Plastic or Composite? The Best Cutting Board Plastic Picks

Walk into the prep area of most restaurant kitchens and the cutting boards are plastic: white, red, green and yellow slabs that go through the dish machine at the end of every shift. Wood has its place, but when raw chicken for tinga, pork for al pastor and a mountain of onions and cilantro all pass across the same counter in a morning, a board you can scrub hard and wash hot is the practical choice.

Plastic and composite boards are not all alike, though. Some are thin flexible sheets, some are half-inch slabs built for commercial dishwashers, and some are made from paper or plant-based composites that sit between plastic and wood. This guide compares the ones worth buying from identifiable makers, using what each maker or Amazon listing states, and says so where a detail is not published.

Julia’s earns a commission on purchases made through links on this page, at no cost to you. Recommendations are based on what a restaurant kitchen looks for in a cutting board, product specifications and verified buyer reports.

Quick verdict: which plastic cutting board to buy

Below, the five standouts side by side, then all eight boards in full, and what food safety agencies say about keeping any board clean.

Five plastic and composite boards compared

One board for each kind of cook, with the material, size and dishwasher guidance each maker or listing states. All eight boards are reviewed in full below.

Product images from Amazon. Materials and sizes are as stated by each maker or Amazon listing; check the listing before you buy.

Our picks for the best cutting board plastic and composite

These eight boards cover the real choices: soft plastic boards that go in the dishwasher and are kind to knife edges, thick commercial slabs, color-coded sets for keeping raw meat apart from produce, and composite boards made from paper or plant-based materials. Each review gives the material, size, thickness, grip, groove and care as the maker or listing states them, and says “not stated” where nothing is published.

How to choose a plastic cutting board

The differences between plastic boards are small on paper and large in daily use. These are the points a kitchen looks at.

Size. Buy bigger than you think. A board around 15 by 10 inches handles a weeknight dinner; 18 by 12 is the standard restaurant size and gives room to cut and push food aside without it falling off. Check that the board fits your sink and dishwasher before you order.

Thickness. Half-inch slabs like the Thirteen Chefs and San Jamar boards stay flat, feel solid under a chef’s knife and stand up to hot washing. Quarter-inch boards are lighter and cheaper but can flex. Thin flexible mats are handy for tipping food into a pan, but they are not a main board.

Grip. A board that slides is dangerous. Feet, rubber corners or a textured underside help; if a board has none, put a damp towel or a piece of shelf liner under it every time.

Juice groove. Useful for slicing tomatoes, citrus and cooked meat, which release liquid. It cuts into usable flat space, so many cooks keep one grooved board for carving and a flat one for chopping.

Material. Polyethylene and polypropylene are the soft plastics most boards use; they are gentle on knives and mark easily. Composites like Epicurean’s paper-based Richlite and Material’s clay-mineral blend are firmer and more heat tolerant but harder under the blade.

How many. Two boards is the minimum in a kitchen that handles raw meat: one for raw meat, poultry and seafood, one for everything else. A color-coded set makes that habit automatic.

Keeping a plastic board food safe

Here we stick to what food safety authorities say. The FDA’s safe food handling guidance advises using one cutting board for fresh produce and a separate one for raw meat, poultry and seafood, and washing cutting boards with hot soapy water after preparing each food item.

The University of Wisconsin–Madison Extension’s guide to cutting board safety says consumers may choose either wood or a nonporous surface such as plastic, that nonporous plastic boards can be washed in a dishwasher, and that any board with cracks, crevices, chips or grooves should be replaced. It gives a sanitizing solution of 1 tablespoon of regular chlorine bleach per gallon of water. The University of Illinois Extension’s meat safety page also recommends a dedicated board just for raw meat, and says that once a board has many cut marks, including deep grooves, it is time for a new one.

Color-coding is a common way to keep those boards apart. North Dakota State University Extension suggests trying a color-coding system to reduce the risk of cross-contamination, with red for meat and green for produce as an example. Commercial sets follow similar schemes, but the exact colors vary by maker, so pick a system and stick to it.

The practical takeaway for a plastic board is that it does not last forever. Soft plastic scores with every cut, and those knife marks are exactly what the extension services tell you to watch for. When the surface is deeply grooved and no longer cleans up smooth, replace it.

How we chose these eight boards

We started from what a kitchen that handles raw meat and fresh produce every day asks of a board: enough room to work, a surface that is kind to knives, grip on the counter, and cleaning that is fast and thorough. We then looked for plastic and composite boards sold on Amazon in the United States from identifiable makers, checked each one’s stock with Amazon’s product data before writing, and took materials, sizes, thicknesses and care from the maker’s description or the brand’s Amazon listing. Where a detail is not published, we say “not stated”. We left out unbranded sellers and near-identical boards. We did not use these boards for this guide. We also did not cite America’s Test Kitchen, Serious Eats or Wirecutter, because we could not read their current reviews when we wrote it; food safety guidance comes only from the FDA and the university extension pages linked above.

Plastic cutting board questions, answered

What is the best type of plastic for a cutting board?

Most boards are polyethylene or polypropylene, both soft enough to be kind to knife edges. Commercial boards are often high-density polyethylene or polypropylene in thick slabs, like the Thirteen Chefs board. Thickness and grip matter more day to day than the exact plastic.

Are plastic cutting boards safe for raw meat?

Food safety authorities accept plastic and other nonporous boards, and the FDA advises keeping a separate board for raw meat, poultry and seafood. Wash it with hot soapy water after each use, or in the dishwasher if the maker says it is dishwasher safe, and replace it when it is deeply grooved.

Which plastic cutting board brands are worth buying?

From the boards here, OXO, San Jamar and Thirteen Chefs stand out for plain, practical plastic boards; Epicurean and Material for composite boards; and Joseph Joseph for color-coded storage. All publish the material and care information we list.

Is a composite board better than plastic?

It is firmer and, in Epicurean’s case, heat resistant to 350°F, so it handles a hot pan set down briefly. It is also harder under the knife. Soft plastic is gentler on edges and usually cheaper; composite lasts longer between replacements but shows a patina.

How often should you replace a plastic cutting board?

There is no fixed schedule. Replace it when it has deep grooves, cracks or chips that no longer scrub clean, which is what the Wisconsin and Illinois extension services advise.

Our final pick for a plastic board

Buy the OXO Good Grips Utility board if you want one plastic board that does everything at home. Choose the Epicurean All-In-One if you prefer a firm composite surface, the San Jamar system if you want a full set of colors, and a Thirteen Chefs slab if you want the restaurant prep board. Whatever you buy, keep raw meat on its own board.

Plastic is only one option; our guide to the best cutting board covers the wider choice, including wood. For the rest of the kit, see our Mexican cooking tools guide, and if you are breaking down braised pork or beef on that board, our pick of the best meat claws makes quick work of it.

And if you would rather leave the chopping to us tonight, see the menu or call to order.