14 Best Sheet Pan Chicken Recipes for an Easy Dinner Tonight (2024)

FAQs

What is the basic of sheet pan dinners? ›

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.

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.

If you are cooking chicken breasts or thighs on a baking sheet, you can flip them halfway through the cooking time to ensure they cook evenly on both sides and get a nice golden brown on the surface.

I'll accept that argument for delicate cookies—parchment paper is a necessary precaution there. But for everything else, a little oil on the sheet pan should be enough. Plus, the more you use your sheet-pan unlined, the more seasoned it will get, making it more and more naturally nonstick.

Aluminum foil is safe to put in the oven, making it great for lining baking sheets. But it's not recommended to use foil to line the bottom of the oven to catch spills and drips because it can melt in high heat and damage the oven.

Without preheating the baking sheet, ingredients that contain a lot of moisture will essentially start to steam in their own juices before they roast, softening and never quite developing that crispy exterior you want.

Aluminum foil and parchment paper are your friends.

Line the pan with either foil or parchment before cooking to help make clean-up easy! Remember: If you're broiling, do not use parchment paper, which can catch fire. Go with the foil, and mist it with cooking spray to prevent food from sticking.

Just throw some chopped veggies and meat on a sheet pan, toss with oil and seasoning… voila? Well, done right, yes, sheet pan cooking can make your dinner prep so much easier.

Can I use a cookie sheet instead of a sheet pan? ›

Yes, but I would recommend turning the pan upside-down, and baking the cookies on the bottom of the pan, instead of inside the pan. The reason cookie sheets don't have sides is so that heat can circulate more evenly around the cookies as they bake.

First, try to avoid placing cold pans in a hot oven. If you need to chill balls of cookie dough, do this on a plate instead of sticking your sheet pan in the fridge before baking. You can also place an empty sheet pan in the oven as it preheats — a great trick for getting roasted veggies extra crisp.

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.

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.

Larger Baking Sheets can be used to bake any savory dishes you can think of, such as roasted, baked chicken, and one-pan sheet meals. On the other hand, smaller-sized Baking Sheets are ideal for baking sweet treats, such as sheet cakes, brownies, and cookies.

A go-to for baking cookies and cakes, sheet pans also can be used for making breads and pastries, roasting vegetables and preparing full meals. Although they often are referred to as baking sheets, cookie sheets differ in their shape and style.

Quarter sheet pans are typically 9 by 13 inches (a standard size for sheet cakes), half sheet pans are 18 by 13 inches (this is the size of most pans described simply as baking sheets) and full sheet pans are 26 by 18 inches (too big to fit in many home ovens, but the standard commercial size).