Good Housekeeping - Good Housekeeping sheet pan cooking: 70 easy recipes

When it comes to foolproof family dinners, nothing is more forgiving than roasting, baking, and broiling. These high-temperature techniques are hassle-free and hands-off. Most important, these methods develop great flavor and can be done on one versatile piece of equipment, a sheet pan.

Good Housekeeping Sheet Pan Cooking provides everything you need to put a fresh, homemade dinner on the table in a snap. And the best part? After enjoying a delicious meal there is minimal clean up.

The Only Pan You Need

A good sheet pan is hard to find. But weve got onewell, 30. We keep that many 18 x 12-inch jelly-roll pans in the test kitchen. Theyre perfect for roasting and with 1-inch-high sides, they allow for great browning but still catch pan juices. We prefer aluminum-coated steel or aluminum to nonstick pans. The surface of aluminum sheet pans ensures that vegetables, meats, and sweets brown beautifully. It also doesnt scratch easily, which means it lasts longer. When testing these sheet pan cooking recipes, weve learned that dark-colored pans hold too much heat and overbrown foods. So go lighteven if you chose a baking sheet with a nonstick finish. Given their versatility and longevity, sheet pans are a bargain, usually at under $20 apiece. Sometimes labeled half-sheet pans, theyre available at many home supplies stores or online.

Sheet Pan vs. Jelly-Roll Pan

A sheet pan is a metal sheet with one or two sides bent up for easier handling. Its design allows air to circulate freely around the food so it bakes and browns evenly. A jelly-roll pan (either 15 x 10 inches or 18 x 12 inches a.k.a. a half-sheet pan) has 1-inch-high sides and is perfect for making cake rolls (see ); it can stand in for a sheet pan in a pinch. It is also a terrific roasting pan for veggies and more. For these recipes, either a sheet pan or jelly-roll pan will be effective.

Vegetable Roasting 101

You can roast just about anything, but vegetables especially benefit from the high, dry heat of the oven. Their flavor becomes concentrated and their natural sugars caramelize, transforming them into richly satisfying sides.

Refer to this helpful chart for cutting instructions, cooking times, and seasoning suggestions for perfect oven-roasted veggies every time. For every 2 pounds of vegetables, toss with 1 tablespoon of olive oil prior to roasting. Spread the vegetables on a sheet pan in a single layer, with space between the vegetables to allow heat to circulate around them. If the vegetables are overcrowded, they will steam rather than brown. Also, you can roast different vegetables together if their cooking times are similar, so mix it up!

Vegetable Roasting Times

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