7 Best Stackable Containers For Storing Herbs Herbalists Swear By
Explore the 7 best stackable containers for herb storage, as chosen by herbalists. Learn how to save space while preserving freshness and potency.
You’ve spent weeks tending your chamomile, carefully harvesting the delicate flowers at their peak, and patiently drying them. Now you have a big, beautiful pile of fragrant medicine, but the job isn’t done. How you store that harvest is just as important as how you grew it.
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Why Air and Light Degrade Your Dried Herbs
The enemies of your dried herbs are simple: air and light. Oxygen in the air causes oxidation, a process that breaks down the volatile oils responsible for your herbs’ scent, flavor, and medicinal properties. This is why a jar of mint opened a year later smells more like hay than a fresh cup of tea.
Light, especially UV light from the sun, acts as a catalyst, speeding up this degradation. It essentially "bleaches" the plant material, destroying chlorophyll and other delicate chemical compounds. Storing herbs in a clear jar on a sunny windowsill is the fastest way to turn potent medicine into a pretty but useless decoration. The goal of any good storage container is to create a dark, airtight barrier between your herbs and the outside world.
Ball Wide Mouth Jars: The Classic Airtight Seal
You can’t go wrong with the classic canning jar. Ball jars, particularly the wide-mouth versions, are the workhorses of any homestead pantry for good reason. Their two-part lid system creates a truly airtight seal that locks freshness in and keeps moisture and pests out. They are affordable, readily available, and easy to clean and sterilize.
The biggest tradeoff is that they’re made of clear glass. This isn’t a dealbreaker, but it means you must store them in a dark cabinet or pantry, away from any light source. While they do stack, it’s more of a precarious balance than a secure lock. For storing bulk amounts of hardy herbs like nettle or raspberry leaf in a dark cupboard, they are an unbeatable value.
Infinity Jars: Best for Light-Sensitive Herbs
When you have a particularly precious or light-sensitive herb, it’s time to bring out the specialized gear. Infinity Jars are made of a deep violet Miron glass that looks black to the naked eye. This glass is specifically designed to block the full spectrum of visible light while allowing beneficial UV-A and infrared light to pass through, which is thought to enhance preservation.
Whether you buy into the light-filtering science or not, one thing is certain: these jars are fantastic at blocking damaging light. They are the gold standard for preserving the potency and color of delicate flowers like calendula, St. John’s Wort, or elderflower. The downside is the price. They are a significant investment, so reserve them for your most valuable, low-volume botanicals that you want to keep for a long time.
Silverlock Stacking Tins for Bulk Herb Storage
For bulk storage, metal tins are a fantastic solution. They are completely opaque, offering 100% protection from light. Many, like the Silverlock brand, are designed with interlocking lids and bases that allow them to stack securely, maximizing vertical space in a pantry. This is a huge advantage over the wobbly stack of Mason jars.
The obvious drawback is that you can’t see what’s inside. Meticulous labeling isn’t just a good idea; it’s absolutely essential. You don’t want to mistake mullein for mint when you’re reaching for a tea. These tins are best for your foundational herbs—the ones you harvest by the pound, like oat straw, lemon balm, or red clover—that form the backbone of your home apothecary.
OXO Good Grips POP: Easy, One-Handed Access
Sometimes, convenience is the most important factor. For culinary herbs that you use almost daily—think dried oregano, thyme, or rosemary next to the stove—the OXO POP containers are hard to beat. The push-button mechanism creates a surprisingly strong airtight seal with zero effort. You can open them with one hand while stirring a pot with the other.
Their modular, square shape is designed for incredibly efficient and stable stacking inside a cabinet. Like Mason jars, they are clear, so they must be kept in a dark place to protect the contents. While made of plastic, it’s a high-quality, BPA-free material. They are perfect for herbs you use up quickly, where easy access trumps long-term, deep-storage preservation.
Bamboozle Canisters: A Sustainable Stacking Set
If you’re looking for a more sustainable, plastic-free option for your countertop, bamboo fiber canisters are a great choice. They’re made from a composite of bamboo and other plant materials, making them lightweight, durable, and biodegradable. They are completely opaque, protecting your herbs from light.
The seal on these is typically a silicone gasket on a bamboo lid. It’s good, but it may not be as flawlessly airtight as a screw-top jar or a vacuum-seal container. This makes them better suited for herbs with a faster turnover rate. They offer a warm, natural aesthetic and are a great way to store your most-used tea blends right on the counter without worrying about light degradation.
Le Creuset Stoneware: For Kitchen Counter Appeal
Let’s be honest: sometimes you want your storage to be beautiful. For the few select herbs you want to keep on the counter, Le Creuset stoneware canisters are a statement piece. They are heavy, durable, and the dense stoneware is completely impervious to light. The tight-fitting lid with a silicone gasket provides an excellent seal against air and moisture.
This is undeniably a luxury option. They are expensive and heavy, making them impractical for a full-scale apothecary. But for keeping your favorite culinary sage or a special peppermint tea blend within arm’s reach, they combine top-tier protection with unmatched kitchen counter appeal. Think of it as functional decor.
YouCopia SpiceStack for Compact Drawer Storage
The final piece of the puzzle isn’t a container, but an organizer that makes your containers work better. The YouCopia SpiceStack is a clever drawer organizer that holds small spice jars (or your own small herb jars) in tiered, pull-out compartments. It allows you to store dozens of herbs in a compact, dark, and easily accessible space.
This system forces you to standardize your jar size, which can be a pro or a con depending on your needs. It’s not for bulk storage. But for organizing a wide variety of tinctures, spices, and smaller-volume medicinal herbs, it’s a game-changer. It transforms a chaotic drawer into a highly functional, easy-to-browse herbal library, ensuring you can always find exactly what you need.
The best storage system isn’t about finding one perfect container, but about building a flexible system. Use glass jars in a dark cabinet for bulk staples, invest in a few violet glass jars for precious botanicals, and keep your daily-use herbs in easy-access tins or canisters. By matching the container to the herb and its purpose, you honor the work you put into growing it.
