I like to call sheet pans the “unsung hero” of the kitchen. The pans are easy to store, relatively inexpensive, virtually unbreakable, and cooks of any skill level can use them with ease. Cooking sheet pan meals is easy. Most recipes involving sheet pans simply require throwing a protein and some vegetables on a flat pan, tossing in a little olive oil and a sprinkle of salt, and then placing the pan in the oven to do its thang. The dry heat of the oven combined with the wide flat plane of the pan creates caramelization that gives even the humblest of ingredients big flavor.
But here’s a secret: you can do even more with a sheet pan than straight up roasting. Ever eat sheet pan soup? Seared sheet pan steak? Paella? You can cook all of these recipes – and more!- using just a sheet pan.
I’m going to share with you some of my favorite ways to cook meals using the humble sheet pan that doesn’t require tossing something in oil and roasting it brown. These are the recipes that’ll have your family saying, “Wait, you cooked this on a sheet pan?”
Soups and Stews
To look at a sheet pan, you might not think it’s the perfect conduit for big, flavorful soups and stews, but think again: using a sheet pan can bring huge flavor to your favorite soup or slow roasted stew.
To easily add rich, roasty, caramelized flavor to your soup- roast the vegetables and proteins first! Vegetables like carrots, garlic, and onions are rockstars when roasted in the oven before being added to a soup pot. Chicken and beef bones bring richness after being caramelized in a hot oven.
I’ll also use a sheet pan to make recipes that typically require a long simmer in a pot- just by wrapping the sheet pan in foil. The foil traps the heat inside the pan, and the wide expanse cooks the food a little faster. Re-think slow roasted dishes like Chicken Paprikash and Osso Bucco by placing the ingredients on a sheet pan and wrapping it in foil.
Related Post: Here’s What You Need to Know About Batch Cooking Sheet Pan Meals
Rice-Based
Yes, it’s true- you can cook rice on a sheet pan! It works the same way as slow roasting sheet pan osso bucco; just add water, wrap the pan tightly with foil, and let the steam buildup cook the grains of rice to doneness.
Seared
Ever watch an order of fajitas go sizzling through a restaurant dining room? That sizzle comes courtesy of a hot pan, and the same searing technique can also happen with a sheet pan placed in an oven that’s hot, hot, hot!
Pour an oil with a high smoke point, like avocado or safflower, on a sheet pan. Place the pan in a hot oven -I like to go as high as 500*F, but this depends on how hot your oven is calibrated, so be watchful. Once the pan has heated enough that the oil starts to shimmer, carefully remove it from the oven and use it to quickly sear flank steak, drained tofu, chicken thighs, or other types of protein. Then, turn the oven down, add the remaining ingredients for your sheet pan meal, and place the pan back in the oven to finish cooking.
Build Layers
Another fun way to get creative with your sheet pan cooking is to build layers. I’ll place some ingredients, like breaded chicken, on a wire rack to let air move underneath, getting all sides of the chicken crispy. Or, I’ll wrap garlic drizzled with oil in foil, and roast it alongside carrots and toss both together for a nutty, sweet flavor combo.
I’ll even use other vegetables to layer to get different textures and flavors. Roast chickpeas til they start to turn toasty brown, then top with a mixture of stewed tomatoes and harissa and break eggs on top for a chickpea shakshuka.
Layering on a pan means you can cook different ingredients for different lengths of time, or use different levels of moisture and seasoning to pull flavors that go beyond caramelization.
Once you start looking at the sheet pan as a vehicle for meals that aren’t plain roasted, you’ll be amazed at what you can accomplish!
Ruthy Kirwan is a recipe tester, developer, and cooking instructor living in New York City.
In 2016, Ruthy created the website ‘Percolate Kitchen’ to be a digital kitchen resource for busy people. Sharing simple and quick recipes, how-to’s and guides, and meal prep for the everday family, she has built a loyal following of busy parents who want calmer weeknights. Her weekly newsletter is full of actionable tips, recipes, foodie links from around the web, kitchen ‘hacks’ and more.
You can find out more at percolatekitchen.com
