Best Spill-Proof Food Storage Containers for Holiday Travel

My mom is a former private chef who built her business around delivering meals directly to clients’ homes. So, needless to say, she’s spent countless hours perfecting the art of food transportation. Over the years, her experience navigating rush-hour traffic with trays of delicate hors d’oeuvres and driving through summer heat with temperature-sensitive proteins has helped her master the challenge of keeping our holiday dishes piping hot during the journey to our extended relatives.

While I’m not saying I’ve never had to balance a tray of cupcakes (or two) on my lap while sitting in a fully-packed car, I know the right gear can mean the difference between arriving with picture-perfect dishes and cleaning cranberry sauce off the upholstery. Now that the holiday season is here and many of us will be preparing homemade contributions to the festive feasts, I asked my mom to share the products she swears by for keeping food safe, secure, and at the proper temperature during transit. These are her go-to hacks. 

Best Mom-Approved Ways to Pack and Transport Food

• Rachael Ray Expandable Insulated Casserole Carrier, $40 at amazon.com
• Yeti Hopper Flip 18 Portable Soft Cooler, $240, originally $300 at yeti.com
• Pyrex Easy Grab 4-Piece Glass Baking Dish Set, $18, originally $19 at amazon.com
• Arctic Zone Titan Deep Freeze Zipperless Hardbody Cooler, $47 at amazon.com
• Duck Brand Select Grip Easy Drawer Liners, $6 at amazon.com

Rachael Ray Expandable Insulated Casserole Carrier

Since the holiday season is basically casserole season, my mom shouted out her favorite insulated carrier that fits a 9×13 casserole dish perfectly and keeps hot dishes warm for hours. “Even though I like to use baking dishes with lids, this just adds an extra layer of insulation and mess-protection. I’ve used mine for scalloped potatoes and my ‘famous’ green bean casserole,” she says. The dual-zipper design means she’s never worried about anything spilling in the back seat, either, even when making sudden stops.  

Yeti Hopper Flip 18 Portable Soft Cooler

When it comes to keeping cold foods at safe temperatures during longer drives, my mom refuses to compromise. (Can you tell her favorite class in culinary school was Food Safety?) So, she invested in this heavy-duty soft cooler, which we’ve also tested and love. Its leakproof zipper and insulation help keep items chilled, even if we end up stuck in holiday traffic for three hours. “Any dairy-based dishes, especially desserts or sides like mac and cheese, need to stay under 40°F,” she explains. “I love Yeti coolers, and when you’re dealing with food safety, you want equipment you can trust completely.”

Pyrex Easy Grab 4-Piece Glass Baking Dish Set

Pyrex’s lidded glass dishes have always been workhorses in my mom’s catering kit because the secure-fitting lids prevent spills while allowing her to see exactly what’s inside each container. They can go from oven to car to someone else’s oven seamlessly, and the handles make carrying multiple dishes at once much easier. “Tupperware is the bane of my existence. I hate wrestling with plastic, but these lids snap on tight enough that I’ve never had leaks. And they’re still easy to remove when you arrive,” she notes.

Arctic Zone Titan Deep Freeze Zipperless Hardbody Cooler

My mom recently upgraded to this cooler specifically for its fold-down design that makes loading and unloading incredibly quick, which makes a difference when you’re juggling multiple dishes. “I like that I can flip it open with one hand and grab what I need without fighting with a zipper,” she explains. “The zipperless opening is genius when your hands are full.” The removable liner also serves as a shelf to help separate hard items from soft foods and keep delicate items like pies or frosted cakes from getting crushed. And the high-performance insulation keeps everything cold for up to two days. 

Rubbermaid 10-Piece Brilliance Food Storage Container Set

These are the go-to food storage containers my mom grabs when she’s transporting anything liquid-y (think gravy, dressing, or my grandma’s Christmas ham sauce). “I’ve literally turned them upside down and shaken them to test the seal, and nothing leaks,” she says. Another use for these crystal-clear, latching containers is transporting components of your dish that need to be assembled on-site, or sides that might shift during the drive. This set is also stackable for efficient trunk organization. 

Duck Brand Select Grip Easy Drawer Liners

Believe it or not, my mom swears that lining the trunk or back seat with a non-slip drawer liner has prevented more food catastrophes than anything else. The grippy material keeps containers, coolers, and carriers from sliding around during turns and stops, creating a stable surface for your precious cargo. “I cut pieces to fit wherever I’m placing food, and it’s like magic. Obviously, it won’t work as well for top-heavy or ‘roll-y’ items like wine bottles, but for most food containers, nothing shifts even when I hit the brakes,” she says.