There's something about baking that puts us in a cheery mood, especially around the holidays. The one drag? All of the inevitable cleanup afterward. Luckily, there's a tool worth adding to your arsenal to make baking day *that* much better: a silicone baking mat, made common by Silpat, is designed to sit on top of your standard metal baking sheet. These offer a nonstick surface to facilitate cleanup (i.e.: very little muscle grease will be required to scrape out those hardened bits of cookie dough) while being able to withstand extreme temperatures, both high and low. We searched every corner of the internet for the best silicone baking mat to provide adequate nonstick properties, along with additional helpful features, like pre-measured sections, to help you master the art and science of baking.
The 7 Best Silicone Baking Mats for Faster Kitchen Cleanup
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What Are Silicone Baking Mats Used For?
Silicone baking mats are essentially designed to replace parchment paper. They’re a far more sustainable and eco-friendly option, since they last for a couple thousand uses instead of being tossed away at the end of your baking session, like parchment. As an added bonus, many folks report that silicone baking sheets allow the food to bake more evenly, with a lower chance of overheating and burning. If you’ve got a super old metal baking sheet lying around, it may also be more cost-effective to layer a silicone baking sheet on it than to invest in a whole new metal sheet.
They're also helpful in other ways: The beauty behind silicone baking sheets is that you can easily transfer them from hot to cold temperatures without the chance of them shattering. The rubber-like material is also flexible enough to squeeze into tight fridges and cupboard spaces in a way that metal baking sheets may not allow.
How To Use a Silicone Baking Mat
Silicone baking sheets come in all shapes and sizes, from full sheet pans to jelly rolls with 1-inch liners, so be sure the dimensions line up with that of your metal baking sheet. (While you can put silicone bakeware directly on the oven rack, it's safer not to.) You should also avoid using any sharp objects, like knives or cookie cutters, directly on the silicone, so as to prevent scratching or slicing through the sheet entirely. This is important, as many of these mats are filled with fiberglass weave to promote durability, so you wouldn’t want its particles contaminating your food.
How To Clean a Silicone Baking Mat
If your silicone baking sheet has been accumulating a film of oil or emitting a weird smell, you’re not imagining it. As Food52 explains, silicone molecules expand under heat, which allows the food (and its accompanying smells!) to penetrate the material, leaving behind an odor that’s hard to shake. That’s why you should try to clean off the mat as quickly as possible after use. Most silicone baking sheets are dishwasher-safe, but you can always rinse them in warm soapy water and let them air dry.
Where to Buy a Silicone Baking Mat
Silicone baking sheets are available at most major home goods stores or department stores, like Target, Walmart, Amazon, Sur La Table, Williams Sonoma, Macy’s, Wayfair, Home Depot, OXO, The Container Store, Bed Bath & Beyond and more.
The Best Silicone Baking Mats at a Glance
- Best Overall: Greenrain Large Silicone Baking Mat
- Best for Macarons: Hotpop 4-Piece Silicone Baking Mat Set
- Best for Pizza: Guanci 6-Piece Silicone Baking Mat Set
- Best for Bread: Patelai 2-Piece Silicone Baking Mat Set
- Best for Eclairs: AmazonCommercial 2-Piece Silicone Baking Mat Set
- Most Durable: Silpat Cookie Sheet Baking Mat
- Best Silicone Baking Mat With Rim: Baker Depot Silicone Baking Mat
- Pros: Large size, shows dimension units, durable
- Cons: Need a large cookie sheet
If you’re looking for a silicone baking sheet that ticks off every box, the Greenrain variety is fantastic bet. It measures 16 inches by 24 inches, and has what the company claims is double a regular silicone baking mat's thickness at 0.6 millimeters, making it ideal for whipping up pie crust, cookie dough, fondant and more. Because it’s reinforced with glass weave, it won’t distort as if it were made of silicone alone. Choose between a gold, red or blue mat.
