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Whether you’re a fresh-out-of-college grad stocking your first apartment, a newlywed feathering your nest, or a longtime home cook, having a set of the best mixing bowls on hand is vital. Whisking pancake batter, beating eggs for omelets, stirring pasta, tossing a salad, emulsifying a salad dressing, mixing cookie dough, marinating chicken thighs, folding together a batch of brownies, rising some bread dough, or just holding popcorn while you chill on the couch, there’s almost no meal or occasion when you won’t find yourself reaching for one.
While it’s certainly possible to assemble your own menagerie of bowls, many companies sell mixing bowls in nesting sets, which actually offer both value and storage advantages. But bowls come in a lots of sizes and shapes and materials. To determine which popular sets are the most versatile, reliable performers, we spent time whisking, mixing, and melting with several of the leading mixing bowls sets. Read on to find our top picks and scroll down further to learn more about how we tested and what we look for in a mixing bowl.
Best metal mixing bowls
Best glass mixing bowls
Best plastic mixing bowls
A short breakdown of mixing bowl materials
How we tested
What we looked for
Other mixing bowls we tested
The takeaway
Best metal mixing bowl: Cuisinart Stainless-Steel Mixing Bowl Set
With an attractive brushed stainless-steel surface and a rolled lip that’s comfortable and easy to grip, these high quality mixing bowls were immediately impressive—and that opinion was reinforced after putting them through days of regular kitchen abuse. While the set comes with only three bowls, the sizes—1½-, 3-, and 5-quart bowls—were fine for most of the everyday tasks of prepping and cooking.
The Cuisinart nesting bowls’ lightweight design makes them easy to move and stack, and comfortable to hold with one hand while stirring with the other. The smaller and larger bowls’ rounded bottom nestled perfectly in one of my saucepans, making for a terrific double boiler. Thanks to their simple, tight-sealing plastic lids, the Cuisinart bowls also do double duty as food storage containers—it’s possible to prep and stash all in one go. And despite repeatedly being dropped into a sink of dirty dishes and banged against the countertop, the bowls ably withstood all the abuse leveled at them without a single dent or warp, though the electric mixer did scratch them up a little
The well-balanced lids were a welcome addition to the bowl set and fit into each bowl with ease. It was during the whipped cream test that these bowls really distinguished themselves from the rest of the pack though. Unlike their shallower competitors, the Cuisinart bowls’ deep interior and tall sides kept my counter completely free of spray and spatter even when using a hand mixer on high speeds. And the smooth round corners were easy to get into with a spoon or rubber spatula, making scraping and spooning a breeze.
Some sort of non-slip bottom might have helped as they did slide around if not gripped tightly, but on the other hand, something like a silicone bottom would have prevented them from serving as double boilers. They also picked up a few scratches from the electric mixer during the whipped cream test, which makes me wonder how well the bowls would hold up over time.
Bowl sizes included: 1½-quarts, 3-quarts, 5-quarts
Best glass mixing bowl set: Pyrex Smart Essentials Mixing Bowl Set with Lids
Tempered-glass Pyrex bowls have been a fixture in American kitchens for generations for good reason. Their bowls are exceptionally sturdy, well-designed, versatile, and can move safely and stylishly from the countertop or the microwave straight to the dining table. Pyrex bowls each had a lip that was comfortable to grip. What ultimately guaranteed the Pyrex’s bowls place on top was its versatility as storageware considering the set comes with lids. And at a $30 price point, you can’t get a much better deal.
The bowls were a bit smaller compared to our top stainless steel and plastic picks. Even the biggest bowl was susceptible to letting whipped cream spray onto the counter and getting a little loose on top of the saucepan when melting chocolate. We often found ourselves mixing with a less vigor than we did using other bowls to avoid turning our prep area into a splash zone. It’s the sets multi-functionality that saves it.
NOTE: A set that also includes a 4-quart bowl is also available.
Bowl sizes included: 1-quart, 1½-quarts, 2½-quarts
Best plastic or plastic alternative mixing bowl set: Farberware Plastic Bowls
There was tough competition for this category, but we ultimately decided Farberware makes the best plastic mixing bowls. This was mainly because they had the ideal combination of elements we liked from other plastic bowls—a handle for gripping, a spout to easily pour out batter, no unnecessary extra bowls in the set, microwave safe, a rubber non-slip base that won’t jerk around, and a relatively sturdy make up. Unlike some other bowls we tested, the Farberware bowls didn’t pick up the same markings from the electric hand mixer. They do lack that curved lip we like, but still felt easy to hold and handle as we combined ingredients for pancakes and whipped cream. While they also felt a hairs-breadth wider than some other bowls we liked, there was a lot less splatter in the whipped cream test. And in terms of the attractive factor, these bowls are available in five different color combinations—so you can use them for serving as much as actual mixing.
What we didn’t like about the Farberware Plastic Bowls
We didn’t absolutely love the extra girth on the Farberware bowls. While they still had the tall sides, they felt a bit wider than some of the others we liked. They also didn’t the exaggerated lip that we liked with some other bowls—but both of these qualities could just be personal preference.
Bowl sizes included: 1½-quarts, 3½-quarts, 4½-quarts
A short break down of mixing bowl materials
While there are hundreds of mixing bowl sets on the market, most are made from stainless steel, copper, glass, and plastic (although we also tried a set of bamboo bowls). Each has its own strengths and weaknesses.
Stainless-steel bowls are inexpensive, durable, and lightweight—making them a staple in professional restaurant kitchens—and they can do double duty as double boilers. But they are not microwave-safe. It’s worth mentioning that professional cooks and bakers prefer stainless steel. Stainless steel stays cool regardless of the temperature in your kitchen, ensuring your dough or batter remains at a cool temperature throughout. Additionally, eggs fluff up and firm more quickly in stainless-steel bowls.
Like stainless-steel bowls, copper mixing bowls are excellent for maintaining an even temperature when making dough and batter. Copper, in fact, has ions that bond with an egg while you’re whipping it—and those ions stop the eggs from deflating and keep them super fluffy as they expand. In Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Julia Child said that copper was the most satisfying cookware to use. That’s no small compliment! But as great as copper is, it tends to be more expensive (and more delicate) than other materials. Since we were focused on finding the most utilitarian, everyday mixing bowls that could withstand any and everything, we left copper mixing bowls out of this particular roundup (though you can check out our guide to copper cookware here).
Glass bowls are microwave-safe and look more attractive if you like to use one bowl for both prep and serving, but they are much heavier than stainless-steel bowls, which can make them feel cumbersome, especially if you’re trying to hold the bowl with one hand. On the other hand, you might welcome the weight that allows the bowl to stand firm on the counter no matter hard you whisk. It’s a matter of personal preference.
Plastic and melamine bowls are durable and shatterproof but generally less versatile than either stainless or glass because they cannot be used as double boilers and often can’t be put in the microwave. They also have a tendency to scratch over time, making them inferior for tasks like whipping egg whites, which can be ruined by any fatty residue trapped in the crevices. Plastic also tends to trap odors and discolor over time when exposed to ingredients like tomato sauce or turmeric.
How We Tested
Mixing bowls play a so many different roles in the kitchen, so to get a picture of their versatility we tried to cover a few areas in our testing. First we whipped up a simple pancake mix in all of the bowls. (In a past round of testing, we made fudgy double chocolate brownies.) After that we cleaned and dried all the bowls, got out an electric hand mixer, and used each one to make freshly whipped cream. Finally, we used the stainless steel and glass bowls as double boilers for melting chocolate (don’t use plastic as a double boiler).
What we looked for
You might be seduced by a set with six different bowls, but if more than one of them are smaller bowls so tiny that they are basically glorified ramekins, what’s the point? Instead, when seeking out mixing bowls, look for a range that includes at least one small (1–1½ quart) prep bowl and two larger bowls in the 3- to 8-quart range that will allow you room to fold and toss with confidence and without worry of making a mess. In general, you can find mixing bowls in the following sizes: 1½, 2, 2½, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, and 12 quarts.
A good mixing bowl should stand up to high-intensity work and clean up easily. It should, of course be dishwasher-safe and come out without leaving behind dents, scratches, stains, or odors.
If you want to spend your money, save it for fancy serving bowls and platters. Mixing bowls are meant to be workhorses. While build quality is important, these kitchen tools should be priced accordingly and affordably.
Other Mixing Bowls We Tested
Bamboozle nesting bowls have a lot of great design touches that make them desirable. They are made of compostable bamboo, have nice tall sides that are advantageous for mixing, and are stackable for easy storage. The only problem is that they aren’t microwave- or dishwasher-safe. For people without dishwashers, that’s not so bad, but if you want mixing bowls you don’t have to wash by hand, pretty much any option aside from the Bamboozle bowls can provide that. However, if having a sustainable kitchen is important, and you appreciate the visual appeal and design of Bamboozle bowls. We say they are worth it.
These restaurant-supply-style stainless-steel mixing bowls have a lot going for them: They’re lightweight, easy to handle, inexpensive, well-proportioned, and nest for simple storage. We love that the biggest bowl was a generous 8 quarts—3 quarts larger than the biggest bowl in the Cuisinart 3-piece set. But while the bowls performed ably during the brownie and chopped salad tests, they fell short during the whipped cream test. The reason: Compared with our top pick, these bowls have wider openings and shallower sides that aren’t as good at catching errant drips and splatters, especially when using a hand mixer. So, in the end, the Cuisinart set was a more reliable overall choice.
Like most Oxo products, this set is distinguished by a few smart design features. We appreciated the deep bowls, high sides, and built-in pour spouts, which made transferring batter from bowl to baking pan neat and easy. The rubberized grips on the bases, which kept the bowls sturdy on the counter during even the most vigorous whisking and beating, were also nice. But while Oxo’s molded, unbreakable BPA-free plastic feels well-made and durable, for long-term use, we worried this set would suffer the same drawbacks as all plastic mixing bowls: a tendency to stain, trap odors, and scratch.
Once we’d tested the plastic set, we decided we also wanted to test drive the stainless steel ones. Like the plastic mixing bowls, these had rubber grips on the bases—which was exactly what ultimately took it out of the running for “best metal bowls,” because they couldn’t be fashioned into double boilers. It was rather unfortunate, because we liked the weight and high sides. It’s also around the same price point as the Cuisinart set, so if you want a stainless steel set and don’t foresee yourself doing a whole lot of double boiling, this might be for you.
With deep interiors and tall sides, these bowls are similar in design to the Cuisinart set (and this one comes with two extra-small prep bowls), but the difference in build becomes apparent as soon as you pick them up. Overall, the FineDine bowls felt flimsier and more cheaply made, and though they’re slightly cheaper, that small difference in price didn’t seem to justify the concern that they would not wear well over long-term use. The FineDine’s lids were also fiddly to get on and the seals unreliable. And while I did not personally experience problems with discoloration, many Amazon user reviews cited denting, scratching, and rusting.
The Material reBowl has it all for a plastic bowl. It’s a looker. It has high sides and a stable base that allow ingredients to nestle in the middle. It’s microwave safe. It’s made of recycled plastics that feel very durable—it felt the most durable of all the plastic bowls we tested. And, it has that lovely lip we want on a bowl. The only things it’s missing are a handle and spout and, well, other bowls. For $25, you only get one mixing bowl that’s about the same size as your average medium sized bowl in a set, so it’s not nearly as good a value as other sets. Additionally, it’s smaller size means there’s more splattering when whipping cream.
At around$9 at the time of writing, these bowls are a true steal and perfect for that college student that moved into their first apartment. The shape is fairly similar to the reBowl, just a little taller to help prevent ingredients from splashing out. They’re also microwave safe, which scored it an extra few points. That being said, they felt flimsy to the point that we questioned their durability over time. And while we appreciated the high sides, we did wonder if they were too tall considering we couldn’t quite rest our electric mixer on the edge. It’s a decent budget pick for a plastic bowl but for $20 you could get our Farberware choice, which doesn’t seem like too much of a stretch.
These bowls probably would have been our favorite plastic set if they had been microwave safe. But aside from that this is a reliable set that comes in an attractive color. The bowls feel comfortable to hold when mixing, and there was almost zero splatter when making the whipped cream. We did however also notice the soft color of the set made it vulnerable to picking up a few dings from the electric mixer.
The main thing we didn’t love about these bowls was the size. Where other plastic bowls had tall sides that sloped into a little nest for your ingredients, this set felt more like serving bowls. The largest bowl was big, clocking in at 7-quarts, which just felt a bit too much for us personally. They also have a lot of girth, which we felt could make them a bit tricky to hold. The plastic itself feels thick and durable, but this did make it slightly difficult to crack an egg on the edge of as it felt slightly blunt. The bowls are microwave safe though, so that’s a nice plus.
These very nearly beat out the Pyrex bowls for the best glass set. The largest size of the Anchor Hocking bowls was a decent bit larger than the biggest Pyrex bowl, which made us feel a little less cautious about things spilling out on the sides than with the Pyrex and Duralex glass bowls we tested (though they all still had low sides, which we didn’t love). We also noticed the 2½-quart bowl didn’t move at all when situated on top of the sauce pan for double boiling. The main reason these Anchor Hocking bowls didn’t win (aside from the fact the Pyrex bowls also double as storageware) was there were just too many bowls. It’s a set of ten, which feels a little excessive and you pay for that excess. This set costs closer to $50 compared to the Pyrex’s $30.
These were fairly similar in make and size to the Pyrex bowls, but they also come in an excessively large set of nine and several of those nine bowls were not useful sizes for mixing. For mise en place? Maybe. But not mixing. Even on the largest bowl (2½-quarts), the sides were low, which meant there was a decent amount of whipped cream splatter. There also wasn’t any lip or way to easily grip the bowl and, at a $58 at the time of writing, it’s tough to justify the purchase.
The Takeaway
The Cuisinart Stainless-Steel Mixing Bowls With Lids are the best stainless steel option for a well-built, versatile, user-friendly set that should provide years of pleasant, practical use. We especially loved their rolled lips and high, deep sides, which are easy to grip and keep whatever you’re mixing inside the bowl, not on your counter. And the matching lids are sturdy and airtight, making the bowls great for marinades, storing leftovers, or transporting food to parties and potlucks.
While stainless steel is our preferred material for mixing bowl, for anyone who prefers glass or plastic (perhaps to serve out of as well or perhaps for something microwave safe) we recommend the Pyrex glass set and Farberware for plastic. Both topped their categories in terms of versatility and durability.
