10 Tips for Making Great Sheet Pan Recipes

Top 10 Tips for Making Great Sheet Pan Recipes

To help you get the most out of Sheet Pan Cooking and Using Sheet Pan Recipes, here are a few tips, ideas, and pointers you can use for your next sheet pan cooking adventure!

Sheet Pan Cooking Tips –

1. Roasting vegetables in a hot oven is one of the best ways to enhance their natural flavor and sweetness. It is also a great way to use up left over vegetables hiding out in the refrigerator. Most sturdy vegetables are good candidates for roasting, including broccoli, red onion, Brussels sprouts, potatoes, carrots, fennel, eggplant, kale, peppers, and many others. Every recipe in this package features some sort of roasted vegetable and the results were consistently delicious!

2. Always cook meat to temperature, not time. Actual cooking time will vary based on a number of factors, including internal starting temperature, individual oven variations, size and thickness of the meat, what else is in the oven, etc… The chicken and pork recipes in this package include this reminder, along with the recommended safe minimum temperature for each dish.

3. For nicely browned potatoes, Brussels sprouts, and other cut veggies, position with cut side down on sheet pan prior to roasting.

4. Some Sheet Pan Recipes work better with two sheet pans. For example, the Apple & Fennel Roasted Pork Tenderloin works better if the apples and vegetables are roasted separately from the tenderloin. The tenderloin releases a lot of juice, which can lead to soggy vegetables. The vegetables will roast more evenly when kept separate, which deepens the flavor and improves the overall presentation. (See recipe for details)

5. On the other hand, some Sheet Pan Recipes work better on a single pan. For example, the Herb-Roasted Chicken Thighs and Red Potatoes and Kale is greatly enhanced by roasting all of the ingredients together because the flavors work better in concert with one another than separately. (See the delicious Chicken Sheet Pan Recipe for details)

6. For the Sweet Potato Breakfast Hash, avoid broken yolks by cracking each egg into a small bowl before transferring to the sheet pan. Repeat this process, one egg at a time, until all eggs have been added.

7. When roasting fruits such as apples or pears, look for varieties that hold up well to heat. Otherwise, you’ll end up with mushy results. The Apple & Fennel Roasted Pork Tenderloin was tested with both Honeycrisp and Granny Smith apples – both worked well, but the Honeycrisp held up a bit better.

8. Sheet pans come in several sizes. The most common – the half sheet pan – measures 13” x 18,” while the larger three-quarter sheet pan measures 15” x 21.” The three-quarter size works well for many recipes in this package because it allows extra room for the vegetables to be spread out in a single layer without overcrowding.

9. Hate that “yucky white stuff” that sometimes appears on the surface of cooked salmon? The white stuff is called albumin and it’s due to naturally occurring protein in the fish. Overcooking is one common cause for it to appear, but it will often pop up regardless — unless you brine the salmon first. America’s Test Kitchen found this solution: Solution

10. Want delicious, crispy kale chips every time? Make sure the leaves are completely dry before popping them in the oven to prevent steaming. Plus, use only enough olive oil to lightly coat each leaf when you massage it in.

What Makes Sheet Pan Cooking a Little Easier?

Here are a few kitchen tools and other resources to help with making sheet pan cooking a success:

Kitchen tools and accessories used in our recipes:
Large rimmed baking sheets – come in 2 sizes:
Three-Quarter baking sheets: You Can Find a Great Selection Here
Half baking sheets: You Can Find A Great Selection Here
Silpat® baking mats: Find the Mats Here

Note: The Our Sheet Pan Recipes turned out consistently better when prepared on a Silpat® baking mat than on parchment paper!

Instant Read Thermometers: Check Out the Instant read Thermometers Here