It’s pretty amazing how quickly baking sheets can lose their brand-new shine and develop that infamous patina of brown, crusty, baked-on grease. And while there’s an argument to be made in favor of having that “well-used” look on your cookware and kitchen tools, baking sheets can easily get to the point where they just look… dirty.
But as most people (including myself) have discovered the hard way, that stubborn layer of grease isn’t easy to remove! It’s impervious to dish soap and water and most other standard cleaning methods, and many people have chosen to simply throw in the towel and say that it’s impossible to truly clean baking sheets.
But I always love a good challenge, especially one that involves solving a tricky cleaning problem! And after hours and hours of research, testing, and scrubbing, I’ve zeroed in on the three best methods for cleaning baking sheets, and I’ll be sharing those here with you today! :-)
A Note About Baking Sheet Materials
This post is written with aluminum baking sheets in mind, and more specifically, raw or bare aluminum baking sheets. If your baking sheets have a non-stick coating (which many aluminized steel baking sheets do), it’s best to stick to gentler cleaners and avoid heavy duty tools like steel wool, which can easily ruin their delicate finish.
And if you’re not really sure which material your pans are made of, make sure to test any method or cleaner on a little patch of the pan first to make sure it won’t damage it.
How to Clean Baking Sheets: The 3 Best Methods
1. Baking Soda and Hydrogen Peroxide
Sprinkle the pan with baking soda to form an even layer. Pour some hydrogen peroxide into a spray bottle (or screw a spray top directly onto the peroxide bottle) and use it to spray enough hydrogen peroxide to wet the baking soda.
Let the ingredients sit on the baking sheet for about two hours. After letting it sit, use a gloved hand or a sponge to scrub the baking sheet, and the baking soda mixture should quickly darken from all the loosened grease.
Rinse the baking soda mixture off of the baking sheet and check your progress on the stains. If it’s not quite clean yet, repeat the cleaning process again to remove the remaining grime.
Why It Works
Baking soda and hydrogen peroxide is one of my all-time favorite cleaning duos. (You can read all about this “miracle cleaner” and the various ways I’ve put it to good use in this post!)
It works equally well for cleaning grimy baking sheets, but I’ve found the most success when I’ve included a third ingredient: time. That baked-on gunk and grime may be stubborn, but giving the combination of baking soda and hydrogen peroxide time to do their thing really minimizes the amount of elbow grease you need to use to remove it!
2. Cream of Tartar and White Vinegar
Sprinkle cream of tartar evenly across the surface of the baking sheet. Pour some white vinegar into a spray bottle, then add it to the cream of tartar by spraying it with enough vinegar to wet it.
Allow the tartar mixture to dry on the baking sheet for at least eight hours (overnight is perfect.) After the wait, use a bit of hot water and a sponge or scrub brush to scrub the baking sheet thoroughly.
After giving it some elbow grease, rinse the baking sheet with warm water and check your progress, then repeat the process if necessary.
Why It Works
While it may seem strange to sprinkle on cream of tartar as a cleaning ingredient, it’s not so surprising when you consider where it comes from! Cream of tartar is a powdery byproduct of the winemaking process, derived from the tartaric acid present in grapes.
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By pairing cream of tartar with an acidic liquid like white vinegar (which contains acetic acid), you form a cleaning paste that can remove tarnish and grease from metals like aluminum, brass, and copper and restore their shine!
(Note: Some people make the mistake of using baking soda instead of cream of tartar in this method. Although mixing baking soda and vinegar will produce a reaction, the reaction is short lived and ultimately won’t be any more effective than soap and water.)
3. Bar Keepers Friend
And finally, there’s good old Bar Keepers Friend. Available as both a scouring powder and a cleaning paste, Bar Keepers Friend often succeeds at removing messes from metal where other cleaners fall short!
After donning a pair of cleaning gloves, simply apply a bit of Bar Keepers Friend to a grimy sheet pan and scrub with a sponge or brush. According to the directions on the container, you’re not supposed to leave this cleaner on a surface for more than a few minutes. The best way I’ve found is to clean smaller sections of the baking sheet one at a time, rinsing each section thoroughly with warm water after scrubbing.
