The Best Colanders for Straining, Draining, and Rinsing: Tested and Approved

Best Overall

Bellemain Micro-Perforated Stainless Steel Colander

5

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Our Ratings

• Design
  5/5
• Ease of Use
  5/5
• Size
  5/5
• Ease of Cleaning
  5/5
• Overall Value
  5/5

This sturdy colander is made from 18/8 stainless steel and features small holes that drain quickly and efficiently. The size of the holes ensures that finer foods, like orzo and angel hair pasta, won't slip through as you transfer them for draining. It also features a pedestal base to provide extra stability while keeping the bottom of the bowl elevated as well as riveted handles for secure and easy transport.

During testing, we liked that this colander was so light, as this made maneuvering easy—even when it was full of pasta or piled high with potatoes waiting to be mashed. It also worked well for rinsing rice, though depending on the grain size, even these tiny holes might still allow a few kernels to escape. There was little to complain about with this model, as it performs just as well as higher-end colanders but with a much smaller price tag.

With a generous 5-quart capacity, it has plenty of space to rinse fruits and vegetables or drain salad greens. Cleaning up is simple since the smooth metal surface is easy to scrub with dish soap and a sponge, but it can also go right into the dishwasher.

Price at time of publish: $22 for 5 quart

Material: Stainless steel | Available Sizes: 3 quarts, 5 quarts | Weight: 1.39 pounds | Dishwasher Safe: Yes

Best Budget

Oxo Good Grips Colander

4.8

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Our Ratings

• Design
  5/5
• Ease of Use
  5/5
• Size
  4/5
• Ease of Cleaning
  5/5
• Overall Value
  5/5

Oxo is known for its affordable and functional kitchen gadgets, and this colander is exactly that: great performance at a budget-friendly price. Made of BPA-free plastic, this 3-quart colander features elongated holes that allow for fast and efficient drainage. Four feet on the bottom keep the bowl elevated off the sink floor.

We found the colander to be super lightweight and loved the soft, rubberized grip on the handles that made it easy to transport to and from the sink. The grips were also handy when it came time to gently shake away any water that pooled inside pasta shells or between salad greens. The size might be limiting if you're working with a lot of food, but if you're cooking for one or two, then it's likely the right capacity.

Cleaning this colander is a cinch. Washing it by hand is certainly an option, but since it's dishwasher safe, you can pop it right in for no-fuss cleanup.

Price at time of publish: $12

Material: BPA-free plastic | Available Sizes: 3 quarts | Weight: 0.33 pounds | Dishwasher Safe: Yes

Best Over-the-Sink

Cuisinart Over the Sink Colander

5

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Our Ratings

• Design
  5/5
• Ease of Use
  5/5
• Size
  5/5
• Ease of Cleaning
  5/5
• Overall Value
  5/5

If you need a lot of colander capacity, this over-the-sink model by Cuisinart is an excellent choice. Its telescoping handles, fitted with a rubberized nonslip coating, stretch across just about any size sink, keeping your colander lifted way above the sink's floor. Use this to easily wash longer vegetables, like carrots, celery, rhubarb, and other foods that won't fit as well in a traditional round colander. The small holes mean that it can be used to drain smaller pasta shapes and wash rice without fear of losing a bunch of food in the process.

We loved this model because its generous capacity allows you to work with large amounts of food, which is a necessity if you're cooking pasta for a big family or washing a ton of vegetables at once. The over-the-sink design eliminates any worry of draining water backing up into the food. It also means the space below the colander doesn't have to be completely empty to function properly.

Made of stainless steel, the colander is very lightweight for its size and is also dishwasher safe. The one drawback to this size is that it can take up a lot of storage space, but if you have the room, it's a versatile and useful addition to your kitchen.

Price at time of publish: $25 for 5.5 quart

Material: Stainless steel | Available Sizes: 5.5 quarts, 7 quarts | Weight: 1.9 pounds | Dishwasher Safe: Yes

Best High-End

All-Clad Stainless Steel Colander

4.6

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Our Ratings

• Design
  5/5
• Ease of Use
  4/5
• Size
  5/5
• Ease of Cleaning
  5/5
• Overall Value
  4/5

All-Clad has a reputation for super high-quality construction, and this colander is no exception. Made of 18/10 stainless steel, this model features a rolled edge, polished exterior, pedestal base, and large riveted handles for easy maneuvering. The holes are graduated in size, with large holes on top that get smaller as you get to the bottom.

When testing the 5-quart model, we noticed that it was quite heavy, which is a double-edged sword: The weight provides stability and sturdiness, but this also means the colander is even heavier when full. That said, it drains quickly and works well when holding a fair amount of fruits, vegetables, and salad greens for prepping, making it a useful addition to any kitchen. The only downside is that the holes might be too big to contain grains of rice or thin noodles, like soba or capellini.

This colander can be put in the dishwasher, but cleaning by hand will help preserve its finish. If you already own and love All-Clad cookware, you won't mind the splurge on this colander that is sure to last for years to come.

