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After testing the redesigned OmieBox (a bento-style lunch box with an integrated food jar) for several months, we’ve updated this guide with our findings.
If your child brings their lunch to school, you’ll be making—and your kid will be eating—around 180 lunches this school year. So it’s worth getting a durable lunch box that’s easy to clean and convenient to pack. After we tested nine lunch boxes (which included packing many lunches for our own kids), we determined that the L.L.Bean Lunch Box is the best insulated model that will last the school year and beyond (it’s our favorite for adults, too). If you prefer a bento-style box with rigid compartments, we recommend the Bentgo Fresh Lunch Box.
This roomy, soft-sided insulated lunch box is made of rugged materials, and it fits nicely in a backpack. It’s also easier to clean than many competitors.
This expandable version has the same features and durability, with the option of about 2 inches of additional depth (which is useful if you regularly pack drink cans or large containers).
The L.L.Bean Lunch Box is our favorite insulated bag because of its proven durability and reliability. This lunch box is made of the same hard-wearing nylon as L.L.Bean’s much-loved backpacks. And its smooth interior is easier to wipe clean than the interiors of many other models with exposed seams and crevices that trap food and residue. It has plenty of room for multiple containers and a food thermos, and the interior mesh pocket can hold an ice pack to keep contents cool. If you need even more room, there’s an expandable version, which unzips to provide about 2 extra inches of depth. As with all of its gear, L.L.Bean offers a one-year satisfaction guarantee on this lunch box. Among the box’s few flaws: Its soft sides don’t do much to protect fragile foods, getting tough stains out can be challenging, and its mesh pockets are likely to catch on things and rip.
This insulated lunch box comes in the widest variety of styles we found, including popular character themes. And its reinforced sides make the Pottery Barn Kids bag easier to clean and more protective of fragile foods than the L.L.Bean Lunch Box.
The Pottery Barn Kids Mackenzie Classic Lunch Box is similar in construction and quality to the L.L.Bean Lunch Box. But the Pottery Barn bag comes in a greater number of designs that may appeal to your kid, including Disney princesses, action heroes, and dinosaurs. Its reinforced sides protect soft fruit and crunchy snacks better than the L.L.Bean bag’s soft sides, but they can easily become indented. This lunch bag is the only one of our picks that does not come with a warranty.
This plastic bento-style lunch box is easier for younger kids to use and has fewer parts to deal with, but it’s less durable than our other bento picks.
Bento-style lunch boxes have convenient compartments within a rigid case, to keep foods separate, protected, and nicely organized. The streamlined Bentgo Fresh Lunch Box is our favorite bento for kids for a few reasons. For one thing, it has a versatile layout. And it remains compact enough that it doesn’t crowd a backpack but still comfortably holds plenty of food for an elementary-age kid (including a whole sandwich, which other bentos can’t). The Bentgo has fewer parts for kids (and adults) to contend with, which means fewer lost pieces. And the removable, dishwasher-safe tray makes for easy cleanup. The Bentgo is the only leakproof bento we tested, and it was the lightest and least expensive of our bento picks. This bento does have durability issues, however: The latches and hinges are especially susceptible to breaking. Our testing has shown it should last at least a school year, but it’s unlikely to be a long-term investment.
This stainless steel lunch box is the most durable of our bento picks and the easiest to clean because it can go straight into the dishwasher.
*At the time of publishing, the price was $50.
Many parents who’ve bought the PlanetBox Rover Stainless Steel Lunch Box immediately concede it cost more than they’d ever expected to pay for a lunch box. Yet in the same breath, they extol its durability: The Rover lasts years and shows wear less readily than our other bento picks. Its simple steel construction also makes it the easiest to clean, because you can throw the whole thing into the dishwasher. The optional insulated bag, which you can get in a set with the lunch box, adds versatility, with room in the outer pockets to pack a kid-size thermos or water bottle, as well as additional food containers. Although the tray itself has no seals and is therefore not leakproof, the included lidded containers are. PlanetBox also offers the longest warranty of all our picks: five years.
To get a sense of what makes a great lunch box for kids, we interviewed a dozen parents, children, and teachers. We also studied reviews from Good Housekeeping, Kitchn, and Brit+Co, among others. Finally, we sifted through hundreds of reviews for highly rated bags and boxes from retailers including Amazon, Macy’s, Target, The Container Store, and Walmart.
