Food Network Kitchen’s best ice cube tray of 2026 is the DOQAUS Ice Cube Trays with Easy Release 4-Pack. It makes 56 conventional cubes across four stackable trays and is the strongest choice for everyday capacity and value. For cocktails and iced coffee, the W&P Peak Silicone Everyday Ice Tray makes larger, uniform 1.25-inch cubes. For highball glasses and narrow reusable bottles, the Williams Sonoma Highball Ice Tray makes long rectangular pieces that fit where ordinary cubes do not.
Those recommendations come from Food Network Kitchen’s published comparison, updated February 5, 2026—not from hands-on testing by this publication. Food Network Kitchen tested 10 trays by freezing tap water overnight, checking release, cracking, separation, odor and flavor transfer, and cleaning performance, including dishwasher testing where applicable.
Quick comparison
| Tray | Best for | Capacity and shape | Main trade-off |
|---|---|---|---|
| DOQAUS Ice Cube Trays with Easy Release | Best overall and best value | Four trays; 14 standard cubes each; 56 cubes total | The lightweight plastic frame may crack with rough or prolonged use |
| W&P Peak Silicone Everyday Ice Tray | Premium everyday use, cocktails and iced coffee | 12 approximately 1.25-inch cubes | Higher price and relatively low capacity; direct W&P availability was listed as sold out when researched |
| Williams Sonoma Highball Ice Tray | Highballs, iced tea and narrow bottles | Five long rectangular pieces per tray | Lower output and higher price than basic cube trays |
How Food Network Kitchen tested the trays
Food Network Kitchen’s February 5, 2026 comparison covered 10 ice cube trays. Its process included filling the trays with tap water, freezing them overnight, examining how easily the ice released, looking for cracking and separation, checking whether the ice picked up freezer odors or flavors, and cleaning the trays. Dishwasher testing was included when a tray was suitable for it.
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Liquor.com provides useful independent corroboration for the W&P tray. Its home testing considered transport from sink to freezer, stackability, lid coverage, release, appearance, freezer odors and how long the ice remained frozen. Other buying guides, including Reviewed’s, combine product specifications and user reviews for some recommendations, so those sources are best treated as secondary context rather than evidence of one consistent test protocol.
The testing language in this article is therefore attributed to the published sources. It should not be read as a claim that the author or this site personally tested the products.
#1 Best Overall
- ✅ Organize Your Freezer with a Complete Ice System: This ice cube tray with lid and bin set solves freezer clutter by combining 4 silicone ice cube trays, a central storage container, and a scoop. Keep your kitchen tidy while always having ice ready for daily drinks, cooking, or entertaining.
- ✅ Easy-Pop Ice Release with Secure Non-Spill Lids: Each silicone ice tray features a flexible bottom for effortless ice cube removal—simply push from below. The ice tray with lid has lift tabs for easy handling and minimizes spills when moving (note: lids allow airflow and are not airtight).
- ✅ Maximize Freezer Space with Stackable Design: These ice trays for freezer stack neatly to save vertical space. Perfect for compact apartment freezers, RV refrigerators, or organizing multiple ice cube trays for freezer for parties and home use.
- ✅ BPA-Free and Odor-Resistant for Pure Ice Taste: Made from food-grade silicone and durable plastic, these ice trays resist absorbing freezer odors. Ensure clean, tasteless ice for your cocktails, coffee, or family meals with these BPA-free ice trays.
- ✅ Versatile and Dishwasher Safe for Easy Cleanup: Create clear cubes or infuse with fruits for flavored ice. The entire ice bucket kits set is top-rack dishwasher safe, making cleanup simple and convenient after parties or daily use.
1. DOQAUS Ice Cube Trays with Easy Release: best overall and best value
The DOQAUS set is the most practical choice for households that want a large supply of ordinary ice without giving up easy release. The set contains four trays, each producing 14 cubes, for 56 cubes in total. The trays stack, and each has its own lid, making the set useful when freezer space is limited or when you want to move filled trays from the sink to the freezer with less risk of spilling.
Its design combines a rigid plastic frame with flexible silicone bottoms. Instead of twisting the entire tray aggressively, you can press upward from underneath an individual cube. That is especially convenient when you need only a few cubes and do not want to empty the rest of the tray.
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What to know about the materials
The CP3 product manual identifies plastic, polypropylene, rubber and silicone as the materials. The manual also states that each tray makes 14 cubes, that the set is dishwasher-safe, and that it is BPA-free and LFGB-certified. Those are manufacturer or manual specifications, not independent laboratory findings, so they should be understood accordingly.
The limitation
The rigid frame makes the trays easier to carry than a floppy silicone mold, but Food Network Kitchen noted that the lightweight plastic may be prone to cracking over time. Treat the frames gently: avoid forcing a frozen tray to flex, dropping it, or repeatedly twisting it hard to release stuck ice. The trade-off is realistic rather than disqualifying—the set offers more output and organization than many inexpensive trays, but it should not be regarded as indestructible.
