In the pantry, storage containers can extend the shelf life of goods that arrive in hard-to-close packaging. Our third pick from Rubbermaid, this set has a modular design for easy stacking and space-saving.

The containers are clear from top to bottom, so you can easily keep tabs on your inventory. Durable and thick, their BPA-free plastic construction makes them suitable for daily use, and each container comes with a lid that seals tightly, keeping out moisture and humidity. They're also leakproof and can be used in the freezer in addition to the pantry.

We were impressed with these containers for their tight seals, how easily they cleaned up, and the lack of stains and smells left behind. For more extensive organizing, Rubbermaid offers this set in several configurations, from individual pieces to larger sets.

We find the piece set just right for storing everything from pantry essentials to cut vegetables or fruit in the refrigerator. Material: BPA-free plastic Number of Pieces: 10 plus lids. As we mentioned, the best set of storage containers depend on your preferences. If we were to choose one best overall, it would be the Glasslock Piece Assorted Glass Storage Container Set for its strong, oven-safe glass; tight, locking lids; versatile shapes and sizes; and the fact that it can stand up to the oven and freezer alike.

We tested 76 food storage container sets, which included 35 plastic sets, 24 glass sets, 13 reusable silicone bags, two reusable fabric bags, and two ceramic canister sets.

We tested containers in several everyday situations to see how well they could keep brown sugar from drying out, preserve cut avocados, freeze berries, and resist stains from tomato sauce and odors from raw onions, to name a few scenarios.

We tested the containers as it made sense, so pantry canisters and taller bins did not go through our refrigerator, freezer, and microwave tests.

The food storage containers that made our list received top marks in testing, in addition to meeting our standards for capacity, ease of cleaning, and design.

This set includes a nice assortment for singles or a couple. Made of thick glass with locking airtight lids, these containers can be used in the fridge, freezer, and microwave and can be placed in the dishwasher for easy cleaning. This is a glass version of the popular Brilliance Tritan set on this list.

The glass bases are suitable for use in the oven up to degrees, allowing them to double as cookware and serveware. It's more expensive than the average glass set, however.

Made of borosilicate glass, these containers can go from the freezer to the oven. We love that this set stacks and nests really well, saving space wherever you decide to use them.

They performed well in our leakproof tests and are also easy to clean by hand or in the dishwasher. This vintage-styled set includes 18 containers with lids, ranging in size from 1.

This set is great for a one- or two-person home to preserve cut produce, meal prep, and holding leftovers. We love the look of them, and the price point makes this set a great value.

We really liked the easy, secure seal of these storage bags. The flat bottoms of these reusable bags make them extra versatile, working even better than your typical plastic zip storage bag.

A fantastic option for dry storage, these essential containers seal and un-seal with a press of the large button on the lid. This set is designed specifically for baking ingredients, with built-in scoops for larger sizes and a specially designed lid to keep brown sugar from hardening. As we tested 76 storage container sets and reusable bag sets, we had to cut dozens from our final list for various reasons.

It leaked during testing, however, which was a deal-breaker at this high of a price point. Finally, we preferred storage containers to most reusable bags, and fabric storage bags ranked lowest in our tests.

Food storage containers typically come in sturdy plastic, glass, or stoneware, while reusable bags tend to be made of silicone or fabric.

Each material has its merits, so choosing one will depend on what is most important to you. Plastic containers tend to be less expensive, lightweight, and more durable than glass or stoneware.

Glass and stoneware tend to be more aesthetically pleasing, heavier, a bit more expensive, and more fragile, on top of resisting stains and odors better than plastic, in general. To keep contents fresh, you want a container or bag that seals well.

Look for features like silicone or rubber gaskets that provide an air-tight seal and snap closures that help to keep items contained even if the bin takes a small tumble. If you're storing food in a deep drawer, you may prefer clear or windowed lids, and if you're storing in a pantry, you may prefer lids that allow you to stack containers securely to maximize space.

When picking a storage set, you want to be sure that the sizes included are useful for your household. For pantry storage and leftovers, it's better to have containers that are slightly larger than you think you need.