Sonjia Hyon has worked as a fact checker and researcher for several publications, including T: The New York Times Style Magazine. She was an editor and writer for The Haven’s Kitchen Cooking School cookbook and the research editor for the book Formerly Known As Food, and she has a PhD in American studies. Sonjia wrote Wirecutter’s guides to full-size strollers and travel strollers. And while she was researching and writing this guide, Sonjia regularly packed lunches and snacks for her then-3-year-old daughter.
Anna Perling is a staff writer on Wirecutter’s kitchen team who has written guides to lunch boxes for adults, travel mugs, thermoses, graters, and soda makers, and who religiously packs her lunch.
Many kids need a durable lunch box for school, and often for camps, field trips, family outings, and everyday use. After considering the wide world of lunch boxes, we concluded that most families will want one of two main types: soft insulated bags or bentos.
For kids in grades K through 12, having access to refrigeration for packed lunches is uncommon. A soft, insulated lunch box that can hold ice packs will keep foods at safe temperatures, and these bags are often lighter and less expensive than other types. Small food-storage containers are a useful, reusable option to easily portion and separate foods to place inside an insulated lunch box.
Many families like that bentos can cut down on plastic waste and items to wash, and, in contrast with insulated bags, many bentos can go in a dishwasher. Bentos also keep foods organized, separate, and un-smushed. They can double as a tray for kids to eat from, and overall they offer kids a pleasing presentation. Some bentos can work in combination with an insulated bag or ice pack to keep foods cool, and many caregivers find that bento-style lunch boxes are easy to label and stack in a crowded refrigerator.
There are numerous ways to pack your kid’s lunch. But for this guide we focused on two popular, versatile types of vessels: insulated lunch boxes (zippered, padded cases that you fill with containers or baggies of food) and bento-style boxes (usually hard plastic or metal cases that have built-in compartments or come with separate containers).
From the research we did for our original guide to lunch boxes and our additional research for this one, we found that lunch boxes for kids need to have several attributes. They should be:
Durable: Kids can be tougher on lunch boxes than adults. A good lunch box should be able to stand up to at least a school year’s worth of daily use, including being shoved and squeezed into a backpack or dropped on the ground. Zippers, latches, and hinges shouldn’t break, even after lots of rough use.
Leakproof: Bento boxes need to be leakproof, and ideally they should have a lid seal to help keep foods discretely contained in their designated compartments—saucier foods shouldn’t seep into other areas or outside the container. For kids who store their lunches haphazardly (or upside down) in cubbies or backpacks, a seal is key for preventing leaks.
Easy to clean: Lunch boxes should be stain-resistant, and they shouldn’t have crevices or loose-fitting linings that trap crumbs or other residue. Insulated boxes, which require wiping or washing by hand, may be less convenient to clean than bento-style boxes, most of which can go in the dishwasher. Some bentos have parts that require hand-washing, and models with many small compartments or tight corners are more challenging to hand-wash than those with larger compartments and rounded corners.
Easy to use: Lunch boxes need to be easily transported either by hand or on a shoulder, or strapped onto or stuffed into a backpack. A handle makes them easier to carry or to pull out of a bag. Young kids should be able to open and fully close latches and lids on their own. We preferred bento boxes with single, attached lids to those that had multiple containers and detached lids (which are easier to misplace).
Appropriately sized: A lunch box shouldn’t be so big that you end up packing too much or leaving too much room for containers to rattle around inside. And it shouldn’t be so small that you can’t pack a reasonably sized lunch. For bento-style boxes with compartments, the sections should be of useful sizes.
Appealing in design: Some kids care more than others about what their lunch box looks like, so we decided that a wide range of styles was a bonus, but not necessarily a dealbreaker. We’ve found that many kids like the presentation that bento boxes offer.
“Most kids respond positively to the ritual of eating a well-packed, visually pleasing lunch.” —Yuki Chikudate, preschool teacher
With the use of ice packs, insulated lunch boxes or bentos with insulated containers should help keep food at cool (and appetizing) temperatures for a few hours. But in our testing for this guide, as well as for our main lunch box guide, we found that very few insulated lunch boxes could consistently keep food below 40 degrees Fahrenheit after two hours, which the USDA recommends for perishables. Other lunch bag reviews have reported similar results, so we didn’t consider this to be a key criterion. The USDA recommends that hot food stored in insulated containers be kept at 140 °F.
