Stop Scrubbing Burnt-On Oven Crust — This ‘Magic’ Kitchen Find Stops Spills Before They Start to Smoke

And it’s dishwasher-safe.

I was making a pie for Thanksgiving one year when the filling bubbled over onto the oven floor. Of course, I didn’t realize this had happened until the fire alarm was blaring and my oven had filled with smoke. It was a highly traumatic experience that I never wish to repeat, which is why I now slip a baking sheet under dishes with soupy ingredients to keep my oven floor clean. I like that it makes the transfer from the counter to the oven easier, but it impacts the baking time and can lead to a burnt bottom if I don’t watch it carefully.

Unbeknownst to me, Amazon shoppers swear by an easier solution: Cooks Innovations Oven Protector Mat. This reusable liner fits on the lowest rack, catching drips before they can smoke on your oven floor. And because the popular mat has more than 19,000 five-star ratings, I can’t help but feel that I’m behind the times.

Cooks Innovations Oven Protector Mat

$17 at Amazon

While the liner measures 16.5 x 23 inches, it can be cut down to fit an oven with different dimensions. The brand mentions that it should never touch the heating element, which is why you place it on the lowest rack instead of directly on the floor. Since there’s no installation, it’s easy to slide out if and when it catches errant drips. Simply rinse it clean in the sink or stick it in the dishwasher before placing it back on the rack. Plus, unlike with oven sprays or a self-cleaning oven cycle — dubbed the “portal to hell” by Writer Stacey Ballis — there are no smelly fumes or scary-hot temperatures to deal with.

One Amazon shopper prefers this oven protector mat to aluminum pans, writing that it “cleans like magic.” It’s the best of both worlds because you don’t have to waste money on disposable pans or scrub hard to remove gunk that has baked onto the oven’s interior.

A second reviewer added that it “has really helped” to keep their oven clean from “crusty spill-overs.” They also appreciate how easily it slides off of the rack when it needs rinsing. And a third shopper called it the “best way” to avoid a “long, tedious oven cleaning for the holidays.” They used theirs under a messy ham on Thanksgiving a few years ago, noting that the fat and grease on the liner “slid off immediately” in the sink, but it would have been a “disaster” burned onto the bottom of their oven.

I can see how the Cooks Innovations Oven Protector Mat would be useful during the holidays, but I also know that it would come in handy year-round. After working hard to put together a meal, the last thing I want is for it to go up in flames because of a stray drop of grease.

Shop More Oven Safety Products at Amazon

At the time of publishing, the price was $17.

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