Are parchment paper and wax paper the same?

Wax paper vs. parchment paper

The main difference between parchment and wax paper is the material used to make them. Wax paper has a wax coating, which means it can only be used at room temperature or for storage in your fridge or freezer. Parchment paper doesn’t have this coating and is heat resistant, so it can be used in your oven.

The table below provides an overview of wax paper vs. parchment paper so you can determine which is best for your cooking, baking or meal preparation needs. Always check the product label to ensure details as they may vary by brand.

What is parchment paper?

Parchment paper is a food-safe paper, coated with an ultra-thin layer of silicone. The silicone coating makes it not only nonstick, but also heat resistant. Parchment paper can be brown or white depending on if it has been bleached, and it often comes in rolls, flat squares or circular sheets.

Best uses for parchment paper

You can use parchment paper for a variety of tasks in the kitchen, including:

• Liner for baking pans

• Liner for roasting vegetables

• Liner for sheet pan dinners

• Wrapping around fish to steam it in the oven

• A platform for sifting dry ingredients

• Lining counters as you prepare a meal

What is wax paper?

Wax paper is a food-safe tissue paper that is coated with paraffin wax. It is nonstick and moisture resistant, but it is not typically oven-safe. Wax paper most often comes in a roll, but can also be found in flat sheets. Wax paper is generally able to be used in the microwave, usually to cover items that might splatter while they’re being briefly reheated, but shouldn’t be left in the microwave for prolonged cooking sessions at high temperatures.

Best uses for wax paper

Even though it can’t withstand high temperatures, wax paper can be a handy supply to have in your kitchen. You can use it for: 

• Lining counters to prepare meals or baked goods

• Placing between food items to store them so they do not stick

• Lining pans for no-bake items such as fudge

• A surface for rolling out pie crusts

• A surface for kneading bread dough

• Covering food that you’re briefly cooking in the microwave

• A place to spread out confections to cool

• Wrapping sandwiches

• Wrapping items to store in the freezer

Should you use parchment paper or wax paper for baking?

A general rule is that wax paper is good for cold food items while parchment paper is best for hot items. Although it is okay to use wax paper to line a cake pan where it won’t be exposed to the heat, but rather completely under the moist batter, it is typically recommended to only use parchment paper when heat is involved.

You may want to use wax paper when you are preparing for baking, though. It can help keep your countertops clean when placed on top of them as you knead dough or roll out a pie crust. You can even use wax paper to sift dry ingredients or to help you put unused ingredients back into their original container.

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Should you use wax paper or parchment paper for freezing?

The lining of wax on wax paper makes it the better choice for cold storage such as wrapping food for the refrigerator or freezer. It is also moisture resistant, which is another perk of using it for food storage. If you’re organizing your freezer with make-ahead meals or stocking up and freezing meat, wax paper may be the better choice.

Parchment paper might not work as well as wax paper for freezing because it does not have a coating and may not lock in moisture as well to help keep food fresh.

Parchment paper vs. wax paper for food prep

Wax paper is great for foods that may stick together and its moisture resistance makes it a useful choice for meal prep. Parchment paper can be used for meal prep as well, but because it typically costs a bit more, if you are going to use a large amount, you might want to stick to wax paper.

Wax paper can be used for lining countertops as you prepare meals or for placing between foods that you are going to store in the refrigerator or freezer in cold storage containers.

Cost of wax paper vs. parchment paper

Parchment paper is often more expensive than wax paper and is a bit more versatile with its ability to be used in the oven. For tasks that don’t require high heat, wax paper is often the more cost-effective option, especially if you are going to be rolling it out over your countertops or otherwise using a lot of it at once.

Are parchment paper or wax paper reusable?

Parchment paper and wax paper are reusable. They can be reused as long as they have no odors and are still intact and clean. You can even clean wax and parchment paper by wiping food crumbs off and then reuse them. 

Once your parchment paper starts to darken, it should be discarded. Because parchment paper and wax paper cannot be recycled or composted, the ability to reuse them is even more important.

What are alternatives to wax paper or parchment paper?

If you are using parchment or wax paper to prevent sticking, nonstick cooking spray can work similarly. Aluminum foil can often be used as an alternative for parchment paper when cooking or baking in the oven. 

However, most foil is not nonstick, so don’t forget to lightly grease it. Silicone baking mats and molds are also a popular alternative to parchment and wax paper.

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