Choose the DOQAUS if: you want maximum everyday capacity, stackable trays, conventional cubes and individual-cube release at a modest purchase price. Check the current retailer listing, seller, price and stock before buying because those details can change.
Rank #2
- Generous Ice‑Making Capacity: The set includes 4 ice cube trays. Each tray makes 14 ice cubes at a time, delivering up to 56 ice cubes in total when all four are used together.
- Built for Long‑Lasting Use: Crafted from premium silicone and food‑grade PP material, these freezer‑safe ice cube trays are highly durable and resistant to cracking under prolonged low‑temperature conditions. The flexible silicone base enables effortless ice release with no twisting required, further extending the service life of the trays.
- User‑Friendly Operation: Simply fill each tray up to the marked max line, secure the lid, and place it in the freezer until fully frozen. For smoother lid removal, wait around 30 seconds after freezing before opening. These ice trays are also effortless to clean and fully dishwasher safe for hassle‑free daily use.
- Space‑Saving Stackable Design: Equipped with removable lids, these ice trays effectively shield ice from unwanted freezer odors. Their stackable structure allows neat vertical arrangement, maximizing freezer space while keeping your frozen area tidy and well‑organized.
- Effortless Ice Release: Our ice trays feature a clever dual‑material construction with a rigid plastic upper half to maintain stable shape, unlike fully silicone molds. The flexible silicone bottom allows ice cubes to pop out smoothly without twisting or prying. These trays produce neat rectangular ice cubes that complement all beverages perfectly. Ideal for baby food, cocktails, coffee, whiskey, soda, juice and more, they let you enjoy chilled drinks anytime you like.
2. W&P Peak Silicone Everyday Ice Tray: best premium tray for cocktails
The W&P Peak Silicone Everyday Ice Tray is the better choice when cube consistency and drink presentation matter more than maximum output. It produces 12 individually molded cubes measuring approximately 1.25 inches. That size is versatile for cocktails, spirits served over ice and iced coffee: it gives you a substantial cube without the unusual shape of a specialty highball mold.
Food Network Kitchen selected it as its best cube ice mold. The silicone body is designed to make release easier, while an internal stainless-steel frame supports the tray when it is filled and carried. A protective lid helps limit exposure to freezer odors and allows the tray to be stacked. Food Network described the resulting cubes as uniform and visually appealing.
Liquor.com’s separate home test also reported flexible construction, consistent cubes, stackability and no detected plastic smell during its evaluation. That does not establish that every user will experience identical results, but it supports the tray’s appeal for people who care about clean-looking, repeatable cubes.
Capacity and availability trade-offs
Twelve cubes is a modest batch compared with the DOQAUS four-pack. If you entertain often or need a large reserve, you may want several W&P trays, which increases the cost and freezer space required. The premium construction is aimed at control and presentation, not sheer volume.
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1Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute2Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors3Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesW&P’s product page lists a 12-cube, 1.25-inch format, a silicone body, stainless-steel frame, protective lid, dishwasher safety, and BPA-free and PFAS-free claims, along with an FDA-compliance claim. The page displayed the tray as sold out when the research was conducted. Availability through Amazon or another retailer should be checked at publication time; do not assume that direct availability is continuous.
Choose the W&P if: you want a large silicone ice cube tray for cocktails, uniform cubes for iced coffee, a supporting frame for carrying a full tray, and a lid that helps protect against freezer odors. Accept the smaller 12-cube capacity, higher price and possible stock limitations.
Rank #3
- Make Enough Ice Cubes: Two ice cube trays are included. Each tray can make 14 ice cubes at once , so you'll get 28 ice cubes in total if you use all trays together.
- Sturdy and Durable: Made of silicone and PP material, our ice cube trays for freezer are sturdy enough to withstand long-term low-temperature storage without breaking. No longer worry about breaking easily. Besides, our silicone bottom is soft enough to release the ice easily, so twisting is no longer needed, which makes the ice trays even more durable
- Easy to Use: Just fill the tray to the max line, put the cover on, put the tray in your freezer until completely frozen, and lastly pop out the ice cubes. One thing to note is that you'd better wait about 30 seconds before opening the lid when it's frozen. In this way, opening the lid could be effortless. Besides, the tray is super easy to clean and dishwasher safe
- Stackable Design: The Ice Tray with a removable lid which can not only keep your ice away from any freezer smell, but also enables the trays to stack on top of each other perfectly. And the stackable design is beneficial to space saving, keeping your freezer clean and organized
- Easy to Release: The ice tray creatively combines plastic and silicone. Top 1/2 of the tray is plastic which helps keep its shape unlike full silicone trays. And the silicone bottom makes it super easy to release the ice. Thus, unlike the old rigid plastic trays, there's no fighting and twisting to get the ice out. Additionally, these trays make rectangular ice cubes which look great in any drink. They are perfect for baby food, cocktail, coffee, fruit, soda, juice, whiskey, etc. With these trays, you can enjoy ice drinks whenever you want
3. Williams Sonoma Highball Ice Tray: best for highballs and water bottles
The Williams Sonoma Highball Ice Tray solves a different problem from the first two picks. Rather than making short, roughly square cubes, it forms five long rectangular pieces designed for highball glasses and reusable water bottles. The shape is also useful for iced tea, seltzer and other drinks served in tall, narrow vessels.
