Skip to main content

The Manual may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site.

10 Best Stockpots for Sauces, Soups, Stocks, and More

When it comes to cooking, some recipes demand bigger and better equipment. One essential piece of cooking gear that we often overlook when we’re shopping for the best cookware sets is a great stockpot. That’s because, many times, a sizable stockpot isn’t included in a cookware set. If they are included, the largest they usually come in is around 8 quarts.

Stockpots are designed to take on big jobs that require a lot of volume. If you’re making a big batch of soup, stock, or sauce you’ll be needing to add a lot of ingredients. Another reason stockpots come in handy is the ability to blend hot ingredients inside the pots themselves thanks to their tall sides. All you need is a good immersion blender and you’re set. Blending up sauces and soups this way saves a ton of time on prep and clean-up since you don’t have to transfer ingredients between the pot and the blender or food processor.

A great stockpot is used for more than making stock, soup, or sauce. They’re also crucial for hosting a seafood or crawfish boil, brining and frying a turkey at Thanksgiving, or cooking a boatload of pasta. Now that you’re convinced of your need for a great stockpot, here are the best ones we found online.

Related Guides

Best Small Capacity Stockpot: Sky Light Stainless Steel Stockpot with Glass Lid

Technically, a pot of this size is considered a saucepan. But, we won’t split hairs over semantics. This small stockpot is great if you like making only as much as you need. It boasts a 3-ply construction base with a layer of aluminum enclosed within two layers of stainless steel. This design makes this pot very durable and makes for quick heating.

  • Size: 3.5-Quart

Best Mid-Sized Stockpot: KitchenAid 5-Ply Clad Polished Stainless Steel Stockpot with Lid

This 8-qt stockpot from KitchenAid is designed with beauty and durability in mind. It’s constructed with not one, but three layers of aluminum between two sheets of stainless steel delivering optimum temperature control. The black, riveted stainless steel handles provide strength and elegance. The inner walls of the pot also have measurement levels making for more accurate in-pot cooking.

  • Size: 8-Quart

Best Large Capacity Stockpot: Tramontina Gourmet Stainless Steel Covered Stockpot

Tramontana is a name that is trusted by home and professional kitchens worldwide. This 12-qt workhorse is oven-safe up to 500 degrees and is backed by a lifetime warranty. It’s compatible with all cooktops and is also certified by the NSF.

  • Size: 20-Quart

Best for Crawfish Boil: Bayou Classic Stainless Steel Stockpot with Basket

If you’re thinking of hosting a crawfish or seafood boil, you’re going to need to level up your stockpot game. Specifically, you’ll need a very big one with a steamer basket. This Choice 80-qt aluminum stock pot will do the trick. This big daddy will also come in handy if you’re thinking of frying a turkey next thanksgiving.

  • Size: 62-Quart

Best Commercial Grade Stockpot: Vigor Heavy-Duty Stainless Steel Aluminum-Clad Stockpot with Cover

Whether you own your own catering company or operate a community soup kitchen out of your backyard, there are about 100 different reasons you might need this 100-qt Stockpot from Vigor. Constructed of 20 gauge stainless steel with a heavy-duty, aluminum-clad bottom this beast is compatible with any stovetop and will withstand any job.

  • Size: 100-Quart

Best Value StockPot: Imusa Stainless Steel Stock Pot with Lid

If you are in need of a simple, no-frill pot for making your delicious homemade stocks, look no further. This 12-qt stockpot from Imusa is one pure layer of stainless steel. It gets the job done and gives you a lot of cooking volume at a great price.

  • Size: 12-Quart

Best High-End Stockpot: Mauviel M’Heritage Copper Stock Pot with Tin Interior

We all know the French don’t mess around when it comes to cooking. That’s why in many authentic French restaurants, you’ll find copper pots and pans. Copper conducts heat better than any other metal. Also, don’t worry about the rumors that copper can leach into our food and make you sick. Any reputable copper cookware brand ( Mauviel especially) includes a tin lining between the copper and the food to keep you safe. A copper pot is no doubt expensive, but it’s a thing of beauty. With the proper care, it can become a family heirloom.

