How To Clean Sheet Pans

And also–why use real sheet pans in the first place?

If you are around long enough on BCP, you might have noticed that we use lots of real sheet pans. You see them on our cooking stories, you see them in our recipes (check out this popular dinner, all done on a sheet pan, one of many.)

But, why use real sheet pans? Is it really worth it? 

The short answer? YES. Capital letters and all. It is definitely worth it. 

If you want that crispy edge, the vegetable roasted to perfection, the cookie browned evenly, and generally, food cooked faster and tasting better, it’s the way to go. 

Yes, your food will taste better. 

A real metal sheet pan will conduct heat evenly, creating the perfect vessel for roasting vegetables, or even baking a pizza (see this fantastic recipe here). 

Read this post on 9×13 baking pans here for more on the topic of baking in a real 9×13 pans vs. the disposable kind. 

But, back to sheet pans. 

Once you start you will see the difference. You can easily line a sheet pan with heavy duty foil or parchment paper to avoid having to clean the pan. But when you do need to clean them, it’s easy, and I’ll show you how below. 

Let’s first answer some questions: 

Which sheet pans shall I use? 

We like to use rimmed aluminum pans such as this one here, which is known as a half sheet pan or, for convenience, and if you have a large family this big sheet pan is a must. (See this post on full sheet pans to understand if and why.) I personally own about 4 half sheet pans (smaller ones) for dairy and 4 for meat and additionally, 4 big sheet pans for meat.

I use the big ones for baking my challahs and I also love the big sheet pans for roasting vegetables. Having more space on the sheet pan will ensure that your veggies will roast nicely and not get mushy (due to overcrowding) and also, mixing is easier when there is room. 

A large sheet pan means roasting two bags of broccoli at the same time and not forgoing the element of crispiness.

There is enough room to achieve a nice roast. 

Another reason I love the big sheet pans is because they hold two 9 x 13 pans side by side perfectly. This is how I bake my potato kugel, or any dish that is a bit messy (think a roast with lots of sauce) and it’s the best way to catch spills and avoid messes. 

This pan literally maximizes your oven space. 

Here you see how one 9 x 13 fits on a half sheet pan.

Once you purchase your sheet pans, use this amazing hack to label them so you know if they are meat or milk.

So, how do I clean sheet pans? 

A very clean sheet pan usually means it’s a relatively new sheet pan. 

Let me explain: I recently bought a few new pans, and used them in stories/videos. Immediately I got comments like these “Oh wow, your sheet pans are so clean! How do you clean them?”

So yes, sheet pans need to be cleaned (and I will tell you how I do it in a minute) but sheet pans that are used and used on a regular basis will never be perfectly clean. They will get that broken in look and that is fine. 

Sheet pans will get old and stained, and eventually you will want to replace them. C’est la vie. 

So, about the cleaning:

1 – Ideally, get to it as soon as you can.

2 – Soaking is key. Any stubborn, crusted on messes, need some soaking.

3 – Dishsoap and a good scrubbing pad like Scotch-Brite pads are all you need.

I like to cut the Scotch Brite Pads into smaller and more manageable pieces. Use a scissor to do that. 

And that’s all there is to it. Just some good scrubbing, and you are done. Some like using Bar Keepers Friend as well. I find that the key is letting the pans soak. 

I do NOT recommend washing them in the dishwasher as that will change the texture and feel of the pans, rendering them matte and “weird” to the touch.