Here is the list of 10 laravel packages that will help you to easily deal with laravel file uploads these all packages are tested with laravel 5.1 give them a try i am sure you will like them

#1- laravel-plupload

Laravel 5/Plupload – Handle large file uploads

this pacakge allows you to to upload or handle large file uploads in laravel ! give it a try i am sure you will like it