The Best Food Storage Containers for Your Fridge

MAJOR UPDATE: March 8, 2026

There’s one resounding question I’m asked when someone sees one of my fridge pics for the first time: What food storage containers do you use?

I completely get it.  There’s nothing I love more than a good fridge storage find!

So, I thought I’d take the time to share with you everything I personally use and recommend.

Here’s what we’ll cover:

• Mason jars: the 3 sizes you need most & how to use them
  
• Top 2 snap-lock glass container sets
• Favorite plastic food storage containers 
• Favorite fridge storage bins 

I have not been paid to recommend any of these products.

If you decide to make a purchase using my Amazon Affiliate links I will receive a small commission–this does not affect the price you pay.  If you decide to purchase through one of my links I sincerely thank you for supporting the work I do here at Hello Nutritarian!

Mason Jars: the Three Sizes I Love Best

They’re simple, humble, infinitely-useful and inexpensive.

If there’s only one food storage solution to buy into right now it’s glass Ball Mason jars.

Not only are they cheap and wickedly useful they are 100% made in the USA, which is a rare find indeed when it comes to kitchenware.

There are three Mason jar sizes and one optional accessory that I’ve found to be most useful when prepping my fridge…

1. Pint-Sized Wide Mouth Glass Mason Jars (16 oz.)

This Mason jar holds 2 cups–just in case you’re as confused as I am about weights and measures.

I’ve found that I use this specific size most frequently in my fridge.

If you’re starting from ground zero building your glass storage collection the pint-sized Mason jar is the perfect place to begin and then you can expand into the next sizes I recommend from there.

This size can also be frozen for longer-term storage.  Just thaw the whole frozen jar on your counter till it reaches room temperature.

How many should I get? A set of eight to begin.

What recipes work best? These are especially ideal for Extra-Creamy Hummus and Nacho Cheese Sauce.

How to use these in your fridge: Use this 2-cup Mason jar to store individual portions of soups, homemade dressings & sauces, pickled veggies, chopped fruits and veggies, hummus, overnight oats or to store fresh herbs (simply drape a loose plastic bag over the herbs).  This size works well in the freezer (leave at least half an inch from the lip of the jar to your stored food).

2. Half-Pint Wide Mouth Mason Jars (8 oz.)

After you’ve invested in 2 or 3 sets of pint-sized jars, it’s time to think about other useful sizes–because sometimes you have more or less stuff, amiright?

First up is the cute kid-sister of the pint-sized jar, the wide-mouth, half-pint Mason jar (that’s 1 cup storage capacity).

In my book Fridge Love, I talk about the practice of downsizing your containers as you move through the week.  This half-pint size jar is perfect for consolidation.

How many should I get? A set of eight to begin.

What recipes work best? These are especially ideal for individual portions of Overnight Oats and chia pudding.

How to use these in your fridge: Use this size Mason jar to store smaller meal leftovers (soups, sauces, dressings, etc…), citrus juice, chopped herbs, seeds, and smaller portions of chopped fruits or veggies. This size works well in the freezer.

3. Quart-Sized Wide Mouth Mason Jars (32 oz.)

These are perfect if you plan on batch prepping your food and you want the cheapest possible storage solution. Quart-sized jars will give you ample size and amazing freshness results.

Upgrading to quart-sized Mason jars should be your next glass food storage container purchase once you’ve proven that you are committed.

How many should I get? A set of four to begin, eight if you’re serious about meal prepping.

What recipes work best?  These are especially ideal for soup storage.

Note that I don’t recommend this size for use in your freezer.  If you’re planning on freezing larger batches of prepped food you’ll want to go with one of the snap-lock sets I recommend below.

How to use these in your fridge: Use quart-sized jars to store homemade plant milks and juices, homemade veggie broth, large batches of homemade soups, cooked rice, pastas or beans.  Larger batches of chopped fresh fruit or veggies for your in-fridge salad bar (see here for info).  This size does not work well in the freezer.

4. Plastic Mason Jar Caps

Okay, these are purely an add-on and they are more a want than a need.

These plastic caps don’t contribute anything different from the two-piece metal lids that come standard on Ball brand Mason jars.  As far as freshness goes, the standard lids work just as well, the one-piece cap is purely convenience for me.

Personally, I’ve just found it easier for to use these one-piece white plastic caps with my Mason jars because I am literally screwing and unscrewing them every day, multiple times per day.

The white caps have become something of a Hello Nutritarian trademark and I happen to think they look particularly smart all stacked up in the fridge.

