Sheet pan meals are the latest trend in cooking. With today’s busy lifestyle, simplicity and speed are top priorities. A sheet pan dinner makes life easy; all the elements of the meal are cooked together, leaving just one pan to clean afterward.
There are no rules, but some basic tips will help make your sheet pan meals successful.
- Choose your meat well. Avoid the big cuts that require braising or long roasting times. Bone-in chicken legs or breasts are good bets, as are pork chops, loins, tenderloins, flank steak, tenderloin, rack of lamb or lamb chops, and of course, fish (whole or fileted). We like small birds like quail, poussin, and charcuterie such as duck confit, sausage, or ham, in sheet pan dinners.
- Use plenty of oil or duck fat. Don’t let your sheet pan meal dry out. Toss vegetables with fat in a bowl before laying on the pan, so they are evenly coated.
- Cut vegetables into uniform sizes. Be sure to cut everything into similar sizes so they cook evenly.
- Think strategically. While it is simple, a sheet pan meal requires staging, as most ingredients will cook at different rates. Stagger them, starting with root vegetables, like potatoes, carrots or even squash. Add more delicate vegetables like broccoli, mushrooms, spinach, or asparagus, later in the process. Take care not to overcook – or under-cook – the meat. This will require taking the pan in and out of the oven to add ingredients, but remember the payoff: a lovely, roasted meal and only one sheet pan to clean. Add herbs or nuts last, and cook for only a few minutes.
- Finish under broiler at the end. Just a few minutes under the blazing broiler will give everything a golden, crispy finish.
Here are 5 sheet pan recipes that are sure to satisfy your craving for real, home-cooked food, and the need for convenience and simplicity.
Sheet Pan Duck Confit with Roasted Green Beans & Fingerlings
YIELD: SERVES 4 | COOK TIME: ABOUT 45 MINUTES
Our best-selling ready-to-heat duck confit is a natural for sheet-pan cooking. Paired with lemony, roasted green beans (topped with almonds) and crispy duck fat potatoes, it makes an embarrassingly easy dinner. Throw it all on a sheet pan, and dinner is ready in 45 minutes.
Sheet Pan Lamb Chops & Ratatouille
YIELD: SERVES 2-4 | COOK TIME: 50 MINUTES
Perfect to elevate a weeknight meal, these one sheet pan lamb chops with ratatouille come together quickly and easily, with minimal clean up.
Sheet Pan Pork Tenderloin with Apples, Onions, & Spiced Sweet Potatoes
YIELD: SERVES 3-4 | COOK TIME: ABOUT 1 HOUR
Here’s an easy recipe for juicy pork tenderloin with roasted apples, sweet onions, and fluffy yams with spiced butter. It takes less than an hour to prepare, making it a great weeknight dinner. A perfect autumn meal.
Sheet Pan Roast Poussin with Mushrooms & Miso Butter
YIELD: SERVES 2 | COOK TIME: ABOUT 1 HOUR
Umami-rich miso butter flavors our whole poussin and creates a light, tasty sauce for exotic mushrooms and roasted baby bok choy in this simple recipe that’s perfect for weeknight dinners. The small poussin roast faster than a whole chicken, and make ideal single portions.
Sheet Pan Roast Sausage with Garlic, Potatoes, & Broccolini
YIELD: SERVES 4 | COOK TIME: ABOUT 1 HOUR
This hearty sheet pan dinner couldn’t be easier to make. Flavorful wild boar sausage accents roasted red potatoes, sweet broccolini, and a handful of garlic. Olive oil and a touch of spice bring it all together.
Are you cooking on a sheet pan yet? Tell us what you find works best with this cooking method. Find us on social media – just tag @dartagnanfoods on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. We love to talk about food!
Great ideas for easier dinners to cook in a sheet pan. Wonderful post!
Thanks for the comment! Glad you liked the sheet pan recipes.
I just so happen to have very good sweet Italian sausage and broccolini on hand and plan on using them for Monday dinner. I also have red skinned potatoes in need of using. This recipe sounds like a winner.
That’s lucky! Hope you enjoy the results!