The Easiest, Most Effective Way to Clean Your Ceramic Casserole Dish

Casserole season is officially, undeniably here — and with it comes all manner of cozy, creamy, cheesy baked dishes that taste delicious and make your home smell amazing. The only downside is that all that saucy, cheesy goodness can turn into a crusty, cruddy mess that’s a major pain to clean.

Your best defense is a strong offense: Get that dish soaking in soapy water as soon as you can and scrub away any food before it gets really stuck on. But, of course, that’s not always possible. Sometimes, you’re using that casserole dish to serve dinner or store leftovers, for example. Other times, it’s Thanksgiving and you’re tired. And that’s OK.

We tested out five different techniques to clean the cheesiest, crustiest messes and found one super-easy, super-effective method: It involves our good cleaning friend, Bar Keepers Friend. Here’s what you do.

Rinse your casserole dish with water, then sprinkle powdered Bar Keepers Friend lightly across the bottom of the dish. Let sit for 30 seconds, then scrub the dish with a damp sponge and rinse. Wash and repeat if needed.  

This process may take a bit of elbow grease, but after scrubbing with a sponge for a couple of minutes, every single bit of baked-on creamy chicken and mushroom soup came off. Even the really burned-on parts disappeared.

P.S.: If you don’t have Bar Keepers Friend on hand, our runner-up method takes a bit longer, but is worth giving a try. Sprinkle baking soda over the bottom of the casserole dish, then add a few squeezes of dish soap. Fill the casserole dish with hot water, and let everything sit for 15 minutes. Use a spatula to scrape off the remaining food. Repeat as needed. 

Buy: Bar Keepers Friend, $8.95 (originally $14.99)