Glass Meal Prep Containers - Love of Food Network

Why Choose to Use Glass Containers For Meal Prep

Glass containers are a great option for those who want to plan their meals in advance and have a convenient way to store and even transport their food. They are durable, safe, easy to clean, versatile, and environmentally friendly. If you’re looking for a reliable and healthy way to meal prep, glass is definitely a solid choice.

Durable and Safe

One of the most significant benefits of these containers is that they are made of durable and safe materials. Unlike plastic, glass containers are free of harmful chemicals like BPA and phthalates. They are also non-porous, which means they won’t absorb any stains, smells, or flavors from your food. They are designed to withstand high temperatures, making them safe to use in the oven, microwave, and freezer.

Easy to Clean

Another advantage is that they are easy to clean. Unlike plastic, which may absorb food stains and odors, glass can be easily cleaned and sanitized. These are dishwasher safe, making it easy to clean them all at once. You can also hand wash them with soap and water, and they will still look as good as new.

Versatile and Convenient

You can use them to store a variety of foods, from fruits and vegetables to soups and stews. Glass containers are perfect for meal prepping because they allow you to portion out your meals ahead of time, making it easier to control your portions and manage your calorie intake. They can also be great for packing lunches or snacks for work or school.

Environmentally Friendly

Glass meal prep containers are an environmentally friendly option. Unlike plastic containers that can take hundreds of years to decompose, glass is recyclable and can be reused over and over again. By using them, you can help reduce the amount of waste generated by plastic containers.

The Glass containers that we use vary in size and shape, we will explain why we like each one.

Let’s start first with some of the more common glass food containers that most households have in their own cabinets. By the way, if you click through any of the links below, you can find these products on Amazon.

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Anchor Hocking

Anchor Hocking Glass Food Storage Containers are sold in round shapes and have a hard plastic lid. What we like about them is they stack inside one another and the glass is very sturdy – we rarely get a chip or crack and have had these for years. They go from fridge to microwave and heat food evenly. They are dishwasher safe.

What we don’t like about them. The covers do not hold up as well as the glass. Often after placing the hard plastic in the dishwasher it becomes brittle and cracks. They do sell replacement lids or you can simply hand wash the lids to avoid having to replace them.

They even make a softer top called True Seal that seems to hold up better over time. If you are considering purchasing them you may want to opt for the True Seal softer top as shown below.

Rubbermaid

Rubbermaid makes glass containers as well and I will share with you 2 that we have had for many years. They are called Rubbermaid Glass with Easy Find Lids In our opinion this really speaks to their durability.

What we like about these are their size and square shape. They are larger in size than just for a single meal. Often when we are preparing a bowl of something to share later in the day, such as a potato salad, or have as leftovers, these containers work quite well for this purpose. They stack nicely in the fridge and you can heat up leftovers, then serve directly from them or ladle soup out of them. They are microwave and dishwasher safe but do come with a caution that says do not put in the broiler or on the stove.

Mason Jars

Mason Jars have been around for many years. You may remember seeing these in your grandma’s pantry when she would pickle and put up vegetables from her garden. Today these are popular again and there is no wonder why. These jars are made of tough glass that are made to withstand high, moist temperatures. The seal you get with the lid keeps moisture out better than so many other containers. They are not recommended for dry heat, so no microwave or oven cooking with these.

We prefer the Ball brand wide mouth jars, the reason why is the Ball Brand has measurements on the side making it easier to put ingredients together quickly, all in one jar. The wide mouth makes it easy to pour ingredients into it and also easier to scoop contents out.

They are fabulous for making Mason Jar Salads. They showcase entire layered salads with colorful veggies and look so beautiful in the fridge. When you bring Mason Jar salads to work your coworkers will be envious of your lunch! They are perfect for meal prepping Overnight Oats, Chia Seed Puddings, and Yogurt Parfaits. Just open the lid and eat your breakfast. The lids are available in metal and in plastic. The metal lids are best if hand washed however, if you opt for the plastic lids your jars are 100% dishwasher safe.

Pyrex

Pyrex makes glass budget friendly meal prep containers with dividers. They lock on four sides like the higher end brands. They are freezer, fridge, microwave, and dishwasher safe. Out of all of our containers, we use these the least. First the rubber band inside the lid on one has pulled away from its lid and we have to fuss with it to put it back in. They are heavy weighted compared to our other containers.

We find that if it is a meal that we are heating up anyway, dividers are not always necessary. But if you have a picky eater who does not want their broccoli to touch their chicken you may want to purchase a glass set with dividers.

Lock and Lock

Lock and Lock Glass Containers are considered to be more of a high end product, but they are worth investing in and adding to your food container stash. They not only lock on all four sides to keep food fresh and leak proof but these babies are oven safe up to 750 degrees F. The manufacturer’s website says you can also use these in the air fryer. You can take your food from freezer to fridge to oven – just remember to remove the plastic lid before putting them into the oven. We have the rectangle shapes and use them for small zucchini lasagnas and other types of recipes that we prefer heated in an oven.

Ello Duraglass with Silicone Sleeves

Ello Duraglass with Silicone Sleeves are one of our most used meal prep containers and for quite a few reasons. Let’s start with the silicone sleeve’s brilliant design. They are each a different color and each one has a matching top, this alone is worth it. This saves us time in finding the right lid. Let’s dive a bit deeper into this design, because the glass is surrounded by the silicone they nest and stack nicer than any of our other glass containers. They can go from freezer, to fridge, to oven, and they are oven safe up to 450 degrees F and are dishwasher safe on the top rack.

The Glass Containers That We Like The Best and Least

In conclusion our favorite is the Ello Duraglass with Silicone Sleeves and the runner up is our Mason Jars, these get used more often in our household than any of the other meal prep containers. Our least favorite is the Pyrex but they were gifted to us by someone else and we use them for overflow meal prep when needed. We hope this helps you sort out which glass meal prep containers may be right for you.

As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Don’t worry you still pay the same price for items.