Many home cooks assume the drawer under the oven is just extra storage — a convenient spot for baking trays, pans, or foil. It certainly looks like the perfect place to stash cookware, but that’s not what it was designed for. The true purpose of this compartment might surprise you — and using it the wrong way could even be unsafe.

That lower drawer is actually a warming drawer, meant to keep prepared food at a consistent, gentle temperature until it’s time to serve. It helps prevent dishes from getting cold or drying out — ideal for big dinners or holidays when several courses need to stay warm at once. Rather than reheating food or rushing to serve everything at the same time, you can simply tuck finished dishes inside and keep them fresh until guests are ready to eat.

What many people don’t realize is that storing pots, pans, or other items inside while the warming feature is on can be risky. The compartment can reach high temperatures, potentially heating metal cookware or damaging anything made of plastic or paper. If left unattended, that heat could even become a fire hazard. The safest approach is to clear the drawer before using it — and treat it as the food-warming tool it was always meant to be.

Once you start using this feature properly, it can become one of your kitchen’s most useful secrets. Bakers use it to proof dough, as its steady warmth helps yeast rise evenly. It’s also perfect for gently drying herbs or keeping pastries crisp before serving. That “extra” drawer under your oven isn’t just hidden space — it’s a built-in helper designed to make cooking and entertaining easier, safer, and far more efficient.