  • Size: 11.7-Quart

Best Nonstick Stockpot: T-fal Total Nonstick  Stockpot

Since most of the time you’re cooking with wet ingredients when it comes to a stockpot, there isn’t a real need for it to be nonstick. However, there are times when you need to sear meats or fry a bit of garlic before making your dish. In these cases, a nonstick stockpot can come in handy. Plus, they’re always easier to clean. This T-fal B36262 12-Qt Total Nonstick Stockpot is a go-to for nonstick cooking.

  • Size: 12-Quart

Most Colorful Stockpot: The Magical Kitchen Iridescent Rainbow Stock Pot With Handles & Glass Lid

If a regular stainless steel stockpot is just too sterile for your taste, then this one from The Magical Kitchen is sure to liven things up. This stockpot is made purely from stainless steel and titanium and is free of any coatings or paint. It works on any stovetop and comes with a one-month satisfaction guarantee from the manufacturer.

  • Size: 8-Quart

Best Space Saving Stockpot: Calphalon Premier Space-Saving Stainless Steel Stockpot with Cover

One downfall of stockpots is that they take up a lot of cabinet space and can be hard to store with the rest of your cookware. This 8-qt Premier Space-Saving Stainless Steel Stockpot solves that problem. This stockpot is one of a three-part space-saving cooking set from Calphalon (also includes a saute pan and saucepan) that nest within one another to save up to 30% of your cabinet space. Keep in mind that all three share the same lid. So if you need to do covered cooking on more than one piece, you’ll need to improvise.

  • Size: 8-Quart

Editors' Recommendations

Expert pitmasters reveal their top tips to make smoked brisket
Expert pitmasters shows us how to make smoked brisket
hill country barbecue market brisket 3

No one can argue that smoked meat is one of the great joys in life. If someone does, immediately unfriend them — they are not worthy of your time. Kidding, but only kind of. And while we love all pieces of smoked meat, from sausages to ribs and beyond, there’s something truly special about biting into a perfect piece of brisket, with its pink smoke ring, flavorful bark, and juicy meat that is just the right texture. While we’ve cooked many briskets in the oven in our day, smoked brisket is a much bigger undertaking, especially if you’re new to the backyard barbecue game.

New York City barbecue has been coming into its own during the past decade, which can be seen in the city’s many meaty festivals that take place every year. (Don't believe us? Check out this episode of Beards, Booze, and Bacon with Arrogant Swine's Tyson Ho.) One such event, Brisket King NYC, which has been going on for over ten years and draws pitmasters from near and far to compete for the best brisket in the city. This year, top pitmasters will be throwing down for the title on April 26, 2023, in what is sure to be a meat-tastic day.

Read more
Bubbly? Full-bodied and red? Zesty and white? Your favorite wine types, explained
All the primary types of wine (and everything you need to know about them)
Glasses of different kinds of wine

Trying to understand everything about wine all at once is an impossible endeavor. Wine is a beautifully complicated, ever-changing quiddity, and even the most decorated and prestigious wine experts in the world often find themselves confounded by its constant little surprises.
That isn't to say that, if you care to, you shouldn't become educated on the subject of wine. It's a hobby and a passion that's tremendously fun to pursue, and there's much to learn on the matter.
If you find yourself in the beginning stages of your wine education, just as in everything, you'll want to start with the basics. It's possible that up until now, you haven't put much thought into the several different kinds of wine there are, except for, say, red and white. But while there are obviously exceptions within every hard and fast rule, for the most part, wine can be broken down into roughly nine categories. Here we'll take a minute to break those categories down, explain what they mean, which wines fall into them, and, our favorite - how to drink those wines.

Sparkling wine

Read more
This NYC restaurant’s $518, 19-course tasting menu of Chinese cuisine is amazing
Chef Guo in New York is a once-in-a-lifetime experience and a feast for the senses and the palate
Chef Guo food.

Butterfly Falls in Love with the Flower.

Step inside the restaurant Chef Guo, and the first thing you'll be greeted with is a majestic model of a ginko tree, the national tree of China, complete with brightly colored golden leaves. The tree cascades over the dining room, a space filled with Chinese calligraphy on the walls and regal Indonesian Zi Tan rosewood chairs. Soft and pleasant Chinese instrumental music plays in the background, an oasis in an otherwise hectic Midtown Manhattan.

Read more