Soup & Pasta Bowls

About Our Polish Pottery Soup Plates

In Poland this shape is called a talerz gleboki, a deep plate, and it is on the table at almost every midday meal. The wide rim keeps fingers away from hot soup, gives you somewhere to rest a spoon, and shows off more of the pattern than a straight-sided bowl does. The shallow well holds a generous serving of soup or pasta while cooling it a little faster than a deep bowl, which is what you want for a first course. Like all Boleslawiec stoneware it is fired at about 1,250°C (2,280°F), which makes it dense, chip-resistant, and non-porous.

Size and specifications

Diameter: 9.5 inches (24 cm) across the rim. Well diameter: about 6 inches [confirm]. Depth: about 1.5 inches [confirm]. Capacity: approximately 16 oz / 475 ml filled to the rim, 10 to 12 oz as a normal serving [confirm]. Weight: approximately 1.5 lb / 0.7 kg [confirm]. It sits centered on the 10.75" dinner plate, leaving a visible ring of the dinner plate's rim around it.

Soup plate, pasta bowl, or salad bowl?

All three. Use it for soup, stew, chili, and ramen; for pasta with sauce, risotto, and grain bowls, where the rim keeps sauce off the table; and for a composed salad or a main-course salad. It is also the right size for a pot pie, a large slice of quiche, or a baked dish served from the oven, since it is oven safe. If you want a bowl for serving pasta to the whole table, or a single very large portion, the 10" pasta bowl holds 64 oz and is the better choice.

Choosing a pattern

The soup plates come in the same three families as the rest of the range. Traditional patterns such as Peacock 56, Nature 41, and Daisy Dreams 120 are the classic cobalt-on-cream designs and the most economical. Signature "a" patterns such as Floral Peacock 166a, Blue Diamond Dream 217a, and Cornflower CloudScape 1219a add extra colors and detail. Unikat and DU designs such as Floral Garden Unikat 312ar and Sweet Violet DU121 are the artist series, with the most hand-painting and a decorator's signature. The pattern number is shared across every shape, so a soup plate in 166a matches a dinner plate, salad plate, and mug in 166a.

Building a place setting

The classic four-piece setting is the 10.75" dinner plate, the 7.5" salad plate, this soup plate, and a 12 oz mug. For a soup-and-bread lunch, pair it with the 6.5" plate. Everything is sold individually, so you can buy the soup plates now and add pieces over time.

Care and use

Dishwasher safe, oven safe to 480°F / 250°C [confirm], microwave safe, and freezer safe. Avoid sudden temperature changes, such as moving a plate from the refrigerator straight into a hot oven, and keep it off the stovetop and out from under the broiler. The glaze is lead- and cadmium-free and meets US food-safety standards.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between a soup plate and a soup bowl?

A soup plate has a wide flat rim and a shallow well, like a deep plate; a soup bowl has straight or curved sides and no rim. The rim gives you a place to rest a spoon and keeps the pattern visible while you eat. This 9.5" piece is a soup plate and doubles as a pasta bowl.

How much does the 9.5" soup plate hold?

About 16 oz filled to the rim, or a comfortable 10 to 12 oz serving of soup or pasta. For larger servings, see our 10" pasta bowl, which holds 64 oz.

Is it oven safe?

Yes. Boleslawiec stoneware is oven, microwave, dishwasher, and freezer safe. Avoid sudden temperature changes and do not use it on a stovetop or under a broiler.

Does it match the dinner plates?

Yes. The same pattern number is used across every shape, so a soup plate in 217a matches a 10.75" dinner plate, 7.5" salad plate, and mug in 217a. It is designed to sit on the dinner plate as part of a place setting.

Are the soup plates sold individually or in sets?

Individually. Buy exactly the number you need and add more later; the patterns stay in production.