What to Buy Hosting & Dining Serveware The 11 Best Pasta Bowls of 2023 These bowls are great for more than just your average carbonara. By Jennifer Zyman Updated on February 21, 2023 In This Article Expand Jump to a Section Our top picks Reviews Factors to Consider Our Expertise We independently evaluate all recommended products and services. If you click on links we provide, we may receive compensation. Learn more. Amazon The best pasta bowls can handle more than their namesake suggests. They are a kitchen workhouse that is the perfect halfway point between a plate and a bowl, and they can hold more than just noodles. Frequently, the exaggerated lip provides the ideal safeguard for dishes such as steamed rice topped with fried eggs, way too many sliced scallions, and a hefty dose of your favorite chili crisp. Unlike a bowl, you can plate salads more effectively, and the lip gives diners something to bear against with their fork or spoon for leverage. We also love them whenever we are breading something like chicken cutlets because they are the perfect depth for large, flat ingredients. We spoke with home expert Alisa Barry, founder of Bella Cucina, a prepared foods and housewares brand sold nationwide at retailers such as Food 52 and Neiman Marcus. Barry has fashioned herself an expert on the “essentials for beautiful living” who knows how to set a gorgeous Italian table. She sells everything from artisan oils from Italy to antique charcuterie boards she sources in her travels to her signature stark white dishware she sells. “I like either white or black because I'm more of a non-decorative person,” says Barry. I let the colors of the food and the texture of the food be the source of inspiration. I tend to be a little bit more minimalist in that area.” Barry says she prefers porcelain for the best pasta bowl due to its durability and chip resistance. She looks for pasta bowls with a “wide, shallow edge so you can curl the pasta up or run it up the side a little bit so you can get it on the fork or the spoon a little bit better and then easy access to the mouth.” To find the best pasta bowls for any pasta recipe you can dream up, we scoured the market for attractive and durable styles. These are our favorites for every table Our Top Picks Made in Cookware Entree Bowl at Amazon Jump to Review Casafina Modern Classic Ceramic Dinnerware & Serveware at Amazon Jump to Review West Elm Kaloh Stoneware Pasta Bowl Sets at West Elm Jump to Review East Fork Pottery Everyday Bowl at Eastfork.com Jump to Review Serax x Feast Dinnerware by Yotam Ottolenghi at Food52 Jump to Review Villeroy & Boch Artesano Original Pasta Bowl at Amazon Jump to Review Y YHY Pasta Large Salad Serving Bowls at Amazon Jump to Review Crate and Barrel Marin Dark Gray Pasta and Soup Bowl at Crate & Barrel Jump to Review Fable The Pasta Bowl at Fablehome.co Jump to Review Arhaus Canyon Pasta Bowl at Arhaus.com Jump to Review Made in Cookware Entree Bowl Amazon View On Amazon View On Madeincookware.com Made In Cookware’s Entree Bowl continues the brand’s long tradition of crafting china out of local clay from Stoke-on-Trent, England. Each oven-safe bowl is glazed on the top and the bottom so it won’t scratch tabletops. The wide shallow bowls come in plain white or are rimmed in various colors, such as black, blue, and red. The latter is the perfect choice for those looking for European bistro vibes. Either will be a good choice because these dishwasher, microwave, oven, and freezer-safe beauties are also chip resistant. Price at time of Publish: $109 What’s included: A set of four pasta bowlsMaterial: PorcelainDiameter: 10 inches Casafina Modern Classic Ceramic Dinnerware & Serveware View On Amazon View On Food52 The marshmallow pink Casafina Modern Pacifica pasta bowls add a light and airy vibe to any modern table. For those pink adverse, the lightly speckled finish comes in more colors, such as blueberry, artichoke, seed gray, and more. But these fun Portugal-crafted plates are for the dinner host that doesn’t take themselves too seriously. The plates are microwave and dishwasher-safe, meaning they can add a certain panache to your dinner party or bring a pop of fun to your desk lunch. Casafina also sells complementary products if you want to pair the pasta bowls with matching bread