Many baking trays also have a non-stick coating which we tested by baking chocolate chip cookies without lining the trays to see if they came off the tray easily.
So whether you’re stocking a new kitchen or looking to upgrade your essentials, read our guide to the best baking trays tried and tested by our reviews experts.
Looking to use your oven less? Read our guides to the best dual air-fryers and best small air-fryers which allow you to cook for small groups without turning on your oven.
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Best baking trays at a glance
- Best baking tray for versatility: ProCook non-stick Granite baking tray, £12
- Best baking tray for batch cooking: Circulon Ultimum insulated cookie sheet, £20.35
- Best non-stick baking tray: Greenpan Bistro cookie sheet, £21
- Best baking tray for cooking from frozen: Circulon Ultimum large oven tray, £18.99
- Best baking tray for beginners: Salter Bakes 37cm baking tray, £9.92
- Best affordable baking tray: Habitat non-stick two-piece baking trays, £7
- Best baking tray for maximum space: Dexam non-stick cookie sheet, £17.10
- Best colourful baking tray: Our Place Mini griddle, £55
- Best everyday baking tray: Lakeland standard baking tray, £5.99
Best baking trays to buy in 2024
ProCook non-stick Granite baking tray
Best baking tray for versatility
Star rating: 5/5
Sizes available: 36cm x 27cm (the size we tested), 41cm x 31cm, 31cm x 23cm, 26cm x 19.5cm
On test, this baking tray ticked all of our boxes when it comes to a versatile, all-rounder baking tray for everyday use. It comes in a range of sizes but we tested the 36cm x 27cm size which was big enough to fit lots on, without being tricky to store or awkward to get in the oven. We were impressed by its weightiness which ensured that it didn’t warp when removed from the oven, as well as the effective non-stick coating.
The non-stick coating is reinforced with ceramic which meant our cookies slid off leaving minimal residue behind, and a quick dunk in warm soapy water was all that was required for cleaning.
Circulon Ultimum insulated cookie sheet
Best baking tray for batch cooking
Star rating: 5/5
Sizes available: 40.5cm x 35.5cm
This is a large, square cookie sheet with a raised lip on one side. It features a grooved design which helps circulate air the make sure food gets crisp, as well as acting as an effective non-stick device when coupled with the non-stick coating.
This is definitely a cookie sheet rather than a baking tray as the lack of a lip on all sides means it isn’t suitable for cooking anything that produces liquid. It’s also worth noting that the size and shape may make it a little awkward to store, although you may find that you’re using it often enough that this isn’t a problem. Overall, we were impressed by this tray which would be perfect for baking.
Greenpan Bistro cookie sheet
Best non-stick baking tray
Star rating: 5/5
Sizes available: 38cm x 24cm
This is a slim yet durable baking tray that has features which make it practical to use on an everyday basis. It has a nice weight to it and we really liked the handles on either side of the tray which make it easy to remove from the oven and safely carry around the kitchen.
Our favourite feature of this baking tray was the effective non-stick coating which allowed our cookies to release from the tray leaving no residue behind.
Circulon Ultimum large oven tray
Best baking tray for cooking from frozen
Star rating: 5/5
Sizes available: 44.5cm x 28cm (the size we tested), 33cm x 37.5cm, 29.5cm x 20cm
This tray is brilliant value for money with a nice weight and clever design that made it easy and efficient to use. The grooves mean that food cooks evenly with a crisp base, and releases easily. This is a reason why the tray is especially brilliant for cooking food from frozen — the grooves ensure air circulation which means your food crisps up nicely, plus the heavyweight design means it doesn’t warp even when you add frozen items to the hot tray.
Although we really liked the grooves, it is worth noting that they make the tray a little more fiddly to clean compared to a regular baking tray.