Continue scrubbing your way around the baking sheet until the food stains are gone. Easy!
Why It Works
Bar Keepers Friend is another one of my top cleaners for tough tasks, because very few things work more effectively when it comes to cleaning aluminum, steel, ceramic, copper, and more. The secret to its success (which should come as no surprise at this point) is acid—oxalic acid, in this case.
Oxalic acid, which occurs naturally in plants like rhubarb, spinach, and sorrel, packs more of a punch than tartaric and acetic acids. It breaks down the molecular bonds that make tarnish, rust, and other tough stains so hard to remove, and it leaves behind an impressive shine too!
Because the oxalic acid and other ingredients are so strong, it’s especially important to be careful when using Bar Keepers Friend. Always wear gloves when cleaning with it, keep it away from your face, and be sure to rinse any surfaces it comes in contact with.
Bonus Tips For Keeping Baking Sheets Clean
- Once you’ve cleaned up your baking sheets and restored their shine, ensure that your hard work doesn’t go to waste by using these tips to keep them clean:
- When you know whatever you’re going to cook or bake will leave behind a mess, line your sheet pans with aluminum foil before using them. The mess will stay contained to the tin foil, and you can throw it out afterward!
- Whenever possible, try to hand wash your baking sheets soon after using them. The less time a mess has to sit, the easier it will be to clean.
- After washing them with soap and water, dry your clean cookie sheets thoroughly to keep bacteria at bay and to avoid rusting.
How do you use your baking sheets at home?
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How to Clean Baking Sheets (Step by Step)
Equipment
- Dirty Baking Sheet
Ingredients
- Baking Soda
- Hydrogen Peroxide
- Cream of Tartar
- White Vinegar
- Bar Keeper's Friend
Instructions
Using Baking Soda And Hydrogen Peroxide
- Sprinkle the pan with baking soda to form an even layer. Pour some hydrogen peroxide into a spray bottle (or screw a spray top directly onto the peroxide bottle) and use it to spray enough hydrogen peroxide to wet the baking soda.Let the ingredients sit on the baking sheet for about two hours. After letting it sit, use a gloved hand or a sponge to scrub the baking sheet, and the baking soda mixture should quickly darken from all the loosened grease.Rinse the baking soda mixture off of the baking sheet and check your progress on the stains. If it’s not quite clean yet, repeat the cleaning process again to remove the remaining grime.
Using Cream Of Tartar And White Vinegar
- Sprinkle cream of tartar evenly across the surface of the baking sheet. Pour some white vinegar into a spray bottle, then add it to the cream of tartar by spraying it with enough vinegar to wet it.Allow the tartar mixture to dry on the baking sheet for at least eight hours (overnight is perfect.) After the wait, use a bit of hot water and a sponge or scrub brush to scrub the baking sheet thoroughly.After giving it some elbow grease, rinse the baking sheet with warm water and check your progress, then repeat the process if necessary.
Using Bar Keeper's Friend
- And finally, there’s good old Bar Keepers Friend. Available as both a scouring powder and a cleaning paste, Bar Keepers Friend often succeeds at removing messes from metal where other cleaners fall short!After donning a pair of cleaning gloves, simply apply a bit of Bar Keepers Friend to a grimy sheet pan and scrub with a sponge or brush. According to the directions on the container, you’re not supposed to leave this cleaner on a surface for more than a few minutes. The best way I’ve found is to clean smaller sections of the baking sheet one at a time, rinsing each section thoroughly with warm water after scrubbing.Continue scrubbing your way around the baking sheet until the food stains are gone. Easy!
Hi. Can I use Bar Keeper’s Friend on a non-stick baking sheet? Can I use CLR? Love your newsletters and tips.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Can you please sent me a copy of using box cake mixture with other ingredients
Please log in or create a free account to comment.This worked great for me. First pan I only let sit for a couple minutes and the second one I let sit longer. Time will definitely make a difference.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I desperately need help removing hairspray overspray on bathroom vinyl floor & wooden door. I have steam mop to use on floor.
