5 Best Collapsible Colanders

This top colander comes in a bright red color. It has holes in the sides as well as in the bottom, making it easier and quicker to strain your food. It has a stainless steel bottom, not a silicone one, which means that it has a solid shape that won’t bend with the weight of the food. Neither will this collapsible strainer be disfigured while in use, nor will the food at the bottom touch the sink. This sturdy utensil is also dishwasher safe, and won’t rust.

Storage

It collapses to a third of its size, roughly to an inch, and assumes the dimensions of a large dinner plate. Therefore, storing it is way easier than storing a large, bowl-shaped colander because traditional colanders can take up to a whole section of a cabinet whereas a flat, thick disk can be stashed anywhere, taking up a lot less space.

Multiple sizes in one

Also, its folding mechanism allows you to use it for three sizes: 4.5”, 3” and 1”, so you can ‘un-collapse’ it all the way if you are washing or draining large quantities, or you can open it half-way if your needs are less. You can even use this collapsible at its flat 1” for washing some lettuce if you’re making yourself a sandwich.

Heat-proof

It can withstand high temperatures so it can double as a steamer. So if you need to steam some veggies, you can just pop them in this. It will save you the hassle of tipping the pot over and will certainly lessen the chance of those pestering burns you can get while straining. 

Feet

The bottom silicone ring has three thick, sturdy silicone feet which support the colander a little bit off the surface on which it rests. This means that if you put the colander in the sink and drain your pasta,  the liquid won’t slosh back inside like it would do if the colander were to not have supporting feet. Additionally, it won’t slip and slide (like many colanders do because of their plastic or metal footing) because the silicone footing provides more friction as it’s a type of rubber.

Handles

The handles of this collapsible colander, although stainless steel, have an interior of silicone. So even if the top metal ring heats up, you can safely use your colander because the metal is surrounded by heat-proof silicone. The handles are a tad small, though, and the interior silicone padding can get displaced. So make sure the silicone is safely in place, and that you have a good grip, before you lift the hot colander. 

Size of the holes

You are good to strain anything in this collapsible colander, from your leafy greens and fruit to your pasta and rice. Since it has holes, and not a mesh, so washing small grains like rice or quinoa might be a problem as they will likely escape through.

Hands-free experience

This handy little contraption comes with a unique handle that allows you to hook it on the sink divider. You can even hook it on the side of the sink if it is narrow enough, and then it can just jut out under the tap, supported by the handle. Since the handle holds it up pretty well, you can have a hands-free experience. You can wash your fruits and vegetables comfortably using both hands, or strain your pasta without fearing that the colander might topple over any minute, spilling all that yummy goodness into the sink.

Size

This silicone colander is not very big. In fact, it’s quite small. It holds around 2 quarts, and should be adequate to wash some berries or drain cans. Using a full-size colander for these things can be cumbersome, but if you have a utensil like this one, you can just pop it onto the sink and drain a pint of berries that you just bought from the supermarket. The front part opens up expansively so it’s easier to pour out your food. Works well as a spaghetti strainer for one, though!

Holes

It has holes in the bottom and the sides as well, allowing for quick drainage. You won’t have to wait out all the drips for a long time or shake the colander to get rid of the liquid. The holes, strategically placed in the bottom and the curves of the sides, are small enough that you can wash small grains in it without them slipping out. So go ahead and wash the rice.

Collapsibility

This colander, unlike many others, won’t collapse flat. It’s built so that the outer plastic pieces join to the middle silicone part vertically, as opposed to the horizontal arrangement found in many collapsible colanders. So basically, the outer two plastic parts fold in on themselves, bending the silicone between them sideways.

Dishwasher-safe

It is dishwasher safe, so even if you get some grease or rice stuck in the small holes, you just need to pop it in there and you’re good to go. It’s BPA-free as well, so you don’t have to worry about harmful chemicals seeping into your food from the plastic.

This is a big colander in a pretty purple two-tone, made of plastic and silicone, with large, comfortable handles. It collapses to about an inch in height and is therefore very easy to store.

Size

This collapsing colander is a big one, as the name says, and will cater to your big culinary needs. If you have to cook for a family, this is for you. Its 6-quart capacity will take care of you, whether you have to wash some greens, strain a lot of rice/pasta or wash some fruit that you just bought. It comes in a bright purple color, which will liven up any kitchen nicely. Since it’s all plastic and silicone, it won’t ever rust.

Material

The base and the top are made of hard plastic. The top part of the hard plastic curves out expansively, making it easier for you to grip the colander, no matter how heavy the load is. It also has a small pouring lip, which will help you in transferring the food back to the pot without spilling. Since the bottom and the top are both plastic, you can’t actually cook anything in it because it could distort, and it’s probably best to keep it away from the microwave as well. It is dishwasher safe, though.

