If you want to learn how to store food without plastic, you don’t need to overhaul your entire kitchen overnight. Small, simple swaps can make a big difference for your health, your home, and the planet. This beginner‑friendly guide shows you the easiest ways to get started — at your own pace, without stress.
Table of Contents
Best Plastic‑Free Food Storage Containers (Beginner Options)
These are the go-to options that work for most kitchens — practical, affordable, and genuinely easy to use.
- Glass Jars: Mason jars and recycled food jars are absolute workhorses. Use them for dry goods like pasta, rice, oats, and lentils; for soups and sauces; and even for salads and overnight oats. They seal well, stack easily, and last forever.
- Glass Containers with Lids: Great for meal prep and leftovers. Glass containers go from fridge to oven to table with no fuss, and they don’t absorb stains or odors the way plastic does. Look for ones with airtight lids for best results.
- Silicone Bags: Think of these as the reusable version of a zip-lock bag. They’re flexible, freezer-safe, and great for snacks, marinating meat, or storing cut fruit and veggies. They wash easily and hold up well over time.
- Beeswax Wraps: These are fabric sheets coated in beeswax — use them to wrap cheese, cover a bowl, or wrap half an avocado. They’re not ideal for raw meat or very wet foods, but for everyday wrapping tasks, they’re lovely. Just wash with cool water (hot water melts the wax).
- Cloth Bags: Perfect for produce like mushrooms, leafy greens, bread rolls, or bulk grains. They’re breathable, washable, and incredibly simple. Even a clean pillowcase works in a pinch.
- Stainless Steel Containers: Durable, lightweight, and completely non-reactive with food. Great for packed lunches, dry snacks, and leftovers. They don’t work in the microwave, but they’re otherwise incredibly versatile.
- High-Quality Material: Skroam glass food storage containers with lids for Everything! Our meal prep container glass set is made from high-quality borosilicate glass with a BPA-free lid, go straight from the refrigerator to the microwave or oven to the table, helping you enjoy hot meals anytime
How to Store Leftovers Without Plastic
Leftovers are where most of us reach for plastic wrap or plastic containers by habit. Here are some easy alternatives:
- Use glass containers for anything saucy, cheesy, or mixed. They seal well and reheat beautifully (just remove plastic lids before microwaving, or transfer to a bowl).
- Store soups and stews in jars. Wide-mouth mason jars are perfect. Let the food cool first, then seal and refrigerate.
- Cover bowls with a plate or silicone lid instead of plastic wrap. A simple plate on top of a bowl keeps food fresh in the fridge overnight — no wrap needed.
- Reheating: Transfer food to a glass or ceramic dish before microwaving. Glass containers with glass or silicone lids are safe for oven reheating too.
How to Freeze Food Without Plastic
Yes, you can freeze without plastic bags! Here’s how to do it safely and effectively:
Freezing in Glass Jars: This works well, but there’s one important rule: leave at least an inch of headspace at the top. Liquids expand when frozen, and a jar without enough space can crack. Use straight-sided jars rather than jars with a narrow neck for best results. Cool your food completely before freezing.
Freezing in Silicone Bags: These are freezer-safe and great for soups, sauces, smoothie ingredients, or cooked grains. Lay them flat to freeze, then stand them up once solid to save space.
What freezes well without plastic:
- Bread and baked goods — wrap in beeswax wrap or a cloth bag, or place in a glass container
- Fruit — spread on a baking tray to freeze individually, then transfer to a jar or silicone bag
- Fresh herbs — chop and freeze in ice cube trays with a little water or olive oil, then pop the cubes into a jar
- Leftover soups, sauces, and cooked meals — glass jars with headspace work perfectly
Avoiding Freezer Burn: Make sure containers are properly sealed and filled with as little air space as possible. Freezing food at its freshest and using it within a few months also helps a lot.
How to Store Produce Without Plastic
Plastic bags for produce are one of the easiest swaps to make — and your vegetables often stay fresher longer without them!
- Leafy greens: Wash, dry gently, then wrap loosely in a clean cloth or place in a cloth bag in the crisper drawer. They’ll stay crisp for days.
- Fresh herbs: Treat them like flowers — trim the stems and stand them upright in a glass of water on the counter (basil) or in the fridge (parsley, cilantro). Cover loosely with a cloth if needed.
- Carrots and celery: Store submerged in a container of water in the fridge. They stay crunchy and crisp far longer than in a bag.
- Onions, garlic, and potatoes: These need to breathe, not be sealed. Store in a cloth bag, a basket, or a paper bag in a cool, dark spot. Never in the fridge (for onions and potatoes) and never in airtight containers.
- Mushrooms: A paper bag in the fridge is ideal — they need airflow to stay firm and dry.
Budget-Friendly Tips for Getting Started
You don’t need to buy expensive “eco” products to store food without plastic.
- Reuse what you already have. Jam jars, pickle jars, pasta sauce jars — all of these are free once you’ve finished the original contents. Wash them well and they’re ready to go.
- Start with just one or two changes. Swap plastic wrap for a plate on top of a bowl. Use a jar instead of a plastic container for your overnight oats. Small changes add up.
- Repurpose cloth items you own. Old cotton t-shirts can be cut into wrapping cloths. Muslin bags, cloth napkins, and even clean dish towels all work well for produce and bread.
- Buy second-hand. Thrift stores and secondhand shops are full of glass containers and jars at a fraction of the price of new.
- Swap slowly. As your plastic containers wear out, replace them one at a time with glass or stainless steel. There’s no need to throw everything away at once.
If you’re ready to take the next step, my beginner guide on starting a plastic‑free kitchen walks you through simple swaps and habits to reduce plastic throughout your whole kitchen.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Even with the best intentions, a few beginner missteps are easy to make:
- Freezing jars without headspace. Always leave room at the top — liquid expands as it freezes and will crack the jar otherwise.
- Sealing produce that needs airflow. Onions, garlic, mushrooms, and potatoes need to breathe. Airtight containers cause them to rot faster, not slower.
- Buying too many new “eco” products at once. It’s easy to get excited and stock up on every reusable option out there — but that defeats the purpose and costs a lot. Work with what you have first and add items gradually.
- Using beeswax wraps for raw meat. These wraps aren’t suitable for raw proteins. Stick to glass or stainless steel for meat storage.
- Expecting perfection. Some days you’ll use plastic. That’s okay. Progress matters more than perfection.
You’re Already Doing Great
Learning to store food without plastic is a habit that builds over time. You don’t need to be perfect — you just need to start.
Maybe today you put leftovers in a jar. Maybe tomorrow you cover a bowl with a plate. Every small swap counts. Pick one thing. Try it this week. See how easy it can be.
