When shopping for new pots and pans, you need to make sure you're choosing the best size for your stove top, cooking needs, and the number of people in your household. Follow these steps to get started.

1. Measure Your Stove Burners

Most stove burners are equipped to accommodate pots, pans, or skillets of varying sizes with at least two large burners and two smaller burners. The right pot or pan size should cover the surface of the burner. If there is too much overhang, then the contents might not cook evenly. If the pot or pan is too small for the burner, then it can also cause food to cook unevenly or cause the burner to waste energy since heat can easily escape from the sides.

Measure the length and width of each stove burner to determine the appropriate size for any stove top cookware you buy. You can usually find a pot or pan's measurements on the product's page under the 'Specifications' tab.

2. Consider the Quantities & Types of Food You Cook

Next, think about what types of food you like to cook and how much you typically make. This will help you get a sense of the best width and depth for pots and pans – specifically for your needs. Here are some examples to reference:

• If you like to batch cook or meal prep in advance, you'll likely benefit from cookware that has a larger capacity or that's rated for cooking for multiple people.

• Meat needs enough space to evenly cook, so make sure that the pan you use is wide enough to accommodate the amount of steak, chicken thighs, or other cuts of meat that you want to cook in one sitting.

• Vegetable stir-fries, one pot pasta dishes, and even something as simple as a bunch of scrambled eggs can benefit from a wider pan or skillet. This allows for everything to cook evenly and prevents food from spilling out as you stir or scramble.

3. Determine the Average Number of People You Cook For

In addition to burner sizes and what you’ll be preparing, you should also consider the number of people you plan to cook for on average. People who cook for large households or who frequently entertain should size up their pots and pans to make sure they can accommodate family pasta nights, game day chili, or holiday feasts.

On Wayfair, reference the 'Size' filter on the left hand side of any cookware product page and it will tell you the average number of people that you can feed with a mini, small, medium, large, or extra-large product. You can also check out these guides for specific size or serving recommendations based on type:

• Your Guide to Saucepan Sizes
• Your Guide to Stockpot Sizes
• What Is a Skillet? Find the Skillet That Suits Your Needs
• What Is a Wok?
• 5 Roasting Pan Sizes for Your Culinary Endeavors

4. Take Your Storage Space Into Consideration

Remember that any pots and pans you purchase need to be able to fit in your allotted storage space, whether it's inside your kitchen cabinets or on a decorative pot rack. You might benefit from a cookware organizer to help maximize storage space in kitchen cabinets. These organizers make it easy to find exactly which pot you need and prevent any potential scratching that could occur from stacking pots and pans.

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