The 100 best spoons ranked, according to NBC Select editors
We put in the work — so you don’t have to.
This is a super basic medium to small sized spoon. There’s no frills or special quantities or embellishments — it’s something I imagine finding in someone’s dorm room or first apartment. The spoon is very lightweight and thin (I was actually able to easily bend it), and it has a more matte finish that makes dirt and streaks quite visible. I ate everything from yogurt to chili with this spoon, and found it quite versatile. It’s head isn’t very deep though, so I did not love eating soup with it. - Zoe Malin, associate updates editor
Type: Dinner and teaspoon | Material: Stainless Steel | Dimensions: 11.1 x 7.04 x 3.14 in. | Note: These spoons are part of a flatware set, our review is specifically about the dinner spoon.
As a Korean-American myself, I am pretty used to seeing and using these types of spoons in restaurants or at home for mostly soup and rice. The reasoning behind the length of the spoon is that it helps to efficiently and more easily bring food to your mouth in an elegant way. When I used this spoon to eat both soup and rice, I enjoyed the smoothness of the handle and how I could get a hearty mouthful in one scoop without having to be so close to the hot food. It’s great to have on hand for a soup experience, especially since shorter spoons may get hotter and require you to bring your face much closer to the steamy food. - Carolyn Chun, NBC Page
Type: Soup | Material: Stainless steel | Dimensions: 8.5 x 1.57 x 1.2 in.
This spoon’s deep, round bowl is perfect for soup. Slurping is a pleasurable experience, even if using it for other foods leaves something to be desired. - Ari Night, editorial assistant
Type: Soup | Material: Stainless steel | Dimensions: 7 x 0.12 x 1.8 in.
My other favorite soup spoons outranked this one, but out of the full list of 100, this definitely still earned its spot in the top 20. I think a long handle or stem is elegant to look at and hold in your hand, which this one achieves with grace. I didn’t rank it higher solely because the spoon bowl was too shallow for my liking — I like the spoon bowl to hold more broth in each slurp. - Lauren Swanson, NBC Select editorial director
Type: Soup | Material: Stainless steel | Dimensions: 8.5 x 1.57 in.
I never thought that I’d be caught off-guard by a piece of cutlery, but this spoon somehow managed to do just that. Because of its sleek, shiny design, I was expecting something lightweight, but instead this spoon turned out to be a heavy-duty hitter — almost overly so. The bowl was thick enough to keep my piping hot Thai coconut soup from scalding my tongue, and has a good depth for gathering broth. However, the handle was somewhat awkward and uncomfortable to hold, and was so long that it felt like I was tipping the soup into my mouth, rather than my normal sipping. - Ashley Morris, associate SEO reporter
Type: Dinner | Material: Stainless steel | Dimensions: 8 x 1.69 x 0.2 in.
I love a short spoon, especially when I am eating something I would be embarrassed to accidentally spill on myself (which I do more often with long spoons). This short soup spoon is great for eating cereal, ice cream, popcorn (yes, I eat popcorn with a spoon sometimes), and, of course, soup. It strikes a great balance: the head is just deep enough to grab pieces of cereal or chunks of soup along with some liquid, but not so much that it’s an overwhelming bite. It’s a little indistinct, which is why it didn’t rank higher, but the smooth design does make it easy to clean and easy to fit in the dishwasher. - Harry Rabinowitz, reporter
Type: Soup | Material: Stainless Steel | Dimensions: 6.3 x 1.7 x 0.3 in.
I felt fancy using this spoon. It stayed shiny through multiple washes and the handle looked very elegant. It’s a little small, so I wouldn’t use it for soup, and it’s too long of a handle to use for ice cream or yogurt, but I loved it as a sugar spoon for my morning coffee. Because of the handle length, it was great for any size mug including most travel-sized ones like a Yeti as well as any drinks you’d make in a tall glass, like chocolate milk. - Rosalie Tinelli, senior social media editor
Type: Beverage | Material: Stainless steel | Dimensions: 5.5 x 1.75 x 8.5 in.
This spoon was on the heavier side, and felt very sturdy and durable. I loved the curvature at the end of the spoon and how it allows your thumb to fit right in the nook at the tip. The handle’s also pleasantly smooth and didn’t cut my fingers. After trying this spoon with oatmeal and short pasta, it was very easy to hand wash — water and soap slid right off without needing to scrub extra hard to get any oils or stains out. - Carolyn Chun, NBC Page
Type: Dinner/dessert | Material: Stainless steel | Dimensions: 7 ⅛ in.
Simply put, I love how fancy I felt using this dainty little spoon. It’s definitely one of the sleekest, most attractive spoons I’ve ever used. The curve is seamless and delicate — it has a long, yet slim design with a subtle swoop shape that doesn’t leave any harsh, rounded lines where the base meets the stem. The thin design makes it great for stirring matcha lattes and teas, and the long stem was a nice change from the shorter, smaller tea spoons that simply don’t fit my larger mugs and coffee cups. The base itself is a slim oval, which makes it great for small-bite desserts like ice cream, sorbet and yogurt. - Mili Godio, updates editor
Type: Dessert | Material: Stainless steel | Dimensions: 6.1 x 0.39 in.
To me, a good spoon is versatile enough to use every day as well as less than common, special situations alike. The vintage-inspired spoon is an eye-catcher, and the weight is well suited for casual use as well. Its only downside is the quality of the metal itself. The spoon is very malleable, and runs the risk of bending relatively easily. - Ari Night, editorial assistant
Type: Teaspoon | Material: Stainless steel | Dimensions: 2 x 2.7 x 9.1 in.