Bento boxes are ideal for younger kids for two reasons, according to Yuki Chikudate, a preschool teacher in New York City. First, because kids are still working on skills to unpack a lunch, it’s easier for caretakers to help them unpack a lunch that requires opening only a single or double latch. Second, even though it might not matter to some kids, “most kids respond positively to the ritual of eating a well-packed, visually pleasing lunch,” said Chikudate. It’s easier to create an appealing presentation with a bento-style box than with a jumble of small containers and baggies.
Relying on research from Wirecutter’s guide to lunch boxes, we pulled together an additional list of 22 lunch boxes that are recommended for kids. Using the above criteria, online reviews, and feedback from our interviews with parents and kids, we whittled the list to the following six highly rated lunch boxes worth testing:
For our 2019 update, we tested three new lunch boxes:
For testing, we relied on the same methodology we followed for our general lunch box guide. We evaluated how well different lunch boxes fit a packed lunch with multiple components, including a PB&J sandwich, yogurt, carrots, hummus, apple slices, and grapes. To see how comfortable the bags were to hold, we tried out any adjustable straps and handles. We also looked at how easy the containers were to seal and whether they remained closed during a long commute or when jostled in a bag. To test the lunch boxes for leaks, we filled the plastic and metal containers with water and shook them at different angles. For a durability test, we dropped the bento boxes and plastic food-storage containers from waist height onto concrete. Finally, to test for stain resistance, we splashed a tablespoon of tomato sauce inside each bag and let it sit overnight before attempting to clean them.
We placed Fit + Fresh Cool Coolers ice packs above and below a plastic container filled with ½ cup of milk at around 33 degrees Fahrenheit. Using a food thermometer, we tested whether any of the insulated lunch boxes could keep the milk below 40 °F (the temperature the USDA recommends for perishable foods) after two hours outside the fridge. None of the insulated lunch bags we tested for this guide could do this, even with two ice packs inside. If you’re concerned about your child’s lunch spoiling, pack shelf-safe milk (ultrahigh temperature, or UHT, pasteurized milk in aseptic packaging), and opt for nonperishable foods like nut butter and jelly instead of, say, a turkey sandwich.
This roomy, soft-sided insulated lunch box is made of rugged materials, and it fits nicely in a backpack. It’s also easier to clean than many competitors.
This expandable version has the same features and durability, with the option of about 2 inches of additional depth (which is useful if you regularly pack drink cans or large containers).
The L.L.Bean Lunch Box is one of the most durable insulated lunch boxes we’ve tested, as well as one of the easiest to clean. Its basic, lightweight zippered design makes it simple for little kids to use themselves, it’s the ideal size for placing in a school backpack, and it provides plenty of space for a kid-sized (and even an adult-size) lunch. An expandable version, which unzips to create an additional 2 inches of depth, offers even more capacity and might be worth considering if you regularly pack drink cans or larger food-storage containers. The L.L.Bean has several pockets for an ice pack or extra snacks, and insulation that keeps foods cool (though, as we noted above, our tests found that it may not be able to maintain foods at lower than 40°F). You can choose from multiple colors and bright patterns.
The L.L.Bean Lunch Box’s hard-wearing nylon exterior is the same weatherproof material the company uses in its backpacks, which are our favorite for younger kids and have proven to be durable. The lunch box held up well in all of our drop tests, and its tidy construction and minimal seams in the interior lining helped to keep it in better shape for longer than other models that were more sloppily made. The interior also recovered better from getting poked with sharp-edged objects than that of the Pottery Barn Kids bag, which showed indentations more readily and thus looked shabbier quicker.
The streamlined, lightweight design of the L.L.Bean Lunch Box makes it a good choice for kids who ride a bike or take public transit and need a lunch box that fits in a bag or backpack. Like most of our picks, it has a handle, which makes it easy to carry by hand or to pull out of a bag. Its soft sides also make it easier to cram into an already crowded backpack than a lunch box with reinforced sides (such as the Pottery Barn Kids box) or a hard case (such as our bento picks). This lunch box is roomy enough to hold a drink, a sandwich, and multiple snacks. Small food storage containers or a food thermos can hold last night’s leftovers and fit inside the bag, too. Note that the lunch box is meant to be carried upright but zipped open while lying flat, so you should pack soups or other liquids only in a leakproof container, such as a thermos.
The invisible seams on the L.L.Bean Lunch Box make it easier to wash than models with exterior seams and folds. (But it’s not quite as easy to wash as the Pottery Barn Kids bag, which has stiff, molded sides and is the most convenient to wipe down quickly.) The L.L. Bean bag’s exterior mesh pocket is great for holding fragile snacks like chips or a granola bar, if the child is carrying the box by hand. The interior mesh pocket on the lid helps keep an ice pack in place. For $8 more, you can have the lunch box monogrammed (or you could just put a label on it).
