Find my favorite durable, affordable, and easy-to-clean meal prep containers for easy food storage for family meals, toddler meals, and leftovers.
Meal Prep Containers
One of the best ways to keep your food budget in check and to actually use all the food you make is to have containers to store it all in. And while I don’t think you have to go full-on meal prep each week, having handy meal prep containers on hand is a great way to store leftovers—and any food you want to serve for a future meal.
In this post, I’m including my favorite food storage containers for family meals, toddler meals, snacks, and leftovers. The types of containers include glass storage containers, plastic storage containers, divided meal prep containers with compartments, smaller kid-size containers, and freezer-safe options.
There’s a mix of materials and price points here to provide options that you can choose from to fit the needs of your family. They’re all dishwasher-safe.
You may also like Meal Prep Breakfasts, Meal Prep Lunch Ideas, and Make-Ahead Toddler Dinners.
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Zwilling USA Vacuum-Seal Containers
I’ve had a big set of these storage containers for over a year, and they are the ones I use most often in my kitchen. We have both the glass containers and the plastic ones (both with plastic lids), and I love that you can vacuum seal the food in seconds through the lid (the set comes with the sealer) to keep food fresh longer.
When sealed, these are leak-proof and easy to store in a stack in a cabinet.
Zwilling Fresh and Save BPA-Free Plastic Containers / Zwilling Fresh and Save Glass 3-Piece Container Set
WeeSprout Storage Jars
I have a set of 8-ounce jars and 4-ounce jars that I use for meal prepping foods like Peach Yogurt, Chia Pudding, Breakfast Shakes, leftovers, and more. They come in both glass and plastic (BPA-free of course) so you can choose the option that works best for your family. These are my go-to best meal prep containers when I want to store individual portions.
WeeSprout Glass Jars, Set of 12 / WeeSprout Plastic Jars, Set of 12
OXO Good Grips Smart Seal Containers
I’ve had a few of these containers—which come in sizes including 3.5 cups, 7 cups, and 8 cups—and use them regularly for food storage. They are great for meal prepping produce or veggies and storing leftovers, as they seal very tightly.
Ziploc Food Storage Containers
For a more affordable meal prep container option, you can go with this set from Ziploc. At less than $30 for a set of 24 containers, this is a great set to get started with. The containers are easy to clean and are safe for the fridge or freezer. They also have a tight seal for easy storage.
Over time, the corners of the lids may crack.
Bentgo Divided Meal Prep Containers
This set of divided containers is amazingly helpful for packing a bunch of lunches, breakfasts, or dinners at once since you can easily pack more than one food in each container. And the set of 12 is affordable, so this is a great one to keep on hand if you regularly meal prep food for your family.
Best Tips for Meal Prepping
- My Guide to Freezing Food has tips for storing food in the freezer and making sure it stays fresh.
- Learn how to store baby food, meal prep toddler meals, and store your produce so it lasts. You can also find my favorite Freezer Meals, too.
- My favorite dinner recipes to meal prep include my Easy Pasta Salad, Pesto Pasta Salad, Quinoa Salad, Baked Chicken Meatballs, Yogurt Chicken, Toddler Meatballs, Green Sauce for Pasta, and Marinara Sauce.
- Let food cool completely before storing in the refrigerator or freezer to ensure the container doesn’t trap in extra steam.
- Line containers with a clean cloth napkin or a paper towel when storing produce in containers to help it stay fresh.
- Mason jars in a variety of sizes are a great storage option, too. You can use larger ones to store bulk grains like rice and other pantry staples. Wide-mouth ones are a little easier to fill and decant.
- Use Pyrex containers for glass meal prep containers that can go into the oven.
