10 Sheet Pan Recipes That Make Dinners a Breeze (2024)

FAQs

How do you make a sheet pan for dinner? ›

A sheet pan takes the concept of a one-pot meal and flips it onto a pan. It saves time, makes clean-up easier, and doesn't require expensive equipment or fancy ingredients. Just start with your protein of choice, then add vegetables, fat and flavorings, and roast at high heat until everything is golden brown.

The right baking sheet to use for sheet pan dinners is called a half-sheet pan. It's made of heavy-gauge metal, measures 18 by 13 inches, and has a 1-inch rim all the way around. It's sturdy enough to take high oven heat — and sometimes broiler heat if your recipe calls for it.

Mostly because there are countless ways to create meals using a sheet pan, but also because there's only a bit of hands-on time and only a few dishes to clean. These Sheet-Pan Chicken Fajita Bowls are my favorite for serving a crowd, but I also make them for myself to have for lunch during the week.

We recommend foil over parchment paper for sheet pan cooking. As it conducts heat, foil can help accelerate the cooking process and help browning.

A sheet pan, also referred to as baking tray, baking sheet, or baking pan, is a flat, rectangular metal pan placed in an oven and used for baking pastries such as bread rolls, cookies, sheet cakes, Swiss rolls, and pizzas. A baker places a hot sheet pan full of bread rolls onto a cooling rack.

Temperatures range from 375-400°F for sheet pan meals. Depending on the vegetables and protein you've chosen, it may take anywhere from 35-45 minutes to cook thoroughly. Remember if you've chosen something you know will overcook in that period, you want to add it in later on in the cooking time.

Baking Sheet. Although cookie sheets are often referred to as "baking sheets," there are differences between a cookie sheet and a baking sheet (also known as a baking sheet pan or simply a sheet pan): Baking sheet pans have rolled edges with a lip around the entire pan, whereas cookie sheets do not.

A typical meal might include chicken thighs crisping on one foil-lined quarter-sheet tray while chunks of kabocha squash roast on another. Or maybe you'll peek into the oven to find skin-on salmon fillets blistering under the broiler along with a batch of roast carrots.

Why is the Nordic Ware Naturals Aluminum Half-Sheet our pick for best sheet pan? Our crowd-favorite baking sheet is made with pure light-colored uncoated aluminum, which conducts heat more efficiently and uniformly than aluminized steel (aluminum-coated steel) or stainless steel.

Lining the pan

Cleanup is a breeze when you line the baking sheet with parchment paper or foil.

Can you bake on a sheet pan? ›

Whether you're looking for big-batch recipes that can feed a crowd or something akin to a one-pot meal that makes cleanup easier, there's no better piece of cookware to reach for than your trust baking sheet. Breakfast, lunch, dinner and even dessert—just about any recipe can be turned into a no-fuss tray bake.

Sheet pans are most prone to buckle due to the uneven expansion of the surfaces of the pan. Most sheet pans have turned-up continuous edges all around, so you have multiple surfaces, all expanding in the heat, with the greater the length the greater the amount of expansion.

For less caramelization (and easier clean-up), stick with foil, a nonstick baking mat, or—for palest results—parchment paper. All 3 liners serve as a barrier between the heat-conducting baking sheet and your food.

Here, you'll assemble dinner components in reusable containers or zip-top bags so during the week all you need to do is dump everything on sheet pan, maybe toss with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper, and then bake. You'll also be ready to tackle the week with simple, ready-to-eat breakfast and lunch options.

If you're looking for alternatives to using aluminum foil on baking sheets, consider parchment paper. It is non-reflective and won't scratch non-stick surfaces. Before using parchment paper, it is important to review the manufacturer's recommendation for max parchment bake temperatures.

The main difference comes down to the rim. Sheet pans and jelly roll pans have a tall rim that's typically around an inch high. Baking sheets and cookie sheets typically have either no rim or one slightly raised grabbing edge.

Baking pans, also known as sheet pans and jelly roll pans, have a flat surface with a one-inch high edge around the sides of the entire pan. With these raised edges, baking a loose batter (like Texas Sheet Cake) or softer dough makes this a clean and practical choice for baking.

If you need to cook in less quantity and have a longer time to cook, you may use a high-quality baking dish instead of a baking pan for some recipes. However, you may use a Leche Flan Llanera or an empty food can, or even create one out of aluminum foil altogether if you don't have a baking pan.