How To Clean a Burnt Pot and Make it Like New
Cleaning burnt-pot-cleaning

Making a Burnt Pot as Good as New

Just because the pot is burnt on the bottom doesn't mean it'll be that way forever.

January 20, 2025 at 4:40 PM PST
Cleaning burnt-pot-cleaning

Making a Burnt Pot as Good as New

Just because the pot is burnt on the bottom doesn't mean it'll be that way forever.

January 20, 2025 at 4:40 PM PST

You had big ideas when you started that round-to-it meal. This was your chance to create the perfect mind-diet recipe. But now that you’re halfway through the meal, the dog is barking and you’ve woken up a neighbor because of the smoke alarm going off, this whole idea seems like a bust. Only it doesn’t have to. If you can salvage even the top-half of the meal you cooked, that’s better than nothing (and avoids food waste). But now you need to figure out how to clean a burnt pot so you don’t have to throw it in the dumpster. Sometimes all it takes is soaking it in dishwashing liquid and enough water to cover the burnt area. Other times the cleaning process takes a bit more time.

Skip the Expensive Cleaning Brands With Toxins

You don’t have to buy every single kitchen cleaner on a retail shelf in order to clean a burnt pot, and you should avoid abrasive scrubbers altogether because they usually ruin pots. Most of the cleaning ingredients you’ll need are probably in your pantry or refrigerator already. This includes baking soda, vinegar, salt and lemons. Depending on how advanced your seasoning rack is, you may even have cream of tartar.

Powders in glass jars
Anna Tarazevich

Baking Soda and Water Cleaning Method

After the pot is already filled with enough water to cover the burnt area, add two tablespoons of baking soda. Then, boil the water. Once it’s bubbling, let the water simmer for up to 15 minutes more. Turn the stove off. When the water is cool, use a non-abrasive scrubber to remove burnt residue. Then, wash and rinse per usual.

Vinegar and Baking Soda Cleaning Method

Similar to the baking soda method, start off with a pot of water covering the burnt area. Then, add one cup of white vinegar. Let the water boil, then turn it down to simmer for up to 15 minutes. Turn the stove off, and let the pot cool. Once it’s cool, sprinkle enough baking soda into the pot to make it fizz. Scrub the burnt area away, and wash and rinse per usual.

Knife slices through lemon
John Vid

Salt and Lemon Cleaning Method

Sprinkle coarse salt over the burnt area. Then, with one-half of a lemon, scrub the salt into the burnt areas. Let the salt and lemon mixture sit for up to 15 minutes. Then, rinse the pot and scrub the area as needed. When you’re done scrubbing, wash and rinse the pot per usual.

Cream of Tartar Cleaning Method

This ingredient does more than just prevent sugar in your snickerdoodle cookies from crystallizing. It can also be a good cleaning option. Just add a few tablespoons of cream of tartar to a pot of water. Let the water boil and then simmer for up to 15 minutes. When the pot is cool to the touch, scrub away the burnt residue. Then, wash and rinse per usual.

Scrubbing Method

Some pots and pans can survive steel wool scrubbers. The problem is it’s rarely necessary to have scrubbers that are this tough. Simply loosening up the burnt residue does the majority of the job. And abrasive scrubbers are not recommended for cast iron skillets or stainless steel pots altogether.

With a little bit of patience and some elbow grease, that burnt meal doesn’t have to be the end of your pot. Wait it out. Try any of the options above. If one doesn’t work well, that doesn’t mean the next one is a bust too. If all goes well, your pot should be clean again to use for another round.



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