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The best stockpots for your big batch cooking projects and winter soups. 5 litre cooking pot
Julia Skinner is a food historian, educator, and founder of Root, an Atlanta-based company focused on fermentation and bringing historic food to the modern world. She has published several books on food and food history, including Our Fermented Lives (2022) and Afternoon Tea (2021).
Nothing is better than curling up with a hearty bowl of stew when the weather is chilly, and we love to spend the winter making comforting soups to keep us warm. Stockpots are a kitchen staple for soup season, but the right one will be a favorite kitchen tool year-round, alongside all your other favorite pots and pans. A stockpot is simply a large, tall pot made for cooking larger batches of food — big enough to hold a chicken carcass for making stock but not so huge it won't fit on the stove.
We use stockpots for just about everything, and our testers ran over 20 pots through their paces with a whole range of dishes beyond stocks and soups. Here are our six favorite stockpots to help you make everything from stew to tamales to pasta or, of course, stock.
A durable, well-constructed pot that's comfortable to carry and easy to use.
We noted this pot can be quite heavy when full due to its large size.
The Misen 8-Quart Stockpot received our highest rating in every category we tested, including design, performance, durability, and ease of cleaning. We loved this pot's flat ergonomic handles, which fit comfortably into our hands and make carrying the pot easier, even when it's full.
It's a great performer, too: The lid fits comfortably on the pot and stays put even during a long simmer session. Its rounded lip makes it easy to pour liquids from, and we love the size, too, which strikes a nice balance between its height and width, making it easy to reach down or see into. Our verdict? This pot can last years or even decades: One of our testers even noted that it performs just as well as their All-Clad stockpots, and it's only a fraction of the price.
Food & Wine / John Somerall
Food & Wine / John Somerall
Food & Wine / John Somerall
This pot is easy to use and clean, and its even heating makes for consistent results.
This durable pan is heavier than some other options and needs to be hand-washed.
We found lots to love about this All-Clad stockpot, from its durable construction to its ease of use. The handles stayed cool during our tests, and the lid stayed put even when boiling. Plus, we found this pot easy to handle and carry despite it being heavier than some other pots we tested. The riveted stainless-steel handles feel luxurious to the touch. It’s also oven- and broiler-safe up to 600 degrees Fahrenheit. It was easy to control the temperature on this pot: We had no problem controlling premature browning and completely avoided burning. Its large capacity easily holds two packages of pasta without overfilling, too, making it the perfect choice for preparing large meals.
Food & Wine / Phoebe Hausser
Food & Wine / Phoebe Hausser
Food & Wine / Phoebe Hausser
This dishwasher-safe stockpot is easy to clean, and we found food sticks minimally during cooking.
Its construction is not as durable as thicker stainless-steel pots.
We love this pot for many reasons, but especially because it includes internal quart and liter measurement markings, which makes getting the right amount of liquid into your recipe a breeze. We love its aesthetics, too, nothing how shiny its finish was. While we adored how it looked on our stoves, we also found it to be a breeze to cook in and clean. The handles always felt secure even with a full pot; it was easy to handle and carry, and food didn't stick. And being able to toss it in the dishwasher after use was a nice bonus, too.
Food & Wine / Katrina Cossey
Food & Wine / Katrina Cossey
Food & Wine / Katrina Cossey
This sturdy pot is incredibly lightweight, and its versatile, beautiful handles are large and easy to hold.
We noticed some discoloration after cooking but without permanent damage to the finish.
This pot is easy to carry and easy to cook in, and its wide, squat design allows you to see and reach inside without burning yourself and to cook food without overcrowding. It fits snugly, which is especially nice for such a light lid. We find that some brands rely on heavier lids to get a snug fit, but this one is just precisely made. We also found it very easy to pour liquid from the pot because it is wider than it is tall. That said, we noted that liquid had less of a distance to drop, so it was more likely to splash out. While it's not dishwasher-safe, this pot is lightweight, well-constructed, and able to stand up to many dishes without ingredients sticking to the bottom.
Food & Wine / Jennifer Zyman
Food & Wine / Jennifer Zyman
This short, wide pot has a large capacity while still being easy to stir and pour.
We found some discoloration after use on an electric coil stove, but this didn't impact performance.
