When we tested plastic food storage containers, a clear winner emerged: the Rubbermaid Brilliance Food Storage Container, Large, 9.6 Cup, priced at about $13. It holds a generous amount of food, keeps liquids in, is airtight, and has a flat top that makes for secure, compact stacking in the refrigerator and freezer.
We wondered if the other sizes of this container would perform just as well and whether they would be useful for meal preppers, in-the-moment lunch packers, or those trying to make the transition from the latter to the former, like me. While the 9.6-cup container is fantastic for storage, it’s a bit too large for packing into a lunch box or storing smaller amounts of grains, dressings, or cooked chicken. So, we put the 4.7-cup, 3.2-cup, and 1.3-cup Rubbermaid Brilliance food storage containers to the test, opening and closing their latches 25 times each, submerging them in water to see if they were airtight, and vigorously shaking the full containers to see if anything spilled out. We also put the 6-piece set (which has one 3.2-cup container, two 1.3-cup containers, and lids for all) and the 10-piece set (which has two 3.2-cup containers, two 1.3-cup containers, 1 9.6-cup container, and lids for all) through the same tests, as some might find it more convenient to buy a set of containers rather than a number of individual ones. Buying the sets is also more cost-effective.