If a party met a spoon, it would be this. With its colorful resin handle (there are 10+ color options to pick from), its design pops against all the plain flatware I own. It also provides a nice grip and never felt like it would slip out my hands while eating. This spoon also falls on the smaller side since it is made specifically for desserts, though I was still able to get the perfect amount of ice cream in just one scoop. - Bianca Alvarez, associate reporter
Type: Dessert | Material: Stainless steel | Dimensions: 6 x 0.2 x 0.27 in.
I’m not usually one for big spoons, especially for soups and stews. Usually, they make me feel like my mouth is opening wide enough for an entire table to see me swallowing my food — this, however, was a surprising exception. The hammered handle was thick enough that the spoon felt supported in my hand, but not so much that I noticed the heaviness while eating. Although the bowl of the spoon was big, it turned out to be a great match for eating soup — it managed to hold a lot of broth (which, for me, is the perfect amount) without feeling oversized inside of my mouth. - Ashley Morris, associate SEO reporter
Type: Dinner | Material: Stainless steel | Dimensions: 7.9 x 1.7 in.
In my experience, this spoon has the perfect shape — it has a nice, deep curve downward where the base meets the stem, which makes it comfortable to use and allows food to travel securely without falling, like it might with a flatter spoon. This is also on the shorter side and it’s fairly small, so I found it good to use with desserts like ice cream or to stir my coffee, though I would stay away from soups or because it’s too small to hold much liquid. - Mili Godio, updates editor
Type: Dessert | Material: Stainless steel | Dimensions: 10.1 x 2.7 x 2 in.
Of the spoons that I tested, this one felt just right: it was heavy and substantial, but not overly so. The handle felt comfortable in my hand — very smooth and intentional. And, as someone who is very particular about the spoons that I use for different types of food, I thought this one was great for scrapping those tricky corners in the bottom of a yogurt cup, thanks to the slenderly angled bowl tip of the spoon. - Lauren Swanson, editorial director
Type: Teaspoon | Material: Stainless steel | Dimensions: 6.7 x 1.45 x 0.09 in.
I would be proud to place this spoon on my Thanksgiving dinner table. It’s large but not intimidating, has a deep, oval-shaped head that you can get a nice scoop of soup, mashed potatoes or cranberry sauce on. It’s one of the heaviest options I tried, and I prefer a heavy spoon. The handle tip is rounded instead of flat — its shape reminds me of a pencil — and I find it easy to keep a tight grip on. It’s also super shiny. It comes out of the dishwasher good as new, and looked perfectly clean when I hand-washed it as well. - Zoe Malin, associate updates editor
Type: Dinner and teaspoon | Material: Stainless steel | Dimensions: 10.87 x 5.47 x 2.68 in. | Note: These spoons are part of a flatware set, our review is specifically about the dinner spoon.
One of the standout qualities about this spoon is its weight. Because it’s a small teaspoon, I’d expect it to be light and flimsy when I pick it up, but it has some heaviness to it, which I prefer. The back of the spoon’s handle is angled upward, helping it naturally rest and balance well in your hand. Because of its small size, I liked using this for stirring milk into my coffee and honey into my tea. It also fits inside a single-serve cup of yogurt, although I find its head a bit too narrow to get a satisfying scoop of other foods on. - Zoe Malin, associate updates editor
Type: Teaspoon | Material: Stainless steel | Dimensions: 6.5 x 0.2 in.
I truly never thought I needed a soup spoon until I tried this. The handle has a luxurious feel; it’s sleek, clean and shiny — what more could you want in a design? My greatest love for the spoon, however, lies in its shallow, but very wide bowl. You’re able to scoop up a ton of whatever you’re eating in one bite. - Bianca Alvarez, associate reporter
Type: Soup | Material: Stainless steel | Dimensions: 7.6 x 2 x 0.1 in.
The perfect spoon exists and her name is the Hay Sunday Spoon. Not only is it the type of spoon you can use on an everyday basis, but it’s the kind of spoon you want to show off during a special birthday meal or Thanksgiving dinner. Its soft, mini vertical ridges extend from the neck of the spoon up to the tip along the backside of the handle’s stem, which add an elegant touch to such a simple kitchen staple.
This spoon, unlike so many other models we tried, hits that sweet spot when it comes to size and shape. The bowl has Goldilocks proportions — it’s not too rounded, nor too oval — the curves glide smoothly over the corners of my mouth and lips.
Its greatest asset, though, is its weight. I, alongside many of our testers, prefer a heavier spoon — one you can’t accidentally bend or break, one that feels like it was actually worth its cost, which this one does. Some spoons we tested felt hollow and almost child-like, this one feels substantial all the way from tip to bowl. - Lindsay Schneider, NBC Select commerce editor
Type: Dinner | Material: Stainless steel | Dimensions: 1½ x ¾ x 7⅜ in.
Lindsay Schneider is an editor for NBC Select has covered the lifestyle space for 6+ years. She also writes and edits Select’s weekly newsletter, The Selection as well as our monthly editors' picks series. For this package, our staff tested 100 spoons over the course of a few weeks to find their favorites. We considered spoons from popular retailers, like Amazon, Macy’s, Target as well as options from lesser known brands.
