If there's one unsung hero of the kitchen, it's food storage containers. These versatile pieces are great for everything from storing your leftovers for one more evening free from cooking (and one more meal spent enjoying the fruits of your labor) to keeping your refrigerator or pantry from becoming a complete and utter black hole of chaos. But not all of them are created equally. The best food storage containers will prevent food from spilling in your purse, retain and lock in flavor and be durable enough to withstand the weight of other containers in the fridge. Check out our 17 favorites below, so you’ll never again be caught in a jam when you need to bring your famous BLT pasta salad to the family picnic.
The 17 Best Food Storage Containers to Clean Up Your Cluttered Fridge
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Published Jul 21, 2022
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What to Look for in a Food Storage Container
- Material: Most food storage containers are made of plastic, which is easy to clean, but you'll want to ensure that it’s free of BPAs, or bisphenol A, an agent that's been shown to seep into food and has been linked to issues such as birth defects, diabetes and cardiovascular issues. Glass is also a great choice, since it doesn't contain any BPAs, is more sustainable than plastic, is microwaveable, can withstand extreme temperatures and is impervious to warping and odor. Alternately, there's food-grade silicone, which is non-toxic, highly resistant to wear and tear (even when faced with high temps) and 100 percent recyclable in select locations.
- Opacity: In addition to material, you'll want to think about whether you prefer opaque or translucent containers. Sure, the former might look more streamlined in your cabinets or neater in the communal office fridge, but they may also prevent you from quickly identifying a container's contents. A translucent container, by contrast, can help you easily monitor the freshness of your food without having to open and smell it (gag).
- Size: Think about the size of the storage solution you need. A smaller vessel will be great for sauces, dressings or even single serve portions of food, but if you have a larger family and are storing food for multiple members of the household, you'll probably want to opt for something bigger.
- Lids: Take it from us: A food storage container is only as durable as its lid. Ensure that there's some type of locking mechanism on your food storage container, be it a swivel top or a lid that features snaps or latches on two (or better yet, all) sides. This will prevent moisture and humidity from seeping in and ruining your precious meatloaf.
- Lifestyle: According to On Point Organizing founder/owner Malorie Kohos, a chronic disorganization specialist, there are also lifestyle considerations to take into account when selecting your perfect food storage containers. For instance, are you the type who will take the time to pour your cereal into an individual container, or will you fare better placing the whole box in an open bin? Do you need something you can microwave right in the container, or will you transfer your food to a plate first? The answers to these questions can ultimately help you determine which set to choose.
Types of Food Storage Containers
For every type of food, there’s a storage container to keep it fresh.
- Bins: These large and deep translucent containers tend to be free of lids, so they're best for bulkier grocery items, like lemons, onions, apples and potatoes. They're also easy to slide in and out of your pantry or fridge.
- Ingredient bins: These usually have clear tops, are made of glass or plastic and house single ingredients you'll use often, like flour or cornstarch.
- Glass jars: Glass jars, like those you'd keep desserts or K-cups in, are reusable, indefinitely recyclable and preserve the freshness of food best.
- Pouches: Pouch-style food storage containers are a great option that can be tucked neatly into tight spaces in your fridge or freezer, since they’re malleable and airtight.
- Stackable containers: Usually sold in bulk sets, stackable containers come in plastic, silicone and glass materials and are ideal for preserving single servings or family-sized portions.
How to Organize Food Storage Containers
The way you organize food storage containers will largely depend on your kitchen setup, but generally, you'll want to go for any arrangement that’ll save you space. As an expert organizer, Kohos has a few tips to share for making sure your food storage containers don't become a nuisance in your kitchen.
- Look for nesting storage containers: "I nest containers of the same size and shape when possible, but I keep the lids separate to maximize space and prevent moisture from building up inside the containers," she says.
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Arrange your decanting containers by usage: For containers that are housing food you'll use frequently (like cereal, nuts or flour), Kohos recommends arranging them by category, from the most used to the least used. From there, you can arrange them by height for a more visually appealing display.
- Be strategic about your storage placement: "For a deep pantry space, I’d recommend having one bin in front to store opened bags, and a second bin behind it for overstock," Kohos suggests. "You can ... place frequently used items in the front bin (i.e. grains) and infrequently used ones in the back bin (i.e. baking)."
If you've got more shallow pantries that can't accommodate a front bin and a back bin, you can still pull this off with a little clever rearranging. Says Kohos: "I’d keep the overstock bins on the highest or lowest shelf, depending on the weight of the bin when full." - Save a discreet drawer in your kitchen: If you've got the space, you can dedicate a drawer to your containers to keep them out of sight.
Arrange your decanting containers by usage: For containers that are housing food you'll use frequently (like cereal, nuts or flour), Kohos recommends arranging them by category, from the most used to the least used. From there, you can arrange them by height for a more visually appealing display.
