French cuisine is renowned for its rich flavors, intricate cooking techniques, and elegant presentations. From the classic Coq au Vin to the age-old Bouillabaisse, this country's culinary traditions offer a wide range of delicious dishes, which can now be found around the world.
French cuisine is ultimately characterized by its emphasis on fresh, high-quality ingredients and the use of classic cooking techniques such as braising, sautéing, and roasting. Le Creuset’s cast iron cookware is handcrafted in France by experienced artisans, offering home cooks and chefs alike unrivaled performance and superior results in the kitchen for years to come.
Whether you are tackling a new cooking technique, or experimenting with French cuisine for the first time, our premium cookware has you covered, delivering superior heat retention and durability. Here are 10 of our favourite French recipes that are sure to become staples in your household.
Our Favourite French Recipes
These recipes offer home cooks the ability to explore French cuisine from the comfort of their own home, preparing delicious meals for the whole family to enjoy. From Ratatouille all the way to Coquilles Saint Jacques, these French staples incorporate a number of rich ingredients and classic cooking techniques.
Provençal Bouillabaisse
Bouillabaisse, a classic seafood stew originating from Marseille, France, gets its name from the Provencal Occitan word bolhabaissa, which means to boil and simmer. Traditional bouillabaisse recipes feature a bony rockfish, however, our recipe refines this age-old French staple to include mussels, clams, calamari, and white fish.
Like with any bouillabaisse, preparing a homemade rouille, a provençal sauce made from fresh spices and herbs, is a key component, delivering a rich blend of flavours. Our rouille incorporates the freshest ingredients, including basil leaves, a small fennel bulb, fresh garlic gloves, and multi-colored cherry tomatoes. The Round Dutch Oven is the ideal piece of cookware for this stew, locking in heat and moisture until the rouille simmers to perfection.
Take your guests on a trip to the coast of Marseille with our Provençal Bouillabaisse and elevate traditional meal preparation. This recipe can be prepared in under two hours, serving up to four people at a time, making it a great option when hosting friends and family.
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Ratatouille
Ratatouille is a French Provençal dish originating from Nice, France, featuring the perfect blend of stewed vegetables. Our Ratatouille recipe is everything you need in a side dish: Equally hearty as it is delicious, this French staple makes for a wonderful addition to any dinner table.
Our Ratatouille recipe combines green and yellow zucchini with thinly sliced peppers, tomatoes, and eggplants, ensuring your dish will not be lacking in texture or flavour. The Heritage Stoneware Square Dish creates the ideal environment for stewing the vegetables, locking in moisture thanks to its tight-fitting lid to evenly distribute heat. Your knife skills will be on display in this recipe as it is crucial to thinly slice the vegetables before arranging them in the casserole.
Whether you are looking to complement a main course, or simply want a new recipe to get your weekly servings of veggies, this Ratatouille recipe delivers. Taking less than an hour to prepare, this French classic serves up to six portions at a time, offering a family-friendly alternative to everyday meal preparation.
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Coquilles Saint Jacques
Coquilles Saint Jacques dates all the way back to the 19th century and remains one of France’s most iconic dishes today. Typically, Coquilles Saint Jacques recipes feature scallops in a wine and cream sauce before being topped with your preference of grated cheese. The dish is then browned under a broiler, giving the Coquilles Saint Jacques their distinctive taste.
Our Coquilles Saint Jacques recipe is no different, incorporating medium sea scallops, gourmet mushrooms, a white wine and heavy cream sauce, as well as freshly grated Comté cheese. The Oval Au Gratin Dish is perfectly suited for any recipe that requires a crisp topping, exposing the Coquilles Saint Jacques to a consistent heat source until the cheese is bubbling over with flavour.
This Coquilles Saint Jacques recipe is ideal for the seafood lover in the house, offering a main course that is as aesthetically pleasing as it is delicious. Be sure to grab fresh scallops at the local fish market before tackling this French classic for the best results!
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Pain Perdu
Our Pain Perdu recipe, commonly known as French Toast or Pain Doré, makes for a delicious addition to any breakfast or brunch spread. This recipe combines buttery brioche with blueberries, raspberries, dried currants, and vanilla extract, ensuring your French Toast will not be lacking in flavour.
The Oval Au Gratin Dish comes equipped with a wide, shallow baking surface, making it ideal for this recipe. This versatile piece of cookware has been carefully crafted to expose the brioche to a consistent heat source until the custard fully sets thanks to its heat-retaining cast iron construction.
Better yet, our Pain Perdu recipe can be served directly out of the piece of bakeware it was prepared in, offering an authentic French presentation. Whether you are hosting a Sunday brunch with friends, or simply want to prepare a fun breakfast alongside the family, this Pain Perdu recipe is a must.
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Duck Terrine
Dating back to the Middle Ages, classic Terrine dishes are defined by the layering of differing ingredients, flavours, and textures. Our Duck Terrine dish is a great way to elevate weekend hosting with a delicious, eye-catching centerpiece for any dinner table.
