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.
More Ideas You'll Love
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?
More Ideas You'll Love
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!
Have you tried this on cup cake pans?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.love to try this will see if it works?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.What are the proportions of the mixture? And, how best to apply? – Thanks!
PS: do you have cleaning advice for Calphalon pans?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.This does not work.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.A nurse told me a little trick for peroxide a few years back. Just put a little on blood before washing . Works like a charm. I keep some in a spray bottle by the washer.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Yes, i use peroxide in laundry all the time. NOTHING is better for blood stains. If i have a grungy load, sometimes, i’ll just pour a whole bottle of peroxide in the washer with everything else. It helps my laundry come out shiny.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I really really want to try this, but is it safe to use on nonstick pans too? I have a cookie sheet my mother gave me that’s got a bunch of baked on grease, but I’ve scrubbed and scrubbed with no luck. :(
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I can’t wait to try this on some well loved cupcake pans!!!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Tried it and it does not work what so ever. New baking soda and peroxide and still nothing!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I have 50% Peroxide. It burned my hands just to get it out of the car and into the house. How do you dilute it to get 3% that’s needed in the recipe?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I honestly won’t pretend to know how to dilute peroxide. But I found this message board that explains how to do it: http://www.instructables.com/answers/what-is-the-equation-i-should-use-to-dilute-50-hy/. If you don’t want to go to the work of doing that you can buy a bottle of 3% peroxide at a grocery store or pharmacy.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Tried this, even let it sit over nite. I didn’t do anything at all. Even used a new bottle of peroxide!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.What Will work on non stick in most cases is a citrus-pumice based hand cleaner. I like the orange one. Smear it all over and leave it even over night then just wash off. Even if you feel you MUST rub it won’t harm you non stick surface. I’ve used it in my cleaning business for years.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Epic fail…
It’s the first Pinterest fail I’ve had to date. I left it overnight. Ingredients were new. Put plenty on. Bummer!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.You are amazing! I absolutely love your blog! Thank you for all the helpful tips!!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.didn’t work for me. :(
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Can’t wait to try this. I have another tip for you. My city water leaves an orange film on my fiberglass shower walls. My grandmother suggested using fumeless oven cleaner. Spray it on, leave for five minutes, scrub lightly with a stiff brush and rinse. It was so simple and my shower looks brand new. It even took the spots off the floor the bleach always misses.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Didn’t work for me either. Left out on 24 hours on both a cookie sheet and the back of a regular pan. SOS pads worked better.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.It didn’t work for me either. Used fresh ingredients and let soak for hours. Not a budge. SOS or Brillo work better.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I use something similar to clean the sticky goo left from a sticker on a metal surface and also for cleaning my stainless tea kettle. Make a paste of baking soda and Dawn dish soap. Rub paste with your finger or with an old tooth brush for stubborn stain. Makes any dirty stainless steel item brand spanking new.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Put the peroxide in a squirt bottle.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I have two things I use for this. One requires a pan big enough to immerse the grungy one in. Put the grungy one in the bigger pan, add enough water to completely cover it plus another inch or so. Cook it in the oven for 30-60 minutes, depending on how grungy it is. Take it out carefully so you don’t burn yourself or spill the hot water. Rinse both pans off in hot water. That should do it, but repeat if necessary. I use foil disposable turkey baking pans for the biggest things, like iron skillets. I rinse out the foil pan and keep it though. This will clean an ancient crusty, rusty, nasty second-hand iron skillet with ease. Wash and dry iron immediately and re-season it as soon as possible afterwards.
Method #2 – Not nearly as green as the first or yours. Dawn makes a gel that comes in a spray bottle. It works great, although it may take more than once if the pan is really nasty. I use this for things with wooden or plastic handles that I can’t “bake” in the oven. It does wonders for my metal mesh splatter screen I use when I fry things.
Solution for nasty drip pans~~ get one of those silicon pads made for lining the bottom of a stove or microwave, line the pan with it. It would be easier to just get a new cookie sheet and save the old one as a permanent drip pan. Then it wouldn’t matter what it looked like.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Didn’t work on my sheet! They were not to stained. Just didn’t work.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Tried it too left it on for 4 hours, not much different.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Thanks! Just shared on my FB page!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Do I use this on both sides of the cookie sheet? I am not worried about the bottom on the outside I am more worried about the cooking side.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.