Stackable ice cube trays that don’t leak: we’ve found one

We can all think of a product purchase we regret, whether it's a lockdown exercise bike that's now gathering cobwebs, or a tin opener that won't cut through cans. 

One of mine was most definitely a stackable ice-cube tray. I bought it on the promise that it 'prevents water spill', when you're putting it in the freezer drawer. Two years of language unfit for publication ensued when it spilt into my freezer each time I used it. 

Having had to defrost my freezer when the auto-defrost couldn't deal with the build-up of spilt water, I gave up on it. 

Now I've channelled all the energy I was wasting on dealing with spills into helping Which? find an ice-cube tray that doesn't leak. 

The recent heatwave proved to be the perfect time to put seven ice-cube trays with lids to the test, to see if there are any that truly don't leak. Not all of them explicitly say they're fully watertight, but at the very least they say they ‘make less mess’, or 'prevent spill'. And in my view, if an ice-cube tray has a lid, it’s implicit that it’s there to stop the tray leaking. Otherwise, what's the lid for?

If you're one of those people who says: 'Why make your own ice when you can buy it ready-made?' Well, it's cheaper, and it doesn't take too much time (once you have a tray that doesn't leak). Using an ice-cube tray is also better for the environment than buying ice in plastic bags from the supermarket or using those fiddly fill-and-freeze plastic ice bags. So if you're not already making your own ice, perhaps now's the time to start.  

Only one of the seven ice-cube trays we tested didn’t leak – the others all did, to varying degrees. Some let out water in a slow trickle, others it was more of a torrent, but they all failed the leak test and there's only one I'd be happy to recommend.

Prices and availability last checked: 25 July 2022.

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The best stackable, non-leak ice-cube trays

We've listed everything we tested below in order of how little the ice-cube tray leaks.

Editor’s Choice: ProCook Ice Cube Tray

Only available at: ProCook £8

Type of ice cubes: 12 large ice cubes, each approximately 2.5cm square

Dimensions of tray (H x W x D): 4cm x 12cm x 15cm

Pros: The only tray we found that doesn't leak, large chunky ice cubes that are easy to get out of the tray, stackable, doesn't take up much space in a freezer drawer

Cons: High delivery price (£4.95)

Verdict: Best on test

Almost unbelievably, this is the only ice-cube tray we tested that doesn't leak at all when it's tipped at an angle – you can even flip it upside down. So if your freezer is chaotic, this is the ice-cube tray for you. 

It makes nice, big, chunky cubes that are easy to get out of the mould. And the tray is stackable if you like to make more than 12 ice cubes at once. 

Joie Ice Stick Tray

Only available at: Dunelm £3

Type of ice cubes: Nine ice sticks (each about the size of a finger)

Dimensions of tray (H x W x D): 4cm x 13cm x 26cm

Pros: Stackable, easy to remove ice, not expensive

Cons: It leaks, ice sticks will divide opinion

Verdict: Close, but not close enough

This ice-cube tray came close to passing our leak test. But if you tip the tray at a certain angle, water will escape from the clip on the top of the lid. 

The ice fingers it makes might also divide opinion – they won't appeal to all.

Oxo Good Grips Large Cubes Ice Cube Tray

Cheapest price: £15 at Amazon. Also available at John Lewis

Type of ice cubes: Six giant ice cubes (you'll only fit one in a whisky tumbler)

Dimensions of tray (H x W x D): 6.5cm x 13.5cm x 18.5cm

Pros: Giant grown-up ice cubes, easy to remove, stackable box

Cons: It leaks, it only makes six cubes

Verdict: Ice cubes with wow factor

We like the grown-up giant ice cubes you get from this tray, which look great in a glass.

But even with the lid on, it lets out a trickle of water as you dip it into a freezer, so it doesn't get our top recommendation. 

OXO Good Grips Cocktail Ice Cubes

Cheapest price: £17.50 at Amazon and John Lewis (out of stock)

Type of ice cubes: 48 small ice cubes

Dimensions of tray (H x W x D): 6.5cm x 13.5cm x 18.5cm

Pros: Stackable, lots of small ice cubes

Cons: It leaks, fiddly to get the ice out of the moulds

Verdict: Tough to extract the ice

You can double-stack the moulds inside the box of this ice-cube tray, which allows you to make 48 small ice cubes at a time. 

But the box still leaks when you angle it to put it in your freezer. And the ice cubes are so small, it's fiddly to get them all out of their moulds. 

Oliver’s Kitchen Ice Cube Trays

Cheapest price: £9.99 for 4 trays at Oliver's Kitchen. Also available at Amazon.

Type of ice cubes: 14 medium cubes per tray

Dimensions of tray (H x W x D): 3cm x 10cm x 25cm

Pros: Stackable, easy to pop the ice out, compact tray that's easy to fit in a freezer

Cons: It leaks

Verdict: Messy to make ice

Once frozen, the ice pops out of these trays easily. But the trays aren't leak-proof and let out water in torrents as you angle the tray to place it in a freezer drawer.

Lekue Extra Large Ice Cube Tray

Cheapest price: £13.99 at Amazon and Lakeland.

Type of ice cubes: 32 medium ice cubes

Dimensions of tray (H x W x D): 5cm x 19cm x 35cm

Pros: Stackable, easy to pop the ice out

Cons: Leaks a lot, the tray is massive and takes up lots of space in a freezer drawer

Verdict: Water escapes in torrents

Once frozen, the ice pops out of these trays really easily. But the trays aren't leak-proof and let out a lot of water as you angle the tray to place it in a freezer drawer.

The tray is also very large and you'll need a lot of free space in your freezer.

Joseph Joseph Ice Cube Tray

Cheapest price: £13.99 at Lakeland and Amazon.

Type of ice cubes: 14 medium ice cubes

Dimensions of tray (H x W x D): 4cm x 13cm x 32cm

Pros: It's easy to pop the ice out, the trays are stackable

Cons: It leaks

Verdict: Ineffective lid

The ice-cube tray that prompted our test, because its lid is so awful at preventing spills. As soon as you tilt this tray to lower it into a freezer, the water pours out in a steady flow.

It's easy to pop the ice out once it's frozen, but these ice-cube trays are so messy, we can't recommend them. 

How we tested ice cube trays

We put each stackable ice cube tray through these tests:

Do they leak? 

Each ice-cube tray was filled with water, then held at an angle over a sink to see if the lid kept the water from spilling out. All the ice-cube trays except one started leaking once they were tilted, even at a very shallow angle. Our Editor's Choice ice-cube tray was completely leak-proof, even after we massively increased the angle it was held at. 

How easy is the ice cube to use? 

We rated each tray for how easy it was to pop the ice out after it was frozen. We also took note of how much space each tray takes up in your freezer drawer, and whether the trays are stackable. 

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