Disposable or Reusable? The Best Piping Bags, Couplers and Tips

A piping bag is a cone of plastic or coated cloth that pushes a soft mixture out through a tip in a controlled line. Pastry kitchens use it all day: whipped cream rosettes on a tres leches, churro dough through a big star tip, choux for éclairs, frosting on cupcakes, filling for deviled eggs. The bag itself is simple. Choosing the right length, material and tips is where people go wrong.

This guide covers the three parts you actually buy: the bags (disposable or reusable), the coupler that lets you swap tips without emptying the bag, and a set of tips. Nine picks from Ateco, Wilton and Thermohauser, with the material, size, count and care each maker states.

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Quick verdict: which piping bags to buy

Five piping bags and tools compared

Our five standouts, one for each part of the kit. All nine picks are reviewed in full below.

Product images from Amazon. Sizes, materials and counts are as each maker or listing states them; check the listing before you buy.

Our picks for the best piping bags, couplers and tips

Four disposable bags, two reusable bags, a coupler and two tip sets. Each pick lists the type, material, size, count, tips and care that the maker or listing states, plus one honest reason to skip it.

How to choose piping bags, couplers and tips

Disposable or reusable. America’s Test Kitchen preferred disposable plastic bags: less floppy, easier to handle and effortless to clean. Its testers found reusable cloth bags held smells, stained, and drooped over their arms, and one canvas bag was too stiff to squeeze. ATK also notes that a disposable bag can be washed and used again as long as it isn’t punctured. A coated reusable bag like the Wilton Featherweight is the reasonable middle ground if you pipe the same thing often.

Length. A 12-inch bag is for writing, borders and small jobs. Sixteen to 18 inches is the everyday size for frosting, batter and dough; ATK chose 16-inch bags for its own kit after testers found 12-inch bags too snug. Go to 21 inches for big batches of choux, whipped cream or mashed potatoes. Whatever the length, fill the bag only about halfway, as ATK advises, and twist the top closed.

Material and grip. Low-density polyethylene is the standard disposable material. A textured or tacky surface, like Thermohauser’s, keeps the bag from sliding when your hands are buttery. Ateco also makes compostable bags of PBAT and corn starch.

Couplers. A coupler lets you change tips without emptying the bag. ATK found one unnecessary for most jobs but helpful when decorating cakes. Standard couplers fit small tips; large tips need a large coupler, or a universal one like Ateco’s.

Tips. ATK’s pros settled on six essentials: a small round writing tip, a larger round, a large open star, a large closed star, a leaf and a petal, with openings between ¼ and ½ inch. Smaller openings clogged with thick fillings and larger ones made messy decorations. Start with those six before buying a big set.

Filling and handling a piping bag

America’s Test Kitchen’s piping guide has a few tricks worth borrowing. To stop leaks while you fill, twist the bag just above the tip and push the twist into the tip; pull it free when you are ready to pipe. Stand the bag in a tall container with the sides folded down to fill it. Squeeze out a little onto parchment first to clear air bubbles, which make the filling spurt. When the bag is nearly empty, lay it flat and push the rest toward the tip with a plastic bowl scraper, not a metal bench scraper, which can tear the bag.

For stiff mixtures like churro dough, choose a sturdy bag and a large star tip. ATK piped stiff pâte à choux for churros in its review and found small star tips gave messy results.

How we chose these nine

We looked at bags, couplers and tip sets from Ateco, Wilton, Thermohauser, Matfer, Fat Daddio’s, PME and Kootek, kept only those showing as in stock on Amazon when we checked, and chose a range of types rather than nine boxes of near-identical plastic bags. Matfer’s disposable bags, Ateco’s 14-piece set and most sizes of Ateco’s Wunderbag showed only limited stock, so we left them out; the 24-inch Wunderbag is reviewed in our churro maker guide. PME’s listings showed only limited stock, and we skipped Kootek’s large bag-and-tip kits and other multi-packs from Amazon-only sellers in favor of established decorating brands.

Specifications come from the Amazon listings and makers’ descriptions. We read America’s Test Kitchen’s piping set review and its piping guide, and quote their findings where we use them. We have not used these products for this guide, and we did not rely on Serious Eats or Wirecutter.

Piping bag questions, answered

What is the best piping bag brand?

Ateco and Wilton are the two names most bakers know. Ateco leans professional, with heavy-duty bags on a roll and universal couplers; Wilton covers home decorating, and ATK’s recommended starter kit is Wilton’s. Thermohauser is a professional German brand for large bags.

What are the best quality piping bags?

For disposables, look for a named material, a good grip and a size that suits the job; Ateco’s 18-inch bags name their material and come in the everyday size. For reusables, a coated bag that can go in the dishwasher, like the Wilton Featherweight, is easier to keep clean than cloth.

Are disposable or reusable piping bags better?

America’s Test Kitchen preferred disposable plastic bags for handling and cleanup. Reusable bags make sense if you pipe the same things often and are willing to wash and dry them well.

Do I need a coupler?

Not for single-tip jobs like swirling cupcakes or piping churros. It helps when you switch tips often, as you do when decorating a cake.

Can I use a zip-top bag instead?

In a pinch. ATK notes a gallon freezer bag can take a tip, but its wide angle makes it prone to ripping with thick fillings like choux or mashed potatoes.

Putting together your piping kit

A box of Ateco 18-inch bags, an Ateco universal coupler and six good tips will cover nearly every job, from whipped cream on a tres leches to choux and cupcakes. If you pipe onto a sheet, our best silicone baking mat guide covers the mats, and for smoothing frosting after you pipe it, see our best offset spatula picks. For churros specifically, the best churro maker guide compares presses, guns and a big star tip.

Need the tips too? See our guide to the best piping bag tips.

Related guide: Piping bag alternative.

And if you would rather leave dessert to our kitchen tonight, see the menu or call to order.