Sheet pan dinners are the perfect meal. They’re easy to throw together, ready to eat in under an hour, with lots of healthy vegetables. I have a love affair with roasted vegetables as anyone who knows me will attest to. I pretty much roast every vegetable you can think of because they’re just so dang good when they spend time on a sheet pan in my oven. Sort of like a tanning booth for vegetables, right? All nice and toasty brown. We won’t talk about the wrinkles. I especially love roasted broccoli, sweet potatoes, crispy roasted potatoes, and cauliflower, but have you ever tried roasted radishes or whole carrots? Fantabulous! A complete meal on one pan! It only stands to reason that you would want to make an entire meal on your sheet pan by cooking protein with the vegetables. Meat and vegetables are roasted together on the sheet pan making a delicious dinner, all on the same pan. Easy clean up. No messy stove to clean up and only one pan to wash. What’s not to like about that?!
What type of pan to buy
We recommend a rimmed sheet pan, not a cookie sheet. The rim will keep your oven tidy and prevent juices from running off your pan. The best size for all the recipes below is a half sheet pan, which is about 18 x 13 inches. Once you start dipping your toes into cooking with a sheet pan, you may want to try some different sizes, but this is the size I use most when cooking for my family of four.
About these sheet pan meals
I’ve collected more than twenty sheet pan meal recipes that I think you’ll agree are out of the ballpark home run hits. You’ll find recipes with chicken breasts or thighs, salmon, turkey sausage, even mini meatloaves. I’ve also included a couple of vegetarian sheet pan dinners that are simply scrumptious. Do you like fajitas? Check out sheet pan fajitas: everything you need for delicious fajitas, bell peppers, onions, chicken, seasoned perfectly and baked on a sheet pan. It doesn’t get much easier than that. We also have shrimp sheet pan fajitas on the list! If fajitas aren’t your thing, try vegetarian cauliflower nachos (we love these!) or sheet pan tostadas with a perfectly cooked egg, all done in the oven. Make a special dinner. Maybe you have guests coming over and you want to show off a little. Hasselback chicken stuffed with spinach, artichokes, and three kinds of cheese is bound to impress. Or maybe you’d prefer apple and Gouda stuffed chicken breasts with smoky roasted sweet potatoes. Oh, so yummy! Salmon lovers, sheet pan dinners are for you! Roasting salmon is a fail proof method that you’ll want to try for sure. Check out the recipe for walnut crusted salmon with sweet potatoes, Brussels sprouts, apple and shallots. Yup, all roasted in one sheet pan. You’ll also love the salmon and asparagus sheet pan dinner with baby potatoes and lemon. Even a sheet pan Thanksgiving dinner! Sounds kind of crazy, but try this roasted turkey breast, stuffing, potatoes, and asparagus roasted on one sheet pan — your entire Thanksgiving dinner on one pan! You can make the recipe with a whole chicken, too, if you prefer.
Healthy Sheet Pan Dinners
