The 4 Best Food Scales For Meal Prep, According To Home Cooks

Whether you spend hours in the kitchen each week — or try to breeze through in just a few minutes — meal prepping is a small commitment that can save you a lot of time and stress in the long run. And if you’re following a specific style of eating (or working with complex recipes that require weight measurements), a good scale can help you stay consistent while turning out fabulous food results. If getting precise measurements is a priority for you, few methods are as accurate as weighing, and the best food scales for meal prep make it a breeze, thanks to tare functions, clear displays that are easy to read, and the option to toggle between ounces, pounds, grams, and more. Some even measure macronutrient content (macros), so you can track fat, protein, and carbohydrate intake.

Digital scales offer the most accuracy, and give you the option of measuring in multiple units, like grams as well as ounces, so you can weigh a wide range of different foods, from feather-light herbs to heavier meats. If you're looking for insight into specific nutritional content while you weigh, you can opt for a macros food scale that measures fat, protein, and carbohydrates.

After combing through dozens of food scale reviews, it's clear that all of the best kitchen scales have easy-to-read LCD displays, but if you're planning to do your meal prep directly in a big container, there's an option with a pull-out display that keeps the measurement from getting obscured. Last, if you don’t plan to keep your food scale out on your countertop for frequent use, look for a style that's slim enough to fit in a drawer.

With all that in mind, these are the best food scales for meal prep that can help make the cooking ritual effective, easy, and consistent.

1. The Overall Best Food Scale For Meal Prep

• Measurement units: ounces, pounds, grams, kilograms

Although it's a small investment up front, this digital scale from OXO boasts impressively high ratings from Amazon reviewers thanks to its clever design and ease of use. It features a backlight display which can be pulled out from the base of the scale (much like a drawer), so it’s easy to view, even when measuring into wide bowls or plates that would otherwise obscure the readout. Plus, a "zero function" lets you tare the scale mid-meal prep, so you can get an accurate measurement reading of additional ingredients, without having to weigh separately and dirty multiple containers. The OXO has a unit conversion button that makes it simple to switch between ounces, pounds, grams, and kilograms, and is capable of holding up to 11 pounds. The roomy 7-by-7-inch stainless steel platform is smudge- and fingerprint-resistant, and you can remove it for easy cleaning. Last but not least, the slim profile makes this easy to store in your kitchen cupboard or drawer.

According to a cook: "Oh yes! So much better than my old scale. This one fits very easily in my cabinet (nearly zero footprint), and so much easier to read with the pull out display. I’m no longer doing acrobatics trying to read the scale under mixing bowls."

2. The Runner-Up

• Measurement units: ounces, pounds, grams, kilograms

Another highly rated option, Etekcity’s digital scale comes with a versatile 2.15-liter stainless steel bowl that sits securely on the weighing platform, but you can also remove it if you want to measure into your own container. The stainless steel scale has an 11-pound weight capacity, and the backlight display is tilted, so it’s visible beneath bowls or plates, but it doesn't slide out like the top option, so it may be harder to read if you're using wider containers. The two buttons control the scale’s functions, which include converting between grams, kilograms, and ounces, as well as setting an integrated timer and zeroing out or taring the scale. One of the most unique perks — the Etekcity has a temperature readout that lets you track conditions in your kitchen when developing recipes that are sensitive to the environment, such as desserts and pastries.

According to a cook: "Compact, nice looking, and works well! [...] I like how easy it is to switch between grams and ounces, and zero out the scale. Measuring out ingredients is so much easier now that I can scoop them directly into the bowl and just zero out before adding each one. No more using three different measuring cups for 1-3/4 cups of flour!"

3. The Best Food Scale For Macros

• Measurement units: ounces, pounds, grams, kilograms, calories, fat calories, total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium, total carbohydrates, dietary fiber, sugars, protein

If you track macros, or are simply curious about your food’s nutritional content, this food scale for macros from Greater Goods has an accompanying app that allows you to look up this information for 2,000 foods, with the option to manually enter 90 more. Simply enter the code for what you’re measuring, place it directly on the scale or in a zeroed-out container, and the display will tell you the nutritional content, including calories, protein, fiber, and more. Beyond that, you can toggle between grams, ounces, and pounds. The scale’s scratch-resistant glass top wipes clean, and has a spacious 6-by-9-inch surface that can accommodate large bowls or containers, but keep in mind that the display is integrated onto the weighing tray, so it can be harder to see with larger items on top.

According to a cook: "So far, I really love this scale. I am following a nutrition program that requires me to eat specific amounts of protein, carbs, and fat and the Perfect Portions scale makes it so much easier to get the right amounts."

4. The Best Cheap Scale

• Measurement units: grams, ounces, pounds, milliliters, milk volume, water volume, carats, pennyweights, troy ounces, grains

At a wallet-friendly price, this small but mighty digital scale can hold a surprising 22 pounds of weight, and calculates six units of measurements, including grams, ounces, carats, pennyweights, troy ounces (oz t), and grains, making it versatile for a number of uses beyond meal prep. (There are even modes for weighing milk and water volume.) There's a tare function, and the low-profile, slim design takes up minimal space in a drawer, and comes with a protective cover for storage and a weighing basket to contain loose items. Due to the approximately 5-by-5-inch platform and the scale’s flat display, it’s best for measuring into small bowls or containers when using this scale, since the readout will be otherwise obscured.

According to a cook: "I bought it to weigh my foods as I’ve been portioning. This scale is such a great thing to have in the kitchen! It could also work great for weighing and shipping small packages! I would definitely recommend. Super cute, compact, lightweight, easy to use!"