Whether it’s a dish, a bowl or a plate, you’ll need something to put your food in when using a microwave oven. Every kitchen has something you can use, but it’s important to make sure that you are using safe materials that won’t leach into your food or burn your hand when you take it out.
Best Overall: Veken Food Storage Containers
Best For Meal Prep: 50-Pack Promoze Food Storage Containers
Best Glass Containers: Pyrex Round Glass Containers
Best For Aesthetics: Vremi Food Storage Containers
Best For Lunch Separation: Rubbermaid Bento Box Containers
This article contains the best of the best in microwave food containers. They include all types of dishes that are plastic, glass or ceramic. We’ve done extensive research and found the best recommendations for all types of consumers. So take a few seconds, have a read, and see what you think!
1 Veken Food Storage Containers
Wide range of sizes included in each set, suitable for lots of different foods.
Airtight and leakproof container due to the high quality suction lid.
Vast number of positive reviews.
These Veken Lunch Box Set food containers are transparent, airtight and leak-proof. Perfect for all food storage and microwave needs.
You have the option of an 8-piece or 12-piece set with the capacities ranging from 8oz to 50oz and 8oz to 65oz respectively. This wide variety of size options lets you use them for small storage to fit snugly into the fridge as well as those huge “dad lunches”.
The containers themselves are made of BPA free plastic, perfectly safe for microwaving without the inconvenience of moving your food to a separate dish or plate.
The material itself feels thick and sturdy, “lightweight but shatter-proof” is how Veken themselves describe it and I’m inclined to agree.
The seal made by the lid is airtight and difficult to accidentally unlock. You can actually feel the suction when you pull the lid off.
In terms of reliability and safety, the Veken containers are top of the pile with very few negative reports of any safety issues and overall rating on Amazon of 4.4 stars.
2 Promoze 50-Pack Meal Prep Containers
Large number of identical containers make them ideal for weeklong meal prep.
Don’t be fooled by their resemblance to cheap plastic trays, they are durable and reusable.
The next food storage containers by Promoze are a set of 50 identical 24oz containers.
These are perfect for those who like to meal prep days in advance because they are all the same size. Do a big meal prep on Sunday then shove them in the freezer and they’re ready to be microwaved when needed.
The size themselves at 24oz is perfect for a medium sized lunch or dinner, but maybe on the small size if you like big portions.
The boxes themselves look a little like disposable takeaway boxes. Don’t let that fool you, they are made from high quality BPA-free plastic, are durable and reusable.
On top of that, they are (of course) FDA approved to be microwave safe and also freezer safe, making them perfect for meal preppers.
The Promoze containers are not the strongest on this list. It’s possible to crack a lid with a little heavy handedness, for example.
3 Pyrex Round Glass Containers
Great option for those who prefer solid feeling glass containers.
Take the lid off and they resemble glass bowls and can easily be used for the same purposes.
The next choice is from Pyrex and ideal if you want a high quality microwavable container that isn’t plastic.
Glass is arguably the safest material for a microwave and Pyrex glass is no exception. The lid is made from BPA free plastic but that’s not needed for the microwave. As you’d expect with this material, durability is excellent and it has a solid, strong feel to it.
Each listing gives you 12 containers of the same capacity with three different size options which are 1-cup (8oz), 2-cup (16oz) and 4-cup (32oz). I’ve linked to the 2-cup version but it’s easy enough to find the others.
The roundness of the Pyrex containers along with its solid, glass construction means you can easily eat straight out of these like they are bowls (which they kinda are), saving you some washing up. This works especially well for soups or chili.
These containers are freezer, microwave and dishwasher safe so are suitable for all uses, whether that’s putting leftovers away for another day or full meal prepping your food for the week.
4 Vremi Food Storage Containers
Colorful containers with different sizes makes them a great family-oriented choice.
The containers easily stack into each other so they don’t take up lots of room.
This next set of food containers from Vremi are a colorful bunch. Each set gives you four containers of varying sizes (12oz / 17oz / 27oz / 41oz) and they all collapse into each other like Russian dolls. Cute.
On top of that, they all fold into 1/3 of the original size, makes for easy storage in small spaces! (Follow the link to see how they do that…)
These reusable containers are made from BPA free plastic (silicone, to be exact) and are FDA approved to be “microwave safe”. You can put your food straight into the microwave without using a separate bowl or plate.
The airtight lids keep your food in pristine condition for as long as possible. And actually, when you want to put them in the microwave you don’t need to take the lid off, there is a vent you can use to let steam come out! Convenient if you need to cover the food while microwaving.
The Vremi containers are not just microwaveable but also freezer safe. Perfect if you like to do meal prep Sundays and keep your lunches for the week on hand and throw them straight from the freezer to the microwave.
Reviews-wise the Vremi containers are well-rated, with the occasional complaint about mold being present when kept in the wrong conditions. So watch out for that.
5 Rubbermaid Bento Box Containers
Two compartments in each container are perfect for separating sauces or vegetables.
Solid quality and stain resistant material.
The last containers in the list, by Rubbermaid, bill themselves as “bento boxes” where the container can be split into separate parts. So you can put a sauce or some vegetables in with your lunch without it all mixing together.
You do this with small insertions that keep the food from touching, nice for prepping lunches to take to work or school. And you can just remove the insertions if you don’t need them.
The Rubbermaid containers are made of glass and the lid is made of both glass and BPA-free plastic. The plastic is used to make a seal which makes them 100% leak proof. Despite being made of glass, they are both “dishwasher safe” and “freezer safe”, too.
You get a set of 3 with each purchase with one 3.2 cup size (26 oz) and two 1.3 cup (10oz).
Lastly, they are made using stain resistant material to keep them looking brand new even after many uses.
Do I need a microwave container?
Microwave ovens can be pretty scary. They release electromagnetic radiation that heats up your food from the inside. While it’s perfectly safe for food, it presents a couple of problems if you use the wrong dish or container.
For example, any plastic container that has BPA plastics in it might leach into your food upon heating and lead to a whole host of health issues.
Or you could use the wrong kind of metal and see sparks fly (literally)!
So the smart thing to do is to have a dedicated microwave container that you know is safe for all uses.
And you can rest easy knowing all the containers on this list are perfectly safe for refrigerating, freezing and microwaving.
What material is best for a microwave container?
The main microwaveable materials are plastic, ceramic and glass. These materials all allow microwaves to pass through them so only the food absorbs the heat. Each material has its own advantages and disadvantages to be the best container for microwave.
Note: Make sure all dishes or containers that you use in a microwave are labeled “microwave safe”. You can rest assured all the items in this article have that guarantee.
Plastic is a great material for use in a microwave as it’s strong, durable, and doesn’t absorb heat either from microwaves or convection. So you’re unlikely to burn a finger or drop it cause it’s hot. Plastic is also easy to put in the freezer for easy storing.
These reasons make plastic the most popular material for containers for manufacturers and why most items on this list are plastic.
Its major downside is some plastics can leach into foods, with BPA plastics being a particular danger. You can rest assured all containers recommended here are labeled “microwave safe” and FDA-approved to not have any issues.
Glass is one of the safest microwaveable materials as it will not leach into your foods. There are two glass options on this list for those who don’t wish to have a plastic microwave container. Just watch out when pulling it out the microwave as it can get a little hot by convection!
You absolutely must avoid anything metal. Metal reflects the microwaves rather than letting them pass through which can result in a dangerous build up of energy and even sparks flying. There are, as you’d expect, no metal containers on this list.
