10 Best Soup Bowls, Plus Tips on How to Choose the Right One
From homemade chicken noodle to canned tomato to take-out hot and sour, this comforting meal is made more enticing when it's served in a beautiful soup bowl.
Whether you're equipping a new home, replacing the chipped bowls in your cabinet or finally upgrading the dinnerware you used in your first apartment, you'll want a set of soup bowls that keep soup hot, make it easy to spoon up every last drop, and look good on the kitchen or dining room table.
Soup bowls may seem simple, but they come in a variety of materials, shapes and sizes. Here are the things to consider when you're shopping, plus our picks for the best soup bowls to stack in your cabinet.
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What to Look for in a Soup Bowl
Material: If you like to set an elegant table when you're entertaining, consider china or porcelain bowls. They may be delicate-looking, but they're not easily chipped or cracked. Stoneware is great for everyday use, and even for hosting company, if you prefer a casual or rustic aesthetic. It's not easily broken or chipped, and best of all, it holds in heat, making it the ideal material for soup. Choose glazed pieces because they won't absorb water and are resistant to breakage.
Melamine, a lightweight and break-resistant plastic, is probably not your best bet for soups, particularly since it can't be microwaved. But you might want to consider a few melamine bowls for serving cold soups in the backyard. Corelle is made of a type of glass that's virtually indestructible; it's unlikely to shatter even when it bounces on a hard tile kitchen or patio floor. Consider it for everyday meals, especially if there are children in the household.
Size and Capacity: One size doesn't fit all. A portion of soup that's served as a first course or an accompaniment to a sandwich or salad measures a cup, maybe a cup and a half (eight to 12 ounces). However, a hearty chowder that's offered as a main course is a substantial two or even three cups (16 to 24 ounces). What types of soup your family likes and whether you typically enjoy them as an appetizer or entrée will affect what size bowls you need. After you ladle in soup, there should be some headroom in the bowl so the soup doesn't slosh when you carry it to the table, but not so much room that when your family sits down to eat, they ask, "Where's the rest?"
Shape: We recommend sloped-sided bowls for two reasons. First of all, soup slides down the side and pools in the center, so it's easy to scoop up the last delectable spoonfuls. Secondly, sloped bowls nest into each other and take up less precious space in your cabinets. Deeper bowls keep soup hot longer than wide shallow bowls, making them preferable for most occasions, and particularly for soups that are a meal in themselves and will take some time to polish off.
Care and Maintenance: Look for bowls that can be safely cleaned in the dishwasher. If you don't have a dishwasher or prefer to hand-wash your dishes, avoid any bowls with detailing that can trap soup if it spills or splashes and require elbow grease to get spotless. As there's a good chance that at some point you'll reheat soup, buy bowls that can be safely used in the microwave.
This set of porcelain bowls from Made In Cookware checks all the boxes. With a capacity of two cups, they're not too big and not too small. They have a beautiful, smooth finish that comes in all white or with an accent ring of red or blue, so they look good regardless of the decor or the occasion. The sides slope down so your spoon easily scoops up all the soup.
As they're deeper than wide, the Made In holds in heat, eliminating any risk that your minestrone cools off before it gets to the table. But if someone's late to dinner, the bowls can be popped in the microwave to warm up the soup. If you want to crisp up a crouton or melt cheese on top of a chowder, you can run the bowls under the broiler. Lastly, they're easy to care for as they can be cleaned in the dishwasher and stack neatly on a shelf.
For an attractive bowl with a rock bottom price that's made of stoneware, not glass or plastic, you can't beat this classic from Target. The Threshold Westfield is very generously sized (three cups!), which makes it perfect for hearty soups, like beef barley or Italian wedding soup packed with tortellini and meatballs, or stews, chilis and gumbos. These workhorses are microwave- and dishwasher-safe.
Handles are convenient for minimizing splashes. This crock has a homey design for family dinners, but because it's made of porcelain, it looks dressy enough for company. The stats: two and a half cups capacity, microwave-safe and dishwasher-safe. If you love the informality of soup crocks, see our story The Best Crocks for Soup Season for more choices.
The Best Crocks for Soup Season
Serve up French onion soup and game-day chili in fall style with these top-rated soup crocks.
Tired of all the whites, grays and beiges? For a burst of color, go for the Fiesta Gusto, which comes in just about every bright color you can think of. It packs a punch when it comes to size as well, accommodating three and a half cups. In addition to the microwave and the dishwasher, you can put these bowls in the oven, which is handy for melting cheese on top of onion soup or baking a crust on chicken pot pie.
For dinner parties or holiday feasts, we recommend the Aspen Rimmed Porcelain Low Bowl that will look elegant on a formal table. As it only holds a cup and a half, it's the right size for a first course that will precede a roast and a gazillion sides, followed by a plethora of pies and cakes. Use it for a lighter soup like chicken consommé or a shrimp bisque. When you're not entertaining, the Aspen is a great shape for risotto or fettuccine Bolognese. If a guest wants their soup hotter, you can pop the bowl in the microwave. Cleanup is easy, as it can go in the dishwasher.
The Year & Day Small Bowl Set features a matte finish and is available in soft colors like pastel pink, pale gray and off white that are very on trend today. If you prefer a darker palette, it's also available in plum and black. Think of this bowl as "mama bear" sized; its two and a half cup capacity is sufficient for a generous but not giant serving. If you prefer larger portions, the company also offers Big Bowls. It may look soft, but this bowl is strong enough to stand up to the microwave and the dishwasher, and even the oven up to 480°F.
Sometimes, basics are better. For serving kids alphabet soup or cream of chicken at the kitchen counter, your best bet is this simply shaped, pure white go-with-everything bowl. With a three-cup capacity, it's big enough to hold a main course serving. Even though Corelle is made of glass, it's break-resistant and, as you would expect, it can go in the microwave or the dishwasher.
The Best Soup Spoons for Bouillons, Broths and Beyond
A great soup deserves a proper spoon. Luckily, there are many options to ensure you're slurping your broths and chowders with the right utensil.
These days, plastic doesn't have to look like, well, plastic. Thanks to a muted finish and contrasting rim, Gibson's melamine bowl mimics stoneware. It's the ideal choice for outdoor use as it's lightweight and unbreakable. You can't put it in the microwave, so you'll have to warm up the soup in another container. But perhaps when the weather's warm, cold soups like gazpacho and vichyssoise will be on the menu. You can ladle in a bit more than three cups. This bowl comes in blue, red, green and teal and is top-rack dishwasher-safe.
Go ahead and order in ramen, pho or wonton soup. Then serve it in this Asian-styled bowl and you'll feel like you're eating out. It's made of porcelain and has two holes that you can slip a pair of chopsticks (included) into. At three cups, it's plenty big and deep, so it keeps the broth hot as you slurp your noodles. The bowl is dishwasher-, microwave- and oven-safe up to 400°F.
If you love the look of pottery, this bowl is among the most aesthetically pleasing you can buy. East Fork is made in North Carolina and offered in seven nature-inspired colors ranging from eggshell to blue heron to black mountain, plus rotating seasonal colors; all have flecks in the glaze that enhance their rustic look. As it's nice and deep and holds three and a half cups, this bowl keeps a substantial portion of navy bean or seafood chowder piping hot. And yes, it's microwavable and machine-washable.
