November 6, 2021

Plastic-Free Food Storage Containers

Last Updated November 6, 2021

It’s estimated that 40% of the food produced in the United States goes to waste. That’s a lot of carbon emissions spent growing, harvesting, packaging, and transporting our food.

With proper storage we can help extend the life of our food. Before I dive into the ways I store food in my kitchen, let’s talk about why I don’t store food in plastic.

Short on time? Here’s a quick video:

Why I Don’t Store Food in Plastic

We think of plastics as inert and harmless because it’s a hard surface. But in reality, chemical additives such as BPA (bisphenol A) in plastics can leach into your food. Depending on what types of food you put into a plastic container, the food can pull more of these chemicals out. It’s been shown that fattier or oilier foods are more efficient at pulling these chemicals out. Studies have also shown that heat makes it easier for chemicals to leach out.

So, to avoid all this, I skip the plastic food storage containers.

Use What You Got

The least wasteful way to store your food is with what you already have. Think about different types of non-plastic containers you might already buy. The two best examples I have are marinara pasta sauce and salsa.

I used to make spaghetti once a week using a store-bought marinara sauce. I did this for years. And for a long time, I used to recycle the jars and the lids. After I first started shopping in the bulk bins, I started saving these jars and using them to store dry food.

Now, I use them to store beans and grains, snacks from the bulk bins and even all my tea and coffee.

I prefer to store dry foods in them because the opening is not a wide mouth. So, it’s a little more difficult to fit your whole hand in the jar to clean it. For wet foods, I prefer cleaned salsa jars for their wide mouth.

I freeze small portions of ground beef in the short jars of salsa and use the tall jars like vases for vegetables.

Mason Jars

I love mason jars. We use the wide mouth 16 ounce mason jars as our drinking glasses and they can also double as food storage.

I love the larger 32 ounce mason jars. I use them to store dry goods for baking, my husband uses them to store extra coffee, and I store berries from the farmer’s market in them.

Weck Jars

To freeze meat, I love these 3/4 L wide-mouth Weck Jars. They easily fit four chicken thighs and they fit nicely in my freezer. They’re also great for soups.

To read more about freezing foods, check out this post:

Olivia for the Ocean - Plastic-Free Living

Glass Storage Containers

For larger meals, I use Snapware storage containers. While they do have a plastic lid, I generally let food cool down before putting the lid on and I don’t fill the container to the brim. This set below isn’t the same as the one I bought a while ago but it’s similar. My set didn’t have the four plastic circular containers shown on the right.

I tried another brand and I HATED it because it had a rubber gasket or O-ring that is embedded in the plastic lid. This rubber piece made the container leakproof but since it was a piece that was removable, mold would grow in the crevices. I would have to remove these gaskets, clean the grooves the gaskets sat in, let it dry, and put the gaskets back. This was a pain in the ass.

Snapware attaches the gasket to the lid so there’s no gap. Problem solved! This 2-cup container is the size I use the most. This is the size I would use to bring breakfast and/or lunch to work. It’s great for individual meal portions and random leftovers.

I also have some glass containers with a bamboo lid. They don’t sell the ones I own anymore but they look like this:

Stainless Steel Storage Containers

For stainless steel containers, I have a few options from LunchBots. I have a 3-cup container, shown below and a 6-cup container.

I like these containers because the bottom portion of the lid that faces the inside of the container is made of stainless steel as well. So every part of the container that touches your food is made of stainless steel.

I also have some of their rectangular tins but I mainly use these when traveling for work or on road trips with the family.

I also have two of these PlanetBox lunch boxes for my kids:

Mine did not come with the fabric bag but I didn’t need it anyways. I also use these when we’re on road trips or when we’re having lunch at the park. They can be a little cumbersome if your kids are eating with the box on their lap since the lid is attached to the box. But overall, both the kids and I like them.

Silicone Bags

I’ve had Stashers bags for years but only recently have they grown on me. I originally thought they’d be a great snack pouch for my kids, but they are so incredibly difficult to open, the one I had ended up in a bottom drawer for months.

But recently, I started storing deli meats and cheese in them and I love it! As I’ve mentioned before, I get cheeses and deli meats at the deli and ask them to wrap it in paper. My local deli has switch from butcher paper which can have a plastic lining to regular paper! When I get home, I transfer the items into a Stasher bag. For sliced cheese, the clerks usually layers them in a cascading fashion, so I use a large 1/2 gallon Stasher bag for sliced cheese and small snack bags for deli meats.

For my kids, I use these silicone bags from Kinderville. The little button mechanism makes it super easy for kids to open and close. Which is a plus for me, because it’s one less thing I have to help them with.

Beeswax Wraps

Before COVID-19, I’d use beeswax wraps to get blocks of cheese from the deli. I used to store them in the beeswax wraps but since the wraps are breathable, they would dry out the cheese. Now, I use it to wrap up cut avocados or cover any open bowls. I love Bees4Seas beeswax wraps because they are made in the US and the wrap comes in a large roll. This is great for customization. I can cut whatever size I want!