You’ll do just fine using the metal two-piece lids that come standard with every Mason jar.  In fact, those metal lids are wonderful for freshly cooked soups and beans because they’ll seal in the freshness making the seal air-tight (see Fridge Love, pp. 226-7).

Ball brand used to make the white lids up until about 2018 then they switched to the black lids you’ll see below.  These are the best approximation I could find to the original white Ball lids.

If you want authentic Ball brand caps, these are the ones I use in charcoal.

How to use these in your fridge: Use these as replacements for the standard two-piece metal lids that come with your Mason jars.  They are most useful for jars you’ll be opening frequently.  Buying all wide-mouth size will ensure use across all the sizes in your Mason jar collection.  These lids work well in the freezer.

The Best Glass Food Storage Container Sets

And, yes, you heard that right: Glass food storage containers.  If you’re looking for maximum length of freshness for the food in your fridge then glass is the best way to go.  You can learn more about why glass is best in my book, Fridge Love.

There are a ton of different glass food storage sets out in the market, but none are more reliable and better made than the two brands I’m going to share with you now.

It’s important to note that I’m not being paid by either of these companies to let you know I love their products.

I’ve been meal prepping and organizing my fridge since 2016 and I still have these original sets and they are going strong!  Only now, ten years later, are some of the lid snaps starting to break.  Luckily Pyrex offers an option to buy replacement lids.

A decade of heavy daily use?  Yes, please!

The tightness and fit of hard snap-lock lids make all the difference in freshness.  I prefer hard plastic lids to soft rubber lids.  And with each of these brands the lids don’t lose their hold over time like other brands I’ve tried (yes, there have been companies who have sent me sets hoping I’d love them but I didn’t).

I own and use both of these brands and I recommend either set if you’re looking to upgrade your glass storage container collection.

1. Pyrex Snapware Glass Food Containers:

2. Glasslock Storage Containers:

How to use these snap-lock containers in your fridge: Batch-prepped meals, soups, pre-cooked whole grains (potatoes, rice, bean pastas), pre-chopped fresh fruit and veggies, bean burgers, tofu, pre-washed salad greens and literally anything else you can think of that will call your fridge home!  All sizes freeze well, just thaw on the counter till they reach room temperature.

Best Plastic Food Storage Containers 

I’m a glass girlie all the way but when my mother in law got arthritis it was harder for her to handle the heavier weight glass containers.  I knew I had to find a plastic alternative for when she stays at our house (she loves cooking Korean food for the kids).

These are a great option if you’re on a budget (you can get a lot more pieces for your money than with a glass set) or glass containers are too heavy.

I have not tested these in the freezer.

Rubbermaid Brilliance Airtight Food Storage Containers

How to use these plastic snap-lock containers in your fridge: Batch-prepped meals, soups, pre-cooked whole grains (potatoes, rice, bean pastas), pre-chopped fresh fruit and veggies, bean burgers, tofu, pre-washed salad greens and literally anything else you can think of that will call your fridge home.  I have not tested these in the freezer.

My Favorite Plastic Fridge Bins

When you’re cultivating the world’s healthiest fridge you know that your fresh produce is bound to outgrow the absolutely tiny “fruit and vegetable” drawers that come standard in most refrigerators.

These are my two favorite bins.  They work for different fridge configurations.

1. Jinamart Stackable Refrigerator Organizers with Handles (14.7″ L, 8.5″ W) 

Best for French door and Freezer-Top fridges.  

I’ve had these same plastic organizer bins in my French Door fridge since we bought it in 2013.  I recommend them because of their range in different sizes, durability, and their built-in front handles.

Unfortunately, it looks like as of 2023 this manufacturer stopped making these bins.  These are close in style but not in size.  Crossing my fingers that the original bins come back onto the market soon.

2. mDesign Plastic Storage Organizer Wide Container Bin (10″L x 6″W x 5″H)

Best for Side-by-Side fridges.  

You need a shorter bin when dealing with a side-by-side fridge.

These were also discontinued.  I’ve found these to be close in style and size.

How to use these in your fridge: Use these to organize fresh produce or arrangements of Mason jars in your fridge.  Particularly useful for whole fresh fruit, bell peppers, cabbage, kale bunches, collard greens and fresh herbs.  Use them like you would your produce drawer in your fridge but you may want to drape them loosely with a plastic bag if you have less-sturdy greens.

I hope you found this fridge storage container guide useful in developing and sustaining your healthy lifestyle!

Your comments and feedback motivate me so much to keep creating memorable and delicious recipes and helpful resources.

Every time you take a few minutes to leave a review you are helping this website get rankings in those ever-important search engines and allowing more people to find my work.