Unlike many larger stockpots, this one is wide and squat rather than being taller than it is wide, and its slightly flared opening is designed to make it easier to pour liquids from the pot. We had great luck caramelizing onions without burning or sticking, and when we needed to cover the pot with the lid, it stayed in place and kept steam in without getting too hot to the touch. This pot is dishwasher-safe, but whether you wash it by hand or in the dishwasher, we were pleasantly surprised by how easy it was to clean and how little food stuck to it.
Food & Wine / Fred Hardy
This versatile, all-in-one set cooks and strains without food sticking to the bottom.
This pot is more difficult to pour from than some of the other models we tested.
We appreciated the thoughtful features of this set, including a handle on the strainer to make it easy to grab, and ergonomic handles on the pot and insert. Though, unlike some other pots we tried, the handles of this pot get hot, so you'll need your potholders at the ready. While the pot is tall, we still found it easy to reach into and stir, and, most importantly, our food didn't stick to the bottom. We also found this set's components are very easy to clean.
Food & Wine / Elena Garcia
Food & Wine / Elena Garcia
We love the durable, easy-to-clean Misen 8 Quart Steel Stockpot for many reasons, including its comfortable handles and its solid construction. This stockpot heats our meals evenly and cleans up easily, making it an incredible value for the money and a delight to use, performing as well as pots that cost hundreds of dollars more.
To find the best stockpots, we tested over 20 pots across a range of price points and rated each for design, performance, durability, and ease of cleaning. We first boiled a full package of pasta using six quarts of water, nothing whether it was able to fit a full package of pasta. We used a thermometer to record the starting temperature of the water and a stopwatch to record how long it took the water to get from the starting temperature to a rolling boil. We then sauteed aromatics in oil, such as in a mirepoix or trinity. We then made a large-batch dish, such as homemade stock, stew, or gumbo, noting any sticking or burning.
Throughout testing, we considered the construction of the pots themselves, including how easy each pot was to lift and pour from and how well the lids fit. We also paid attention to the design of the handles and how comfortable they were to hold. If any utensils scratched the surface of the pot, we noted it. We also took note of the shape of the stock pot — is it wide and squat, or taller and more narrow? Is the opening flared, cupped? We considered all of these design elements and whether they helped or hurt the performance of the pot.
Finally, we washed them according to instructions and asked ourselves how easy or difficult it was to clean the stock pot and remove any stuck-on or burnt food. We looked to see if there were any design features that make cleaning it easier or more difficult (such as internal rivets, small grooves that could collect water or fine particles of food, etc.).
If you're the kind of person who has a lot of high-capacity appliances around because you cook often for a crowd, you want your stockpots to follow suit. You want a pot that has more than enough capacity to contain your cooking projects. Why? Because having a soup or sauce bubbling right up to the edge of the pot increases the likelihood of spillovers and burns. Plus, having a large pot means you'll always have it at the ready for when it's time to cook a big meal. “Get at least an eight-quart pot so you can make enough stock or soup to freeze or give as a gift!" Levinson urges.
Many quality stockpots come in stainless steel, which is durable and will give you many years of use with proper care (including washing it after use and not scratching at it with metal utensils). "My favorite stockpot is made from stainless steel,” says Souper Jenny founder Jenny Levison. “They last forever and are great for even cooking of your soups!" Some budget stockpots come in aluminum or other thinner metals, which are lightweight but not as durable.
Consider what kinds of foods you'll be cooking in your stockpot: According to Cian O'Sullivan, Head Chef for the Gourmet Pantry, a pot with a wider radius will evaporate water more quickly, while a taller, narrower pot has a smaller surface area and will evaporate more slowly. Size and weight also influence how easy the pot is to use: An especially heavy pot can be hard to lift for some cooks, while a lighter option can be raised and poured from more easily.
Stockpots are versatile, large-capacity pots made to hold and cook a lot of food at once and are sometimes also used to can or preserve food. Their high sides mean that they're a great choice for boiling or steaming. While testing, we used them for everything from soup to beans to cooking pasta to ricotta cheese to gumbo to big batches of tamales. Chef Daniela Savone uses them for searing and long, slow cooking, for deep frying, and for a double boiler. Savone's stock pot is also the centerpiece of her family's Sunday tradition of making a slow-simmered tomato sauce.
