We baked 350 cookies to find the very best baking trays on the market

Score: 87/100

Five batches of cookies and a round of frozen nuggets and chips all released perfectly from this lightweight tray. In fact, one of our panellists described it as a “very sturdy tray that really excelled in the non-stick department”. Some at-home users noticed slightly increased sticking after a few uses, but the food still only required a gentle wiggle to free.

Our testers liked the wide lip around all four sides, which makes the tray easy to grip and manoeuvre. Just note: it’s not dishwasher safe, and can only withstand heat of up to 220°C – so if you're cooking at hot temperatures (e.g. when heating fat for roast potatoes), take care not to crank the oven to max. Overall, it’s a great value option that punches well above its price point – especially when it’s on discount.

Score: 85/100

This budget baking tray from Dunelm impressed us with its non-stick coating – a baked-on egg even lifted with minimal effort. It scored full marks for evenly baking cookies and cleanup was a breeze. Plus, we love that the dimensions are embossed on one of the handles – great for when you’re baking things like brownies.

When used long-term, our at-home panel found that the coating discoloured a little over time. We also noticed some scrapes appearing after five dishwasher cycles, as well as a little rust forming on the rolled edges. But at this price – and with a 10-year guarantee to boot – you can’t go far wrong.

Score: 84/100

Weighing in at nearly a kilo, this tray felt impressively durable and solid to our panellists and in-house experts. Its weight can make it a little awkward to handle when full, especially as it lacks proper handles, but performance was strong overall. Heat distribution was excellent, with five batches of cookies emerging evenly browned.

The non-stick coating released most foods cleanly; it was just the egg which suffered slightly. Although the tray is labelled dishwasher safe, we noticed small scrapes, chips and some rusting after the third cycle – stick to hand washing though, and this shouldn’t be an issue.

Score: 83/100

In a freckled midnight blue, Russell Hobbs’ Nightfall range stands out from your typical all-black trays while being sturdily built, too. “It has a heavy, quality feel with nice rounded edges,” noted one panellist. The slightly recessed handles provide a good grip – though we did notice that water tends to collect under the lip, resulting in some slight rusting.

This baking tray is a little more high-maintenance than others, requiring light greasing before use, hand washing, and non-metal utensils. It’s also only oven safe up to 220°C. But with a little extra TLC, it proved a very strong performer: even heating, great non-stick properties and easy to clean every time.

Score: 82/100

Breaking up the run of non-stick options comes this Pyrex tray, made from borosilicate glass. We found it exceptionally durable, emerging good as new after each cook and five dishwasher cycles. Although cookies stuck to it a little more than on the non-stick trays, our at-home panellists still found it “incredibly easy to clean”, with residue lifting after a few seconds under a hot tap.

Testers said they’d prefer deeper sides to catch juices as well as better handles, as the glass can feel slippery. It was also the heaviest tray we tested at 1.3 kilograms. Overall, though, it’s an excellent choice – particularly if you want to avoid non-stick coatings.

Score: 81/100

We never thought we’d call a baking tray chic, but this one by Joseph Joseph makes a refreshing change from boring black – especially in the nesting set of three different blues. This tray also stands out for its ergonomic handles, which our panellists noted were “super easy to grab and manoeuvre from any angle”.

Heat distribution was excellent, evenly cooking our test cookies and frozen food. Non-stick performance was also strong, releasing most food with ease. However, both our in-house testers and at-home panel noted that the tray discoloured after a few uses, gaining some darkened patches – which might explain why colourful baking trays are a rare sight...

Score: 81/100

The non-stick coating on this Lakeland tray impressed our testers – only eggs caught slightly, and most residue wiped away effortlessly with warm water and soap. Heat distribution was good too, baking evenly browned batches of cookies, and the dual handles help with grip.

This baking tray doesn't have rolled edges, which means there are no water traps for rust to form under the rim. On the downside, this makes the tray less rigid – and one of our at-home panellists observed some slight warping after multiple uses. Handwash-only care may be a drawback too, but for the price, it’s a solid, good-value choice.

Score: 80/100

"The ridges make THE BEST roast potatoes," enthused one of our at-home testers after using this large baking tray for a month. We found Circulon’s non-stick coating certainly lived up to its claims, releasing most of our test dishes (except an egg) with ease, and the tray distributed heat evenly.

On the downside, we found the ridged design difficult to wash by hand, as it had a tendency to trap grease and food residue. Using a dishwasher would be the far easier option, and this tray withstood five dishwasher cycles well – we saw just a little rusting under the rolled edge, but no other wear and tear. Plus, it comes with a lifetime guarantee for extra peace of mind.

Score: 77/100

This twin pack includes two large carbon steel trays that have extra-wide handles, which testers found reassuringly stable when loaded. In the lab, they delivered evenly browned cookies, crisp chips and golden nuggets, with most food releasing well from the bubble-texture non-stick surface. They’re also dishwasher safe, which is a big help on busy weeknights.

Our at-home testers did uncover some durability niggles when using the trays longer-term – one panellist reported slight warping and saw minor chipping in the corners. We also observed rust around the rolled lip after repeated dishwasher cycles. But for the price, these trays put in a surprisingly solid performance. Just make sure your oven can accommodate the 44 cm width!

Score: 75/100

At less than £3 per tray (at the time of writing), we weren’t expecting much from this three-piece pack from ASDA. And while it couldn’t match the performance of the more premium models, we were pleasantly surprised with how well they held up to our tests. Five rounds of cookies baked evenly and lifted cleanly, and nuggets and chips were uniformly browned.

Initially, our at-home panel were really impressed with the trays, praising their non-stick performance and easy cleaning. However, after around 30 uses, they noticed certain foods started to stick – and the textured surface made for difficult cleaning. They never warped though, and things like frozen chips and roasted veg still released easily. Overall, a surprisingly good budget pick.