Covered and Stackable: The Best Ice Cube Trays with Lids

Ice is an ingredient, even if nobody orders it. A pitcher of agua de jamaica or a margarita on the rocks is mostly ice by volume, and if the cubes have been sitting next to a bag of frozen carnitas or a tray of onions, the drink tastes like the freezer. In a restaurant the ice machine has its own bin and a scoop that never touches anything else. At home, a covered tray is the closest thing to that.

This guide is the narrower companion to our best ice cube trays roundup. That page covers trays in general; this one only looks at trays and kits that come with a lid, cover or storage bin, and it deliberately picks different products, so you can compare covered designs side by side: sliding lids, flip-and-fill tabs, silicone covers and full tray-and-bin sets.

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Quick verdict: which covered ice tray to buy

Five covered ice trays side by side

Our five standout picks, one for each kind of kitchen. All seven trays and kits are reviewed in full below.

Product images from Amazon. Materials and care are as each maker or listing states them; check the listing before you buy.

Our picks for the best ice cube trays with lids

These seven cover the main ways a lid gets onto an ice tray: a rigid sliding cover, a fitted silicone lid, a flip-open fill door, and kits that add a covered bin for the finished cubes. They also cover the cube sizes a Mexican drinks table actually uses, from 2-inch blocks for a margarita on the rocks to small cubes and nuggets for a pitcher of horchata. None of them is on our main ice tray list, so if you already read that guide, everything here is new.

How to choose a covered ice tray for your freezer

Decide what the lid has to do. Every lid on this page keeps things from falling onto the ice and, according to the makers, cuts down on freezer odors. Beyond that they differ. OXO’s sliding cover lets you take cubes without uncovering the rest; Joie’s flip tab lets you fill with the lid on; W&P’s lid simply rests on the tray; DOQAUS says its lids are not airtight. If your freezer holds strong-smelling food, a cover that stays on while you take ice matters more than one that comes off.

Match the cube to the drink. Extra-large cubes from the Joie melt slowly and suit drinks served on the rocks. Small cubes from glacio or ARTLEO chill a shaker or a pitcher fast. Ice sticks from W&P go into bottles. Our guide to frozen vs. on-the-rocks margaritas explains why the ice changes the drink.

Think about where the cubes live after the tray. If you empty trays into a bag, the bag is where the off flavors come from. A kit with a covered bin, like DOQAUS or ARTLEO, keeps finished cubes covered too. For serving, a separate ice bucket keeps ice on the table.

Silicone or plastic. Silicone trays release one cube at a time but bend when full, so a frame (W&P’s steel rim) or a rigid lid helps. Rigid plastic trays carry better and release with a twist, but you get all the cubes at once. Safety wording such as “BPA-free” or “food-grade” is the maker’s claim; we report it as such.

Measure the shelf. Lidded trays stack, which is the point, but check height as well as width. A DOQAUS set with its bin needs more room than a single tray.

Ice for aguas frescas, micheladas and margaritas

A Mexican drinks table puts ice to work in different ways, and that is why we picked more than one cube size.

• Aguas frescas such as jamaica, horchata and tamarindo are served from big jars over plenty of ice. Small to standard cubes chill the jar quickly; sticks fit tall bottles. The flavor of the drink is delicate, so clean-tasting ice matters here more than anywhere.
• Margaritas on the rocks want large cubes that melt slowly; a shaken margarita wants plenty of small cubes in the shaker and fresh ice in the glass. Our margarita bar guide covers the rest of the kit.
• Micheladas and palomas are long drinks in tall glasses, and standard cubes are the easy choice.
• Café de olla served cold, or iced coffee, can be chilled with coffee frozen in a covered tray so the drink does not water down.

If you need far more ice than trays can make, a machine does the work: see our countertop ice maker guide. For clear spheres and craft-bar shapes, our ice ball molds page has the specialist trays.

How we picked these seven covered trays

We started from trays and kits sold with a lid, cover or covered bin, from OXO, Tovolo, W&P, Joie, DOQAUS, glacio, ARTLEO, Handy Housewares, Rubbermaid, Souper Cubes and a long list of smaller sellers, and kept only those showing as in stock on Amazon when we checked. We left out every tray already recommended on our main ice tray page (OXO’s No-Spill and covered silicone trays, Tovolo’s Perfect Cube, W&P’s extra-large cube tray, Rubbermaid and Gorilla Grip) so that this page adds new options. Souper Cubes were left out because they are freezer portion molds for soup and sauce rather than ice trays, and unbranded or “Generic” listings were skipped. Tovolo’s covered King Cube tray came off this page when it went out of stock.

Specifications come from the Amazon listings for each product. Where a listing does not give a figure, such as cube count or dishwasher safety, we say “Not stated” rather than guess. Claims such as “BPA-free,” “food-grade” or “lead-free” are the makers’ own wording. We did not read Wirecutter or America’s Test Kitchen coverage for this page, and we have not used these trays ourselves.

Covered ice tray questions, answered

What is the best ice cube tray with a lid?

For most kitchens, the OXO Good Grips Flexible Ice Cube Tray with Lid: it covers the cubes, stacks, and lets you release cubes without taking the lid off. For large cubes, the Joie Extra Large Covered tray.

Do lids really keep ice from tasting like the freezer?

Ice picks up odors from what is stored around it, and the makers of every tray here say their lids help keep those odors out. A lid is not a seal; DOQAUS, for one, says its lids are not airtight. Keeping finished cubes in a covered bin rather than an open bag helps as much as the tray lid does.

Silicone or plastic: which covered tray is better?

Silicone lets you pop out single cubes and is easy on large shapes; plastic is rigid, easier to carry full, and releases all the cubes with a twist. If you choose silicone, a tray with a frame or a firm lid is easier to carry to the freezer.

Can you stack ice trays with lids?

Yes, that is one of the main reasons to buy them. OXO, W&P, Joie, glacio and DOQAUS all describe their covered trays as stackable.

How long can ice stay in a covered tray?

None of the makers gives a time. In practice, ice that sits for weeks can shrink and pick up flavors even under a lid, so it is better to make what you will use within a few days and refill.

Our pick for a covered tray

Buy the OXO Flexible Ice Cube Tray with Lid if you want one covered tray that dispenses cubes without uncovering the rest, the Joie for big cubes in drinks on the rocks, or the DOQAUS set if you make ice ahead for a crowd. For uncovered and general-purpose trays, go back to our best ice cube trays guide. And when you would rather someone else made the margaritas, see our drinks or call to order.