The Best Sheet Pans for Your Kitchen, According to Our Pro Team
Updated: Mar. 11, 2024
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Sheet pans—even the best sheet pans—don’t get the hype they deserve. No, they’re not as flashy as a candy-colored stand mixer and they don’t have the same cache as an espresso machine, but odds are you reach for these pans just as often.
From easy sheet pan dinners to chewy batches of cookies, a good sheet pan is key to getting crispy veggies and golden-brown baked goods. The best sheet pans should help your recipes bake evenly, clean up easily, retain their shape and—most importantly—hold up to repeated use.
Many folks don’t put a lot of thought into the pans they buy (after all, they look a lot alike), but our Test Kitchen team is here to tell you to be choosy when picking your pans!
We take product testing seriously here at Taste of Home. Over the course of months, our team used 18 different sheet pans to prep recipes submitted by our readers. This helped our team get a feel for the pans and how they wore over time. Then our pros put each pan through a series of standard tests to see how they compared.
Here are the trials we put the pans through:
- Roasting:Â Our team put the pans to the test by making these oven-roasted carrots and this contest-winning chicken dinner recipe. The goal was to see how well the veggies and proteins caramelized, if they stuck to the pan and if any leftover oil stained or discolored the surface.
- Baking:Â Apart from trying reader recipes, our pros baked sugar cookies on ungreased sheet pans. The goal was to see if the cookies browned evenly and released easily from the pan.
- Buckling:Â Ever hear a bang in the oven while baking with a sheet pan? That’s the sound of the pan buckling or warping at high temps. Our team cranked up the oven to see if the pans buckled. If they did (it’s not unusual), the goal was to see if they returned back to their original shape once cooled. Pans that warp and stay warped aren’t good options to keep in your kitchen.
- Price:Â Is the pan affordable? Is it well priced for how well it performed?
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Best Nonstick
OXO Non-Stick Pro Sheet Pans
This brand is a perennial favorite in the Taste of Home Test Kitchen. OXO products perform consistently and at an affordable price (you can see that in our mandoline slicer and frying pan tests, just to name a few). And the brand does it again with its OXO Non-Stick Pro Sheet Pans.
Recipe after recipe, these OXO sheet pans delivered even browning. Everything from roasted veggies to buttermilk biscuits to sheet pan suppers came out of the oven golden and crisp. The textured surface of the pan has something to do with that success. It allows air to flow under the food so it can brown on all sides.
This pan did particularly well with our roasted chicken test. The bird came out of the oven crispy and there were plenty of deep amber drippings to use in a sauce to top it all off.
Now, while the texture of these pans does help food to crisp up and cook evenly, it also means that you may need to be a bit more diligent while washing. These pans are nonstick, but this pattern means they’ll need more than a quick wipe down.
Overall, though, Shannon Norris in the Test Kitchen says, “These are a really solid option and perform just as well, if not better than similar more expensive pans.”
Pros
- Textured surface allows foods to brown and crisp up evenly
- Affordable price point
Cons
- The same textures surface we love also means you may have to be a bit more thorough while cleaning
- Since these pans are nonstick, they must be washed by hand and cannot be used with metal utensils
Specs
- Material: Aluminized steel with nonstick ceramic coating
- Available sizes: Half sheet (18×13″) and quarter sheet (13×9″)
- Price:Â $21-$26
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Best Aluminum
Nordic Ware Naturals Pans
While nonstick finishes are popular (and helpful), Nordic Ware Naturals Pans prove that you don’t need those extras to be called one of the best sheet pans by our Test Kitchen.
These pans are advertised as being commercial grade, and our team found that they perform that way. After months of use in the Test Kitchen, these pans work as well as day one.
That means batch after batch of roasted Brussels sprouts and oven fries came out crisp and evenly browned; pork tenderloin was cooked to perfection with lovely caramelization.
What our team didn’t expect, though, was how well this pan works with cookies. Even without a layer of parchment paper or a silicone baking mat, cookies came away from the baking sheet easily, according to Shannon.
Of course, after heavy use—particularly with messier recipes—these pans do need a good cleaning. Scrubbing away grease or burnt-on bits is trickier without a nonstick coating. The good news, though, is that these pans can go in the dishwasher. It’s worth noting that the pans may discolor after going in the dishwasher, but this is purely cosmetic. The pans are still reliable and safe to use. In fact, you may find yourself using the same Nordic Ware Naturals pans for years to come—our team has some in rotation in the Test Kitchen from five years ago!