As its name suggests, duck is the star ingredient of this dish, however, the combination of prosciutto, pistachios, apricots, and figs give this terrine its unique flavour profile. Our Pâté Terrine is the only piece of cookware you’ll need to prepare terrine dishes of all sizes, featuring a tight-fitting lid and high walls. This versatile dish offers superior heat retention and heat distribution, cooking the duck evenly, and can even be used to serve this show-stopping main course.
Impress your guests with your own take on Duck Terrine this weekend and step up your hosting game! Be sure to serve this French recipe with chopped pistachios, gherkins and Dijon mustard for an extra boost of flavour.
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Coq au Vin Mousseux
While various legends trace Coq au Vin recipes all the way back to ancient Gaul and Julius Caesar, it was not until the 20th century that this French classic became a mainstay in households across the country. As its name suggests, this recipe usually consists of braised chicken in red burgundy wine, lardons, mushrooms, and garlic.
Our take on Coq au Vin slightly differs from traditional recipes, opting to use two cups of sparkling wine instead of red wine – hence the name Coq au Vin Mousseux. The Dutch Oven is the only piece of cookware you’ll need for this recipe, searing the chicken before adding the parsnips and onions into the pot and cooking them in the sparkling wine.
This versatile piece of cookware locks in heat and moisture thanks to its tight-fitting lid and thick enamelled cast iron walls, ensuring the chicken cooks evenly and absorbs all the rich flavours within the pot. Our Coq Au Vin Mousseux is among the most iconic one-pot Dutch Oven recipes, offering a hearty meal for the whole family, or when holiday hosting.
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Pear Clafouti
Clafoutis originates from the Limousin region of France, offering home cooks the perfect way to cap off any meal with a delicious dessert. While traditional clafouti recipes feature black cherries, a number of variations of this dish exist today. Our clafouti recipe transforms this French staple, combining fresh pears, vanilla extract, and maple syrup.
The Oval Au Gratin Dish simplifies the preparation of this French recipe, exposing the batter to a consistent heat source, without burning the ingredients. Its wide, shallow baking surface is perfect for arranging the pears neatly along the base and baking them until golden brown and a crisp topping is achieved.
Our Pear Clafouti recipe can be made year-round, but is particularly ideal between the months of August and October when pears are in season. This recipe will leave your kitchen smelling like a French bakery, serving up to four portions at a time.
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Beet Tart Tatin
The iconic tart tatin was allegedly created in the 19th century by the Tatin Sisters (Demoiselles), Caroline and Stephanie Tatin, who were running a restaurant in the Loire Valley approximately 200 km south of Paris, France. Today, this famous French “upside-down" caramelized apple tart is commonly found on dessert menus across the country.
While traditional tart tatin recipes combine fruit and custard, our Beet Tart Tatin offers a unique twist on this French staple, featuring beet greens, fresh goat cheese, and a delicious puff pastry. The Iron Handle Skillet is ideal for this recipe, ensuring the apple cider and balsamic vinegar simmer to perfection.
When the mixture is thick and syrupy, the next step is baking the puff pastry until puffed and golden. Finish by topping off this French recipe with goat cheese, olive oil, and honey! This Beet Tart Tatin recipe can be used to complement main courses of all sizes, offering a much-needed sweet component at the dinner table.
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French Onion Soup
What better way to explore French culture and cuisine than with the classic French Onion Soup? Originating in Paris, France in the 18th century, French Onion Soup was first made by combining beef broth and caramelized onions. Today, this recipe has undergone some slight transformations.
Our French Onion Soup refines this traditional recipe, featuring six slices of freshly-baked baguette as well as shredded Gruyère cheese. The baguette slices are ultimately there to contrast the broth, while the cheese blends seamlessly with the beef stock, onions, and fresh herbs.
The Dutch Oven and slowly-simmered soup recipes are a winning combination, ensuring all the rich flavours come to the fore. The end result will be a warm onion-filled beef stock with a crispy cheese top and a crouton lid. Our French Onion Soup recipe can be served as an appetizer, or on its own, serving up to six people in under two hours.
Get the recipeExplore French Cuisine with Le Creuset
Take a trip to France and explore one of the world’s finest culinary traditions from the comfort of your own home with our French staples. These French recipes offer home cooks and chefs alike the ability to shake up every day meal preparation with new ingredients and flavours, as well as age-old cooking techniques.
After all, no recipe repertoire is complete without a few French classics. From the Coq au Vin Mousseux to our very own take on Coquilles Saint Jacques, these recipes have all the makings to become a family-favorite in your household for years to come. Our cast iron cookware simplifies the preparation of these recipes, delivering superior heat retention and even heat distribution at every turn.
These were just 10 of our favourite French staples, but for more inspiration, visit our full list of French recipes and our blog before you get cooking!
