I Cleaned My Gunky Baking Dish with This Pantry Staple, and It Took Zero Effort (Not Baking Soda!)

As a family of seven, our kitchen gets more use than you can even imagine. Honestly, when we’re all at home, it’s rare that someone isn’t in the kitchen. In addition to the general scrounging for snacks and hanging out that happens in our kitchen, several members of the family cook, which is (mostly) great. I’ve always encouraged my kids to help me and supported them when they feel ready to make something on their own.

However, this independent cooking does come with a fair amount of extra cleaning up. Of course, I remind them to clean up after themselves, that it’s an unavoidable and necessary part of cooking, etc., but whether it’s some errant flour scattered across the countertop or a pot that’s still a bit greasy, there’s usually a little something that Mom (*raises hand*) has to clean up, too. This weekend was the perfect example.

My sweet 13-year-old middle son, who is the most prolific kid cook in the family, has been particularly obsessed with making homemade mac and cheese lately. A few weeks ago, he even made fried mac and cheese balls! And when his cousins visited over Thanksgiving and made their favorite family mac and cheese recipe, he loved it so much, he wanted to make his own giant batch of it.

As I said, I’m all for it. So even though there was an inexplicable number of pots and pans used, I got in there and cheered him on. I even suggested maybe he add his own twist to the recipe and bake the mac and cheese. He got out a casserole dish and layered it with the mac and cheese, extra shredded cheddar, and a sprinkle of paprika for color. It came out of the oven bubbly hot and the whole family oohed and ahhhed.

The method involves using white vinegar and cornstarch to clean a messy casserole dish. It makes sense; vinegar cuts through grease, and cornstarch is an effective yet gentle abrasive (it’s also the secret ingredient in my favorite DIY glass cleaning spray!). Honestly, I wanted to know if I had something reliable I could use, made from ingredients I always have in the pantry, for when I run out of Bar Keepers Friend and haven’t restocked yet (because that’s happened and I’ve felt a little helpless!).

All I had to do was add 1 teaspoon of cornstarch to equal parts vinegar and water, then scrub with a wet nylon or mesh scrubber. I admit I was skeptical — how could a simple paste made of this baking staple tackle such a stuck-on mess? But even though I didn’t have the specific scrubber recommended (I swear by these non-scratch scouring pads!), the method worked like a charm. It took next to no effort and got even the gunkiest, most burnt tidbits off in no time.

Although I’m a huge fan of products specially formulated for specific cleaning tasks, I love a good DIY cleaner, too, especially when I’m in a pinch — or if it works on a handful of items or surfaces. Adding this new-to-me cleaning paste is an unexpected win, one I’ll be sure to pass along to my children who love to cook.