Wirecutter deputy editor Christine Cyr Clisset used the same L.L.Bean lunch boxes for her two daughters for about six years, and she was satisfied with their longevity and performance. We’re confident that the L.L.Bean Lunch Box will stand up to heavy use. But if there are any issues, this lunch box comes with a one-year satisfaction guarantee.
In our most recent tests, tomato sauce left a light stain on the L.L.Bean Lunch Box’s white interior. Although the seam-free lining is still one of the easiest to wipe clean, Christine noted that this lunch box could be challenging to clean.
The exterior pocket on the L.L.Bean bag is partly made of mesh, which makes it easy to see the contents. But our experience with mesh pockets on kids backpacks tells us that the material can snag and tear more quickly than the woven material of the rest of the lunch bag.
Because the L.L.Bean Lunch Box has soft sides, fragile fruit like bananas and peaches may need their own container to avoid getting smashed in transit. If you prefer an insulated box with reinforced sides, try the Pottery Barn Kids Mackenzie Classic Lunch Box.
This insulated lunch box comes in the widest variety of styles we found, including popular character themes. And its reinforced sides make the Pottery Barn Kids bag easier to clean and more protective of fragile foods than the L.L.Bean Lunch Box.
Like our Pottery Barn Kids backpack pick, the Pottery Barn Kids Mackenzie Classic Lunch Box comes in dozens of styles, including designs with unicorns, real-life creatures, Harry Potter, and superheroes from the Marvel universe. Pottery Barn Kids makes six types of lunch boxes and bags, and we prefer the Classic size, which has about the same capacity as the L.L.Bean Lunch Box and fits just as well in a backpack.
The Pottery Barn Kids Mackenzie Classic is slightly squatter and more square than the L.L.Bean bag. But the main difference between the two lies in the former’s stiff sides, which prevent sandwiches, chips, and fruit from getting crushed (as they might in the latter). The Pottery Barn Kids bag has two-way head-to-head zippers for its main compartment, giving it a slight edge in convenience over the L.L.Bean box and its single zipper. Like the L.L.Bean bag, the Pottery Barn Kids bag has a water-repellent lining, but instead of being a thin sheet of vinyl, it’s made of a molded foam called PEVA. The smooth interior was somewhat easier for us to wipe clean than that of the soft-sided L.L.Bean bag because it didn’t bunch up or fold. However, the surface did get easily marked and indented by sharp objects.
Two strips of webbing on one side of the Pottery Barn Kids lunch bag allow you to loop it through the compression straps of certain backpacks made by the same company. Or, using a carabiner, you can hang it from attachment points on those packs or other packs. The side mesh pocket best holds a short water bottle, but, as parents we interviewed noted, the mesh is likely to tear and rip within a year.
The external zippered pocket is too flat for storing food, but it’s convenient for tucking in utensils, napkins, or a note. We like that the pocket is made from the same fabric as the exterior of the lunch box, which makes it more durable than the mesh pocket on the L.L.Bean Lunch Box. As the L.L.Bean bag does, the Pottery Barn Kids bag has an internal mesh pocket for stowing an ice pack, a bag of chips, utensils, or napkins.
If the numerous Pottery Barn Kids lunch box designs don’t satisfy your child, you can find additional options in a slightly larger lunch box from Pottery Barn Teen. Like the L.L.Bean bag, all of these lunch boxes can be monogrammed (for an additional $5), but they also have a name label inside.
Wirecutter staff writer Jackie Reeve told us, “We’ve been using PB Mackenzie lunch boxes for a few years, and I love them. They’ve been pretty durable, and I can throw it in the washer and dryer if it starts to stink (which I do a few times a year).” (Note: Pottery Barn’s official care guidelines say to spot-clean the Mackenzie, not to machine-wash it. However, Jackie and several other parents on our staff have successfully run the Pottery Barn lunch box through the washing machine. We have additional care and maintenance advice below.)
This plastic bento-style lunch box is easier for younger kids to use and has fewer parts to deal with, but it’s less durable than our other bento picks.
The Bentgo Fresh Lunch Box has the most versatile layout and most convenient organization of any bento we tried—it’s capable of holding plenty of food for an elementary school student while remaining compact and lightweight. It’s the only bento that didn’t leak in our tests, and even young kids had no problem opening and closing the Bentgo’s simple latches. We found that the Bentgo’s removable, dishwasher-safe tray made it one of the easiest bentos to clean.
