How to use aluminium foil trays
Updated: 23 October 2026
The tray is already on the side, and the foil flexes as soon as you lift one end. How to use aluminium foil trays is mostly that moment: support the full tray, take a card lid off before the heat, and only recycle foil that is empty enough for your council. This page assumes you already own a solid tray. It is not a buying table. The [aluminium trays comparison](/hub/diy-supplies/aluminium-trays) is where the packs are ranked. A qualifying purchase can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you if you follow a product link. Peter F. used the amazon.co.uk listings, the stored review notes, and public UK guidance.
The tray is already on the side, and the foil flexes as soon as you lift one end.
The tray is already on the side, and the foil flexes as soon as you lift one end. How to use aluminium foil trays is mostly that moment: support the full tray, take a card lid off before the heat, and only recycle foil that is empty enough for your council. This page assumes you already own a solid tray. It is not a buying table. The aluminium trays comparison is where the packs are ranked. A qualifying purchase can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you if you follow a product link. Peter F. used the amazon.co.uk listings, the stored review notes, and public UK guidance.
Our top picks
| Badge | Product | Size | Listed upper temperature | Lids | Note | Price | Offer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall |  Caterserve Caterserve Aluminium Foil Trays 32cm x 20cm x 3.3cm (20 Pack) | 32×20×3.3 cm | 215°C | No | 8.0 | about £16.97 | View offer |
 ROVARIO ROVARIO 10 Pack Large Aluminium Foil Trays Deep (3500ml), 32x26x7 | 32×26×7 cm | 260°C | No | 7.5 | about £10.97 | View offer | |
 Zuvo Zuvo Foil Baking Trays 10 Pack, Disposable Aluminium Oven & Roasting Trays | 32×20×3.3 cm | 250°C | No | 6.8 | about £9.49 | View offer |
Best overall
Caterserve Caterserve Aluminium Foil Trays 32cm x 20cm x 3.3cm (20 Pack)8.0/10about £16.97
Rank 3
Zuvo Zuvo Foil Baking Trays 10 Pack, Disposable Aluminium Oven & Roasting Trays6.8/10about £9.49
In a domestic oven
Set a baking sheet or another solid tin on the rack first, then set the foil tray on that sheet. Reviewers of the shallow Caterserve pack, ROVARIO’s deep trays, and Zuvo’s shallow trays describe that support, because a full foil container folds when you pull it out. The rim is thin and the food is hot, so use gloves. Stay inside the temperature the listing actually states. Packs that print a ceiling sit about 200–260°C. If your pack prints no Celsius figure, do not invent one from a different brand. LATERN’s listing prints 660°C. That is not a domestic oven setting.
Do not line the oven floor with foil to catch drips. If foil on the floor has already damaged the cooker, that is an engineer’s job. A torn tray, or a tray that smells chemical, goes back rather than into the oven. Do not keep a very tomato-heavy or very salty sauce in the tray for days after the meal. If you are still choosing depth, the aluminium foil trays buying guide is the page for centimetres.
Lids and the freezer
Take a board, paper, or card lid off before a conventional oven unless that lid is rated for heat. The files for the lidded packs do not describe the lids as oven-safe. Supply Express gives the same instruction: the board lid comes off before the oven. You can freeze the meal in the foil tray. Several listings say freezer safe, and reviewers of the portion packs stack them. Cool the food first, then fit the lid. A lid pressed onto steaming food traps moisture and is the usual reason a seal fails later. Label the lid with the dish and the date. If the lid does not match the rim, it will leak in the freezer bag. Do not borrow a board from a different tray number. An open roasting tray can go in the freezer if you wrap it after cooling. Do not treat a perforated grill tray as a freezer pot.
Testsieger
Caterserve Caterserve Aluminium Foil Trays 32cm x 20cm x 3.3cm (20 Pack)8.0/10about £16.97
Air fryer and microwave
Air fryers do not share one rule. Tower’s UK support, in an article dated August 2026, says foil or a metal tin is allowed if it is heat-rated, does not cover the vents, cannot touch the element, and is held in place by the food. Philips tells owners of listed Airfryer models not to use baking paper or tin foil, because airflow drops and loose foil can reach the element. One Zuvo shallow-tray reviewer said a tray fitted a Ninja one-drawer air fryer. That is one drawer, not a size guarantee. A 32 cm tray will not fit a small round basket.
Do not microwave these trays. Mega Packaging’s note says the pot is not for the microwave. A ROVARIO review title says the same. LATERN’s page both claims and denies microwave use. When a listing contradicts itself, leave the tray out.
After the meal
Scrape the tray. In England, aluminium food trays sit in the metal stream under SI 2024/666. GOV.UK says English collectors must take that metal from households from 31 March 2026 if the item is empty and not heavily contaminated. That date is not permission to recycle burnt-on fat. West Sussex describes a scrunch test for clean foil and says dirty foil does not go in recycling. Bradford Council puts kitchen foil with a lot of baked-on food from a roast or a barbecue in the general waste. Bacofoil says the rinsed aluminium tray can be recycled, and that the combined card-and-foil lid is not yet recycled and goes in general waste.
Common questions
Can the cardboard lid go in the oven?
No, unless that exact lid is rated, which these files do not say. Take paper, board, and card lids off before a conventional oven. Fit them again only after the food has cooled, if you are freezing or storing the meal.
Can I freeze the meal in the same tray?
Yes, when the listing says freezer safe or the reviews describe stacked portions. Cool the food, then lid it, and label that lid with the date. Do not seal a steaming tray, and do not freeze a perforated tray as if the holes would hold liquid.
Can I use it in an air fryer?
Only if your manual allows a metal tin or foil, the piece cannot touch the element or block the vents, and it actually fits the drawer. Tower allows that limited case. Philips advises against foil in listed Airfryer models. One Ninja drawer report is not a rule for every basket.
Can I microwave it?
No. Foil trays in this set are not a microwave container. One listing both claims and denies microwave use, which is a reason to keep the tray out, not a reason to try a short burst. A foil-container note that says the pot is not for the microwave is the line to follow when the bullets disagree.
What do I do with a foil-faced card lid?
Put the combined card-and-foil lid in general waste. Bacofoil’s own line says that lid is not yet recycled, even when the rinsed aluminium tray can go in the metal stream. Do not scrunch the lid into the foil. The base and the lid are different materials, even when they were sold as one pack.
Related pages
Sources
Public UK sources and the amazon.co.uk listings compared on this page. Updated 22.10.2026.
- SI 2012/2619, Materials and Articles in Contact with Food (England) (retrieved 22.10.2026)
- SI 2019/704, retained food-contact law for Great Britain (retrieved 22.10.2026)
- SI 2024/666 Schedule 1 Part 3, metal stream (retrieved 22.10.2026)
- GOV.UK: Simpler recycling in England (retrieved 22.10.2026)
- EFSA 2008: safety of aluminium from dietary intake (retrieved 22.10.2026)
- European Aluminium Foil Association: foil and health (retrieved 22.10.2026)
- West Sussex: aluminium foil and containers (retrieved 22.10.2026)
- Philips: foil in a Philips Airfryer (retrieved 22.10.2026)
- Tower: foil or a metal tin in an air fryer (retrieved 22.10.2026)
- Bacofoil: the easy portion trays (retrieved 22.10.2026)
- Supply Express: foil containers and lid match (retrieved 22.10.2026)