If you're packing containers for the office or school, on the other hand, you may want smaller containers or some designed for meal prep. Most food storage containers and reusable bags can be easily washed by hand, but for a more thorough cleaning, you may prefer to pick a set that is dishwasher-safe.

Always check with the manufacturer's instructions to ensure your set can be run through the dishwasher without warping or damaging its seal.

A set that stacks will take advantage of any vertical space you have. Place heavier, larger containers on the bottom, and stack lighter, smaller containers on top. If you're storing food in a deep drawer, you may want to opt for uniformly sized containers with see-through lids for easy identification.

To make organization easier, you can also use a label maker or wine bottle pen to note each container's contents. This depends on the quantities and varieties of food you need to store.

We recommend starting with a small, buildable set that you can add onto once you know your storage needs. For example, keeping some containers in the freezer will mean having fewer on hand for workday lunches. And if you like to freeze meals, you'll likely want to supplement a set with more large containers.

How many food storage containers you need depends on how many people are in your household, whether you meal-prep, how much you save leftovers or let them go to waste, how often you cook meals at home versus ordering out, and many other factors.

What you may want to look for is an assortment of food containers that come in different sizes, ideally as part of a set. Small containers can hold things like leftovers, small meals, or your work lunch.

Larger containers could prove more useful for soups, grains, prepped meals, storing food to take to a potluck, and more. You want enough containers that you can rotate through them without constantly having to wash them, but not too many that they pile up in the sink. The least-expensive plastic containers might require hand-washing, since dishwashing temperatures could warp them or cause the lids to fit improperly after washing.

Most other plastic food storage containers are dishwasher-safe, although the manufacturers often suggest top-rack washing to avoid the excessive heat at the bottom of the dishwasher. While some flexible plastic containers can stain when used to store tomato-based products or similar foods, their usefulness is not affected.

Though multiple editors contributed to this piece, it was most recently updated by associate editor Taylor Rock. Not only are we experts in our field, but we're also consumers, so we left no stone unturned when we scoured the food storage market to bring you our list of the best container sets for your needs.

Freelance food writer Carrie Honaker contributed reporting and text. In addition to her work with various food media brands, Carrie has cooked in restaurant kitchens and even owned a cafe, so her experience with food storage spans her professional and personal life.

This article was updated by Katya Weiss-Andersson , a writer and editor who has nearly a decade of experience as a professional chef. Katya is a leftover queen, a maker of big batches, and a hater of food waste, so learning how to best store leftovers and pantry items has been a priority in her kitchen.

Food and Drug Administration. Bisphenol A BPA : Use in food contact application. Use limited data to select advertising. Create profiles for personalised advertising. Use profiles to select personalised advertising. Create profiles to personalise content. Use profiles to select personalised content.

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Develop and improve services. Use limited data to select content. List of Partners vendors. We Tested Storage Container Sets—These 10 Keep Your Food Fresh and Organized. By Taylor Rock.

Taylor Rock. Taylor is an editor on the commerce team, where she creates and edits copy for The Spruce Eats. She joined Dotdash Meredith in November , but her admiration for food and drink is lifelong. Learn about The Spruce Eats' Editorial Process.

and Katya Weiss-Andersson. Katya Weiss-Andersson. Katya Weiss-Andersson is a commerce editor for The Spruce Eats. With eight years of experience as a professional chef cooking in cramped kitchens and developing recipes with limited space and equipment, Katya has become an expert on how to make life easier in the kitchen.

Our Top Picks. Best Overall, Plastic:. Best Overall, Glass:. Best Value:. Best for Countertop:. Best Design:. Best for Cereal:.

Best Ceramic:. Best for Refrigerator:. Best Small Set:. Best for Bulk Storage:. In This Article Expand. Our Picks. How We Tested. Other Options We Tested. What to Look for. Why Trust The Spruce Eats?

Best Overall, Plastic. Rubbermaid Pantry Airtight Food Storage Containers. Our Ratings. What We Like Airtight Microwave-safe and freezer-safe Stain-proof, leakproof, and smell-proof. What We Don't Like Scratches easily. We Tested Rubbermaid Brilliance Food Storage Containers.

Best Overall, Glass. Glasslock Piece Assorted Container Set. What We Like Safe for the oven, microwave, and dishwasher Made with durable glass Recyclable Aesthetically pleasing.