Food Network Kitchen found the silicone tray easy to use, with a rigid plastic lid that helps with stacking. Its testing reported easy removal and slower melting than traditional smaller cubes. Larger or elongated pieces generally expose less surface area relative to their volume than many small cubes, but actual melt rate still depends on drink temperature, room conditions, water temperature and the serving vessel. “Slower melting” should not be interpreted as a universal performance guarantee for every drink.
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The major drawback is output. Five pieces per tray is far fewer than the 14-cube trays in the DOQAUS set, so this is a specialized format rather than the best replacement for a high-capacity everyday tray. Food Network Kitchen also identified the higher price as the principal drawback.
Williams Sonoma’s current listing showed the Highball Ice Tray as a set of two priced at $19.95 when researched. Retail pricing and inventory can change, so confirm both before purchase.
Choose the Williams Sonoma tray if: your glasses or bottles are narrow, you prefer long ice for highballs, or you want fewer, larger pieces that fit a particular drinkware shape. Choose a conventional tray instead if your priority is making as much ice as possible.
How to choose the right ice cube tray
Start with the cube shape
- Standard cubes: the most versatile format for water, soft drinks, iced coffee and everyday cocktails. A tray producing approximately 1.25-inch cubes is also a good middle ground for presentation and general use.
- Long rectangular pieces: best for highball glasses, narrow tumblers and reusable water bottles. They can provide a better fit than several small cubes.
- Small or pebble-style ice: useful when you want rapid chilling or a chewable texture, but it is a separate use case from the three recommendations here.
- Larger-format ice: generally dilutes more slowly than smaller pieces because less surface area is exposed relative to the amount of ice. The result varies with the drink, glass, room temperature and starting conditions.
Consider how you release the ice
Connected-cube trays often require twisting or flexing the whole mold, which can release several cubes at once and can be uncomfortable when the tray is rigid. Individual silicone compartments, as used by the W&P tray, can make release more controlled. The DOQAUS design takes a hybrid approach: its frame supports transport while flexible bottoms let you press out individual cubes.
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- EASY RELEASE, NO MORE CRACKED TRAYS — The flexible food-grade silicone base lets you twist and press each cube out of these ice molds in seconds, with no banging or broken trays like old hard-plastic ice cube trays. For clean, whole cubes, fill only to the max line and let the tray rest about 30 seconds after freezing.
- PURE ICE FOR ICED COFFEE, COLD BREW & COCKTAILS — The snap-on sealing lid blocks freezer odors, and each large cube melts slowly so it chills iced coffee, cold brew, espresso, whiskey rocks, bourbon and cocktails without watering them down or tasting like the freezer.
- STURDY PP FRAME FOR MESS-FREE FILLING — Unlike floppy all-silicone ice cube molds that bend and spill on the way to the freezer, the rigid PP frame holds its shape while you fill and carry it, while the soft silicone bottom still flexes for easy release.
- 56 LARGE CUBES IN 4 STACKABLE TRAYS — Four trays make 14 cubes each (56 total), sized to drop into water bottles, tumblers and whiskey glasses. The lids let these ice cube trays for freezer stack to save space in mini fridges, dorm freezers and RV kitchens, and they are dishwasher safe.
- BPA-FREE & MADE FOR MORE THAN ICE — Built from food-grade, BPA-free silicone and PP and rated -40F to 428F, these reusable trays portion baby food and breast milk and freeze herbs in olive oil, broth, juice and sauces for meal prep. A practical gift for coffee lovers, home bartenders and new parents.
Do not confuse a lid with a leakproof seal
A lid can serve two different purposes. It can reduce spills while you carry a filled tray to the freezer, and it can limit exposure to freezer odors while the ice is stored. Those benefits do not automatically mean the lid is airtight or leakproof.
Unless the manufacturer expressly makes those claims, describe a lid as protective or spill-reducing rather than sealed. Keep a filled tray level while transporting it, especially when the lid simply rests over the mold rather than locking into a gasketed container.
Measure freezer space before buying
Stackability is valuable in crowded freezers, but the footprint and height of the filled tray still matter. A rigid-frame design is usually easier to move without sloshing, while a flexible mold may be harder to carry unless it has a supporting frame. If you have a narrow shelf or store ice beneath a freezer drawer, check the product’s current dimensions before ordering.
