Le Creuset’s Newest Color Is Bringing Soft Spring to the Kitchen

You may have already discovered that one of the top trends this spring is all things coziness and serene energy. Soft, dreamy looks are already showing up in living rooms, bathrooms, and bedrooms, so why not extend that aesthetic to the kitchen? The trendsetters at Le Creuset are already on top of it with their newest spring color, Shallot. The subtle, lavender hue (reminiscent of the allium for which it is named) is sophisticated and fits with a wide range of kitchen styles, from country and cottage-style kitchens to French-inspired and coastal kitchens.

If current color trends are telling us anything, it’s that neutrals are no longer boring or blasé. In fact, muted hues and soothing pastels are on an upward trend in both homes and fashion magazines.

“The sophistication and complexity of the new neutrals have wide appeal for something fresh and different—a true antidote to the expected,” said Benjamin Moore color expert Andrea Magno in a statement. “These colors look flawless while accentuating their subtleties in various lighting conditions. The result is understated while revealing color know-how.”

Shallot joins a line of sophisticated neutrals from Le Creuset that includes their traditional white, a creamy beige (Meringue), and a chameleon-like soft gray shade (Oyster) that goes with everything from bright orange (Nectar) to moody blue (Matte Navy). If you’re tempted by the newest neutral, we’ve got a few recommendations for which pieces to pick.

If you can only choose one Le Creuset pan to splurge on, let it be a Dutch oven. The versatile vessel can braise, stew, simmer, bake, and serve with panache—and it is easy to clean when the meal is over. Bake up a batch of sourdough bread, or make a pot of one-pot pasta. You can even use it to deep fry doughnuts or fried chicken. The more you use your Dutch oven, the more you will find that it becomes your go-to pan for every meal.

Next, we’d recommend an underutilized powerhouse in the kitchen: a braiser. A braiser is essentially a squat Dutch oven that’s perfect for braising meats or vegetables (as the name suggests), but also great for sautéing, simmering, browning, steaming, or shallow frying. It has a larger surface area than most Dutch ovens, which means less steam when searing meats and fewer batches when frying or browning. If you do a lot of baking, the Le Creuset braiser pan ($290, Le Creuset) may also come in handy for making biscuits, cinnamon rolls, focaccia bread, and other baked goods.  

Another kitchen essential is a high-quality roasting pan. Whether you use it to roast chicken, build an epic lasagna, or cook up a medley of roasted vegetables, you’ll want a pan that heats up quickly, retains its heat, and is tall enough to capture liquids. Made from enameled cast iron, the Le Creuset roaster ($305, Le Creuset) gives you even heat distribution and a surface than won’t rust or require seasoning. It’s also pretty enough to put directly on the table (and dishwasher safe).

Finally, with the spring and summer weather comes an abundance of fruits just begging to be baked into a tart, pie, or cobbler. If you have ever attempted to make a tarte tatin, you know the key is using the proper pan—usually a cast iron skillet. A good pan for the task, like Le Creuset’s tarte tatin pan ($175, Le Creuset) should be heavy-bottomed and have a handle that can withstand the heat of the oven and deliver an elegant pastry. Bonus points if the pan has handles on both sides to allow for easy flipping.

Le Creuset’s new Shallot color collection is available exclusively at Le Creuset and Williams Sonoma. Like all Le Creuset colors, it’s designed to be mixed and matched with other tones, so you never need to worry about your cookware going out of style.