Buying new plates can be a daunting experience, especially when it comes to choosing the right types of plates for your household's dining needs. There are a large array of plate types and plate sizes available, so it can be hard to know what is essential and what isn't. Use this guide to learn which dinnerware is best for you.

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In This Guide

Choosing Plate Sizes
What Are The Different Plate Types?

Tip: Eager to learn how to properly set the table for dinner (for both casual and formal meals)? Check out our Dining Etiquette: Table Setting Guide.

Choosing Plate Sizes

When it comes to buying plates, it's helpful to understand the purpose of the many types of plates available. Each plate size is created to hold different portions of individual courses of a meal. This is not just limited to formal spreads – even at a casual or informal meal, several plate types are essential for each course. The most common types of plates are dinner and dessert plates, though there are a number of others that can be considered necessary to a meal. Before you can choose the plate types and sizes, you must consider a few factors.

How to Choose Different Plates

Though many households no longer have a need for elaborate sets of China, there will always be a need for the standard plate types. Before you select the type of plates you require, it's best to consider the following points:

Budget: What's your budget? The amount that you're willing and able to spend on your dinnerware will affect your purchasing choice. Factors such as the number of plates or plate material should be taken into consideration too. Materials such as bone China, crystal and stoneware plates are all far more costly than porcelain or glass options. So are both bread-and-butter and side plates not as necessary as dinner and dessert plates when you are working with a limited budget.

Sets: Are you looking for a full set or individual plates? A full set of dinnerware will contain an array of plate sizes, as opposed to choosing just one type of plate at a time. Plate sets work especially well for families and larger households.

Meal Types: What types of meals and meal components do you cook most regularly? Do you often serve salads or dessert? Are appetisers a frequent part of your meals? All of these components require different types of plates.

Space: How much space do you have available to store your dinnerware? If you have ample room in your kitchen cabinets, then a full set of plates is definitely worth considering. However, if you are short on space, it's better to pick and choose what types of plates are best to invest in.

Entertaining: How often do you entertain large groups of people? If you regularly host large dinner parties, it may be a good idea to opt for full dinnerware sets ranging anywhere from 6 to 12 different types of plates. If you serve your family or yourself most of the time, individual plates or smaller set sizes are a better choice.

Niche Plates: Do you need more niche types of plates for your day to day meals? If you enjoy cooking multiple courses and individual components for your meals, additional plate sizes can be helpful. These could include side plates, soup bowls or even pasta bowls.

What Are The Different Plate Types?

When buying dinnerware for your kitchen, it is important to identify the specific purposes of each type of plate, so that you can get a better idea of what you do and don't need.
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Side Plates: These small plates are used to serve appetizers or amuse-bouches at the beginning of a meal that has multiple courses. An appetizer plate size ranges between 6" and 8" in diameter to accommodate petite or single starters. If you are looking to cut down on the number of plate types you wish to purchase, or are short on table space, it's worthwhile to note that an appetizer plate can also be used as a bread-and-butter plate, (even though they are slightly larger in size). Appetizer plates can also be used to serve fruit and cheese or even for disposing of items such as fish bones and tea bags.

Salad & Dessert Plates: A salad plate can often be used interchangeably as a dessert plate, making it a great two-in-one piece, particularly for minimalist cupboards. Both salad and dessert plate sizes range between 8" and 10" in diameter. When these types of plates are used for salads, they are usually placed on the table before the main course, or as a side dish to your dinner. If you're thinking about going with a set of plates, it's also possible to choose separate dessert plates due to the fact that they're usually more ornately decorated than dinner and salad plates. Additionally, some desserts are better suited to entirely different plate types. For example: a crème brûlée or a soufflé is better suited to a ramekin than a typical dessert plate.

Tip: If your main course is a salad, it should be presented on a dinner plate rather than in a salad bowl.

Dinner Plates: The standard diameter of a dinner plate is between 10" and 12", usually with a wider and more decorative lip/frame than other types of plates. This is due to the fact that main courses usually comprise several components such as grain or starch, protein, and vegetables. A dinner plate size that is smaller than this would be unsuitable for holding an entire meal of this size. These plates are used more than any other plate in a set as they're used to serve all main meals, whether at a formal or informal function (and often for both lunch and dinner). For this reason, dinner plates are the most important investment you should make, as most meals cannot take place without them.

Tip: Be aware that dinner plates of 12" or more may not fit in your dishwasher, so be sure to measure before you make your purchase.

Now that you've gotten to know the different types of plate sizes, it will be far easier to choose what you need for everyday meals, entertaining and dinner parties.

Tip: If you enjoyed this article, then why not also check out:

• Ask the Experts: What are Stoneware & Earthenware?
• How to Throw A Virtual Dinner Party
• The Best Dinnerware Sets For Every Home