Sauce Pan Vs. Pot: What You (Probably) Want to Know

If you think cookware names can be frustrating, you're not alone. A sauce pan is one of the hardest terms to nail down because it doesn't seem to fit cookware naming conventions. Thousands of people search for "sauce pan vs. pot" every month, and different sites give different definitions, making the issue even more confusing. 

We'll look at what "sauce pan vs. pot" is actually asking (there are a few possibilities), share some basic definitions that should help clarify things, then pull it all together to come up with a helpful answer. (Hint: You're probably using the "right" terms.) 

What Is "Sauce Pan Vs. Pot" Really Asking?

"Sauce pan vs. pot" might sound confusing--what are people really asking here?--but it has thousands of monthly searches, so we're going to try to answer the question.

Since "sauce pan vs. pot" could have a few different meanings, and we're going to look at all of them:

We'll look at each question, so whatever you want to know, we hope you can find the answer here. (And if you can't, please let us know so we can answer your question!)

Let's start with basic definitions so we're all on the same page.

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What Is a Sauce Pan?

According to dictionary.com, a saucepan is "a metal container of moderate depth, usually having a long handle and sometimes a cover, for stewing, boiling, etc."

According to Collins Dictionary, a sauce pan is "a deep metal cooking pot, usually with a long handle and a lid." 

According to Masterclass.com, "a saucepan is a piece of cookware that functions as a small, deep pot for cooking liquids on a stovetop. It is deeper than a standard sauté pan or frying pan, but shallower than a stockpot. A saucepan has a flat bottom and steep sides with straight edges like a pot, and a long handle like a pan."

According to Misen, "A saucepan has a distinct shape: It's deep with high sides and straight edges, and usually features a long handle and, quite often, a lid. Its surface area is generally small relative to its height, allowing heat to be evenly distributed through the liquid in the pan." 

Here's our definition of a saucepan: A deep pot used primarily for cooking liquids, sized from 0.5-4 quarts, with a long handle and a lid.

So you can see that definitions for sauce pan vary quite a bit. In fact, sites even spell it differently, with some sites spelling it as one word ("saucepan") and other sites spelling it as two word ("sauce pan"). Both spellings are correct and mean the same thing (just like "cannot" and "can not") .

Note that most of the definitions (including ours) use qualifying words like generally, usually, and primarily. This is because you can use cookware many different ways and have many different names, and there is very little absolute right and wrong (even if you don't use a pan for what it was designed for). 

This should put you at ease if you've been worrying that you're using cookware terminology the "wrong" way--you probably aren't. 

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Pots and Pans: Definitions

Here are some definitions for pots and pans, so you can see how many different definitions there are: 

According to webstaurantstore.com, "a pot has tall sides and two loop handles, while a pan is shallow with one long handle. Pots are used for simmering or boiling liquids that completely cover ingredients to cook from all sides. Pans are used for cooking methods that apply high heat to produce browning, like reducing, sautéing, searing, or frying."

According to Wonderopolis, "pots tend to be deeper with high sides that go straight up from a circular base. Pans, on the other hand, are usually shallow with sides that extend only an inch or two from the base. The sides of a pan may go straight up like a pot, or they may curve up at a gentle angle...Pots and pans usually have different types of handles, too. Pots usually have two small handles located on opposite sides of the pot. Pans, on the other hand, tend to have just one long handle. 

According to recipetips.com, "pots generally refer to high, straight sided cookware that will often contain larger quantities of items. Pans may refer to frying pans, cake pans or many other different types of kitchen cookware that have lower depth sides and a variety of shapes and sizes. Pots or pans are available in many different materials and sizes for special uses in the kitchen." 

All of these definitions are good. We like Webstaurantstore.com's definition because it includes uses--except a sauce pan isn't used for browning food. We like the Wonderopolis definition because it's basic but has all the right information--except that some pots are oval, not circular. And, we like recipetips.com's definition because it allows for many different materials and sizes--both of which are important considerations when buying cookware--but it doesn't include uses, which often determines what you call a piece of cookware.

Our definition of pots and pans includes all of these aspects: depth, handles, size, lids, and usage (and it still doesn't nail everything down)...

Depth

A pan is shallow and a pot is deep. Depth can vary on each, but a pan is always shallower than a pot (unless it has "deep" in the name, like "deep sauté pan.") 