and dinner plates. Price at time of Publish: $20 What’s included: One plateMaterial: CeramicDiameter: 8.75 inches West Elm Kaloh Stoneware Pasta Bowl Sets West Elm View On West Elm West Elms Kaloh Stoneware Pasta Bowl sets are designed by Aaron Probyn, known for his minimal homeware designs. The pasta bowls come in simple white, but there are exciting colorways in the two-tone varieties. These glazed bowls have white stoneware on the interior and a contrasting matte on the exterior in colors such as golden oak, burgundy, anchor gray, and black. The matte finish has a slight texture, making these modern bowls feel organic but elevated. Even though they are handmade, they are durable for everyday use and dishwasher and microwave safe. Price at time of Publish: $52 What’s included: A set of four pasta bowlsMaterial: StonewareDiameter: 7.6 inches East Fork Pottery Everyday Bowl East Fork View On Eastfork.com The East Fork Pottery Everyday Bowl is an exceptional dishwasher and microwave-safe product from this Asheville, North Carolina company. Made with 100% lead-free regional materials, this plate and bowl hybrid is the perfect multi-purpose pasta bowl for anyone’s kitchen and also looks excellent on opening shelving. Co-Founder Connie Matisse says it is the only tableware she’d send with her kids to college. It is a gorgeous piece of glazed ceramic pottery that feels homespun, and since each item is handmade, they are all unique. Look for core colors like Black Mountain Blue Ridge, Eggshell, Panna Cotta, Morel, Amaro, and seasonal colors from time to time. Price at time of Publish: $40 What’s included: One pasta bowlMaterial: CeramicDiameter: 8 inches Serax x Feast Dinnerware by Yotam Ottolenghi View On Food52 The Serax x Feast Dinnerware by Yotam Ottolenghi is the perfect balance of eclectic and colorful. Abstract prints of vegetables like peppers and broccoli add striking contrast and interest to a tablescape. The stoneware plates are safe for the microwave and dishwasher with gentle soaps. You can mix and match numerous whimsical designs or buy a set of pasta bowls. The set is Ottolenghi’s dream of bringing friends and family around a table brought to life with his artist friend Ivo Bisignano. Price at time of Publish: $136 What’s included: A set of four pasta bowlsMaterial: StonewareDiameter: 8.5 inches Villeroy & Boch Artesano Original Pasta Bowl Amazon View On Amazon View On Bloomingdales View On Villeroy-boch.com The Villeroy & Boch Artesano Original Pasta Bowl is the perfect exercise in classic white porcelain simplicity. Villeroy & Boch’s history goes back 270 years, with origins in the Lorraine Provence of France. The years of experience resonate in each piece, both modern in their sensibilities but crafted with old-world traditions since 1748. Today, microwave and dishwasher-safe pasta bowls are made in Germany. They are incredibly durable porcelain and elegant, as is the case with all things made by Villeroy & Boch. Price at time of Publish: $22 What’s included: One pasta bowlMaterial: PorcelainDiameter: 9.25 inches Y YHY Pasta Large Salad Serving Bowls Amazon View On Amazon The Y YHY Pasta Bowls set is wildly popular thanks to its simplicity and affordability. It is the kind of pasta set you can easily replace if you break one, but it is elegant enough to serve dinner for your particular in-laws. It has plenty of rave reviews, with many shoppers saying they’ve replaced their plates with these bowls for day-to-day use. The large low pasta bowls hold everything from salad to soup, and they’re chip-resistant and safe for the microwave, dishwasher, and freezer. Price at time of Publish: $50 What’s included: Set of 6 bowlsMaterial: PorcelainDiameter: 8.5 inches Crate and Barrel Marin Dark Gray Pasta and Soup Bowl Crate and Barrel View On Crate & Barrel The Marin Dark Gray Pasta and Soup Bowl is only one of our favorites from a long list at Crate & Barrel. We chose this pasta bowl because it is a little more organic and rustic versus our more symmetrical white porcelain pieces. These glazed dark gray pasta bowls are made of stoneware in Portugal, and each rim is hand-antiqued by a local artisan. However, they are still safe for the dishwasher, microwave, and even oven-safe up to 300°F. The shiny finish further amplifies the rich dark gray. If