Glasslock, unless you're hauling it every day

Glasslock stackable containers are the best for meal prepping days in advance. Glass just flat-out beats plastic when food is sitting in it for multiple days.

Here’s the thing: plastic absorbs tomato sauce, curry, and basically anything with color or smell. Glass doesn’t. Glass also goes from fridge to microwave without thinking about it, and it doesn’t warp in the dishwasher. The Glasslock lids are genuinely leak-proof, the containers stack solidly, and you can usually grab a big set at Costco or Target for less than you’d expect.

The one reason to skip glass is weight. If you’re packing a bag and carrying lunch somewhere every day, glass gets old fast. In that case get Prep Naturals. They’re plastic, but they’re cheap, microwave-safe, stack well, and purpose-built for batch meal prep. Just know they’ll show tomato stains eventually.

Whatever you buy, go rectangular with one or two compartments. The cute bento boxes with six tiny sections stack terribly and waste fridge space. And test lids with water before you commit to soup day — “leak-proof” means different things to different brands.

The set that survives the dishwasher is the one you’ll still be using in a year.