The Best Food Storage Containers at a Glance
Best Glass Food Storage Containers
- Best Glass Food Storage Containers: Ailtec 18-Piece Glass Food Storage Containers
- Runner-Up: Rosos 24-Piece Glass Food Storage Containers
- Honorable Mention: Amazon Basics 20-Piece Glass Food Storage Containers
- Most Versatile: Verel 4-Piece Glass Food Storage Containers
- Best for Snacks: Bormioli Rocco 2-Piece Pandora Food Storage Containers
Best Plastic Food Storage Containers
- Best Plastic Food Storage Containers: Rubbermaid 16-Piece Brilliance Food Storage Containers
- Runner-Up: OXO Good Grips 5-Piece POP Food Storage Containers
- Honorable Mention: Progressive ProKeeper+ Mini Food Storage Container
- Best Looking: Made by Design 40-Piece Food Storage Containers
- Best Lids: OXO Good Grips 30-Piece Smart Seal Food Storage Containers
- Best for Organizing: Chef's Path 14-Piece Food Storage Containers
- Best for the Fridge: The Home Edit 8-Piece Divided Fridge Drawers
- Best for Large Families: Glotech 48-Piece Food Storage Containers
- Most Open: Vtopmart 4-Piece Open-Top Food Storage Containers
- Best Value: TigerChef 12-Piece Food Storage Containers
Best Silicone Food Storage Containers
- Best Silicone Food Storage Containers: Zip-Top 8-Piece Food Storage Bags
- Best for Liquids: OXO Good Grips 2-Pack Squeeze Bottles
Best Glass Food Storage Containers
1. Ailtec 18-piece Glass Food Storage Containers
Best Glass Food Storage Containers
- Why We Love Them: BPA-free, varying sizes and shapes, easy-lock lids
This set is a big hit with PureWow readers, and for good reason. It includes three rectangular containers of varying sizes and their matching lids, three square containers with matching lids and three round containers with matching lids for 18 pieces total. The tops have easy-lock latches that will help to ensure your salad dressing doesn't wind up at the bottom of your work tote, and you can put the bottoms in the microwave, the fridge, the freezer or the dishwasher. Best of all, the high-borosilicate glass material means you won't need to worry about any nasty chemicals leaking into your salmon.
2. Rosos 24-piece Glass Food Storage Containers
Runner-Up
- Why We Love Them: Oven-safe, airtight, large set
We chose this one because all 24 containers of these glass-base containers have locks at all four sides to preserve the freshness of your food and prevent spills—in fact, they're 100 percent leakproof, according to the company. If you want to pop your leftovers in the microwave, you won't have to worry about them turning into a pile of goo, either—just replace the lid with a paper towel to reduce splatters. They’re also oven-safe.
3. Amazon Basics 20-piece Glass Food Storage Containers
- Why We Love Them: Easy to clean, transparent, sealing-ring lids
Unlike some of the other glass sets on this list, this one has lids that are safe to pop in the microwave with the rest of the set. You've got your square containers for pizza, rectangular ones for the last bits of your casserole and circular soup or sauce containers, so you'll have plenty of storage options, and in different sizes, too. Beyond that, we're big fans of the fact that each one has a sealing ring to make for an extra-tight fit.
4. Verel 4-piece Glass Food Storage Containers
Most Versatile
- Why We Love Them: Bamboo tops double as cutting boards, sustainable, stackable
While most glass food storage containers are more sustainable than plastic, this one goes the extra mile with its biodegradable bamboo tops. Each one has a silicone seal that keeps the lid airtight, and they're totally flat, making them a breeze to stack in the fridge. We also love that the lids serve a dual purpose, since you can use them as mini-cutting boards!
5. Bormioli Rocco 2-piece Pandora Food Storage Containers
Best for Snacks
- Why We Love Them: Chic design, wide mouth, BPA-free
Who stole the cookie from the cookie jar? It'll be a mystery with this BPA-free plastic and lead-free glass set. The jar’s inviting tilted design will inspire guests to help themselves, since the wide mouth allows them to easily reach inside. In addition to the user-friendly functionality, we think these will look nice on display whether they're full of animal crackers, candies or even coffee pods.
Best Plastic Food Storage Containers
6. Rubbermaid 16-piece Brilliance Food Storage Containers
Best Plastic Food Storage Containers
- Why We Love Them: Nice mix of containers, BPA-free, dishwasher-safe
If you ask us, this set just might have the best range of the bunch. While most food storage container sets will either give you a range of portable food storage containers or larger ones for your countertop, this one has a nice mix of both. Each container is sized to uniquely fit certain food types, from long pastas to bulk cereal and pet food, with an airtight seal to preserve freshness. The half- and 1.3-cup sizes, meanwhile, are great leakproof carry-alongs for lunch and snacks. They're free and clear of icky BPAs, too.
7. Oxo Good Grips 5-piece Pop Food Storage Containers
Runner-Up
- Why We Love Them: Included scoop, stackable, unique push-button seal
This set is unique in that it allows you to push a button to create a hermetically sealed lid for fresher food—then push it again to lift and wash it. The button also acts as a carrying handle. As for the containers themselves, they stack for storage in tight spaces, and you'll also get a little included scoop to help you get cereal and other dry goods out without getting your hands dirty.