Price at time of publish: $70 for 5 quart

Material: Stainless steel | Available Sizes: 1.5 quarts, 3 quarts, 5 quarts | Weight: 1.85 pounds, 2.72 pounds, 4 pounds | Dishwasher Safe: Yes

Best Set

Oxo Good Grips 9-Piece Nesting Bowl & Colander Set

4.6

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Our Ratings

• Design
  5/5
• Ease of Use
  4/5
• Size
  5/5
• Ease of Cleaning
  5/5
• Overall Value
  4/5

If storage is an issue for you, nesting cookware and kitchenware is a lifesaver. Enter this set from Oxo, which features three sizes of colanders—1 quart, 3 quarts, and 5 quarts—with corresponding bowls and lids. Each colander has a wavy base to keep them stable and elevated in the sink.

This set is not just attractive, but also useful when preparing a number of foods at once. During testing, we used the small colander to wash berries, the medium to drain pasta, and the large to rinse a few pounds of fruit. Each nested into its own bowl, allowing all the foods to drain without taking up precious sink space. Similar to the Oxo Good Grips Colander, these have elongated holes for quick and efficient drainage, and they are small enough to contain most small food items. The entire set is dishwasher safe.

Price at time of publish: $56

Material: BPA-free polypropylene | Included Sizes: 1 quart, 3 quarts, 5 quarts | Weight: 5.76 pounds total| Dishwasher Safe: Yes

Best for Berries

Chef'n Bramble Berry Basket

4.6

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Our Ratings

• Design
  5/5
• Ease of Use
  5/5
• Size
  4/5
• Ease of Cleaning
  5/5
• Overall Value
  4/5

If you love berries or other similarly small fruit, this little basket allows you to rinse and sort your treats without having to pull out a full-size colander. The inner basket can be used as a mini colander to wash, drain, and sort out any bad fruit before being placed back into the plastic container for storage. Since the basket sits above the bottom of the container, it allows for air circulation, letting your berries stay fresh for longer.

During testing, this colander prevented blueberries from molding quickly and delicate, ripe raspberries and blackberries from getting smashed in the fridge. While this isn't the most versatile of colanders, it does its job very well and came in handy for our trips to the farmers market, where we can now decline a disposable plastic berry container in favor of this reusable one.

The basket and clear container can be used for serving and are top-rack dishwasher safe. For folks who like to keep several types of berries on hand, the containers are stackable.​

Price at time of publish: $13

Material: BPA-free plastic | Included Sizes: 1 quart | Weight: 3.2 ounces | Dishwasher Safe: Yes, top rack only

Best Clip-On

Kitchen Gizmo Snap N Strain Pot Strainer

4.4

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Our Ratings

• Design
  4/5
• Ease of Use
  4/5
• Size
  4/5
• Ease of Cleaning
  5/5
• Overall Value
  5/5

If you're short on space, this little colander gadget is pretty ingenious—it clips onto the rim of a bowl or pot and allows you to drain out liquids without having to transfer your food to a new vessel. Made of food-grade silicone, this flexible strainer can be used with a variety of sized pots, pans, and bowls, but not every size.

We found that the sweet spot for this colander tool was between a 2-quart saucepan and a 5-quart stockpot or anything with a diameter of about 7 to 10 inches. The clip wouldn't reach anything wider. It also might not fit pots or bowls with extra-thick lips or edges, as it doesn't open very wide. That said, it stayed put when we drained a pot of pasta as well as potatoes, leaving zero water behind.

Cleaning this attachment is super simple. It is totally dishwasher-safe and won't take up much room in a dish rack if you opt to wash it by hand. It's a great product to have if you don't want to use a bulky colander or dirty another dish.

Price at time of publish: $15

Material: Silicone | Available Sizes: One size | Weight: Less than 1 pound | Dishwasher Safe: Yes

Best Scoop

Joseph Joseph Scoop Plus Colander

4.2

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Our Ratings

• Design
  4/5
• Ease of Use
  4/5
• Size
  4/5
• Ease of Cleaning
  5/5
• Overall Value
  4/5

This style of colander is designed to let you pull food out of a pot or pan with a scoop of the wrist, leaving behind any liquid. Useful for fishing dumplings or gnocchi out of a pot as they float to the surface or pulling beignets out of a deep fryer, it's an alternative to a kitchen spider strainer but with more capacity. Hooks under the colander allow it to rest on the edge of a pot to drain completely without having to hold it while the last of the liquid drips away.

We used this to scoop fusilli out of boiling water and lift wontons out of broth, but we also found it useful for picking up cubed sweet potato from a baking pan. The one drawback to this scoop is that its flat profile works best with wider pots and pans and not so well with smaller saucepans and tall stockpots.

Made of BPA-free plastic, it won't scratch nonstick cookware and is heat safe to 392 degrees Fahrenheit. When the scoop has done its job, you can throw it in the dishwasher.

Price at time of publish: $10

Material: BPA-free plastic | Included Sizes: One size | Weight: 3.5 ounces | Dishwasher Safe: Yes