The Art of Bento: Delicious On-the-Go Meals with Zojirushi Lunch Jars

On the left, is a blue lunch jar with a container of rice and a container with a lunch in the shape of an owl. On the right, a gray stainless lunch jar with three containers, one has a lunch in the shape of a school bus, another container with a veggie soup, and riced cauliflower on the largest container

Hey, Zo Fans!

Picture this: delectable meals, fresh and flavorful, no matter where your day takes you. Whether you’re packing lunch for work or school, Zojirushi’s vacuum-insulated lunch jars are the perfect way to keep your food fresh and delicious all day. In today’s blog, we’ll give you a closer look at our entire lineup of lunch jars, so you can choose the perfect one to fit your lifestyle.

Meet the Lunch Jars

Our lunch jars are designed with advanced vacuum insulation technology to ensure your food stays hot or cold for hours. Crafted with a durable 18/8 stainless steel inner jar, these bento lunch jars offer superior durability and reliability while tight-fitting gasket seals in freshness. Get to know each of our lunch jars and the unique features that make them stand out:

Classic Stainless Lunch Jar SL-XE20

Deep blue lunch jar with black trimmings and three separate black colored containers. The largest one is filled with rice, one is filled with a vegetable soup and the third is filled with assorted veggies and protein.

  • Enjoy generous meal portions with the spacious main container and two side containers.
  • Conveniently reheat your food with microwave-safe containers (except the lids).
  • It also includes chopsticks, a chopsticks holder, and a convenient carry strap for easy transport!

Mr. Bento® Stainless Lunch Jar SL-JBE14

Lunch jar shown in black, stainless, plum, and blue. All with 4 different containers, a forked spoon, and a carrying bag.

  • Indulge in multi-course meals with the main bowl, soup bowl, and two side bowls.
  • Stay organized and complete with the included carrying bag and forked spoon, creating a comprehensive on-the-go meal solution.
  • Choose from four available colors: Plum (-VZ), Blueberry (-AZ), Carbon Black (-BZ), Stainless (-XA).

Ms. Bento® Stainless Lunch Jar SL-MEE07

Light blue lunch jar with two containers filled with food, a chopstick set, and carrying tote.

  • Embrace portion control and versatility with the soup bowl and two side bowls
  • Keep your different food items separate with the practical partition in the side bowl.

Travel confidently and enjoy your meal anywhere with the included tote that is large enough to accommodate a small drink and snacks.

Ms. Bento® Stainless Lunch Jar SL-NCE09

Stainless gray lunch jar with 3 separate containers on the right, a forked spoon with a cover in the front, and a two toned gray carry tote in the back

  • Experience simplicity and portability with a compact design, perfect for single-serve meals or snacks.
  • The large, washable carrying tote bag can also fit a beverage and snacks
  • Includes forked spoon with cover.

Classic Bento® Stainless Lunch Jar SL-GRE18

Black lunch jar with gray trimmings, three gray containers, a forked spoon with cover, a chopsticks set, and a carry bag in the back.

  • Take a complete meal with you with the help of the Classic Bento®. Not only does it include a pair of chopsticks with a protective cover but it also comes with a forked spoon.
  • The convenient carry strap and protective cover makes taking it with you a cinch.
  • 3 microwaveable inner bowls, which also includes a bowl specially designed for soups.

Now that you’ve gotten to know our lunch jars, what do you plan on making for lunch?

Bento Recipes

Here are some school and work lunch ideas you can prepare for your Zojirushi bento sets, mix and match them as you like!

Creamy potato soup served in a blue insulated food jar topped with chives and served with a side of bread

Pinwheel pasta salad with lettuce and tomato served in a green vacuum insulated food jar and a pretzel bun

Blue vacuum insulated food jar filled with spicy mapo tofu served with rice balls

Not only will Zojirushi lunch jars keep it fresh and delicious all day long, but they’re also a great way to reduce your environmental impact by reducing the amount of waste produced from single-use plastic containers. If you’re looking for a healthy, convenient, and environmentally friendly way to pack your lunch, a Zojirushi lunch jar is the perfect solution. What will you be putting in your lunch jar? Share your comments and lunch ideas for work or school with us on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram! #ZojirushiUSA #ZoFan

Product Inspirations – Stainless Steel Food Jar (SW-GCE36)

Last month, we featured our Ms. Bento® Stainless Lunch Jar and the great ways that you can take a fresh and complete meal with you, whether you’re at school, the office, traveling, picnicking or just out and about. This month, we’re excited to share our Stainless Steel Food Jar (SW-GCE36) with you!

