For a half-century, Corelle dishes have been popular with consumers, and it’s not hard to see why thanks to their colorful designs and engaging patterns. But some customers complain that things have changed over the last decade or two and they’re looking for other aesthetically pleasing alternatives. After all, anyone who’s ever shattered Corelle plates on a clumsy day in the kitchen can attest that it’s a nightmare to clean up all the shards. For break-resistant dinnerware, though, there are some other options.

What’s the Corelle Appeal?

Colors seem more vivid in Corelle’s designs, for starters, and that’s partly due to the tempered glass used — their patented Vitrelle material. Even single-colored dishes can be bright and crisp-looking. Their name and history mean their products aren’t cheap, but they do come with a three-year manufacturer warranty against chips and breakage, although you must keep the damaged product for your return. The tempered glass is also nontoxic, lead-free and doesn't impart flavor to your food — qualities echoed by other tempered glass lines as well.

IKEA Oftast vs. Corelle

When people are looking for alternatives to Corelle, IKEA Oftast is frequently mentioned — it’s a plain white line of tempered glass dishes that are a staple of IKEA’s dinnerware line and plates will sell for under a dollar apiece new (versus several times that for Corelle). They’re popular, affordable and easy to replace.

But IKEA now has other tempered glass dishes too, like the stark black line of square-with-round-corner dinnerware line called Backig, which is only sold as separate dishes, not as a set. There’s also the new Besegra line featuring light blue or pale green dishes. IKEA cautions shoppers that a scratched surface means the dish shouldn’t be used again as it can break suddenly. (Let that be a warning to all those who like to handwash dishes while wearing their glass-scratching diamond rings!)