I love your blog!!! Great ideas that really work!!!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Back when my daughter was in high school and used LOTS of hairspray I discovered that Windex worked great at removing it from the vanity and woodwork.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Your steam mop should help! But when I used hairspray I used vinegar water to clean the floor. You could use a cloth and straight vinegar to get at the tougher spots.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Best cleaning happens when my husband scrubs pan with steel wool.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Thank you!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Thnx. For the tip for cleaning cookie sheets, will try Tom. A.m. Mary
Please log in or create a free account to comment.So glad I joined this page! Lots of very useful tips! Thank you!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Can you tell me what can i use to clean non stick pan . It has lots of buring stain outside of pot thanks
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I was wondering that as well?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I found all the different things that are very interesting and I am learning a few things too! Thank you!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Does the strength of the peroxide make a difference? Since there are variable results, maybe different strengths are being used?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I just use 3% from the grocery store!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I’m a former Boeing engineer with 40+ years working on aluminum airplanes. A couple of people mentioned they were cleaning their (aluminum) baking pans with Brillo-type pads. Please avoid this if you wish to keep your pans around for years. Use a Scotch-Brite pad instead with light/medium pressure if you need to scrub a baked-on mess.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Brillo/SOS pads are steel wool. When scrubbed over aluminum, tiny (microscopic) steel fibers embed into the (relatively soft) aluminum and produce rust over time. In addition, steel wool pads easily scratch the aluminum surface. Those small scratches act as miniature ‘grab points’ for all future grime – which makes it even harder to get the surface clean next time around.
Thank you I will definitely try this! Amazing I hope it works that easy!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Worked for me! I did use the scrubbing side of a Scotch-Brite and did not have to scrub hard at all. The trick is definitely “time”.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Should this work on aluminum and stainless steel?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Yes!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Didn’t work for me at all
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I’m so disappointed, it didn’t work for me either. I tried 3x over 2 days and it just worked as a mild scrub. I let it sit for hours. Added more baking soda. Added more peroxide… Still nothing.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I am returning to update my older comment. I found that I had to repeat this process repeatedly as well as scrubbing very very hard with a chore girl, and a Brillo pad.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I also had to use a sharp knife to get some grease up and to clean out crevices etc. I also added table salt for more scrubbing action.
That being said, this process was the only thing that was really helping. ( Other people had baked greasy things on and then not cleaned them properly.)
I also used this mixture on the outside of other pans and worked it underneath and into crevices where handle attach to pan, and it worked fine.
A GREAT added bonus that I tried on red stains that ended up on my counters from…whatever. It worked WONDERFULLY well! Nothing else had ever worked, so NICE!
I think that my grease must have been baked on my pans more than yours Jille,
Thanks so much, Jille. I share your words ow wisdom frequently!
worth a try – cannot scrub any harder with my brillo and it does not ever look like new again – stay timed!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Ok, I gotta say, SOS pads make quick work with just a little scrubbing. I cut my SOS/Brillo pads in half, as not much is required. And you know immediately if you missed spots, not later. My cookie sheets are shiny! But I love most of Jillee’s other ideas:)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I tried this and found that it worked on some spots but not by putting it on and waiting a few hours. At the end of two hours some areas were cleaned with much work and scrubbing. So put products back on and left over night. Again it got some better with hard scrubbing. Glad some found it to be as effective as reported. Perhaps the pans were newer and not as challenging. Overall very time consuming and lots of scrubbing. Not that effective.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Can you clean the other side of pan that you cook on with those ingredients?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.People use hydrogen peroxide on wounds and some even use it as a mouthwash (spitting it out of course) and baking Sosa is in plenty of good recipes. I mean wash it off, but it is definitely food safe.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.This does work…I did housework and Whooohooo! Very happy with 5 pan results.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Thank you many times over
Hooray!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I’ll have to try this but when I clean my cast iron I put my baking sheet one the bottom to to catch the drippings, would this method work with the oil spots?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Boy do I need this post. I have a few pizza, cookies and brownies pans that needs a clean facelift.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Going to try this tonight. Have you tried it on ceramic top stoves? Trying to find something more natural to use rather than the bottle of chemicals.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.this works great on ovens toooo!!!!
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