At 1.3 pounds, the Bentgo Fresh is the lightest of our bento picks. And it’s compact enough to comfortably stow in a kid-size backpack or inside some insulated lunch boxes, including our main pick, the L.L.Bean Lunch Box. The Bentgo’s layout makes packing a variety of foods easy. It has the largest main compartment of our bento picks, and it’s the only one that can fit an average-size sandwich without your needing to cut the sandwich in half or lop off the sides. Alternatively, you can use a removable divider to separate the main compartment into two sides, to hold rice or pasta and a protein, for example. Two smaller compartments are well sized for fruit, nuts, pretzels, or sliced vegetables. Unlike in our other bento picks, the tray of the Bentgo is removable (and microwavable), so kids can eat from it directly on the table, like a plate.
In our tests, the Bentgo was the only bento box that did not leak; its rubber seals did an excellent job of keeping juices and oils from seeping between the compartments and out of the box. The Bentgo’s interior compartments, with or without the removable divider, keep foods nicely separated. Note that you can’t pack pure liquids, such as soup, in the Bentgo; for those, you should use the OmieBox or a food thermos. In our tests, younger kids had an easier time opening and closing the Bentgo’s latches than they did those of our other picks, and that ease of use also helps prevent messy leaks.
The Bentgo is made of BPA-free, phthalate-free plastic, and it is thus more resistant to stains and smells than the L.L.Bean and Pottery Barn Kids lunch boxes (which are lined with permeable vinyl). Compared with the designs of our other picks, the Bentgo’s removable tray makes it easier to dump leftovers directly into the garbage. The tray is top-rack dishwasher-safe, but the case is hand-wash only. Overall we didn’t find it difficult to clean. You can purchase extra trays if you want to prep and store multiple days’ worth of lunches, or if you don’t run the dishwasher every day.
Bentgo has a responsive customer service staff (reachable by phone or online) that people rave about. The company offers replacement dividers if you happen to lose yours, and each lunch box comes with a two-year warranty (with proof of purchase) for manufacturer defects.
The Bentgo Fresh comes in six colors. Wirecutter supervising editor Courtney Schley has packed hundreds of lunches in the Bentgo for her three school-age kids; she noted that it’s easier to pack different kinds of lunches—such as sandwiches, rice or pasta with egg, or quesadillas—in the Bentgo versus in other bentos she’s tried. At age 3, her son could securely open and close the latches on his own, which he couldn’t do with some other bentos.
The Bentgo isn’t insulated and doesn’t have space for an ice pack, so it’s best used for lunches that don’t need to be kept cool. Unlike our other picks, the Bentgo doesn’t have a handle (you can get the PlanetBox with a carrying case), so it’s best transported in a backpack. Its rubber seal is not replaceable, and many online reviewers report that it grows moldy over time. Since we first published this guide in 2018, we’ve heard complaints that the Bentgo lacks long-term durability. (One Wirecutter staffer remarked, “They fall apart after a year.”) In addition to weak latches, there are reports that the hinges can break, and this is exacerbated by the box’s design: You have to carefully lift the lid over the 2-inch spine to properly place it on top of the food tray; if you try to latch it closed with the lid out of place, you will strain the hinges at their weakest point. Although Bentgo’s two-year warranty does offer a measure of protection and recourse should anything go wrong, many folks would prefer to avoid the hassle of getting a replacement. Despite these concerns, we believe that the Bentgo has enough significant advantages over the competition to warrant remaining our top bento pick.
This stainless steel lunch box is the most durable of our bento picks and the easiest to clean because it can go straight into the dishwasher.
*At the time of publishing, the price was $50.
If you spring for the PlanetBox Rover Stainless Steel Lunch Box (around $50 at the time of writing) and its matching insulated bag ($24 at the time of writing), you’ll spend more than twice as much as you would for the Bentgo Fresh. But that high price brings with it unrivaled durability. One parent we spoke with said their kid had been using their Rover for nearly four years, with no signs of wear and tear. And numerous reviewers on Amazon write that they’ve used theirs for as long or longer, and that the PlanetBox still looks brand new.
