The Best Plastic-Free Bowls, Plates, Cups, and Utensils for Babies and Kids

March 11, 2026

Some of our picks for best baby feeding tools, displayed all together on top of a pink surface.

I have two little kids, the younger of whom had started eating solid food at the time of our testing. When my older child reached this milestone, I aimed to get her excited about the process by buying feeding tools that were colorful — and many of them were made of plastic.

But as the time came for my son to start using tableware, I’d become more aware of the growing concerns about plastics. While researching and writing Wirecutter’s guide to the best baby bottles, I learned about two class-action lawsuits brought against two leading baby bottle companies, Philips North America and Handi-Craft Company, for failing to warn consumers that their plastic bottles may leach microplastics when heated and used to prepare formula. Research shows that plastic food packaging might also leach harmful chemicals.

My kids were eating and drinking from plastic throughout the day. What did all that exposure mean for their developing bodies?

The experts I interviewed told me that the chemicals that are added to some plastics, like bisphenol and phthalates, are associated with a host of health impacts, including endocrine disruption, obesity, and neurodevelopmental disruption. Kids may be particularly susceptible to the effects of these compounds because their relative exposure level is higher than adults and because their bodily systems are still developing.

It’s often not possible or realistic to give up plastic entirely, and plastic exposure is of course just one piece of a child’s overall health. Since heat exposure causes plastic to break down more quickly, you can reduce the risk of plastics leaching chemicals into kids’ food by keeping plastics out of the microwave and dishwasher.

But a precautionary approach is also leading many caregivers to seek out plastic-free alternatives, and there’s a growing market to meet them. I spent 50 hours comparing dozens of nonplastic feeding tools — including plates, cups, bowls, and utensils — with my kids. Below are recommendations for tools made from stainless steel and glass (the experts I spoke with referred to both as the “gold standard” for feeding kids) as well as silicone, which is more heat-resistant than plastic.