Depth is typically (but not always) the main differentiator between a pot and a pan.

Handles

A pan has one long handle (and sometimes a helper handle, if it's large), and a pot has two short handles.

Along with depth, the handle is often the main differentiator between pots and pans. 

Size

Size varies greatly among both pots and pans. They can range from tiny, as in a 0.5 quart butter warmer (sauce pan) or an 8-inch diameter skillet, up to huge, such as a 40-quart stock pot or a 16-inch diameter skillet. 

Most cooks need a few sizes of skillets and sauce pans, as well as a larger pot or two for braising, making stocks, meal prepping, and serving a crowd. If you make stock frequently and braise, you probably need a stock pot and a Dutch oven. 

Size has little to do with whether a piece of cookware is a pot or a pan because both can come in a variety of sizes (although because pots are deeper, they can be much larger than pans). 

Lids

Skillets typically do not come with lids because their primary use is browning--but sometimes they do. 

Most other types of pots and pans usually--but not always--come with lids, including sauce pans, sauté pans, stock pots, and Dutch ovens.

Lids are not a good way to determine whether a piece of cookware is a pot or a pan.

Usage

Pans are shallow and used with high heat to sear, brown, sauté, and any other cooking method that uses small (or no) amounts of liquids--except sauce pans, which are deep and used for liquids. 

Pots are deep and used for liquids. (So, yes, a sauce pan is actually a type of pot.)

Usage is an important factor in naming, but there are exceptions. A sauce pan is probably the most obvious one (that is, it's a pan that's used primarily for liquids). Woks, chef's pans, essential pans, and deep sauté pans are also deep pans you can use for browning.

Usage will sometimes--but not always--help you determine if a piece of cookware is a pot or a pan.

Examples of Pans

As you can see, there are many different types of pans, and not all of them fit perfectly into either the "short sides" definition or the "one long handle" definition.

So why are they pans instead of pots? Sometimes because of usage, sometimes handles, and sometimes depth.

But mostly? Convention. (That is, it got the name just because, and it stuck, so that's what it's called.)

See Also: Should i buy a skillet or a sauté pan? The differences explained

Examples of Pots

In general, pots are deeper than most pans and are used for liquids, but they can have long or short handles and have a wide variety of uses, which--like pans--can make them hard to characterize.

There are many other types of pots and pans, including pasta pots, deep sauté pans, double boilers, Windsor pans, chef's pans, essential pans, and more. However, all of them are some variation on a basic skillet (used for frying) or pot (used for liquids).

For example, you can think of a chef's pan or deep sauté pan  as an oversized skillet with deeper sides so you can make larger meals--with or without liquids. (A deep sauté pan is one of our favorite pieces of cookware because it's so versatile: you can use it as a skillet, a Dutch oven, a large sauce pan or small stock pot, and just about anything else.)

Now that we've looked at definitions (which may not have clarified things all that much), let's get back to the original issue: sauce pan vs pot, and what we think people want to know when they google this.

SEE ALSO: HOW TO FIND THE BEST SAUCE PANS FOR YOUR KITCHEN

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Why Is It Called a Sauce Pan and Not a Sauce Pot?

This is probably what most people want to know when they do an Internet search for sauce pan vs. pot. 

We can't find a definitive answer, so our best answer is a guess: the sauce pan was named for its long handle rather than its deep sides and usage (liquids). 

Does this mean the handle is more important than the depth? Not really. It's probably just the way the term evolved.

Does it mean that you should use a sauce pan for frying and browning? No, not at all. The deep sides and small flat cooking surface make a sauce pan a bad choice for frying or browning. It is designed for heating liquids, regardless of its name.

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Are a Sauce Pan and a Sauce Pot the Same Thing?

People might also be wondering if a sauce pan and a sauce pot are the same thing when they search for sauce pan vs. pot.

The terms can be used interchangeably, but they are technically different because of the handles. The most accurate definition of a sauce pot is "a deep pot, usually medium sized, designed for use with liquids with two short handles and a lid." 

To confuse things even more, sauce pots may also be called soup pots (like this All-Clad Fusiontec 4-quart soup pot):

Sauce pots are usually the size of a large sauce pan: 3-4 quarts. You may see them as large as 6 quarts, but probably not bigger than that.

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