Surprise: Your Oven Drawer Might Actually Be a Broiler

CNET

20-07-2025

That mysterious drawer under your oven might seem like the perfect place to store baking sheets or those oddly shaped pans you rarely use, but it actually serves a more functional purpose. Depending on the model, that drawer could be a warming compartment designed to keep cooked food hot until it's ready to serve. It's a built-in feature meant to help with timing your meals, especially when you're juggling multiple dishes and trying to get everything on the table at once.
Depending on your oven model, that drawer could be doing more than collecting clutter. In some units, it's a warming drawer meant to keep cooked food hot until you're ready to serve it. In others, it's a broiler drawer -- perfect for charring veggies or crisping up casseroles. And yes, in some cases, it really is just storage. If you've never checked your oven manual (or long since lost it), now's the time to find out what that drawer was actually designed to do.
Now, if you're scratching your head thinking, "Wait, what?" don't worry -- you're not alone. Most of us have never opened the oven manual unless it was to fan a smoke alarm.
But fear not! We're not about to assign homework. No dense instruction manuals here. We're breaking it down for you in plain, delicious terms. Here's how to decode your oven drawer's secret identity and how to use it without accidentally slow-roasting your muffin tins.
Read more: Clever Cleaning Hacks for the Hardest-to-Reach Crevices in Your Kitchen
How to clean your oven with baking soda and vinegar How to clean your oven with baking soda and vinegar
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How to clean your oven with baking soda and vinegar
Oven Drawer FAQ
What is the drawer under an oven called?
Depending on the type of oven you have, the drawer under the oven has different names. If there is a button on your oven labeled "warming drawer", that's what it's called, and can be used to keep food warm once it's done cooking. For Electric ovens, it may just be an actual storage drawer. In many older ovens, that bottom drawer is called a broiler, and can be used to cook or brown food like casseroles.
If you aren't sure which of the three options you're dealing with, the easiest way to check is by looking at the manual for your oven, or looking it up online. Once you know what kind of bottom drawer your oven has, you'll know whether it has a cooking function, or it's just extra storage space.
Does an oven storage drawer get hot?
Broiler drawers are typically found on gas ovens and are very shallow.
Chris Monroe/CNET
The oven storage drawer is located at the bottom of your oven, and if it has a cooking function it can get hot. Is it a little complicated? Yes, but we've got you covered. Since the drawer is located under the main oven, it can easily get quite warm while your oven is in use. However, both broiling functions and warming functions require you to turn them on before anything gets hot.
Even if your oven is currently being used, unless you turn on the broiler, your bottom oven drawer should never get hot. However, you may notice any pans stored down there are a bit warm to the touch, simply because they were close to the heating element when the oven was being used.
What is the bottom drawer of an electric stove for?
A storage drawer is usually much deeper than a warming drawer or broiler.
Chris Monroe/CNET
If there isn't a warming button and the area looks like a deep, empty drawer, then you probably have a storage drawer. As per a recent Reddit discussion, many people are unsure about what to keep in this space. This is a good place to store cast iron pots and pans, because the warmth from your oven will help keep them rust free. Just be sure not to store plastic items in this drawer, because they may become warped due to residual heat.
Likewise, some older ovens have little insulation and may heat your metal cookware when the oven is on. As a precaution, always use oven mitts to remove cookware during or after your oven has been in use.