What We Don't Like Lids are tricky to close Heavy. Glasslock Piece Assorted Oven-Safe Container Set Review. Best Value. Amazon Basics Glass Food Storage Container Set. What We Like Sturdy Includes various shapes and sizes Leakproof Won't stain. What We Don't Like Lids are not interlocking or stackable.

Best for Countertop. Le'raze Glass Kitchen Canisters. What We Like Beautiful design Stain-resistant and smell-proof Very airtight. What We Don't Like Not great for storing liquids Lids are hand-wash only. Plastic Food Storage Containers Review. Best Design. What We Like Durable Cute, stackable design Large capacity Very airtight.

What We Don't Like Slight smell transfer before washing. Best for Cereal. PrepWorks by Progressive Large Cereal Keeper. Both are affordable options that will provide you with years of use. The Pyrex Simply Store containers stack neatly and are made from durable tempered glass.

The colorful lids make it easier to match their shape to the corresponding container, though you may need to replace them over time. We think this set offers the best range of sizes and shapes among the plastic containers we tested. Plus, they stack neatly for storage. The Glasslock containers have locking lids that will prevent leaks.

But these lids also put stress on the lips of the containers, so the glass may be prone to chipping over time. These inexpensive plastic containers come in multiple sizes, for packing and transporting food.

You can use this set in a microwave, freezer, preheated oven, and dishwasher. And after being repeatedly dropped from waist height, they sustained only minor cracks on the edges of the lids. The containers nest well, too, so in a cupboard they take up less space than much of the competition.

We like that the Glasslock Piece Container Set includes lids that seal to prevent spills, and these containers survived multiple drops from counter height. But after four years of long-term testing, some of our containers have chipped around their edges—a common complaint with most glass containers we researched.

Their locking lids require more effort to close than the lids of our main pick, the Pyrex Simply Store Piece Set. The Glasslock containers come in a variety of shapes that store nicely in the fridge, and they are safe to use in an oven, microwave, freezer, or dishwasher.

This set comes in a variety of sizes, with containers that stack well for convenient storage. Scents and stains remained after washing, and a few containers leaked in our testing. Anna Perling, who performed testing for and wrote our last update, spent more than four years reviewing food-storage vessels, from travel mugs to food thermoses to lunch boxes.

Ganda Suthivarakom, who wrote our original guide, spent dozens of hours researching and testing filling, shaking, storing, freezing, microwaving, washing, and dropping food containers. To learn as much as we could about materials, and what makes a great container, we've talked with several experts over the years, including glass scientists and cookbook editors.

There are a few reasons to upgrade your containers, especially if you use plastic yogurt or takeout tubs. Third, such plastic containers are not FDA-approved for repeat food storage or microwaving. Of the experts we interviewed, some preferred glass, some preferred plastic, and one even preferred zip-top plastic bags for leftovers.

They chose what worked best for themselves and their families, and you can too. Most glass food-storage containers, including the Pyrex and Glasslock sets we recommend, are made of tempered glass , a type of heat-treated soda-lime glass. This is why tempered glass is used for side and rear windows in cars and glass shower doors.

To understand more on how and why this seemingly random breakage occurs, you can check out our blog post on the subject. You may also find containers made from heat-strengthened glass , which is twice as strong as untreated glass yet not as strong as tempered glass.

So compared with tempered glass, heat-strengthened glass is not as resistant to sudden changes of temperature or as durable if you drop it. Our tests built on our testing from previous years. We tested for leaks by filling containers with water and shaking them, before and after they had run through the dishwasher.

To test how the containers would hold onto smells and stains, we filled them with tomato sauce, placed them in the refrigerator for five days and the freezer for two weeks, and reheated the sauce in the microwave for two minutes. Before reheating, we also checked the frozen tomato sauce for freezer-burn patterns, which indicate how tightly a container seals.

And we submerged all of the lids in a large bowl of tomato sauce for 48 hours and then ran them through the dishwasher, as an additional stain and smell test.

