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If you love leftovers – you need some of the best glass food storage containers in your life. Glass offers many benefits that are lacking in other storage containers, our favorite being that you can heat your food directly in the container – just pop it right into the microwave and you can chow down on leftovers within 45 seconds.
Of course, there are tons of poor quality glass food storage containers as well – so we did the legwork, aggregated millions of actual customer reviews, and tested the top products. Without further ado, here are the best glass food storage containers on the market today.
Our Top Pick
Pyrex Rectangular Food Storage Containers
Pyrex is well-known for their strong glass containers – and we think they are the best pick on the market. With a great price, indestructibility, and a perfect brand reputation – these storage containers are our top choice. Highly recommended.
Other Great Picks
FineDine 24-Piece Glass Food Storage Containers
With thousands of great customer reviews, and an affordable price point – FineDine is our runner-up for glass food storage containers. There is absolutely no leaking with these containers, and if Pyrex didn’t exist – they’d be our de facto pick. A definite recommendation.
Glasslock 18-Piece Container Set
Glasslock is another great brand, and this container set has thousands of glowing customer reviews. These containers are BPA free, recyclable, and in our testing – did not leak one bit. A great choice.
Oggi 4 Piece Glass Canister Set
This glass canister set from Oggi is a great budget pick, and works for taller items. The lids are also super-tight, which we greatly appreciated. Our highest recommendation.
Snapware Total Solution Glass Food Storage Set
This set of glass food storage containers is slightly more expensive, but in our testing, it was deemed worthy of the price. These containers are essentially indestructible, and are fine in your oven, microwave, and dishwasher. If you have a few extra bucks to spend, we highly recommend this set.
Prep Naturals Glass Meal Prep Containers
Want a great budget set of glass containers, that also have thousands of 5-star customer reviews? Look no further, as this set from Prep Naturals is one of the best solutions for your kitchen. Our highest recommendation.
Bayco Glass Food Storage Containers
While Bayco was a brand that was less familiar to us, we saw the thousands of great customer reviews, and had to give these containers a whirl. We were not disappointed, as they come in at an affordable price point, withstood all our scrutiny and tests – and get our highest seal of approval.
Chef’s Path Food Storage Container Set
If you want a slightly more upscale set of glass food storage containers – this is the choice for you. With stellar user reviews, and perfect performance in our tests, we cannot recommend this set enough. A great pick.
Utopia Kitchen Glass Food Storage Container Set
This set of glass storage containers has thousands upon thousands of great reviews, and yet still comes in at a budget price. They can withstand up to 400 degrees in the oven, and withstood anything we threw at them, throughout our testing. Our highest recommendation.
5 Stars United Glass Food Storage Containers
If you want a great set of glass food storage containers, but don’t want to spend a lot – this is the set for you. Even though these cost barely more than a single fast food meal, they will stand up to any tests you might want to put them through. A stellar choice.
What Are Glass Food Storage Containers?
If you’ve ever had leftovers the day after a great meal, you know why glass food storage containers are important. Plastic containers aren’t able to be heated in the microwave or oven – but glass containers are.
This is our favorite aspect of these containers, as we can take our food right out of the fridge, heat it up within 45 seconds – and eat it right out of the same container we pulled from the refrigerator. You can heat up pasta, lasagna, soup – anything, right out of a glass container.
Though plastic is one alternative to glass food containers, it offers none of the benefits, and has many drawbacks. Many plastic containers leak, spill, and are made with materials bad for the environment (and you).
What Capacity Do I Need For Food Storage Containers?
There are a huge number of sizes available for food storage containers, and picking the right one depends on exactly what you want to store. If you want to only store spices, all you really need is some small containers.
However, we recommend going with a set of food containers, so you get a wide variety of sizes and shapes. Since food requires big containers, having large, rectangular sizes will allow you to store huge capacities of munchies – for very little money.
What Shape Of Glass Food Storage Container Is Best?
There are a large number of shapes on the market, but for solid food, you’ll want to generally opt for rectangular containers with a lot of depth. If you’re storing liquids (like soup), deep and circular is the best shape to opt for.
If you have something like spaghetti, you’ll need to opt for tall storage containers, as they will be the only size that can fit the food. Generally, buying a set of storage containers is what we recommended, as a set will give you a huge variety of shapes to store your food in.
Locking Systems For Glass Food Storage Containers
You might think all locking systems are the same on food containers – but you’d be wrong. If you get containers that have a metal caliper closure, they will be the most diverse.
They are also usually paired with a rubber seal, which makes them resistant to heat, as well as being 100% airtight. These types of containers will hold anything, and they can even be used for long-term storage (assuming that you sterilize them first).