This heavy-duty, stainless steel lunch box is about the size of letter-size paper and 1½ inches thick. Unlike the Bentgo, it has no silicone or rubber seals to prevent leaks (or to eventually grow mold). In our tests, water flowed freely from one end to the other, so (as with our other bento picks) we would avoid putting anything liquid-y in the compartments. Instead, those items can go in the two included small round containers with silicone lids, which were leakproof in our tests. The larger container is 3½ inches in diameter and about 1¼ inches tall, and the smaller container is 1¾ inches in diameter and about 1¼ inches tall (the right size for a dipping sauce). Both can go in the box or in the Velcro-secured pocket of the cloth carrier. Although the included containers do, in theory, increase the options for which types of foods can be packed, Wirecutter editor Ingela Ratledge Amundson points out that keeping track of those bespoke vessels and their corresponding lids can be a challenge: “Since I could never seem to find them when I needed them, I basically just trained myself to pack dry foods only in the PlanetBox.”
Because it doesn’t have rubber or silicone seals, the PlanetBox’s lid doesn’t get suctioned on, unlike that of the Bentgo, and we found that a 2-year-old could easily unhook the metal latch to open the tray. The manufacturer says neither the lunch box nor the containers are designed for use with hot foods. The PlanetBox is shallower than the Bentgo, and the compartments can be more limiting, especially if you typically pack larger sandwiches.
Its simple stainless steel construction makes the PlanetBox easier to clean than any of our other lunch box picks, bento or insulated. It can go in the dishwasher, in the top or bottom rack. However, it’s not microwave-safe.
The box survived our drop test with minor scratches. For protection and added convenience, we recommend buying the PlanetBox set with the insulated bag, which has a padded handle, roomy pockets that can hold additional food containers and a small water bottle, an interior mesh pocket that fits a slim ice pack, and elastic bands for utensils. The bag with the lunch box inside fits in a kid-size backpack with room for schoolwork and other gear. Bags come in more than a dozen colors and patterns. Each lunch box includes a set of magnets to personalize the exterior of the box; you get over 30 designs to choose from, everything from dinosaurs to flowers to Warholian soup cans to Día de los Muertos skulls. (The company recommends removing the magnets before putting the box in the dishwasher.)
One of the common complaints about the PlanetBox is that, at approximately 1.7 pounds, it’s too heavy for younger kids. If you need something lighter, consider getting the Bentgo Fresh. A handful of reviewers also mention that their PlanetBox developed rust spots, but the company offers a five-year warranty—the longest coverage for any of our picks—and should replace the lunch box promptly.
A great lunch box can be made even better with help from a cast of supporting players. Here are some reusable bags, containers, and utensils from our other guides, as well as from Wirecutter staffers’ personal experience. We’ve found that these make packing lunches more convenient for adults, and they make the lunch experience easier and more fun for kids.
Less wasteful than disposable zip-top plastic bags (and easier to use than washing and reusing zip-tops), Stasher Reusable Silicone Bags—a Wirecutter pick from our guide to reusable alternatives to plastic—are available in a range of sizes and appealing colors. They seal securely and can hold everything from snacks and sides to leftovers. Also, they’re freezer- and dishwasher-safe. The only drawback is their high price ($55 for a pack of four at the time of writing).
Pliable Bee’s Wrap beeswax wraps—another Wirecutter pick—cling to themselves, making it easy to transport items like sandwiches, fruit, and veggies. Although they’re not airtight, in our tests these wraps performed just as well as plastic wrap for short-term use (about four days). They require gentle hand-washing and should last about a year, with proper use. Note: These may be better suited to older kids, who will remember that they’re not disposable.
Made to transport an array of foods, the Miniware GrowBento set comes with a double-coated stainless steel bento box (for things like pasta, sandwiches, cut-up fruit, and salads) and two leakproof silicone pods with lids that work well for dips and sauces. They are dishwasher- and freezer-safe. Wirecutter supervising editor Courtney Schley acknowledges that although the set is expensive ($38 at the time of publishing), “We’ve been using them every day for a year, and they are in great condition. They’re really convenient.” Of course, it’s not necessary to buy dedicated lunch containers. Plastic Snapware containers—a top pick from our guide to the best food storage containers—are lightweight, leakproof, and dishwasher-, freezer- and microwave-safe. They’re also versatile and stack away easily, and their snap-on lids are simple to operate. (We like the 1.21-cup size for lunch-packing purposes; this assorted Snapware set also comes with a 2.5-cup option, which could work well for larger portions.)
To help subdivide foods in her daughter’s Bentgo Fresh and PlanetBox Rover bento boxes, supervising editor Winnie Yang recommends the dishwasher-/freezer-/microwave-safe AmazonBasics Reusable Silicone Baking Cups. The small, flexible containers “keep the dry and wet foods separate—I’ll put a bunch of crackers or pretzels in the cup within a larger compartment with fruits or veggies,” said Winnie.