This stylish food jar holds 12 ounces of hot or cold food, and because it uses Zojirushi’s double-walled vacuum insulation technology, foods are kept at their optimal hot or cold temperatures for hours. The vacuum insulation is created by removing the air between the outer and inner layers of the stainless steel, blocking heat from transferring through it. This minimizes the temperature change of the food inside the jar, providing a useful way to safely pack and store a meal when a refrigerator or microwave may not be readily available.

SlickSteel® interior

This food jar comes in a Cherry Red or Nut Brown finish and has a modern, angled design, and the thin vacuum insulation takes up minimal space while maximizing capacity. The large 3 ¼-inch wide opening makes it easy to fill and clean and its electro-polished 18/8 SlickSteel® interior prevents corrosion and repels stains. The flat interior design makes it easy to eat directly from the food jar, and it even has a removable plastic ring around the rim of the jar for drinking comfort, in case it is filled with a beverage or soup.

The lid is just as innovatively designed as the jar itself. It’s completely disassemblable for thorough cleaning and utilizes gaskets to tightly seal the jar, minimizing leaks and maximizing temperature retention. When released, the valve in the center of the lid set helps to relieve pressure caused by hot contents inside the jar and makes it easier to open the lid.

Best of all, all areas that come into contact with your food are BPA-free, making it safe to use for your entire family.

The Stainless Steel Food Jar is great for both adults and children. Back-to-school meals such as macaroni and cheese, Chicken Noodle Soup and easy rice dishes like Shiitake Gohan are ideal school meals, easily transported in the food jar. Morning meals like Steel Cut Oatmeal To-Go are easy to make in the food jar and the food jars transition well from the hot months of summer to the colder months of autumn and winter, with lighter fare such as our Stacked Pasta Salad staying cool, and dishes like Total Tonjiru Soup staying hot.

We know you’ll love using this Stainless Steel Food Jar just as much as you do the Ms. Bento® Stainless Steel Lunch Jar. Try it out and share what you love about this Stainless Steel Food Jar in the comments below!

Product Inspirations – Ms. Bento® Stainless Lunch Jar (SL-NCE09)

Nothing is as satisfying as a fresh, home-cooked meal. Our Ms. Bento® Stainless Lunch Jar lets you experience that comforting sense of home, whether you’re at school, the office, traveling, picnicking or just out and about.

The Ms. Bento® is a versatile lunch jar and is perfect for taking complete hot or cold meals, breakfast and lunch, or just satisfying a picky eater by keeping foods separated! It has multiple smart features that make it useful for a variety of foods. The first smart feature is the outer container, which is made of double layers of durable, high-quality stainless steel. The outer container is built using Zojirushi’s superior vacuum insulation, where the air is removed between the layers of stainless steel to prevent heat transfer. Preheating or precooling the outer container and inner bowls further increases temperature retention.

The lunch jar holds three inner bowls—a Soup Bowl, a Main Bowl and a Side Bowl. All three bowls are microwaveable and come with unique characteristics that make them ideal for their specified type of dish. The Soup Bowl holds 7 ounces of liquid and sits at the bottom of the outer container. The Soup Bowl has a special lid with a gasket that seals the bowl tightly, and a valve that helps to release pressure so the bowl can be opened even if the hot contents would otherwise make it difficult to unscrew.

The Main Bowl fits on top of the Soup Bowl and can hold up to 11 ounces of hot or cold food, such as cooked rice, pasta, or other entrees. The Main Bowl also has a specialized lid—it’s made to insulate the food in it from the food in the Side Bowl, which sits above at room temperature. Hot or cold soup and entrees all stay hot or cold inside the insulated outer container.

The Side Bowl holds up to 10 ounces of food and comes with two features—a Side Bowl divider and a lid with a sealing gasket. The Side Bowl divider makes it easy to store two types of room temperature foods in the same bowl, for example, nuts and berries or nut butter and apples. The Side Bowl sits above the walls of the outer container, securely nestled in the lunch jar’s outer lid. The outer lid locks onto the outer container, and the entire lunch jar is sealed.

All components of the Ms. Bento® are washable and made from BPA-free plastic and stainless steel, and come with a forked spoon accessory with cover and a stylish tote bag.

The smartest feature of all is all the food you can take in your Ms. Bento®! We love putting together warm and delicious meals for the Ms. Bento®, and our favorites include Marinara Sauce in the soup bowl, Fresh Pasta in the main bowl and Veggie Chicken Rolls in the side bowl. (Sounds delicious, doesn’t it?) And these is just as scrumptious!

We know you’ll love using the Ms. Bento® Stainless Steel Lunch Jar as much as we do… so try it out and share your favorite meal combinations with us in the comments below!