For maximizing refrigerator space: square deli containers

Our test kitchen staff may be hopelessly devoted to standard deli containers for their convenience, price, and stacking capabilities, but there’s one thing we can’t ignore: Their cylindrical shape wastes a lot of space on refrigerator shelves. Unlike the round containers, square plastic food storage containers can be packed into fridges, freezers, and pantries in a more snug fashion. It’s simple geometry! Jampel loves these space-saving, BPA-free plastic square containers with leakproof lids. “They have all the benefits of cylindrical deli containers—lightweight, affordable but not disposable—and they also nestle into my shelves like puzzle pieces,” she says. They come in sets of 20, which makes them amazing meal prep containers.

For vacuum sealing…anything: Zwilling Fresh & Save

If you really want to up your food storage game, consider vacuum sealing, which will keep your food fresh for five times longer than their non-vacuum sealed counterparts. Our favorite vacuum sealer, the Zwilling Fresh & Save, works for everything from left over casseroles to avocado halves to spelt flour. Alex Beggs says there’s no better way to keep food fresh, and she can confirm that it extends the shelf life of her food by days to weeks to even months. This high-tech food storage system consists of a rechargeable handheld vacuum pump and its own high-quality containers—you can choose between sturdy plastic, borosilicate glass, or reusable plastic bags. We recommend the starter set, which is available with either hard plastic or glass and includes a medium container, a large container, two small vacuum sealer bags, and two medium vacuum sealer bags. You can also purchase different containers—like this bento-style lunchbox—à la carte if you want. A few of Beggs’s fave things to vacuum seal: frozen berries, rice salad, ham hocks, and entire loaf cakes.

For dressings, grains, and sauces: glass jars

A food storage container set that doubles as a set of drinking glasses? Count us in. “I have a jar hoarding problem and save most coconut oil/ghee/peanut butter/jam jars for storing salad dressings and uncooked rice,” says Carla Lalli Music. Wide-mouth canisters are great for grains while smaller half-cup containers will do just fine for sauces and dressings.

Anna Stockwell replaces the two-part canning lid on Mason jars with these plastic tops, which are easier to clean and make it less likely that you’ll have vinaigrette leakage all over your lunch box.

For cooking oils: plastic squeeze bottles

Stocking up on a giant tin of Frantoia olive oil is a great investment, but it’s almost impossible to pour a tablespoon straight from its container. You could transfer the oil to a fancy cruet, but a humble squeeze bottle is your best bet for everyday cooking. The flexible plastic is clear, which could potentially make the olive oil go rancid more quickly, but if you’re cooking with olive oil a couple times a day you’ll go through the bottle faster than you think.

For decanting dry goods with style: colorful magnetic containers

If you want your kitchen cabinets to look like a Pinterest board, then boy do we have the pantry storage for you. But they’re not all style and no substance. Cliik containers have cleverly designed magnetized lids that snap comfortably onto each jar. They’re also square-shaped and magnetized on the side, so they also attach to the lids of other Cliik containers. While Cliik says you can use the containers for storing edible and nonedible items just about anywhere, commerce writer Wilder Davies, who tested these containers in his home kitchen for several months, prefers to line them up in his cabinets for playful and colorful pantry decanting. “If you are a fan of Italian Modernism, have a lot of little things to put in jars, and appreciate a nostalgic color palette, Cliik containers are for you,” Wilder said in his review of the Cliik containers. The magnetized lids also kept foods fresh and weren’t as prone to breaking or damage like many of the storage containers we’ve tried have been. Wilder has also noted that many mechanisms for locking lids into place on food storage containers can be shockingly difficult to attach. Not so with these magnetic-lidded guys. And okay, yes, they’re stylish. “Cliik containers add a touch of visual perfection that any prop stylist would envy, and that alone is worth something,” he said in his review.

How we tested storage containers

We make a lot of food in our test kitchen, which means we have a lot of leftovers. Over the course of years of recipe developing, our editors have taken notes on the best storage methods for all kinds of ingredients. We’ve offered their favorites in many, many categories in this review, honed over those years of testing—because the best way to store herbs is not the same as the best way to store leftover rice. We’ve also used every kind of food storage container in our home kitchens. And our editors are always on the lookout for new, market-disrupting storage containers that challenge the classic plastic deli container solution. We make sure we get our hands on all of those prettily pastel-colored direct-to-consumer storage container solutions and try them against the old pros in our home kitchens, and sometimes, like in the case of W&P Porter’s storage set or Cliik’s innovative magnetic lid design, they actually win. We will continue to update this review with new storage containers we like as we find them.

This story was originally published in 2017 and was updated by Tiffany Hopkins in 2023 and Megan Wahn in 2024.