dutch ovens at Costco for only $59.99! It comes in white with gold knobs or red. It looks so similar to my Le CREUSET one!” wrote Angela Ackerman, the voice behind the Instagram account, “I May need to get this set to compare.”

Who is Tramontina, the Makers of Costco’s Dutch Oven?

“Oh baby, tramontina is a great brand and very big. They’re only cheap in the US because they just started selling here,” one commenter said. Which made us wonder, who is Tramontina?

According to the brand’s website, the company was founded in Brazil in 1911 and makes all sorts of kitchen items. On Amazon, a similar-looking 5.5-quart Dutch oven from the brand has over 1,500 reviews and an average of 4.5 stars. That single Dutch oven lists for $120, although Amazon is selling it for about half that. There’s a good chance that Tramontina makes the Costco set specifically for Costco, meaning the quality could be different than the one on Amazon.

But, several people on Instagram came to the brand’s defense when Le Creuset purists scoffed at the Costco versions.

“These are great,” assured one commenter. “I have these 2 and the skillet size. They clean super easy. I have zero complaints. My parent spent 400+ on the fancy brand, the only thing I see these missing is the griddle on the reverse side of the lid.”

Another chimed in, “I have the same one, except it's the 7qt. And I absolutely LOVE it! I highly recommend them,” and also noted she’s not had any issues with chipping. And still another has had the set for a year and said, “they are terrific. I have several more pieces by this manufacturer.”

It seems the scoffers can take a back seat on this brand.

What Can You Cook in a Dutch Oven?

These pots are so versatile. They go from stovetop to oven. They’re great for soups, stews, baking bread, chili, overnight breakfast casseroles, and more.

Plus, they really are attractive, so much so that many people choose to keep them on top of the stove as functional kitchen decor, especially in the colder months when they get used so often for comfort food.

Read the original article on All Recipes.