The Best Salad Spinner Doubles as a Serving Bowl

Salad goes with pretty much anything, but its omnipresence belies its true complexity. Even the simplest versions benefit from attention to detail. Whether you’re using spicy arugula, tender spinach, or raucously crunchy iceberg, starting with fresh, clean, and dry lettuce yields the best results. (I acknowledge the existence of jello, marshmallow, and pasta salads, but for this review, I’m focusing on the leaf-based variety.) 

Lettuce, especially whole heads, tends to hold on to dirt. No one wants to bite down on a rock or a bit of grit during dinner. This is where the salad spinner comes in. While testing the best salad spinners for Serious Eats, I used over a dozen to dry pounds of lettuce and fresh herbs. After weeks of crunching on assorted greens, I decided to keep the OXO Good Grips Glass Salad Spinner. It wasn’t the only effective product, but it was the only one that stole my heart. 

OXO Good Grips Glass Salad Spinner

$65 $62 at Amazon View on Williams Sonoma $65 at Sur La Table

Why the Oxo Salad Spinner Is the Best

This model is everything that a salad spinner should be. It’s powerful, user-friendly, and versatile. All salad spinners use the same basic principle: A perforated basket holds lettuce in place while centrifugal force, created by rotation, sends water droplets flying. The physics doesn’t change, but the spinning mechanism does. Push-pumps, like the one found on the OXO glass and stainless steel spinners, are the easiest to operate. They don’t need much manual power to reach top speed—applying downward pressure is much easier than generating lateral force because you can use your body weight. The OXO glass spinner has a smooth, sturdy pump that can be locked in a collapsed position for simplified storage. 

A salad spinner’s basket also affects performance. Ones with large holes wicked away more water than models with tiny ones. The OXO salad spinner’s basket resembles a loosely woven wicker—its large, lateral openings trap greens while leaving ample space for escaping water. This design, paired with its powerful handle, can dry sopping-wet greens in just over 30 seconds. 

Drying power isn’t this spinner's only advantage. Our review named five worthwhile salad spinners—the winning models can all successfully separate leaves and water. In my opinion, as long as the product works, aesthetic considerations are also valid. The OXO’s glass bowl makes this spinner stand out as the best of the best. 

Every salad spinner I’ve tried claims that the outer container doubles as dinnerware or a serving bowl. In some cases, this suggestion isn’t particularly appealing. With frequent use, a plastic bowl can scratch, grow cloudy, and release chemicals. The OXO’s thick glass bowl is durable and scratch-resistant. It will never shed microplastics, even after a hundred dishwasher cycles. OXO’s stainless steel salad spinner offers another viable alternative to plastic, but a metal bowl is not my first choice for the dinner table. Fresh salads are beautiful, and we eat with our eyes first, so a transparent glass bowl makes for a better presentation. 

Here’s where I get really picky. Salad spinners have a pivot point—a little spike in the center of the bowl that elevates the basket so it can spin freely. It’s structurally necessary, but it’s also a telltale signal that your serving dish is, in fact, a spinner basin. Is this a touch obsessive? Sure. Am I happy there’s a solution? Absolutely. The OXO Good Grips Glass Salad Spinner uses a removable plastic disc as a pivot point. When you take this piece out, the basin looks like any other glass bowl. It’s the only salad spinner that truly deserves a spot on the table. I’ve even served out of it at dinner parties.

All of these details come together to create a truly great product. I use the OXO Good Grips Glass Salad Spinner at least twice a week. In addition to lettuce, it’s a great way to clean herbs, berries, green beans, or any other pile of small, delicate produce. With a combination of beauty and functionality, it more than justifies the storage space. 

FAQs

How do salad spinners work?

When you set a salad spinner in motion, the rotation generates centrifugal force. This center-fleeing force pushes everything inside the spinner out against the edges of a perforated basket. The basket walls hold lettuce in place while water escapes through the gaps. 

Are salad spinners dishwasher-safe?

Some salad spinners are dishwasher-safe—check the product details for specific care instructions. Salad spinners have three components: a perforated plastic basket, a solid outer bowl, and a lid equipped with some type of spinning mechanism. Plastic components are generally not bottom rack dishwasher-safe.  

Why We’re the Experts

• Madeline Muzzi is a writer, editor, and video producer.
• She has written many reviews for Serious Eats, including wine decanters and countertop ice makers.
• Madeline has owned and used the OXO Glass Salad Spinner for over two years. 
• Madeline previously tested 14 salad spinners for a Serious Eats salad spinner review.