Meal prep trays are food-safe containers designed to portion, store, transport, and often reheat prepared meals. They are widely used in restaurants, ready meal prep, commercial or institutional kitchens, catering, Meals on Wheels programs, schools, and retail-ready meals.

Meal prep trays are 1, 2, 3 or 4-compartment food trays made from plastic materials (PP, CPET, APET), paperboard, or aluminum. They’re designed to:

• Keep food fresh when sealed with a film.
• Keep food types separate from each other in multi-compartment trays.
• Support safe reheating (depending on material)

Common Types of Meal Prep Trays

1. PP (Polypropylene) Trays

• Great for hot or cold foods
• Microwave-safe
• Often used in grocery deli sections and home meal prep

2. CPET (Crystallized PET) Trays

• Can go from freezer → oven → microwave
• Excellent for Meals on Wheels, hospitals, and retail, fresh or frozen meals
• Withstands high heat (up to ~200°C / 400°F) Safe in a preheated conventional oven
• Premium presentation

3. APET (Amorphous PET) Trays

• Used for cold foods only
• Cannot be heated, not microwave-safe
• Transparent / Clear for high food visibility
• Great for salads, sandwiches, fruit cups, and similar

4. Paperboard Meal Trays

• Lightweight and eco-friendly if no lining in the tray
• Often lined for moisture resistance
• Can be oven-safe depending on the coating

5. Aluminum Trays

• Oven-safe
• Some are microwave safe.
• Common in catering and ready-to-bake meals

Where You See Trays Being Used

• Grocery stores (fresh or frozen prepared meals)
• Meal delivery programs such as Meals on Wheels
• Institutional kitchens (schools, hospitals, long-term care)
• Fitness meal programs
• Prepared / Ready meals for convenience and planning

Using Meal Prep Trays makes your ready meal preparation, packaging, delivery, and serving faster, safer, fresher, and easier. Whether you are packaging ready meals for home use, retail sales, commercial kitchens for delivery or pick up, Meals on Wheels, schools, or specialty meals such as fitness or special diets, using meal prep trays offers variety in sizes and styles to suit the application.

Main Reasons for using Meal Prep Trays

1. Keeps food fresh longer, reducing food waste, especially when sealed with a film.
2. Portion Control & Consistency for predictable meal plans, especially for delivery programs.
3. Easy Storage & Stackability, preventing spills and saving space.
4. Safe Reheating & Serving, especially in CPET trays that are microwave and oven-safe.
5. Appealing presentation, clean and organized look for a packaging that sells.
6. Leak-Resistant & Easy to carry home, or for delivery for Meals on Wheels
7. Improves Efficiency in Meal Production in both small and large-scale operations.
8. Cost-Effective Packaging, CPET is cheaper by the unit than aluminum and clamshells. Reduces waste by keeping food fresh longer and controlling portion sizes.
9. Versatility: Use them for frozen, fresh, hot, and grab-n-go meals. Multi-compartment. Find the tray that fits your culinary creation.

Yes, you can. Freezable meal prep trays, made of the right material, can be used for freezing ready meals. Many trays are specifically designed to handle freezing, refrigerating, reheating in the microwave oven, or the conventional oven. Have a look at the guide below for materials and their properties.

Meal Prep Trays That Are Freezer-Safe

1. CPET Trays (Crystallized PET)

Best option for freezer → oven → microwave.

Designed for frozen meals

Take it from the freezer and put it into the oven (up to ~200°C / 400°F)

Excellent for Meals on Wheels, retail frozen meals, or weekly meal plans

Very durable

If you need ultimate versatility, CPET is #1. Also #1 in recyclability

2. PP Trays (Polypropylene)

Go from the freezer → microwave.

Safe to freeze

Microwave-safe

Lightweight and cost-effective

Common for weekly home meal prep and chilled meal delivery

(Note: PP trays are not oven-safe.)

3. Paperboard Trays (with proper coating)

Many coated paperboard frozen-meal trays are freezer-safe

Can sometimes be oven-safe (depends on the lining)

Can be compostable, biodegradable, or disposable, confirm which from your supplier.

>Note about freezing prepared meals and the formation of ice crystals.

The ice crystals form when the moisture in the food escapes and sublimes if exposed to even a small amount of warmth, such as the opening and closing of the freezer door. To reduce ice crystal formation, reduce the amount of air space inside the sealed tray. The moisture has nowhere to go, so it stays in the food. Food stays fresher, longer.

Sometimes, but it depends on what you care about. Disposable meal-prep trays can be worth it in certain situations, but they come with real trade-offs. Here’s a balanced breakdown of when they make sense, and when you might want to think twice.

Situations Where Disposable Meal Prep Trays Are Worth It

Convenience & low effort — Disposable trays mean no washing, no cleaning, no need for storage or extra shelving.

