5 Things That Belong In Your Oven Storage Drawer

Many ovens have an extra drawer at the very bottom, directly under the oven itself. They're a perfect storage solution, especially in kitchens with limited cabinet space. But there are certain things to keep in mind when deciding what, exactly, to store in there.

First, though, you'll want to make sure your storage drawer is actually a storage drawer and not a warmer drawer or broiler. Luckily, there is an easy way to tell if your oven's bottom drawer is for storage or heating food. The best way to check is to consult your oven's manual. However, if you have no idea where it is, which we wouldn't blame you for at all, you may be able to find it online. If the manual is nowhere to be found, digitally or otherwise, scope out the oven itself. Check for temperature knobs or heating coils above the area.

If, and only if your bottom oven drawer is not for heating food, you can proceed with storing some of your more unwieldy kitchen supplies in there. But it's right below your oven, so it'll get toasty in there. There are definitely things you should never keep in your oven's bottom drawer. Anything you put in there must be non-flammable, oven safe, and non-perishable, meaning no kitchen towels, plastic or wooden utensils, or ingredients like flour or spices. On that note, here are five things you absolutely can and should put in that oven drawer, because we're all about making full use of available space.

Your oven drawer is actually the perfect spot for your baking sheets, roasting pans, muffin tins, and other large, sort of flat cookware. It can be super difficult to find a spot in your cabinets for this stuff, which tends to be too big to be stored either horizontally or vertically, unless you have oversized cabinets. And once you throw in irregular-shaped bakeware like muffin tins, bundt pans, and loaf pans, forget it. Some of those also don't get used all that often, and it's a pain to have to scramble around them to get to what you need.

The oven drawer is perfect because it's out of the way of your other, everyday cookware, and these tools are almost always used in conjunction with the oven (so you know they're definitely oven-safe!). We love nothing more than a streamlined prep and cooking process, and being able to slide a cookie sheet out of your oven drawer and preheat the oven in one fluid motion can't be beat.

There are multiple ways to store and organize your silicone baking mats, but we tend to opt for the oven drawer for several reasons. First, you know they're oven-safe, so you can store them safely. Second, many people suggest rolling them up to save space, and while that may keep them compact, they can curl up, making them difficult to use once you try to unroll them, and that can be very annoying if you're trying to shape cookies or evenly spread vegetables for roasting.

If you already have cookie sheets in your oven drawer, stack your silicone mats right on top. They are super flat and take up minimal space, and in the drawer, they're already paired with the baking trays they're designed to protect. It's a win-win. Silicone baking mats are finicky products, and there are mistakes everyone makes when cooking with or attempting to store them. Take it from us: Keep them in your bottom oven drawer and save yourself a ton of hassle.

When you were a kid, you probably didn't realize that one day you'd end up pulling your hair out trying to find a spot in your kitchen for the giant, flat rock you decided you needed in order to make yourself a quality pizza. But here you are, pizza stone in hand and getting heavier by the second. Luckily, the oven drawer is here to save you.

The oven's drawer is the perfect place to fit your pizza stone, which is actually a lot more versatile than you think. There are lots of unexpected foods you should be cooking on your pizza stone. So if you haven't been using it because it's such a pain to bring out and set up, that will all change once you transition it to your oven's bottom drawer. The best pizza stones, according to reviews, may earn points for what they do to the crust's undercarriage, but they aren't especially conveniently sized. So take advantage of that glorious oven drawer, and you'll likely find yourself using your pizza stone more than you ever have before.

Now, room in that oven drawer isn't unlimited, but if you happen to have the space, it's a perfect compartment for your ceramic casserole dishes, pie tins, and other heavy, oven-safe cookware that most people only use a few times a year, on major holidays or when you're making a casserole to impress your dinner party.

But maybe with easier access, casseroles will become a regular part of your diet. They're an easy way to food prep meals for the week, including easy breakfast casserole recipes for hassle-free mornings. And they are a perfect way to build hearty, protein-packed dishes, like easy ground beef casseroles that are perfect for dinner.

One thing you must consider: If your casserole dish has a lid, make sure the lid is oven-safe before storing it in the oven drawer. Some are made of plastic or have plastic components that could melt if the temperature rises too much in there.

There is so much to know about using and caring for your cast iron pans, from perfectly seasoning them to the common mistakes everyone makes when using them. But there is a common misconception about cast iron cookware you need to ignore: that they're somehow fragile, temperamental pans that need to be handled and heated just right in order to be useful.

The truth is that cast iron is exceptionally hardy, and as long as you dry the pan completely after use and rub a very small amount of high-smoke-point cooking oil over its surface, you'll be golden. But with all the cast-iron fearmongering out there, coupled with the heft of these pans, it can be hard to be motivated to use that Lodge skillet you bought on a whim because everyone was doing it.

Enter: the bottom oven drawer. It's roomy. It's convenient. And it will put your cast iron within arm's reach just like that.