- Pros: Nonstick, circular slots for guidance, multiple sizes
- Cons: Might emit a smell after baking, markings may fade over time
In this set of four, you'll get two half-sized and two quarter-sized silicone baking sheets at 16.5 inches by 11.6 inches and 11.5 inches by 8.5 inches, respectively, which will be ideal for varying volumes of dough. They’re color-coded, so you can easily identify them, and they’re also nonstick, which omits the need for messy and calorie-dense cooking oils and sprays. The mats can withstand temperatures between -40 degrees Fahrenheit and 480 degrees Fahrenheit, so your treats are bound to stay fresh and safe, whether you’re freezing them for later or popping them into the oven. The circular slots provide helpful guidance on where to place your dough (and how much of it to use), too, so your macarons will taste bakery-worthy with each and every bite.
- Pros: Includes storage bands, different types of mats, withstand high heat
- Cons: Too wide for some pans
It’s not delivery, it’s these über-popular silicone baking mats! With multiple shapes and size offerings, these six baking sheets, which are 0.7 millimeters thick, make for the ultimate starter kit for any at-home pizza chef. The 9-inch round mat and large mat, which is imprinted with pizza rings, will help you save on delivery, and you'll also get two large and two small macaron baking mats and three storage bands to help roll them up.
- Pros: Silicone handles, dishwasher-safe, measurement guide
- Cons: May be small for some loaves may be thin for heavier loaves
If you bake your own bread, you’ve officially made it in life. You can make the process that much easier, though with these two silicone baking mats, ideal for use in a Dutch oven or cast-iron pot. They have 6-inch handles that allow you to submerge or extract each circular mat from a hot dish without burning your hands. The circular area itself measures eight inches in diameter and comes complete with helpful measurement guides. The two mats are suitable for use of up to 200 degrees Fahrenheit and are nonstick and dishwasher-safe for easy cleanup.
- Pros: Mesh steam holes, nonstick
- Cons: Dough may get stuck in holes, too wide for some baking pans
Turn your kitchen into a Parisian bistro with these two top-rated silicone baking mats that include 18 éclair templates. The mats, which measure 15.7 inches by 11.8 inches, are suitable for ovens up to 446 Fahrenheit and feature 1 millimeter-wide mesh holes to promote even steam distribution (and thus better-tasting, non-burnt éclairs). They’re also ideal for heating frozen food and baking a variety of goodies like cookies, bread, pizza and more.
- Pros: Ideal for any baking recipe, nonstick
- Cons: Can't be folded, no measurement guides
Silpat is to silicone baking sheets what Band-Aids are to bandages (they’re *that* popular). At 16.5 by 11.6 inches, the silicone baking sheet is designed to fit into any standard-sized half sheet pan. Its food-grade silicone is interwoven with fiberglass weave to promote even cooking, and it’s suitable for temps between -40 and 480 degrees Fahrenheit. Given that the mat is said to last for up to 3,000 uses, this option makes for a far more sustainable alternative to parchment paper.
- Pros: Nonstick, withstands high heat
- Cons: Requires a hot bath before first use
A rim doesn’t just add to the visual appeal of your silicone baking sheet—it actually makes it more functional by preventing dough or fondant from seeping out through the sides onto your counter, or worse, onto the oven rack. Grab this handy silicone baking sheet for your next batch of cookies, jelly rolls and even sushi, and marvel as it releases all dough and dirt from its nonstick surface. It withstands temperatures of up to 446 Fahrenheit, measures 10.6 by 11.8 inches, and is safe for the microwave.
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Marissa Miller is a freelancer with more than 10 years of experience editing and reporting on all things health, beauty, fitness, style and home for publications, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Vogue, Teen Vogue, GQ, CNN Style, Women's Health, Good Housekeeping, Cosmopolitan, USA TODAY and many more. Her first novel, PRETTY WEIRD: Overcoming Impostor Syndrome and Other Oddly Empowering Lessons, was published by Skyhorse Publishing and distributed by Simon & Schuster in May 2021. She's on Twitter at @Marissa__Miller and on Instagram at @marissamiller__ talking about journalism, Lululemon leggings and her two cats Freddie and Hendrix.
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