For one-time use, on-the-go, or delivery-oriented meals — If meals are going out to clients, patients, or customers (e.g. catering, take-out, meal delivery programs), disposables reduce risk of cross-contamination.

Low upfront cost per meal — Buying disposable trays (in bulk) tends to have lower cost per tray than investing in reusable containers.

Trade-offs and Why Disposables Might Not Be Worth It — Especially Long-Term

Environmental impact — Most disposable trays typically contribute to landfill, ocean pollution and microplastic contamination.

Health & safety concerns — Some disposable trays contain additives (like bisphenols or phthalates) that may leach into food.

Cumulative waste and resource use — The repeated production and disposal of single-use trays consumes raw materials and energy, and generates pollution. Over time, this burden becomes substantial

When Disposables Are Best — And When to Avoid Them

Use disposable meal prep trays when:

• You need disposability, either because you're delivering meals or don’t expect to collect them back. Note that Recyclable trays would be preferred for the environment.
• Convenience, hygiene, and low upfront cost matter more than environmental footprint or long-term reuse.
• You produce meals at high volume and don’t have infrastructure for washing/reusing trays.

Avoid them when:

• You care about environmental impact and sustainability.
• You cook frequently and prefer to reuse containers many times.
• You want safe reheating and food storage over long periods — especially for acidic, fatty, or hot foods.
• Cost over time matters — because frequent replacement adds up.

Our recommendation: Use with Caution — But Prefer Recyclable where possible.

Disposable meal prep trays do have their place: for one-off meals, deliveries, events, or when convenience is paramount. However, for regular meal prep, home cooking, or sustainable practices, the downsides — environmental waste, possible health risks, and ongoing cost — often outweigh the convenience benefit.

If your preferences are based on long-term cost, sustainability, or health, aim to minimize disposable use and switch to more durable, reusable (and safer) alternatives: glass, stainless steel, or BPA-free containers — especially if reheating or storing meals regularly.

Yes — recyclable meal-prep trays can absolutely be worth it, depending on how you use them and what you care about (environment, convenience, cost, etc.). There are good reasons to favor recyclable trays — but also some caveats to watch out for.

What makes recyclable trays worthwhile

Lower environmental footprint (vs non-recyclable disposable trays)

Trays made from recyclable plastics — especially recycled plastics like rPET — tend to produce less CO₂ emissions over their life cycle than many non-recyclable or laminated alternatives.

Reduced reliance on virgin materials & support for the circular economy

Because rPET trays are derived from post-consumer plastic waste and can themselves be recycled again, they help close the loop in recycling.

Functionality often maintained

Good-quality recyclable trays offer similar benefits as standard meal-prep trays: durability, light weight, barrier properties for extended shelf life when sealed with a preservative gas.

Better than non-recyclable laminated or composite packaging

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What to watch out for — limitations and real-world caveats

Recycling depends on local infrastructure & your behavior

Even if a tray is recyclable, it should be cleaned of food residue to be accepted. If the tray is not rinsed or cleaned it is possible that some recycling programs reject it ending up in the landfill. It is up to you. Rinse and Recycle.

Not all recyclable trays are equal — and not all accepted in all areas

Some plastics or laminated trays may technically be recyclable but might still be excluded by municipal recycling rules, especially if they include film or have layers.

Still single-use (unless you reuse)

If you treat recyclable trays as disposable — i.e. you use once then throw out — they can still create waste and environmental burden. Recycle!

Recyclable Trays Can Be a Good Middle Ground

If your priority is reducing environmental impact while keeping convenience, recyclable meal-prep trays are a strong compromise between fully disposable and fully reusable containers. They offer lower carbon footprint than non-recyclable disposables, help support circular-economy principles, and often work pretty much like standard meal prep trays.

Yes — there are specific meal‑prep trays / containers that tend to work especially well for people doing bodybuilding or serious fitness nutrition. The key to fitness are workouts and meal plans together, in order to get the nutrition and body building muscle proteins to complete the program. Here’s what makes a meal prep tray “good for bodybuilding.

What Makes a “Bodybuilding-Ready” Meal Prep Tray

If you’re prepping meals to support muscle growth / strict nutrition, the ideal tray/container should:

• Enable precise portioning — compartments or standard sizes help you divide protein, carbs, vegetables, etc, so you hit macro targets accurately.
• Be leak- proof and spill‑proof with a film sealed to the tray. This is especially important if you transport the meal in your gym bag or to work etc...
• Be safe for freezing, refrigerating, microwaving (or oven when needed) — often bodybuilders order their prepared meals for the week. The trays must be able to be frozen, refrigerated, and reheated in the microwave or conventional oven.
• Be durable and reusable or recyclable. Choose trays that will least affect the environment.