What’s a sheet pan meal? It’s a “one pot meal” style dinner baked on a cookie sheet pan!
In 7 simple steps, you’ll have a delicious, easy-to-modify, easy-to-clean-up meal.
Tip: line your sheet pan with parchment paper to make clean-up even easier!
Step 1: Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
Step 2: Pick a protein!
This will dictate how long your meal will be in the oven, but remember that if you have other items that need 30 minutes and you only need to cook your protein for 15 minutes, you can just add it toward the end of the cooking time!
Here are some basic cook times for various proteins, but always check the meats with a thermometer to make sure everything is fully cooked before you dig in.
Chicken thighs/wings (45 minutes)
Chicken strips/tenders (20 minutes)
Frozen meatballs (30 minutes)
Shrimp/Tilapia/Salmon (15 minutes)
Chicken/turkey sausage (30 minutes)
Pork chops/tenderloin (30 minutes—depending on the chop thickness)
Kielbasa/polish sausage/bratwurst/chorizo (20 minutes)
Bacon (20 minutes)
Tofu (30 minutes)
Step 3: Pick one to two vegetables!
The basic rule of thumb is most veggies need a minimum of 30 minutes of bake time at 400 degrees, but there are some* like kale and zucchini that will only need 10-15 mins.
Here’s a list of some classics:
Garlic
sweet peppers
Onions
Fennel
Broccoli/Cauliflower
Asparagus
Bok choy
Carrots
Brussels sprouts
Kale*
Mushrooms
Zucchini/Summer Squash*
Winter squash (butternut, acorn, delicata, etc)
Snow peas
Green beans
Corn on the cob (sliced in chunks)
Cherry tomatoes
Beets
Kohlrabi
Turnips
Step 4: Choose one carb!
This is optional if you are avoiding carbs, or perhaps you consider all of these items as veggies like I do! ;)
Potato wedges
Mini potatoes
Sweet potato wedges
Frozen gnocchi
Chickpeas (canned, drained)
Step 5: Pick a spice!
This can be a creative way to enhance a sheet pan meal. Plus we have so many great fresh spices and blends from our local spice shop, that you can’t go wrong!
All-purpose seasoning
Taco seasoning
Cajun seasoning
Italian seasoning
Herbes de Provence
Paprika
Garlic salt
Indian spice blend
Everything bagel seasoning
and SO many more!
Step 6: Mix everything with your base!
What’s your base? Your base is the oil, salt, and seasonings that need to coat all of your items before the baking begins. To do so, you can mix everything in a bowl with your base or you can drizzle and sprinkle everything on the sheet pan and spread it around with a pastry brush or a wooden spoon.
For a successful sheet pan dinner, follow this base formula:
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon seasoning (chosen from the list above, if desired)
1 Tablespoon of olive oil (or coconut, or avocado, or other mild oil)
Step 7: Choose a sauce if you want!
This is optional but also delicious! If you love sauce or gotta dip, here are a few common sauces that are great additions to sheet pan meals:
BBQ
Dijon mustard
Sriracha
Aioli
Pesto
Chimichurri
Taco sauce
Buffalo sauce
The possibilities of flavor and item combinations are pretty much limitless, so let your imagination go wild and get creative!
