There is no single perfect size for a meal prep container. For most everyday lunches, around 900–950ml / 30–32 fl oz is a really useful starting point. Smaller containers work better for breakfasts, snacks and sides, while larger 1.1–1.4L / 37–47 fl oz containers are ideal for salads, pasta, larger meals or people with bigger appetites.
But volume is only part of the story. The type of food you eat, the shape of the container and whether you’re eating at home, at work or on-the-go all make a difference.
What size meal prep container should I choose?
We’ve designed a wide range of sizes over the years because we’ve learnt that there really is no one-size-fits-all answer.
As a useful guide:
| Size | Best for |
| 380 ml / 13 fl oz | Snacks, fruit, sides, smaller breakfasts |
| 600-650 ml /20-22 fl oz | Overnight oats, smaller lunches, rice dishes and portion control |
| 900-950 ml / 30-32 fl oz | Most everyday lunches and complete meals |
| 1.1-1.2 L / 37-40 fl oz | Larger lunches, pasta, curries, salads and generous portions |
| 1.4 L / 47 fl oz | Large salads, bigger meals and meals with several components |
If you’re buying your first meal prep containers, around 900ml / 30 fl oz is probably the most versatile size to start with.
It is big enough for a substantial meal without being unnecessarily bulky.
What sizes do Black+Blum meal prep containers come in?
We’ve deliberately developed different sizes and shapes rather than expecting one container to work for everyone.
Our rectangular Meal Prep Boxes are available in:
- 600ml / 20 fl oz – Small
- 900ml / 30 fl oz – Medium
- 1.2L / 40 fl oz – Large
Our Stack + Nest Glass Food Containers follow the same useful rectangular format, with four sizes:
- 380ml / 13 fl oz – Extra Small
- 600ml / 20 fl oz – Small
- 900ml / 30 fl oz – Medium
- 1.2L / 40 fl oz – Large
Our stainless steel Meal Prep Bowls come in:
- 650ml / 22 fl oz – Small
- 950ml / 32 fl oz – Large
And for larger meals, our Square Meal Prep Boxes come in:
- 1.1L / 37 fl oz – Small
- 1.4L / 47 fl oz – Large
The result is a range that goes from a compact 380ml / 13 fl oz container right through to a generous 1.4L / 47 fl oz meal box.
Size isn’t everything: shape matters too
This is something that is often overlooked when choosing meal prep containers.
Two containers can have almost exactly the same volume but feel completely different to eat from.
A bowl can be better for overnight oats, noodles, rice bowls or meals that you want to mix together.
A rectangular box is incredibly versatile and works particularly well for everyday lunches, leftovers and meals with different elements.
A wide square box gives more surface area and can be much better for salads or larger meals where you don’t want all the ingredients piled on top of one another.
When we design a new container, we therefore don’t start by simply deciding how many millilitres it should hold. We think about what people will actually eat from it, how they will carry it, how it will fit in a bag or fridge or freezer and what it feels like to eat from.
There is a big difference between something designed simply to store food and something designed to hold and eat a complete meal.
How many meal prep containers do I need?
For most people, three to five containers is a good starting point.
If you prepare a lunch for every working day, five containers of your preferred size makes sense. That’s why we offer many of our Meal Prep containers in sets of five.
If you cook every two or three days and wash your containers as you go, three may be plenty.
If you’re preparing both lunches and dinners in advance, you’ll naturally need more.
But we don’t necessarily think all your containers should be identical.
Is it better to own different sizes?
For some people, yes.
You might want a 600ml / 20 fl oz container for breakfast, a 900ml / 30 fl oz box for lunch and a 1.2L / 40 fl oz box for a large evening meal or salad.
Your appetite can vary too. A light summer lunch doesn’t need the same container as a winter curry.
A mixed collection gives you more flexibility and can actually take up less cupboard space if the containers have been properly designed to nest.
Our rectangular Meal Prep Boxes and Stack + Nest Glass Containers are designed so that different sizes nest inside one another, while containers of the same size stack neatly. The equivalent glass and stainless-steel sizes also use compatible lids, so you can mix and match between the two materials.
What is the best meal prep container size for lunch?
For a typical adult lunch, we would generally start with 900–950ml / 30–32 fl oz.
But that isn’t a rule.
Someone taking a large salad to work might be much happier with 1.4L / 47 fl oz, while someone taking soup, overnight oats or a smaller rice bowl might only need 600–650ml / 20–22 fl oz.
Portion size is personal, which is precisely why we don’t believe there should be one standard meal prep size.
A Word From The Designer
We launched our first lunch box, Box Appetit, in 2010, after around two years of research and design development.
At the time, I remember feeling there was something slightly strange about the lunch box market. Children had colourful, fun lunch boxes designed specifically around eating lunch, while adults were expected to make do with fairly boring food-storage containers.
We thought adults deserved something better.
Box Appetit was inspired partly by Japanese bento culture but designed around the way people in the West actually ate. Looking back, I think it anticipated a lot of what we now call meal prep – taking a properly prepared meal with you rather than simply putting leftovers into a storage box.
There is an important distinction here.
A food-storage container and a meal-prep container aren’t necessarily the same thing.
Food-storage containers are primarily designed to keep food in the fridge or cupboard. A good meal-prep container has to do much more. It needs to store food, but it may also need to travel in a bag, remain completely leak proof, reheat the meal, be comfortable to eat from and then stack or nest away neatly when you’re finished with it.
Over the years, we’ve designed many different lunch boxes and meal-prep products, in different materials, shapes and sizes, and sold them all over the world.
One of the biggest things we’ve learnt is that there really is no one size that fits all.
Every person is different. Every meal is different. Eating habits vary from country to country, and they change over time.
Some people want a small breakfast pot. Someone else wants a large salad bowl. One person needs something light enough to carry to work every day, while another wants a glass container they can take straight from the fridge to the oven.
That’s why, from a design point of view, our aim hasn’t been to create the perfect meal-prep container.
It’s been to create a system of different sizes, shapes and materials so that everyone can find the one that’s right for them.
— Dan Black, Co-Founder & Lead Designer, Black+Blum