The Best Soup Bowls for Every Kind of Soup

These bowls suit any soup needs, whether it’s gazpacho, ramen, or minestrone.

We independently evaluate all recommended products and services. If you click on links we provide, we may receive compensation.Learn more.

鸡和米饭汤倒进白色的碗。

Serious Eats / Tim Chin

Great soups can be comforting, hearty, complex, and delicious—and pairing them with a nice soup bowl makes them even better. Whether it’s an appetizer, side, or entree, there’s a bowl out there in the right shape, size, and material to make your meal pop. But it’s not just about function: we created a list of our favorite soup bowls for their usability as well as their aesthetics.

The Criteria: What to Look for in a Soup Bowl

Picking out the perfect soup bowl is easier when you know how different shapes and materials can impact the soup experience. This list can help you narrow down exactly what you’re looking for.

  • Material:Both stoneware and porcelain are types of ceramics, but porcelain undergoes vitrification when it’s fired at high temperatures, meaning that the material itself turns partially into glass. Stoneware excels at heat retention, while porcelain is more durable and can be made into thinner bowls that are lighter in weight. Both tend to be microwave-, dishwasher-, and oven-safe to varying temperatures.
  • Size:Larger bowls can accommodate more soup, but too big of a bowl will cause the soup to spread out and lose heat quicker. It’s good to have a few size options on hand for when you’re serving soup as a side or an entree.
  • Height and width:Deeper, narrow bowls create more thermal mass and can help soup retain more heat. A shallow, wider bowl helps thicker stews and blended soups cool down quickly so they’re easier to eat shortly after being served.
  • Straight or rounded sides:Bowls with straighter sides can cut down on sloshing but gently sloped rounded sides can help brothier soups give off more of their aromatics (but they're also more spillable).
  • Raised bowls:Bowls with a taller foot bring the soup closer to the diner, which is ideal for soups like ramen or pho.
  • A Beautiful, Yet Sturdy Stoneware Option

    Le Creuset Stoneware Set of 4 Soup Bowls

    Le Creuset Stoneware Set of 4 Soup Bowls

    Amazon

    This stunning blue stoneware set is nicely sized at a 22-ounce capacity and comes with a ringing endorsement for their durability from our commerce editor,Riddley Gemperlein-Schirm. “I've used a set of Le Creuset’s stoneware mugs daily for about two years now and have accidentally dropped them in the sink mid-washing and knocked them over many a time. They still look like new!” she says. The bowls feature the three concentric rings that Le Creuset showcases on their Dutch oven lids and also come in teal and white.

  • An Elegant Porcelain Set

    Dansk Cafe Blanc Strip Porcelain Dinnerware Rimmed Soup Bowl

    Dansk Cafe Blanc Dinnerware

    Food52

    Our associate commerce editor,Grace Kelly, really likes these smaller porcelain bowls (around 16 ounces) from Dansk: “Instead of being unwieldy, they are dainty and elegant, and the flat rims make them easy to grasp and move. Their decoration—simple blue lines that wrap around the white porcelain edge—makes dinner on a Tuesday night at my home in the 'burbs feel like dinner on Friday night in a Paris bistro.” While Grace’s favorite bowls are limited to a full set, Food52 also offers一个slightly different versionwith a narrower rim for sale individually.

  • An Oversized Porcelain Everyday Bowl

    本土知识EA 365+ 7.5-inch Bowl

    本土知识EA 365+ 7.5-inch Bowl

    本土知识EA

    “We eat a lot of dinners on the couch, so these gigantic bowls are great for avoiding spills when eating soups or salads,” says our commerce writer,Jesse Raub. With an extra-large capacity of around 45 ounces, these bowls are big enough to accommodate any meal size, and because they’re made with feldspar porcelain, they’re extremely durable and lightweight.

  • A Handmade Stoneware Option

    East Fork Pottery Soup Bowl

    East Fork Pottery Soup Bowl

    East Fork

    East Fork makes great-looking dinnerware, but we also love the more angular slope of their soup bowl. Its narrow bottom flares out to a wide brim, holding 28 ounces, which helps the soup hold temperature near the base while the top layer cools slightly quicker for folks eager to dig in. They come in six core colors and East Fork also offers limited edition seasonal tones, like Butter and Piglet.

    Continue to 5 of 13 below.
  • A Flat-Bottomed, Handmade Piece

    Haand Sharing Bowl

    Haand Sharing Bowl

    Haand

    Haand’s slightly irregular shape is gorgeous, and we love the flat bottom of their sharing bowl. At 38 ounces, it’s a larger piece, and the sturdiness of the flat bottom helps keep it steady for meal-sized brothy soups (think: pho or ramen). It can also double as a serving bowl.

