August 11, 2022

6 Stockpot Uses (and Recipes to Make with Your Stockpot!)

Written By: Le Creuset Canada August 11, 2022

A stockpot is an essential piece of cookware in any kitchen, helping you prepare recipes for large crowds with minimum fuss. This iconic piece of cookware is extremely versatile and serves a number of crucial functions around the kitchen, making it the perfect addition to your kitchen arsenal this summer.

From simmering a soup, to steaming seafood, or reducing a sauce for your pasta dish, the stockpot accommodates a variety of recipes with ease. Le Creuset’s stockpots are built to last everyday use, and are available in three materials: enamel on steel, stainless steel, and toughened nonstick pro.

Perfect for hosting large family gatherings, weekend parties, or cooking in batches, the stockpot is a must-have in the kitchen all-year round. Here is a closer look at stockpots, their common uses, as well as four recipes you can get started with.

What is a Stockpot?

The stockpot, simply put, is a wide pot featuring a flat bottom, tall straight side and tight-fitting lid and was traditionally used to make stocks and broths. Today, this piece of cookware is among the most versatile and can be used for a variety of different recipes and cooking techniques, ranging from one-pot pasta dishes, to steaming seafood, or preparing soups.

Stockpots typically come equipped with a tight-fitting lid to lock in heat and moisture as ingredients simmer to perfection, while their loop handles ensure they can be transferred from the stovetop to the table with ease. Le Creuset’s stockpots are available in a vast selection of colours, and come in enamel on steel, toughened nonstick, and stainless steel, providing home cooks and chefs alike with the flexibility they need in the kitchen.

Stockpot Uses

Here is a closer look at the different ways you can make the most of your Le Creuset stockpot and prepare delicious recipes for the whole family all-year round.

Simmering Soups

The stockpot is the ideal piece of cookware to simmer soups to perfection, creating the perfect environment for ingredients to gradually infuse their flavours into the broth. The tall sides and tight-fitting lid create the perfect environment for infusing liquids and limiting evaporation so that each ingredient can infuse its own layer of flavour.

The stockpot also comes equipped with triple-welded side handles, offering home cooks and chefs alike a secure yet tight grip while transferring it from the stovetop or the sink to drain or to the table to serve directly. Our stockpot is available in a number of sizes, ranging from 6.6 L to 18.9 L, accommodating soups of all sizes for the whole family. Whether you are preparing a classic chicken noodle soup, or experimenting with a miso soup, this iconic piece of cookware has you covered.

Steaming Seafood & Vegetables

The stockpot can also be used to steam seafood and vegetables, offering superior heat retention as ingredients slow cook. Its tall sides are designed to evaporate liquid contents more slowly than traditional pieces of cookware, making it a great option for all your seafood or vegetable side dishes. The stockpot can also be used to conveniently blanch vegetables.

With a stockpot, you can easily monitor cooking progress, ensuring your seafood, including mussels, clams, and shrimps, are cooked perfectly. Plus, with three materials to choose from, all of which are induction compatible, there are many choices to consider whether you want something easier to clean, with an enamelled finish to monitor browning or stainless for quick heating.

Boiling

Stockpots are particularly suited to boiling ingredients, including fresh broth, pasta, vegetables, and more. Featuring tall, straight sides and a tight-fitting lid, this piece of cookware will help you easily boil ingredients, all-while limiting evaporation.

From boiling pasta and dumplings to corn on the cob, the stockpot is extremely versatile and can be used for a number of your favourite ingredients. Its large capacity ensures no recipe is too big for this piece of cookware, making it a great option for holiday meal preparation or when you are expecting guests. Coming equipped with triple-welded side handles, the stockpot can be easily manoeuvred around the kitchen.

Preparing Sauces

Preparing and reducing sauces has never been easier than with a stockpot. This versatile piece of cookware is crafted to limit evaporation and gradually infuse new flavours into your dish, making it perfect for sauce-making. The stockpot is ideal for preparing sauces, allowing you to incorporate flavours as ingredients simmer.

Its large capacity ensures you can prepare large batches of sauces, which is especially convenient during the holidays or for annual get-togethers. You can even boil pasta directly in the stockpot, making clean-up a breeze.

Here is a list of sauce recipes you can experiment with!

Stewing

Stockpots offer a convenient piece of cookware to prepare stews, slow-cooking ingredients, and gradually infusing flavours. This iconic piece of cookware will do much of the work for you, locking in heat and flavours thanks to its tight-fitting lid and tall, straight sides.