What if your kids (or you) have a habit of, er, misplacing lunch boxes? “For parents who just can’t stand to lose another $25 container,” senior staff writer Nancy Redd recommends the budget-friendly Freshmage Bento Lunch Box Containers, available in three- and four-compartment configurations. Microwave-, freezer-, and dishwasher-safe, these plastic bentos are stackable, reusable, and (at the time of writing) cost $8 for a set of three. “These containers got me through a discombobulated and environmentally unfriendly first grade,” Nancy said.
A food thermos is the tidiest and most reliable way to tote hot and liquid-y foods. Wirecutter supervising editor Winnie Yang and senior staff writer Joanne Chen both use the Thermos Funtainer, our food thermos pick for kids, when packing leftovers like pasta and stir-fry dishes, and their Funtainers have held up well to frequent use and runs through the dishwasher. Plus, the Thermos Funtainer comes in lots of colors and patterns, and it typically costs about $10 less than the other thermoses we recommend. Winnie also regularly relies on the dishwasher-safe LunchBots Thermos for her family. She especially likes the 12-ounce version because its wide mouth—nearly an inch wider than the Funtainer’s—is so easy to eat from. Supervising editor Courtney Schley recommends our top thermos pick, the Zojirushi Stainless Steel Food Jar. For kids, she prefers the 9-ounce size, which performed better than almost every other thermos in our tests at keeping foods hot (or cold) for six hours or more. And it has a screw-on cap that’s easy for little hands to operate. (Zojirushi recommends hand-washing, since the thermos’ insulating capability can degrade in the dishwasher.)
When serving cut-up fruit or other potentially sticky items in a bento box, supervising editor Winnie Yang includes one of these Torune Dog and Cat Food Picks. Because they’re thin and short (at less than 2 inches long), they can be tucked right into a compartment. (Warning: The picks are not dishwasher-safe.) When real utensils are a must, Winnie opts for the OmieBox Kids Utensils Set with Case—a reusable, dishwasher-safe plastic fork-and-spoon pair that, when not in use, nest together in a silicone case with an attached strap.
We recently began testing the Bentgo Kids Stainless Steel Lunch Box. From the same company that makes our top bento pick, which is plastic, this bento-style lunch box is stainless steel, dishwasher-safe, and designed to prevent leakage between the three internal compartments. We will update this guide with our findings.
Most insulated lunch boxes are neither machine-washable nor dishwasher-safe. Manufacturers recommend wiping insulated lunch boxes clean with a mild dish detergent and a damp paper towel. Be sure to dry an insulated lunch box with paper towels or a cloth, and leave it open and unzipped to air-dry completely before you use it. Your best bet is to clean an insulated lunch box once or twice a week, to prevent it from acquiring an unpleasant scent.
For difficult stains, such as those from tomato sauce, it may take multiple attempts to clean the soiled area. If the exterior becomes stained, we recommend that you clean it immediately with a little soap and water.
For a bento box that has a rubber seal around the lid, wash it by hand to avoid potential deterioration. And, if possible, remove the seal to clean and dry it separately before reassembling. For optimal cleaning practices, consult the manufacturer’s instructions.
If you’re packing hot or cold food for small kids: The plastic OmieBox comes with an integrated insulated food jar, making it the only bento we found that can carry hot and cold foods. The vacuum-sealed container—which sealed tightly and didn’t leak in our tests—can keep foods like pasta and soup warm or foods like like yogurt or cottage cheese cool.
We like the OmieBox so much that at one point it was a pick for this guide. Over time, we encountered some reports from online owner reviews and Wirecutter staffers of flimsiness and lack of durability. But our main reservation is that it just doesn’t hold enough food for older kids. OmieBox recently issued a redesign, which—among other tweaks—increased the food jar’s capacity from 6.5 ounces to 8.5 ounces (or slightly over a cup) and the outside dimensions from 7 by 7 by 2.5 to 7.5 by 8.5 by 3. Supervising editor Courtney Schley has been testing the new model for several months, and she noticed that the expanded size is an improvement. For example, it’s now possible to fit a regular sandwich (cut in half) in the main compartment, whereas with the previous version, a sandwich had to be trimmed or cut into strips. Still, the overall capacity of this lunch box remains modest, and it is really suited only for preschool-age kids. The company says the OmieBox may be cleaned in the top rack of the dishwasher. But it recommends removing the OmieBox before the heated drying cycle, or hand-washing it. One staffer’s OmieBox warped in the dishwasher.