Check cleaning instructions
Dishwasher safety is convenient, but follow the product’s stated placement and cycle guidance. The DOQAUS manual says the set is dishwasher-safe. The W&P product page lists dishwasher safety. For any tray, wash it before first use and after it has absorbed a freezer odor. Dry it thoroughly before storage so water does not remain around the lid, frame or compartments.
A useful alternative: OXO Good Grips No-Spill Ice Cube Tray
If your main frustration is spilling water between the sink and an angled freezer shelf, the OXO Good Grips No-Spill Ice Cube Tray deserves consideration. OXO’s official product information lists angled storage, a silicone lid, 14 cubes, top-rack dishwasher safety and BPA-free construction. Its design is aimed at keeping the filled tray stable and reducing spills during transport.
The OXO is an alternative based on its documented specifications, not one of Food Network Kitchen’s three picks in the 2026 comparison described above. It is most relevant for readers who value spill resistance and angled freezer storage more than the DOQAUS set’s 56-cube capacity or the W&P tray’s larger premium cubes. Confirm the current retailer listing and price before buying.
Best Value
- 56 Ice Cubes & Safe Durable Build: Larger ice output, each ice cube tray creates 14 ice cubes. This 4-pack ice tray set makes up to 56 ice cubes per freeze, reducing repeated refilling and waiting. Made of BPA-free food-grade silicone & PP, non-toxic, flexible and sturdy to resist cracking during long-term freezer storage, safe for direct food and drink contact.
- Ice Cube Tray with Lid: The ice cube trays for freezer come with a high quality removable lid. It helps you make perfect size ice cubes without spills and prevent other food in the refrigerator from affecting the taste of ice cubes. The ice trays for freezer with lid can be stacked easily to save space and keep your freezer clean and organized and maximize the use of the freezer space
- Effortless to Remove Ice Cubes: Soft TPE base and flexible polypropylene edges makes it quite easy to release ice cubes. Slightly turn the tray and press lightly on the bottom to take out the ice cubes. You don't need complicated bending or twisting. Releasing ice cubes turns to be an easy job! The silicone ice cube trays will not break easily like hard plastic ice trays. They are much more durable
- Multi-purpose Ice Tray: It is very convenient for you to make ice cubes with this silicone ice cube mold. You can use these ice trays to make ice for coffee, whiskey, cocktails, orange juice, and make chocolate snacks, homemade butter confectionery. A must have for families, shops, parties and bars etc
- Easy to Use and Dishwasher Safe: Easy to fill, easy to use and easy to clean, these trays are dishwasher safe. Each ice tray has 14 good sized ice cubes. You can also fill the ice cube tray silicone with fruits, ice cream, soda, vodka, ice coffee, and wine to customize your favorite flavor. If you have any problem with this ice cube tray, please contact us anytime
Price and availability notes
Ice trays are relatively inexpensive products, but prices, bundles, sellers and stock can change quickly. The DOQAUS tray was listed through Amazon and Lowe’s in Food Network Kitchen’s February 2026 comparison. The W&P tray was listed through Amazon in that comparison, while W&P’s own page showed it as sold out during research. Williams Sonoma listed its Highball Ice Tray as a two-piece set at $19.95 when checked.
These details are time-sensitive. Before ordering, verify the exact model, number of trays, cube count, current price, seller, shipping terms and return policy. For marketplace listings, also check that the listing corresponds to the intended product rather than a similarly named tray or a different pack size.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best ice cube tray in 2026?
Food Network Kitchen named the DOQAUS Ice Cube Trays with Easy Release its best overall pick in a comparison updated February 5, 2026. Its four trays make 56 conventional cubes total, stack neatly and allow individual-cube release.
Which ice cube tray is best for cocktails?
The W&P Peak Silicone Everyday Ice Tray is the strongest choice among these picks for cocktails. It makes 12 uniform cubes measuring approximately 1.25 inches, and its silicone body, supporting frame and lid emphasize controlled release and presentation.
What is the best ice tray for water bottles?
The Williams Sonoma Highball Ice Tray is designed for long rectangular pieces that fit highball glasses and narrow reusable water bottles better than ordinary cubes.
Are ice cube tray lids airtight?
Not necessarily. A lid may reduce spills during transport or limit exposure to freezer odors, but it should not be called airtight or leakproof unless the manufacturer explicitly makes that claim.
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The Bottom Line
Choose the DOQAUS for the best combination of capacity, stackability and value; the W&P Peak for uniform premium cubes in cocktails and iced coffee; or the Williams Sonoma Highball for long ice that fits tall glasses and narrow bottles. If spill-prone freezer storage is your central concern, compare the documented angled-storage design of the OXO No-Spill tray.
Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