The stockpot is carefully designed to evenly distribute heat throughout all contents of the pot, making it ideal for your favourite stews. This piece of cookware is also beginner-friendly and helps simplify traditional stew recipes, allowing you to introduce new ingredients with ease.

Here are a few of our favourite stew recipes you can get started with today!

Canning

Canning is yet another form of meal preparation that helps you preserve the best flavours of any season all-year round and can be done in a stockpot. Its large capacity is the perfect size to boil cans before sealing them, including pickles, jams, tomato sauces, and more.

The stockpot’s tight-fitting lid will lock in heat and moisture, cooking your preserves until they are ready to be stored in your pantry.

Stockpot Recipes to Try

Here are four of our favourite recipes you can prepare in a stockpot, including our delicious, steamed mussels and clams dish.

Linguine with Mussels

Our linguine with mussels recipe highlights just how easy it is to get started with a stockpot, and prepare a delicious treat for the whole family. This recipe is perfect for mussel lovers (and fans of pasta), highlighting the delicious classic combination of freshly steamed seafood and perfectly al dente pasta.

Begin by cooking the linguine according to your package directions before draining the stockpot and setting it aside. Once the linguine is prepared, heat one tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat and add garlic. Introduce the remaining ingredients, including the olives, tomatoes, sugar, and olive oil, and stir frequently as it simmers.

The final step is to add the mussels to the stockpot and cook for about five minutes or until they open. Finish by stirring in the linguine and garnish with torn basil – and voilà, a delicious seafood pasta dish all from your stockpot. This recipe takes less than an hour to prepare and will feed a group of six to eight.

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Steamed Mussels and Clams

Our steamed mussels and clams recipe is yet another delicious treat for all seafood lovers and is extremely easy to put together with a stockpot.

Start by warming up oil and fennel seed until it becomes fragrant, or for about a minute. Next, add the diced fennel and tomato, season with salt, and cook until softened. This should take approximately two minutes.

With the stockpot filled with fresh aromas and spices, add in the mussels, clams, wine, and red pepper flakes, and cook until the mussels and clams begin to open. The last step is adding the butter and continuing to cook the mussels until they are completely open. Garnish with fennel fronds and chives, and dinner is served!

This recipe takes under three minutes to prepare from start to finish and can easily serve four to six people, making it a great weeknight dish for the whole family.

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Basic Chicken Stock

Your repertoire of recipes is not complete until you have a fool proof basic chicken stock recipe. After all, the stockpot was traditionally designed to perfect this specific task of creating flavourful stocks. This recipe is extremely simple, and is extremely useful when preparing soups, stews, and to have stored in the freezer when needed.

Begin by combining all the ingredients, including chicken wings, drumsticks, celery stalks, carrots, onions, thyme, and parsley, in a stockpot with three quarts of cold water. Next, bring the stockpot to a boil before reducing the heat and letting it simmer. Continuously skim the surface until the stock is reduced by one third.

When complete, strain the stock through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl and discard the solids. This recipe can be made three days ahead, or even frozen in ice cube trays for up to three months. Our basic chicken stock recipe takes less than an hour to put together and can come in handy in the wintertime.

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Minestrone Soup

Our Minestrone Soup is yet another excellent recipe, offering a healthy option at the dinner table or for a light lunch. Combining a number of delicious vegetables, including celery, zucchini, squash, tomatoes, green beans, leafy greens and a vegetable broth, this recipe is sure to become a classic in your household.

The stockpot is the ideal piece of cookware for the minestrone to simmer to perfection, gradually infusing new flavours into the soup as it slow cooks. This versatile pot will lock in heat and moisture with its tall sides and tight-fitting lid, ensuring your ingredients are exposed to a consistent heat source.

Whether it is for a Sunday lunch, or a weeknight meal for a cold, rainy night, our minestrone soup has you covered. This recipe takes under two hours to prepare and can serve up to six people.

Get the recipe

Adding a Stockpot to Your Le Creuset Collection

Whether you are just getting started in the kitchen or looking to add one more versatile piece of cookware to your setup, the stockpot makes for a great option. Ideal for preparing large batches of food, and for family gatherings, no kitchen is complete without this essential piece of cookware.

The stockpot is an extremely versatile piece of cookware, and can be used to simmer soups, reduce sauces, boil, and steam ingredients among many other common uses. Crafted with premium materials, Le Creuset’s stockpots are built to last regular use and eventually be passed on to the next generation!

These were just some of the most common stockpot uses along with four recipes, but you can always visit our featured recipes or blog for more inspiration!