The Fit & Fresh Bento Box Lunch Kit has clip-in ice packs that fit within a zippered, insulated lunch box. But the quality of the materials felt subpar to us, and the small containers and lids were easy to lose and less convenient for organization.
The stainless steel LunchBots Large Cinco Bento Box usually costs about as much as the PlanetBox Rover. The LunchBots box comes in many sizes, configurations, and layouts, with a variety of lidded bowls that can fit inside. But it felt flimsier than the PlanetBox, and the unattached lid could get lost more easily.
We previously recommended the Bentgo Kids lunch box. It has smaller compartments than the Bentgo Fresh and grippy rubber material around the box’s outer edges, which absorbed the impact in our drop tests. This model is best for preschoolers, though, and even for that age group, some people may find that it doesn’t hold enough food for a kid in all-day care.
The Bentgo Classic All-in-One Stackable Bento Lunch Box was a pain to use. We had trouble fitting the lids onto the containers, and the plastic cutlery was a nuisance. The elastic band stained badly with tomato sauce, and the stain was difficult to remove.
The BentoHeaven Leakproof Bento Lunch Box has only two large compartments and flimsy, toylike utensils.
For young kids, the EcoLunchBox Three-in-One Classic is a nice, compact stainless steel option. The metal containers are easy to clean and dishwasher-safe. This lunch box didn’t suffer any dents or permanent damage in our drop tests, but we ruled it out because it’s not leakproof, and it’s too small for older kids.
The plastic IKEA Flottig broke in our drop tests. Like the BentoHeaven, this bento has two large compartments and small, dull plastic utensils.
Like the Pottery Barn Kids Mackenzie Classic Lunch Box, the Lands’ End ClassMate EZ Wipe Lunch Box (now called the Lands’ End Insulated EZ Wipe Printed Lunch Box), has a molded foam interior that gives it a firmer shape than our favorite L.L.Bean box has. With use, however, the separate lining started blistering in the corners, and we found the box too large for a kid’s lunch.
The L.L.Bean Flip-Top Lunch Box is larger than our pick, the L.L.Bean Lunch Box, but it has a similarly rugged outer shell and an easy-to-wipe inner lining. It’s more structured, and it doesn’t fit as neatly into backpacks or totes.
The PackIt Freezable Lunch Bag has decent reviews on Amazon, but we’ve read customer complaints stating that the inside becomes covered in condensation and gets food wet. One of our editors has personally used this lunch bag, and they said it was difficult to clean. It also needed to dry completely before refreezing, otherwise the zipper got icy and failed to work.
We dismissed the Pottery Barn Kids Mackenzie Cold Pack Lunch Bag because its thin lining bunched up easily, trapping crumbs and making it hard to clean.
Good Housekeeping recommends the Pottery Barn Kids Mackenzie Retro Lunch Box because it passed the magazine’s leak test. However, we found this box awkward to use since it requires stacking items vertically: Some foods are liable to get squished, you can’t see all the contents when you open the box, and you have to unpack the whole thing to get to an item at the bottom.
We did not test the Pottery Barn Kids Spencer Bento Box because its compartments were small and limiting, and the box’s thin plastic looked less durable than the material on our bento picks.
The Wildkin Lunch Box has an inner lining with a lot of seams that trap crumbs and make cleaning difficult. In our tests the interior stained badly with tomato sauce.
Similar in design to the Bentgo Kids, the Yumbox Panino is too small for many kindergarteners and older kids. The Yumbox’s plastic was thinner and less rugged than that of the Bentgo Kids.
The Zojirushi Mr. Bento Stainless Lunch Jar is a unique, next-level bento. But it’s too large for school use and too complicated for younger kids, since it needs to be packed in a specific way to close securely.
Sonjia Hyon is a freelance researcher and writer who has worked in marketing, cultural programming, higher education, and food. Most recently, she contributed to the writing of The Haven’s Kitchen Cooking School. She has a PhD in American studies and lives in Brooklyn with her husband and her daughter, Nico.
Anna Perling is a former staff writer covering kitchen gear at Wirecutter. During her time at Wirecutter, she reported on various topics including sports bras, board games, and light bulbs. Previously she wrote food and lifestyle pieces for Saveur and Kinfolk magazines. Anna is a mentor at Girls Write Now and a member of the Online News Association.
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