The Container Store
8. Progressive Prokeeper+ 12 Oz. Mini Food Container
Honorable Mention
- Why We Love It: Removable shaker-leveler insert, stackable, slim
We like that this slim pick, which is the perfect size for baking soda, coffee or spices, won't take up too much space on your countertop or your lazy Susan. It's also equipped with an airtight latch-close lid and a removable shaker-leveler insert, so you can measure out your beans or sugar, using one hand, no less!
Target
9. Made By Design 40-piece Food Storage Containers
Best Looking
- Why We Love Them: Large set, uniform aesthetic, easy-locking lids
Want a one-click pantry/refrigerator makeover experience? This set of 20 matching lids and tops will replace all the mismatched food storage that’s been slowly taking over your cabinets for the last 10 years. The containers lock in place with four different latches, and with such a large set, you'll have plenty of backups if one mysteriously goes missing—something that's extremely important to us.
10. Oxo Good Grips 30-piece Smart Seal Food Storage Containers
Best Lids
- Why We Love Them: Interchangeable lids, two types of materials, airtight seal
Whether you opt to use the glass or BPA-free plastic containers in the set, the lids will be interchangeable, meaning less time searching for the right one—genius! Better yet, these tops have four locks each with a silicone seal for extra leak protection, even if they jostle sideways in transit. The glass vessels are microwave-ready, and all of the containers easily nestle into one another for less clutter in your kitchen.
The Container Store
11. The Home Edit By Idesign 8-piece Divided Fridge Drawer
Best for the Fridge
- Why We Love Them: Added storage, easy-grip handles, stackable
These little handled fridge drawers are made of clear plastic and pull out, impressing us with their ability to create one or two more fridge compartments to store food in out of thin air. They're especially useful for making a snack zone—something that will be helpful when little foragers decide to go plundering. They stack neatly on top of each other and are freezer-safe, too.
12. Chef's Path 14-piece Food Storage Containers
Best for Organizing
- Why We Love Them: Included labels and markers, four-hinge locks, BPA-free
If you're looking to get a Khloé Kardashian-level pantry, you'll need the right tools, and we recommend this 14-piece set from Chef's Path as a great place to start. Not only does it have 14 different containers in varying sizes to store everything from cereal and flour to spaghetti noodles and nuts, it comes with little chalkboard labels, a white chalkboard marker and a measuring spoon set, so you'll have a place for everything and everything in its place.
13. Glotoch 48-piece Food Storage Containers
Best for Large Families
- Why We Love Them: Soup-ready, extra-large set, BPA-free
For those with multiple mouths in the family to feed or moms who tend to allow dishes to accumulate before washing them (guilty!), it helps to have some serious backup. That’s where this 48-pack of single-compartment containers with lids comes in handy. Each container holds up to 2 cups of hot or cold food (leftover soup? Yes, please), is made of BPA-free plastic and is dishwasher-safe, so you can toss as many in as you need and still have plenty left over for use.
14. Vtopmart 4-piece Open-top Food Storage Containers
Most Open
- Why We Love Them: Space-optimizing, useful grips, BPA-free
We chose these extra-large bins, made of BPA-free plastic, for their ability to optimize oft-unused space in your fridge, freezer or cupboards. These little beauties won't hold your lunch, but they will keep your yogurt separated from your apples, separated from your canned beverages. And, they have useful handle grips, just in case you need to pull out a whole bin (say, where you put all the ingredients for one meal) and tote it across the kitchen. Note that they are to be hand washed only.
15. Tigerchef 12-piece Food Storage Containers
Best Value
- Why We Love Them: Included marker and label tape, BPA-free, nestle inside each other
If you're the type who constantly loses your containers to the office fridge or ruins them on the bottom rack of the dishwasher, you likely want something that will get the job done for a minimal amount of cash. We'd point you toward this TigerChef set, which gives you everything you need in its six different sized containers with four-way locks (all of which conveniently nestle inside each other), a handy marker and a set of freezer labels to help you identify your stored meals in an instant. It's also BPA-free.
Best Silicone Food Storage Containers
16. Zip-top 8-piece Food Storage Bags
Best Silicone Food Storage Containers
- Why We Love Them: Cute colors, compact
With five cute colors to choose from, including lavender and peach, this set will add to the visual appeal of your fridge. More importantly, however, its non-toxic silicone will be a game-changer in the kitchen, since it can go from the freezer to the microwave safely. The materials are even approved to clean in the bottom rack of your dishwasher! The two bags will store those leftover slices you've got no room for but can't bear to throw away, and the three containers are designed with a flat bottom that can stand up on its own for easy filling. You'll also get two cups for on-the-go smoothies.
17. Oxo Good Grips 2-piece Squeeze Bottles
Best for Liquids
- Why We Love Them: No-drip spout, wide mouth, twist-off cap
It’s always a drag to waste those last couple servings of your freshly made salad dressing or sauce. Luckily, you'll never have to go condiment-less again with this two-pack of squeeze bottles, which can be filled with any type of liquid you might want to take along on your next picnic. The twist-off cap is designed not to leak, and each one has a wide mouth that make it less hazardous to fill. When you're ready to clean them, simply flip them inside out and scrub away.