Usability is important in a container. Previously, we froze quarter-pound portions of ground beef for two weeks to look at freezer-burn patterns. And, most fun of all, we conducted a drop test from waist height for all of the containers including glass ones to see whether they would break or if the lids would pop off.

In an attempt to simulate a non-bouncy kitchen floor, we did these drop tests on a piece of wood placed over cement. In , we also subjected the glass sets to extreme thermal stresses which is something we strongly do not recommend trying at home : We pulled the containers from the freezer and filled them with boiling water; we took containers that had been in a ºF oven for 10 minutes and filled them with ice water; we used the containers to reheat cold beef stew and tomato sauce in the microwave for three minutes; and, finally, we froze beef stew in the containers and put them directly into a °F oven for 10 minutes.

Made from tempered glass, these sturdy containers survived multiple counter-height drops onto wood without breaking. The lids will likely wear down faster than the containers themselves especially if you run them through the dishwasher , but you can easily get replacements from Pyrex.

This set stacks neatly and is safe to use in a microwave, freezer, preheated oven, and dishwasher. Never had the glass part break. These containers were also impressive in our initial drop tests. They survived drop after drop onto a wood board placed over a cement floor.

At one point, a container missed the board entirely and bounced off the cement without breaking. The containers also passed our thermal stress tests: They were still intact after we transferred them directly from a °F oven to the freezer and vice versa we strongly urge you not to try this experiment at home.

The lids come in different colors that correlate to differently sized containers, providing a visual cue to help match them together more easily.

We also found that the rectangular containers leaked from the corners. The Pyrex set includes nine glass containers with matching lids , and they range in size from 1 to 7 cups. The containers nest well, or you can stack the sealed containers on top of each other.

Also, according to the company, Pyrex will replace any glass product that breaks due to oven heat. If this happens, just be sure to keep the damaged item, since you may be asked to return it. Contact the Pyrex Customer Care Center for returns or replacements.

Like the other glass containers we tested, the Pyrex set we looked at had a number of visible flaws in the glass. All tempered glassware runs the risk of spontaneously shattering. Glass is a brittle material and needs to be treated with care.

Several Amazon reviewers have complained that the lids can crack or warp even after just a few uses, but Wirecutter staffers reported that their Pyrex lids stayed intact even after two to three years. Pyrex does sell replacement lids if you need them.

You may be able to prolong the life of your lids by hand-washing them, although it may be inconvenient to do so.

Out of all the plastic sets we tested, we recommend the Snapware Total Solution Piece Food Storage Set. But the plastic, locking Snapware set is cheaper, lighter, and more convenient for transporting food than our glass picks.

Snapware is owned by the same company as Pyrex, and similarly, it offers replaceable lids and a long warranty. These sets have held up well over time in our home kitchens, too. For those reasons, we think the Snapware set is the best option from our picks if you want to prep your meal ahead and grab your container from the fridge on your way out the door.

The lids in the Snapware Total Solution set are easy to snap closed unlike those in the Snapware Airtight set, which were difficult to latch and repeatedly popped open, or the Rubbermaid Brilliance lids, which sprang shut violently, like a mousetrap.

With the locking tabs, these containers are more likely to stay shut than sets with press-on lids from IKEA or our budget pick, the Rubbermaid TakeAlongs. The containers themselves were also stain-free.

And the Snapware Total Solution set performed admirably in our drop tests: Only a small piece on the corner of the lid broke off, after the third drop.

We appreciate that the Snapware containers nest, for easy storage, or stack neatly in the fridge and freezer. The set comes with 10 containers and matching lids in a variety of shapes and sizes that we think will work for most foods—from small circular containers for storing sauces or dressings to deeper, rounded rectangles for lasagna or curry.

We found the Snapware lids slightly easier to lock and pop off than the Glasslock lids thanks to a small protruding tab at the rim.

The key difference between the two containers is that you can remove the gaskets on the Glasslock lids for cleaning, but the gaskets on the Snapware lids we tested are attached. The instructions on the Snapware Total Solution product page recommend removing the gasket for cleaning.

These containers are microwave-, freezer-, and dishwasher-safe. Snapware also sells replaceable lids for every shape in the set if you need them: round , square , and rectangular.

Like Pyrex, Snapware is a Corelle brand.