When I cook for my family, I always pack up leftover food with the best of intentions, and remnants of a weeknight meal generally get eaten within a day or two. Holiday dinners, however, are an entirely different story.
Try as I might to prepare a reasonable spread when I host, I usually end up making or ordering too much of everything. At Christmas, this means I’m often left with more than half of a ham or turkey, a mountain of mashed potatoes and a smattering of other side dishes and desserts. In the past, I would stuff what was left of each item into the biggest air-tight container it required, then cram them all into my fridge, full-well believing my kids and I would live off of those leftovers for the better part of a week.
The reality, of course, is that my kids rarely want to eat back-to-back holiday leftovers. And even I have to admit that previously prepared food is never quite as convenient as it seems when I’m staring down a new pile of dishes I dirtied for reheating and serving. I also cringe when I think about how much food went bad in the back of my refrigerator.
The good news is that there’s a better and far more sustainable way and it only took me twenty years of writing about food and four years of reviewing products (including storage and organization) for Bon Appétit and Epicurious to figure it out: Putting leftovers into smaller glass containers. This method has rescued my holiday leftovers, and comes in handy the rest of the year too.
At a glance
The best glass food storage containers: Anyday 2-Cup Glass Round Dish Multipack
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Why store leftovers in smaller containers?
While food storage containers come in all shapes and sizes, I find a stackable two-cup size the best format for a few reasons. For starters, it’s easier to make room in the fridge for a handful of smaller containers than a big baking dish or bowl. Dividing loads of holiday leftovers between smaller containers has also helped me cut way back on food waste, because whatever doesn’t get consumed within a day or two can go straight into the freezer.
An added bonus? Fewer dirty dishes, because instead of hauling a loosely-covered casserole pan from the fridge and transferring some of its contents to a heat-safe bowl, I can pull a perfectly-portioned serving and pop it right into the microwave or oven. (More on the best microwave-safe and oven-safe storage containers below.) This works whether I’m reheating a side of asparagus for the family or a one-dish dinner of meat, potatoes and broccoli for myself. (And if divvying up leftovers must wait until the morning, you can still create an airtight seal on your serving dishes with a stretchy silicone lid.)
Stasher Stretch Lids Large 3-Pack
$19.98 at Amazon $19.99 at Stasher***
What’s the best material for food storage containers?
Thick, heat-tolerant glass is, by far, the best and most versatile material for storing food because it’s safe to use in the fridge, freezer, microwave, oven and dishwasher. Unlike plastic, you never have to worry about tomato sauce stains or leeching chemicals, and as long as you don’t drop it (or thermal shock it with a sudden and drastic change of temperature) it will theoretically last forever. The only problem is that most – including the Pyrex system I used for more than a decade – will outlive their flimsy plastic lids.
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What’s the best food storage container for leftovers?
Earlier this year, I discovered Anyday’s glass food storage containers, and though they seemed a bit gimmicky at first, I quickly realized they’re a game changer for storing and reheating leftovers. After using them for just a few months, I noticed my family was wasting less food – and I was doing fewer dishes.
Anyday 2-Cup Glass Round Dish Multipack
$32 at Anyday $40 at Williams SonomaAnyday’s containers are made of thick, durable glass that you can put in the fridge, freezer, microwave, oven and even the air fryer up to 500F. Then you can pop all of the parts into the dishwasher when you’re done.
But, unlike other popular glass food storage containers, these are marketed as “cookware and food storage”. The glass lids are cleverly designed for cooking and reheating, with a heat-safe silicone knob that doubles as a vent; just pull it up before microwaving or baking for perfectly-steamed food. I love it for reheating rice, soup and even barbecue sandwiches. A silicone gasket around the rim creates an air-tight seal for the fridge and freezer, and it’s leak-proof enough I feel safe packing soup in it for my five-year-old’s school lunch. (So far, so good!)
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Can you really cook in Anyday’s food storage containers?
While I mostly use Anyday’s containers for storing and reheating leftovers, they’re great for quick steam cooking as well as more efficient meal prep. In addition to being a plastic-free alternative for anything that’s supposed to be microwaved in the bag (think: shelf-stable rice and frozen foods), you can use them to cook fresh veggies, potatoes, rice, fish and more from start to finish. (Yes, you can cook fish in the microwave!) Lids on some of the larger pieces, like the 10-cup square shallow dish, are reinforced with a microwave-safe stainless steel rim for extra durability.
10-Cup Glass Square Shallow Dish
$48 at Anyday $54.99 at AmazonI certainly wouldn’t want to microwave all of my meals, but the glass containers can be used in the oven to bake and roast anything you’d make in a traditional glass baking dish. So minimalists and cooks short on kitchen space, you can rejoice: an Anyday food storage set could be a great way to consolidate your food storage and cookware in the new year.
