The BEST Meal Prepping Containers

Having the BEST meal prep containers is one hundred percent the MOST important tip I have when it comes to a successful meal prep.

Without the right containers, all the effort of your meal prep can be forgotten and can make eating all those meals more challenging.

When choosing the right containers it’s important to think about WHAT you’ll be using your containers for, and HOW they can be stored and later reheated. It’s also important to find a container that is healthy, and will last for a LONG time. Because they will definitely be taking a beating week in and week out from all your meal prepping.

These are the containers and products that I use everyday and week when I prepare food. They have been tested for months and years, and are all non-toxic and can be used over and over and over again.

I wanted to also give you an idea of how I use them, and how YOU can use them in your own meal prep.

Mason Jars

4 Ounce Jars – These are great for salad dressings and dips like hummus. They are also perfectly portioned for trail mix or for healthy fats like peanut or almond butter.

16 Ounce Wide-Mouth Jars – These are the perfect size for side salads or soups. They’re also perfect for Greek yogurt parfaits and overnight oats with all the fixin’s!

32 Ounce Wide-Mouth Jars – These are great for freezing large amounts of soup, OR for making BIG mason jar salads that will stay fresh for dayssss. I also make huge batches of turkey marinara to freeze and have on hand for a quick dinner, a few days worth fit in this size mason jar.

Mason Jar Add-Ons – Not only do I have a huge assortment of mason jar sizes, I also love having some extra equipment that go with them. They make these awesome silicone inserts that you can put into your mason jars to separate dressings or dips easily without having to use an extra whole jar for it. They’re great for salad dressings, dips, or keeping you granola or nuts, and toppings separate from your parfaits or overnight oats.

Also, they make silicone sleeves to put around your mason jars to make them into travel-friendly cups or containers. I have a silicone sleeve that I put around the mason jars that I use for coffee AND infused water. It helps make meal prep a breeze to prep your drinks right in the containers you’re going to use! I also use silicone top inserts that have a straw hole, and use metal straws each day to truly make it zero-waste.

Glass Pyrex Containers

These are the superstars of my meal prep container collection. I literally have over 30 containers and use them ALL each week. These are THE BEST choice because they’re made of glass and come in so many convenient sizes. Because they’re glass you can freeze them, microwave them, AND bake them, and you never need to worry about harmful BPA or toxins in your containers. Here’s the lineup I have and what I use them all for. You can also get a variety pack to start off with, and will help you find your favorite sizes.

2 Cup Round Containers – Perfectly portioned for fruit salads, or smaller servings of soups, and freezing brown rice in smaller portions.

3 Cup Rectangle Containers – These are literally the PERFECT size for those conventional, meat, veggies, carb meals. They are just the right size for a serving each for a well rounded meal. I usually do some simple baked salmon, roasted or steamed veggies, and brown rice or roasted potatoes…so easy, and perfect for lunch!

4 Cup Round Containers – These are great for “bulky meals”. Think large meal-sized salads that have some protein and toppings thrown in, or for things like burrito bowls that are loaded up with veggies, rice, beans, protein and the works! I love having a bigger container than my actual meal for meals like this because I like to stir up all the ingredients, and not have to worry about making a mess with food flying out of my bowl! LOL

Silicone Zip Bags

These are my newest obsession. It was literally killing me knowing how many plastic ziplock bags I was using for things like freezer meals, lunches, and everything else…and finally I made it a mission to make my meal prep containers zero-waste a few months ago. I Googled reusable zipper bags and found these little gems.

I love using the snack and sandwich sizes for fruits and veggies, smoothie ingredients, healthy crackers, or snacks, and even use them to pack my toiletries when traveling! They are amazing and I LOVE that I’m not adding to the billions of bags in landfills.

I love using the large, gallon-sized silicone bags for preparing freezer slow-cooker meals. I love doubling up my meal prep efforts by double batching my meals. For example, I’ll make and prepare two batches of beef stew or another slow cooker meal at once. I’ll place one batch of ingredients in the slow cooker to cook for that week, and then I’ll put all the ingredients in a reusable zip bag to freeze and prepare later. It saves SO MUCH time — check out more time-saving meal prep hacks to see what I mean!

What are your favorite meal prep containers?

[signoff]

Similar Posts