Salter Bakes 37cm baking tray
Best baking tray for beginners
Star rating: 4.5/5
Sizes available: 37cm x 25cm
If you’re looking to bake more, or want to extend your collection of bakeware to cater for a party or event this could be a good option with an affordable price and reasonable performance. It lacks the durability that you’d want from a baking tray that you use everyday since it isn’t dishwasher safe and is only suitable for use up to 220C, but we were still pretty impressed by how it performed on test.
Our cookies had a perfectly brown edges and released fairly well from the trays, although there were some chocolate chips left behind. For delicate or precise bakes we’d definitely recommend either lining this tray or liberally greasing it before use but it could certainly be a useful addition to your collection.
Available from:
Amazon (£9.92)
Habitat non-stick two-piece baking trays
Best affordable baking tray
Star rating: 4.5/5
Sizes available: 24.1cm x 17.8cm each
In this set you get two baking trays for just £7 which makes it a great budget-friendly option. While these trays are quite small they are useful for squeezing into your oven, cooking two different recipes at once and maximising space.
We were impressed by the effectiveness of the non-stick coating given the low price point, and our cookies released pretty easily with only a slight residue left behind. They have lips on all sides which would also make them good for roasting vegetables or cooking recipes with a marinade.
Dexam non-stick cookie sheet
Best baking tray for maximum space
Star rating: 4.5/5
Sizes available: 41cm x 30cm
With a large surface area and super effective non-stick coating, this tray is excellent for baking. Even if your cookie spread there’s lots of space, plus the lips on three sides means you can take it out of the oven easily, and gently slide the baked goods off via the edge with no lip.
Since the lips on the edge don’t connect this baking tray wouldn’t be suitable for anything in a sauce or with moisture as it would leak out of the sides, which somewhat limits the versatility.
Our Place Mini griddle
Best colourful baking tray
Star rating: 4/5
Sizes available: mini 37cm x 22.9cm, large 53cm x 30cm
From viral cookware brand Our Place, this baking tray is made from aluminium with a non-stick coating and comes in a range of colours including Blue Salt, Steam and Lavender. The look is certainly impressive and very distinctive compared to other baking trays we’ve tested with the handles that extend from each end which are useful for moving it in and out of the oven.
Our cookies were evenly baked and released really easily thanks to the non-stick coating. One of the biggest downsides to this tray is the expense — £55 is by far the priciest baking tray we’ve tested. You can also use this for grilling on the hob, but as this isn’t compatible with an induction hob the versatility is somewhat limited.
It comes in two sizes, the mini and large. The mini is fairly compact with room to bake around five cookies, while the large is huge — too big to fit in a standard British oven. Without sounding too much like Goldilocks, we think something in the middle of these two sizes would be just right.
Lakeland standard baking tray
Best everyday baking tray
Star rating: 4/5
Sizes available: 30cm x 21.5cm
This baking tray is not only affordably priced at less than £6 but also dishwasher safe, making it brilliant for day to day use. It’s fairly slim so wouldn’t be suitable for tarts or a recipe where you need to add liquid, but would work really well for biscuits or roasting vegetables. The shallow space means that you could fit it in your oven underneath a large roasting joint to maximise space.
On test, we did find that the chocolate chips in our cookie tended to stick so we’d recommend greasing or lining this tray when using. It’s also worth noting that we noticed some buckling when we removed the tray from the oven and put it on a cold surface. This could be an issue if you’re baking something delicate, although the tray did retain its shape once cool.
Best way to clean baking trays
Depending on what you’re cooking, we often recommend lining your baking trays with foil or greaseproof paper to avoid the ingredients sticking to your tray. However, many baking trays come with an effective layer of non-stick coating which should mean that your food releases easily.
If it has a non-stick coating we’d always recommend washing your tray by hand with soap, hot water and a gentle brush or sponge, as putting them in the dishwasher can degrade the non-stick.
If your baking trays have stubborn, burnt-on food on them, we’d recommend leaving them to soak for a minimum of 30 minutes in soap and hot water, before using a high quality washing up liquid and non-abrasive sponge.
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