What the Bottom Drawer of Your Oven Is For

Ovens can vary quite a bit from home to home. You can have a gas oven, an electric oven, a convection oven, a double oven—the list goes on and on. Maybe you even have a vintage stove with a number of unique features. Most standard ovens, however, share one common feature: that drawer on the bottom.

While the drawer (or bottom compartment) itself is pretty commonplace, its purpose can vary. Here’s what you need to know about that bottom drawer on your oven and what it’s actually supposed to be used for.

What Is the Bottom Drawer of an Oven For?

Though the bottom of your oven may look generally the same as the bottom of your neighbor’s oven, it could have an entirely different function. And, if you use your oven’s bottom drawer wrong, it could lead to some kitchen disasters, and potentially, a fire. So, here are the three most common purposes for the bottom oven drawer.

Storage

Some drawers are just that, drawers. If the bottom compartment on your oven looks just like a deep, metal drawer, with no racks or heating components in sight, then it’s probably intended just for storage. However, you should still be thoughtful about what you store here.

While this drawer isn’t intended for heating purposes, it can still get warm from the oven’s heat, so don’t store anything plastic that could potentially get warped or anything flammable. Instead, you can use this drawer to store baking sheets, muffin pans, or any pots and pans (as long as they don’t have any handles or components that aren’t heat-safe).

Warming

On some ovens, the bottom compartment is for warming dishes after they’ve been cooked. This can be especially helpful if you’re cooking lots of food for a large gathering or holiday—that casserole or side dish can stay fresh and warm while you finish cooking the main dish in the oven.

If your oven’s bottom drawer is a warming drawer, you should be able to find a button or a dial on your oven that’s labeled “Warming” or “Warming Drawer.” You can also look up your appliance details to confirm the purpose of your bottom drawer and find out its recommended uses.

Broiling

A step up from warming, broiling is another common function of the bottom drawer of an oven. Broiler drawers are especially common on gas ovens, and will typically look more narrow than warming or storage drawers. The broiling function is typically used to finish a dish, quickly toasting or browning foods. (It’s especially great for getting that crispy, browned look on top of cheesy dishes.)

Sometimes, you might have a broiler option in the main part of your oven, while the bottom compartment is for warming or storage, so be sure to double-check where the broiling function is before you turn it on.