According to O'Sullivan, stockpots are also a great choice for boiling a holiday ham: Their large size makes it easy to cook the ham fully without the water cooking off before it's done. Speaking of holidays, Levinson says, "A good stock pot and the ingredients to make a hearty bean or lentil soup is one of my favorite gifts to give for the holidays!"
Levinson says, "A stock pot is tall and narrow, and a Dutch oven is shorter and able to fit into an oven." According to chef Paul Ferhibach, "Dutch ovens are cast iron and heavy by definition; they can also be enameled. Their shape is squat, higher than a casserole, but shorter than a stock pot. They are good for roasting or braising. They are also good for frying on the stovetop. Called a Dutch oven because they were used by German settlers to function as an oven in the hearth, they are also great for baking inside when the oven itself and the lid are preheated."
“It all comes down to size,” says O’Sullivan. Ferhibach adds, "By definition, a stockpot is larger than a saucepan. Saucepans are smaller but can be large, up to eight quarts or so, whereas stockpots are typically at least four quarts and can go up to fifty gallons or more. Saucepans usually have steep sides and heavy bottoms to minimize evaporation and provide even heat for precise sauce work. They are often a similar "tall" shape as a stock pot, similarly used for liquid preparation."
Ferhibach looks for sturdy stainless steel stockpots: "The bottom should be heavy — an extra-thick layer of steel and, ideally, copper plating to even out heat, but a solid, thick stainless steel bottom is fine. You want steep, sturdy sides. You also want a lid that fits tightly and is concave on the inside, so when working with a covered pot, the vapors can run back down the sides of the lid into the pot."
In general, it’s also good to compare the size of the pot to the size of your stove burners. For instance, a tall, narrow pot is great for an oven with more narrow burners.
NutriChef 12-Quart Stainless Steel Stock Pot ($68 at Amazon)
Overall, we were impressed with this pot, particularly its tight-fitting lid, but found that the handles got too hot during use, and it was a bit awkward to carry.
Cooks Standard Classic 12-Quart Stainless Steel Stockpot ($50 at Amazon)
We love that this pot is lightweight and dishwasher safe, but its too-small handles can make it difficult to lift and carry.
T-Fal 12-Quart Stainless Steel Oven-Safe Stockpot ($48 at Amazon)
We appreciate having an oven-safe pot. Still, we found the handles awkward to hold when we lifted and drained pasta, and while it's dishwasher-safe, putting it in the dishwasher can cause discoloration and shorten the pot's life.
Tramontina 16-Quart Gourmet Stainless Steel Covered Stock Pot ($90 at Tramontina)
This pot's large size is perfect for even your biggest batches — and it's high quality for the price — but we worry about the pot's shiny finish over the long term, particularly for cooks who put their pots in the dishwasher.
Viking 12-Quart 3-Ply Stainless Steel Stockpot($200 at Amazon)
We liked this high-quality pot but found it more heavy and awkward to pour from than some others we tested.
Farberware 12-Quart Classic Stainless Steel Stockpot ($60 at Amazon)
We like that the handles on this pot stay cool during cooking, but the narrow shape of the pot makes it more difficult to reach in and stir than some others we tested.
Other stockpots we tested had uncomfortable handles, were bulky or awkward to carry or empty, or felt flimsy. The Cuisinart MultiClad Pro Stainless Steel Stockpot, 12 Quart, for example, was awkward to use, and it was more challenging to avoid burning our aromatics than in some other pots we tested. Other pots would be difficult to fit on our stoves or reach into (especially if you're short!) to stir or scrap the bottom. The Cuisinart Chef’s Classic Stainless Steel Stockpot also had this issue. In order to make our list, pots had to be easy to handle, durable, heat evenly, and clean up easily.
vintage kitchen gadgets Dr. Julia Skinner is a culinary instructor, food writer, and food historian with over ten years of experience writing and teaching about food. You can find her work at @rootkitchens, on her website, or in her newsletter. Cian O'Sullivan is the Head Chef for Gourmet Pantry in Kinsale and Carrigaline, Ireland. Jenny Levison is the founder and chief "soup slinger" of Souper Jenny in Atlanta, GA. Paul Ferhibach is a James Beard semi-finalist and executive chef of Big Jones restaurant in Chicago. He is the author of "Midwestern Food a Chef's Guide to the Surprising History of a Great American Cuisine." Daniela Savone, also known as the 'Italian gal with a wooden spoon' is a chef, caterer, and food writer in South Carolina.