  • A Deep, Ceramic Ramen Set

    Casafina Modern Classic Ceramic Dinnerware & Serveware

    Casafina Modern Pacifica Dinnerware

    Amazon

    These ramen bowls from Casafina are deep, come up to straight-sided walls by the lip, and hold 33 ounces—perfect for their namesake soup. They’re also slightly elevated. Handcrafted in Portugal, they come in three different colors and are dishwasher- and microwave-safe. There’s also a 21-ounce soup bowl with straighter sides in this collection that’s available in seven different colors, while the ramen bowls come in four.

  • A Set Sized for Sides

    Made In Side Bowls

    Made In Side Bowls

    Made In

    When soup isn’t the main meal, these high-temp fired porcelain bowls from Made In are perfectly sized at around 18 ounces. With a lightly flared lip for easy carrying, they’re also oven-safe up to 580ºF. Available in white or with a navy, red, or black bistro stripe, they’re sturdy, versatile, and have classic good looks.

  • A Smaller Stoneware Set

    Fable Breakfast Bowls

    Fable Breakfast Bowls

    Fable

    With beautiful dynamic glazes (like Speckled White, Blush Pink, and Beachgrass Green), these stoneware bowls from Fable are eye-catching and practical. With a 20-ounce capacity, they’re great for serving soups during a multi-course meal or perfect for oatmeal (or a large serving of ice cream). Made in Portugal, they’re also oven-safe up to 450ºF.

    Continue to 9 of 13 below.
  • A Straight-Sided Set

    Our Place Demi Bowls

    Our Place Demi Bowls

    Our Place

    This set from Our Place has vertical walls, making it versatile for soups, cereal, snacks, and just about anything else you can think of with their near 16-ounce capacity. They come in a number of vibrant colors, too, making them a great option for people looking to brighten up their decor.

  • An Affordable Porcelain Set

    AnBnCn 22-ounce Stackable Soup Bowls

    AnBnCn 22-ounce Stackable Soup Bowls

    Amazon

    比陶瓷瓷更加耐用,这lows for thinner bowls that can be lighter without sacrificing their strength. This set from AnBnCn is also extremely affordable at $23 for a set of six. We like the 22-ounce size for their versatility, but they also come in 40-, 65-, and 75-ounce sizes for folks who want to go big!

  • An Affordable Stoneware Set

    Open Kitchen by Williams Sonoma Matte Coupe Bowls

    Open Kitchen by Williams Sonoma Matte Coupe Bowls

    Williams Sonoma

    This low-cost stoneware set from Williams Sonoma comes in a demi-matte glaze, is microwave- and dishwasher-safe, and is rated for commercial use, which means they’re extra durable and designed for use in busy restaurants. They’re great for stocking up for dinner parties, and match with awhole collectionif you’re looking for more than just bowls.

  • A Wide Ceramic Set

    Year & Day Big Bowls

    Year & Day Big Bowls

    Year & Day

    The Big Bowls from Year & Day are short and wide, almost like a cross between a soup bowl and apasta bowl. They’re also dishwasher-, microwave-, freezer-, and oven-safe up to 480ºF.

    Continue to 13 of 13 below.
  • A Smaller, Handmade Option

    Jono Pandolfi Coupe Cereal Bowl

    Jono Pandolfi Coupe Cereal Bowl

    Jono Pandolfi

    These bowls are on the smaller side (they’re 16 ounces) of our picks, but we can’t resist their beautiful, handmade quality. Their natural clay sides are great at keeping soups hot or cold, and their size is perfect for appetizer soups (think: chilledgazpachoon a blistering hot summer day). Even with their natural exterior, all of Jono Pandolfi’s dinnerware is microwave- and dishwasher-safe.

FAQs

什么是最好的类型的碗汤保暖吗?

Ceramic and porcelain are great at absorbing heat, which can then help insulate the soups you serve. At the same time, bowl shape can also regulate temperature: narrower bowls with higher sides can create more thermal mass, insulating the soup longer than wider, shallower bowls.

What shape should a soup bowl be?

Different-shaped soup bowls serve different purposes: wide and shallow bowls can help thick stews and pureed soups cool down easier, while bowls with high sides help brothy soups from spilling over the edge while moving them. There’s no right or wrong shape for a soup bowl, however, as long as it’s comfortable to hold, easy to eat from, and it doesn’t hurt if it’s easy on the eyes, too.

What is the best size for a soup bowl?

Soup bowls come in many different sizes, and we have recommendations from 18 up to 45 ounces. Brothy soups intended to be a main tend to fit more comfortably in bowls between 30 and 40 ounces, while most of our other recommendations are in the 20- to 30-ounce range for their versatility.