Other closures can hold non-perishable items, but they won’t be able to be sterilized, and they won’t be able to hold perishable items. So these other types of closures work for things like coffee, spaghetti, rice, and cereal.
Can I Put Glass Food Storage Containers In The Microwave, Oven, Or Freezer?
This will depend on the individual containers that you buy. However, what we recommend is buying items that are okay in all of these places – as versatility is very important when it comes to storage containers.
While you might not plan on it, chances are, one day you’ll need a soup container, or a spaghetti container. Or maybe you’ll need to put a dish in the oven.
If you choose containers that will be okay in any of these environments, you’re getting more value out of that item. This is why we recommend against plastic containers for the most part, as they aren’t as versatile.
Does The Brand Of Food Storage Container Matter?
To some degree, yes. Going with a more well-known brand will ensure reliability and durability (at least in most cases).
However, we have some lesser-known brands on our list, because in our testing, they held up well. These brands also have great customer reviews, so we trust that voluminous feedback from real people.
What Can You Do With Glass Food Storage Containers?
Obviously, the main purpose of glass food storage containers is to store food. That sort of goes without saying.
However, there are a surprisingly large number of other things that glass food storage containers can be used for. For example, you can use them for the base of a lamp (wild, we know).
You can also use these food storage containers as soap dispensers, ice cream pots, or even a photo frame. Other people have also listed glass food storage containers as being useful for drinking glasses, as well as for being vases for flowers.
In most of these instances, the best kind of storage containers to use would be the tall, narrow kind – not usually the flat, square containers. There are a seemingly endless number of uses for glass food storage containers, as well as shapes and sizes of containers available.
What’s The Best Way To Remove Labels From Glass Containers?
Ah, this is an annoying problem. Before we knew better, we’d endlessly try to peel labels off of our containers – often to no avail.
However, after endless Google searches, we realized we could simply soak our containers in hot water for a few minutes – and voila – the labels will often come right off. Any residue (or label glue) that’s left, can be washed off in the dishwasher.
In some nightmare cases, labels can be held on with waterproof glue – but some simple cooking oil can take care of this. Why manufacturers put these labels on to begin with – we couldn’t tell you.
Yes, glass containers provide the best storage times. This because they are airtight, won’t leak, and also won’t absorb the smells of foods placed inside them.
Glass containers are also better for the environment, as they last forever, and are 100% recyclable, whenever you decide to get rid of them. This is directly in contrast to plastic, which many times cannot be recycled at all.
How Do I Sterilize Glass Food Storage Containers?
If you need to do some long-term storage, you’ll want to sterilize your containers first. This involves keeping your containers at over 200 degrees Fahrenheit, for a limited period of time.
At this temperature, any elements that could infect your food (like microorganisms) will be killed off. The easiest way to do this, is to start by cleaning your containers as normal.
Next, bring a pot to a boil, and then place your containers inside. However, it’s important that the containers don’t touch each other, or the bottom of the pan.
You can separate them with a simple towel, and then let them boil for about 12 minutes. After they dry on a clean towel, they’re now ready to store your food for as long as you want.
What Is The Best Container To Store Rice?
Rice is not perishable, so technically you don’t need to store it in a glass container. However, in our experience, it’s always better to store everything in glass (just in case disaster strikes).
So we would recommend opting for a very large, deep glass storage container, if you want to store rice. While tall, shallow containers would work, since rice takes up a lot of space, it will work better in a large storage container.
Is It Better To Store Flour In Glass Or Plastic?
The issue with flour, is that it will oxidize over time. This means it needs to be stored in a place where no outside air can get in.
While we prefer glass containers for flour, as they are generally a little more airtight, technically any airtight plastic containers would be okay for flour as well. We do recommend putting plastic in multiple bags, before it even gets into a container.
This will help mitigate against any potential leaks (even air leaks). Generally, you want to avoid storing flour for long periods of time if you can, but it should still hold up if you have to store it – assuming that you keep away from any outside air.
How Many Pieces Should I Look For In A Glass Food Storage Container Set?
We recommend getting as many pieces as possible, that will still fit within your budget. The reason for this, is that more containers will always be better for your food storage needs.
A standard 18 to 24 piece set (if you’re starting from scratch), is usually best. If you already have a lot of food storage containers, it will likely make more sense to simply get 1 or 2 pieces to add to your collection.
The Best Glass Food Storage Containers
There you have it – our picks for the best glass food storage containers. Whether you want to spend barely more than $10, or get the most premium containers on the market – we’ve got you covered.
You’ll never be stuck with leaky containers, or cold leftovers – you can simply pop a glass container in the microwave, heat up your food, and be ready to eat. If you liked this list, be sure to check out some of our other product reviews, in the home and kitchen section.