you prefer something more minted, there is a more matt black with a lightly speckled finish. Price at time of Publish: $11 What’s included: One pasta bowlMaterial: StonewareDiameter: 9.25 inches Fable The Pasta Bowl Fable View On Fablehome.co Fable’s “The Pasta Bowl” might be one of the only pasta bowls with a 100-day trial. If you don’t like it, send it back. We doubt that will happen with these hand-finished stoneware bowls from Portugal and designed in Vancouver. Since each bowl is handmade, each item is one-of-a-kind. Since it is stoneware made by hand, the Portuguese clay may have inconsistencies among these pasta bowls that occur during firing. The semi-matte glaze, which is lead-free, tends to show those birthmarks a little more. Tyeb stoneware bowls come in cool colors blush pink and seagrass green. They’re also dishwasher-safe, making them a fuss-free addition to the hustle and bustle of dinnertime. Price at time of Publish: $70 What’s included: A set of four pasta bowlsMaterial: StonewareDiameter: 8.5 inches Arhaus Canyon Pasta Bowl Arhaus View On Arhaus.com The Arhaus Canyon Pasta Bowl is made in Portugal, like many others on our list. The Canyon dinnerware and serveware collection almost look like you are staring into the expanse of an actual canyon. Its ombre brown interior is as intricate as the center of a split crystal in its complexity. It’s a gorgeous pasta bowl for the entertainer that values an organic look with polish. The exterior is light brown and glossy, with uneven edges that recall nature. The bowls are dishwasher-safe, and the manufacturer advises caution with temperature shock so the pasta bowls don’t crack. Price at time of Publish: $88 What’s included: A set of four pasta bowlsMaterial: StonewareDiameter: 8.66 inches Mosser Colored Glass Medium Nesting Shallow Bowls Food52 View On Food52 Mosser Colored Glass Medium Nesting Shallow Bowls are a delicate and colorful addition to any tablescape. Although they are not microwave or dishwasher-safe, the colored flint glass is somehow modern and vintage all at once. The bowls are shaped in a mold and finished by actual humans in Cambridge, Ohio so expect some variations amongst bowls. We love how sleek these look on the table and how easily they transition between salad, soups, and pasta. There are various sizes in colors such as pink, jadeite, milk, and Chelsea blue if you want a complete set. Price at time of Publish: $110 What’s included: A set of four pasta bowlsMaterial: Flint glassDiameter: 7.25 inches Factors to Consider Size and shape Size matters regarding pasta bowls because the pasta should be framed nicely in the vessel. The size of the rim makes a difference, so you can keep everything inside the bowl. We like one that balanced perfectly on our hands and keeps everything inside while we eat on the couch. Some can be too large, so look for a pasta bowl around 7 inches. Material Pasta bowls come in many different materials, such as stoneware, porcelain, ceramic, glass, and many forms of plastic mixed with all sorts of things like bamboo. While melamine plates may seem like a good option for families with small kids or clumsy adults, they are not recommended for daily use and repeated spins through the dishwasher. Due to their durability, for everyday use we like more natural materials like porcelain and stoneware. Ease of Use/Cleaning Since pasta bowls hold so much more than pasta, we use ours for everything. That means they constantly need to be washed. The ability to dish wash or microwave a plate is a must. Just make sure you check the manufacturer's specifications to see if the bowl meets your household's needs, but lots of stoneware dinnerware can go in the microwave and dishwasher. Our Expertise Jennifer Zyman is a Senior Commerce Writer for Food & Wine and a former restaurant critic with a culinary school degree and over 15 years of food writing experience. Her work has appeared in Atlanta Magazine, Bon Appetit, Eater Atlanta, The Kitchn, Local Palate, National Geographic, Simply Recipes, Southern Living, and Thrillist. To write this story, she used research and expert advice from Alisa Barry, founder, and owner of Bella Cucina, a housewares and prepared foods company sold at retailers nationwide. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit