Pots and Pans Sizes: Diameters, Capacities and What You Need

Pots and pans size chart

The quick reference for every common piece. Diameters are measured across the top, inside the rim. Capacities are to the brim, which is how manufacturers quote them.

Two rules explain the whole chart. Shallow pans (skillets, woks, grill pans) are sold by diameter because surface area is what you cook on. Deep pots are sold by volume because liquid is what you put in them. Sauté pans and Dutch ovens fall in between, so labels quote both.

How to measure pots and pans

1. Measure the diameter across the top. Run a tape from inside edge to inside edge through the center. This is the number on the box. Some brands measure from the outer lip, which adds 0.25 to 0.5 in (0.5 to 1 cm), so a "28 cm" pan can measure 27.5 cm inside.
2. Measure the base separately. Flared skillets have a flat cooking surface 2 to 2.5 in (5 to 6 cm) smaller than the rim. A 12-inch skillet usually cooks on a base about 9.5 to 10 in wide. The base is what has to match your burner.
3. Measure the inside depth. Stand a ruler on the floor of the pan and read it at the rim.
4. Work out the capacity. For a straight-sided pot, quarts = diameter × diameter × depth × 0.0136 (all in inches). In metric, liters = diameter × diameter × depth × 0.000785 (all in cm). For a quick check, fill the pot with water from a measuring jug.
5. Measure the length with the handle if you need to store it. A long-handled pan is often twice as long as it is wide.

The formula gives brim capacity. Usable volume is lower: fill saucepans to two thirds for simmering, and stockpots to three quarters if they will boil.

Saucepan sizes

Saucepans are tall, straight-sided pots with one long handle. Their depth is roughly half to two thirds of the diameter, so a small change in width makes a big change in capacity.

A cylinder 6.5 in wide and 4 in deep holds 2.3 qt, and one 8 in wide and 4.5 in deep holds 3.9 qt. That is why manufacturers' diameters overlap: a deep 7-inch pan and a shallow 8-inch pan can both be sold as 3 quarts.

With the handle, a 2-quart saucepan is typically 14 to 16 in (36 to 41 cm) long. If it will hang on a rail or sit in a drawer, measure that length rather than the diameter.

Frying pan and skillet sizes

The size on the label is the rim diameter. What you can actually fit is set by the flat base, which is smaller by 2 inches or so on flared pans and by less on straight-sided cast iron.

European brands sell in centimeter steps (20, 24, 26, 28, 30, 32 cm). A recipe or set listing a "24.1 cm" or "27.9 cm" pan is simply a 9.5-inch or 11-inch pan converted to metric.

Cast iron skillet sizes

Cast iron uses the same rim measurement, but brand model numbers are not the diameter. In Lodge's line the L5SK3 is 8 in, the L8SK3 is 10.25 in, the L10SK3 is 12 in and the L12SK3 is 13.25 in. Lodge also makes a 6.5-inch L3SK3, and has sold a 15-inch skillet. Its 12-inch skillet has a bottom about 10 in across.

Cast iron is heavy and long. Lodge lists its 10.25-inch skillet at 16.1 in (41 cm) long including the handle, and its 13.25-inch skillet at 20.25 in (51 cm). A 12-inch cast iron skillet weighs about 8 lb (3.6 kg) empty, which matters if you toss food or hang pans on a rack.

Stockpot and Dutch oven sizes

Large pots are sold in quarts in the US and liters elsewhere. Stockpots are tall and narrow to limit evaporation. Dutch ovens are wider and shallower so meat can brown on the bottom.

Pots of 24 quarts and more are mostly sold for turkey frying and outdoor boils, and they need an outdoor burner. Twenty quarts of water weighs about 42 lb (19 kg) before you add the pot, so check the weight limit in your range manual, especially for a glass cooktop.

Dutch oven sizes and numbers

Enameled cast iron brands mark the base with a number. On Le Creuset and most French brands, that number is the diameter in centimeters, not the capacity.

The 5.5-quart (26 cm) round is the all-purpose size: it fits a 4 lb chicken, a no-knead loaf of bread or a stew for six. An oval Dutch oven of the same capacity is longer, roughly 11.5 to 12 in (29 to 31 cm), which suits a whole chicken or a pork shoulder but heats less evenly on a round burner.

Pot sizes in metric: cm to liters

Metric cookware is labeled by diameter, and the capacity depends on the height of the walls. This table gives the brim capacity of straight-sided pots at common proportions.

A 16 × 7.5 cm saucepan, a common European size, holds 1.5 L (1.6 qt). A 35 cm pot 20 cm deep holds 19 L (20 qt). For pans whose walls taper, measure the diameter halfway up and use that in the formula.

What size pots and pans a household needs

Set descriptions count lids as pieces, so a "10-piece" set is usually six vessels and four lids: a 1.5- or 2-quart and a 3-quart saucepan, an 8-quart stockpot, a 3-quart sauté pan, and 8- and 10-inch skillets. That covers a couple well but leaves a family without a 12-inch skillet.

Pasta sets the minimum stockpot size. Cooking a pound (450 g) of dried pasta takes 4 to 6 quarts of water, and the pot needs headroom to boil without foaming over, so an 8-quart pot is the practical minimum for a full box. For pastry and baking pans, see the baking sheet sizes and cake pan sizes guides; for prep bowls that pair with these pots, see mixing bowl sizes.

Matching pans to burners, ovens and cabinets

• Burners: standard US electric coil ranges have two 6-inch and two 8-inch elements. Put a 1- to 2-quart saucepan on the 6-inch element and 10- to 12-inch skillets on the 8-inch one. A pan base more than about an inch larger than the element heats the center and leaves the edges cool.
• Gas flames should stay under the base. Flames that lick up the sides waste heat and scorch handles.
• Induction zones only switch on when the base is large enough and magnetic. Check the cooktop manual for the minimum base diameter of each zone, and test old pans with a magnet.
• Ovens: check handles. A 12-inch skillet with its handle is about 18 to 20 in (46 to 51 cm) long, which fits a standard 30-inch range oven but can be tight in a 24-inch wall oven. Plastic-handled pans are usually rated only to 350 to 400°F (175 to 200°C); read the maker's limit.
• Storage: standard base cabinets are 24 in deep and wall cabinets 12 in deep, so long-handled skillets go in base cabinets or deep drawers. Nested sets need the largest piece's diameter plus the handle length. The kitchen cabinet dimensions guide lists standard drawer and cabinet widths, and the kitchen dimensions guide covers range sizes.

A full 8-quart batch (filled to three quarters, about 24 cups) fills six 4-cup food storage containers, so check you have space before you cook a full pot.

Frequently asked questions