Lids, Cube Size, Silicone: How to Choose the Best Ice Cube Trays

Ice is an ingredient. In a restaurant bar it gets as much attention as the lime juice: small cubes for shaking a margarita, big ones for serving it on the rocks, and plenty of clean-tasting ice for pitchers of agua fresca on a hot afternoon. At home, where most of us make ice in a tray, the tray decides whether that ice tastes of water or of the freezer.

The good news is that a few details separate a good tray from a bad one: a lid, the right cube size, a material that releases cleanly and a shape that does not spill on the way to the freezer. This guide names the ice cube trays worth buying, explains which suits which drink, and passes on what America’s Test Kitchen found about keeping ice from tasting bad.

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Quick verdict: which ice cube tray to buy

If you only own one tray, make it a lidded one. The rest of this page explains why, and which tray suits the drinks you make.

Five ice cube trays at a glance

Our five standout trays side by side, one for each kind of kitchen, with the cube counts and lids each maker or listing states. All eight are reviewed in full below.

Product images from Amazon. Cube counts and sizes are as stated by each maker or listing.

Our picks for the best ice cube trays

These eight picks cover the ice a home kitchen actually uses: an everyday lidded tray, small cubes for shaking and blending, large cubes for sipping, a compact tray for small freezers, a classic rigid tray for quantity, a tray-and-bin set and a mold for very small ice. Every one was in stock when we checked.

How to choose an ice cube tray

Five things decide whether a tray turns out good ice, from a bar’s point of view.

1. A lid, above all

America’s Test Kitchen explains that ice is porous and absorbs odors from the freezer, and that freezer air often carries smells from the fridge. Its main fix is a tray with a lid. If your tray has none, ATK suggests moving the frozen cubes into an airtight container or zipper bag, which also frees the tray. ATK also recommends filtered water, since tap water with chlorine or other minerals can add off-flavors, and keeping ice away from strong-smelling food.

2. Cube size for the drink

Match the cube to the job. Small cubes, under an inch, chill a shaken margarita fast and break down evenly in a blender for frozen drinks. Medium cubes, around 1 to 1.25 inches, are everyday ice for pitchers of agua fresca, iced tea and soft drinks. Large cubes of 1.75 inches and up melt more slowly, which suits a margarita on the rocks or a tequila served over ice. Our guide to frozen versus on-the-rocks margaritas explains how ice changes the drink.

3. Silicone or rigid plastic

Silicone releases cubes easily and suits large cubes, but ATK says it is relatively permeable to gases and that silicone molds are notorious for absorbing freezer odors. In its cocktail ice review, ATK found that rubber and hard plastic molds smelled fresh again after a single wash while silicone ones developed a freezer smell, and that a hard frame and lid helped. Rigid trays hold their shape when you carry them full, but cubes can be harder to twist out.

4. Spills and stacking

A sealed lid, like the OXO No-Spill’s, or a rigid frame, like the steel rim on the W&P tray, keeps water in the tray between the sink and the freezer. Lids also let trays stack, which matters in a small freezer.

5. Cleaning

Most trays here are dishwasher safe. If a silicone tray starts to smell, ATK found that soaking in baking soda or vinegar, or boiling, did not fully remove odors, but an hour in a 350°F oven did; that method is for true silicone only, since rubber can melt.

How we picked these eight ice cube trays

We started from the ice a Mexican restaurant bar uses: small cubes for shaking and blending, everyday cubes for aguas frescas and soft drinks, and large cubes for drinks on the rocks, all tasting of nothing but water. We then looked for trays from identifiable makers sold on Amazon in the United States and in stock when we checked, and took cube counts, sizes, materials and care details from the makers’ Amazon listings. For how trays and materials behave we relied on America’s Test Kitchen’s articles on why ice tastes bad, ice molds for cocktails and cleaning a smelly silicone tray. We left out sphere molds and novelty shapes, near-identical multipacks from sellers with no published maker information, and trays that were low in stock. We have not used these products ourselves; where we describe how a material behaves, we say whose findings those are.

Ice cube tray questions, answered

What is the best type of ice cube tray?

A tray with a lid. Whether it is silicone or rigid plastic matters less than whether the ice is covered while it freezes. After that, choose silicone for easy release and large cubes, and rigid plastic for quantity and stacking.

What is the best ice cube tray brand?

OXO makes the trays America’s Test Kitchen has recommended, the No-Spill tray for everyday ice and the Covered Large Cube tray for cocktails, which is why three of our eight picks are OXO. Tovolo and W&P are well-established silicone specialists, and Rubbermaid makes the classic rigid tray.

What do America’s Test Kitchen, Serious Eats, Wirecutter and Consumer Reports recommend?

America’s Test Kitchen’s reviewers named the OXO No-Spill Ice Cube Tray their favorite for keeping freezer smells out, and the OXO Good Grips Covered Silicone Ice Cube Tray, Large Cubes, their pick for most people among cocktail ice molds. We could not read Serious Eats’, Wirecutter’s or Consumer Reports’ reviews for this guide, so we have not quoted them.

Why does my ice taste bad?

Usually because it has absorbed odors from the freezer, or because of the water. ATK’s advice is to use filtered or distilled water, keep the freezer and fridge clean, use a tray with a lid, store ice away from strong-smelling food, and move frozen cubes into a sealed container. If the tray itself is silicone and smells, bake it clean as described above.

Are silicone or plastic ice cube trays better?

Each has a strength. Silicone releases cubes more easily and makes large cubes possible, but it absorbs odors more readily, according to ATK. Rigid plastic holds its shape and, in ATK’s cocktail ice review, shed odors after a single wash, but cubes can be harder to twist out. A silicone tray in a rigid frame with a lid, like OXO’s covered trays, gets most of both.

How long does it take to freeze ice in a tray?

It depends on the cube size and your freezer. Tovolo’s guidance for its mini ice cylinders is 4 to 6 hours; larger cubes take longer, so freeze big cubes overnight before a party.

Our last word on ice cube trays

Buy the OXO No-Spill tray for everyday ice that does not spill or taste of the freezer. Add the OXO small-cube tray if you shake or blend margaritas, and a large-cube tray, OXO’s or W&P’s, for drinks on the rocks. If you make all your ice by hand, the GORILLA GRIP tray-and-bin set keeps a supply ready to scoop.

Good ice deserves a good drink. See our guides to the best margarita glasses, the best cocktail shaker strainer and home margarita bar accessories, and for something without alcohol, read what aguas frescas are.

Prefer flexible trays? See our guide to the best silicone ice cube trays.

Want trays that stack and stay clean? See the best ice cube trays with lids.

Related guide: Ice cube tray alternative.

And if you would rather we poured, see our drinks or call to order.