Feet

The bottom ring of silicone of this plastic strainer acts as a raised footing but you might want to keep the colander off the sink a little bit because the footing might not be enough to keep the draining liquid from sloshing back in. The silicone footing will give the colander a lot more purchase on the draining surface, though i.e. the sink, than other generally used materials like plastic or stainless steel. 

Size of the drainage holes

It has holes in the sides as well as in the bottom which allows for quick drainage, so you won’t have to wait while your food drains drip by drip through the bottom only. The holes are, of course, larger than a mesh, so it might be a good idea to avoid washing rice or quinoa because you might lose some if you wash small grains in this. You could strain long-grain rice, but even then might end up losing some in the process, so it’s best to avoid using it for small grains altogether.

Storage

This plastic collapsing colander collapses to about an inch, so you can store it quite easily. You can keep it with your cutting boards, and you don’t have to waste an entire section in a cabinet to store it. The top ring of plastic even has a nice-sized hole, which you can use to hang your colander once you’ve ‘squished’ it.

This one is a kitchen strainer that has non-slip handles that extend out from the side to rest the colander safely and securely over the sink.

Shape

This collapsible colander is not the traditional round bowl. It has a distinctive, rectangular shape that will add the element of uniqueness to your kitchen. So if you are someone who likes to try new things and hates normalcy, this is for you. You will also like this colander if you feel that the round, bowl-shaped construction of traditional colanders constricts you while you wash vegetables like carrots, leeks or radishes. Since most kitchen sinks are rectangular, it’s unique design will fit in nicely. 

Handles

Its defining feature is the extendable handles. How many colanders have you seen that give you the liberty to extend out their handles? That’s right, not many. This one, however, has handles that extend out to accommodate your colander over your sink for an amazing, hands-free experience. The handles are furnished with a non-slip base underneath which will provide great purchase on the sides of the sink so that you can work freely with your hands, without the fear of the colander toppling over and spilling the contents into the sink. The colander has a raised, plastic footing that will keep your food out of the way of external elements, but these handles will give it extra lift. So if you have some dirty dishes in the sink, you don’t have to take them out to drain your food; you can just hang the collapsible colander over your dishes with the help of these anti-slip handles and you’re good to go.

Size

Its 6-quart size is a good family size, so it will take care of all your greens and your pasta when you are cooking for the fam. Like some collapsible colanders, it doesn’t have the feature of collapsing or ‘un-collapsing’ to various heights, so you’ll have to open it up all the way even if you just have to drain a pint of berries. 

Size of the holes

The holes are only in the bottom, not on the sides, so drainage might be a tad slower. The holes are also rather large you won’t be able to wash small grains, rice, quinoa, etc. in it because you might end up losing some grain. It’ll be better to use a mesh for that. But it works great as a pasta strainer!

Variety of colors

This noodle strainer comes in three colors: white, blue, and pink, so you can choose whichever you like best or whichever goes with your kitchen’s color scheme. It’s dishwasher safe and even comes with a free, reusable grocery tote (say no to plastic shopping bags, people).

2-in-1

This one is perhaps the most unique colander in the whole list. So far, the colanders have been just that: colanders. The special, differing thing about this contraption that sets it apart is that it serves two purposes: a microwave plate cover and a colander. So if you aren’t using it to wash your greens and pasta, you can pop it in the microwave over a plate of food to prevent your machine from getting food splattered all over its insides.

Size of the drainage holes

It’s quite good-sized too; you can wash up to three cups of anything in it quite comfortably. The holes in this collapsible colander are quite large, so you probably can’t wash small grains like quinoa or rice in it because they might slide out, leading to wastage. Also, the holes are only present in the bottom, not in the sides, so the drainage might be slow. But then again it might not, because, as mentioned earlier, they are quite large.

Storage

It has a plastic top and bottom, with the collapsible silicone in the middle. It collapses to about an inch from its full height of 3.5”, to allow for easy storage as one can stash a colander the size of a dinner plate anywhere. And since this is a microwave plate cover as well, it’s most probably going to live in your microwave anyway.

No feet

And since it’s a plate cover as well, it doesn’t have any footing, so when you use it as a colander you might not want to put it in the sink directly, because the draining liquid will swirl around the sink and will most certainly slosh back inside the colander, and you don’t want that.

Money-back guarantee

Still On Point LLC also offers a 30 days money-back guarantee, no questions asked, which is a pretty swell offer and makes you think they must have an awesome product to offer. It’s BPA-free and did I mention it’s microwave safe?