Pros
- Dishwasher safe
- Can be used with any utensil, including metal spatulas and roasting racks
- Affordable price
- Available in a wide range of sizes
Cons
- Without a nonstick coating, these pans may require more effort to clean
Specs
- Material:Â Aluminum
- Available sizes: Big (21×15″), jelly roll (15×10″), half sheet (18×13″), quarter sheet (13×9″) and eighth sheet (10×7″)
- Price: $22-$29
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Pretty and Practical
Caraway Baking Sheet
You may know the name Caraway from the brand’s wildly popular line of ceramic-coated cookware. It’s now expanded into the world of bakeware, and the Caraway Baking Sheet is one of our Test Kitchen’s favorites.
Caraway is well known for its color selection. These baking sheets are available in nine different colorways including a sunny marigold, warm cream and soothing sage. Who doesn’t want their go-to pieces of kitchen gear to also be pretty?
But these baking sheets are about more than just looks; they also perform exceptionally well. In the Test Kitchen’s cookie test, cutout cookies came out of the oven evenly baked with golden brown edges. Shannon says there’s a lot to love here. “I like that I could also fit in a few extra cookies,” Shannon says. Caraway’s pans are a bit bigger than the standard half- of quarter-sheet which is great when you’re making big batches of everyone’s favorite treats.
Additionally, our Test Kitchen’s savory recipes also worked on this pan. Shannon explains that chicken roasted up exceptionally well with plenty of caramelized drippings to make homemade gravy. Yes, the pan may buckle at these higher temps needed for roasting , but they do flex back into shape quickly after cooling, according to Shannon.
Another bonus: Caraway bakeware is oven safe to 550ºF, so you can really work on getting tonight’s sheet pan chicken dinner crispy and caramelized.
According to Shannon, “These pans are stylish without sacrificing performance.”
Pros
- Visually stunning; a pan you’ll want to show off
- Incredibly easy to clean
Cons
- The uncoated stainless steel handles can discolor over time
- As with most nonstick bakeware, these pans must be washed by hand and cannot be used with metal utensils
Specs
- Material: Aluminized steel with nonstick ceramic coating
- Available sizes: Large (18×13″) and medium (15×10″)
- Price: $45-$55
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Best Carbon Steel
Le Creuset Sheet Pan
It’s not often you see sheet pans made of carbon steel; aluminum is de rigueur. However, the Le Creuset Sheet Pan proves that buying outside the box has its merits.
At first blush, you can tell this pan from reader-favorite brand Le Creuset is different. Unlike others, it’s a dark gray—almost black. Often times dark-colored pans require modifications in temperature or time, but Shannon says not so fast!
“I didn’t make any modifications to our tests,” explains Shannon. Despite some worries, recipe after recipe came out as expected—if not better.
“The cookies came out way better than I expected,” she says. “I made perfectly golden brown and crisp cookies at the suggested temperature and suggested time; no sticking, easy clean up.” Shannon explains that even without parchment, the cookies slid right off the pan and even the burnt-on sugar from decorating was wiped away with a sponge.
As for roasting savory dishes, this pan cooked everything evenly and caramelized everything from veggies to chicken with ease. After making lunch for our Test Kitchen team, Shannon says, “There was no scorching or burning and this pan produced some of the best caramelized flavors.” She goes on: “It had the easiest cleanup—like it wasn’t even used once I wiped it off with a little soapy water.”
Of course, this performance does come at a price. Le Creuset’s sheet pans are on the more expensive end of the spectrum and do need a little care: handwashing and no metal utensils. Overall, though, Shannon says that this is the one she’d like to have in her kitchen at home.
Pros
- Bakes and roasts evenly
- Incredibly easy to clean
- No modifications need to be made to accommodate the darker pan
- Lifetime warranty
Cons
- Like other pieces of bakeware with nonstick coating, these pans must be washed by hand and cannot be used with metal utensils
Specs
- Material:Â Carbon steel with nonstick coating
- Available sizes: Large (16.75×12″) and small (13×9″)
- Price:Â $42-$52
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Best Variety
USA Pan Baking Pans
For many, one pan can do it all, but if you want variety in the sizes of sheets you pop in your oven, you cannot beat USA Pan Baking Pans. This American-made cookware company offers sheet pans in five different sizes ranging from an XL sheet that takes up an entire oven rack down to mini sheets—just 9×6 inches!
With plenty of sizes to choose from, it’s easy to make sheet cakes to serve a crowd or just bake up a cookie or two from your stash of dough in the freezer.
Of course, USA Pan isn’t just about an amazing assortment. These ridged pans help promote even baking by allowing some hot air to flow under foods. That means cookies come out crisp and roasted veggies crisp up easily.
And despite the ridges on this pan, it’s very easy to clean. The nonstick silicone-based coating means that soapy water and a sponge are all you need to wipe away remnants of tonight’s dinner or melted chocolate from that batch of chocolate chip cookies.
This being said, the brand does recommend using a sheet of foil or parchment paper for particularly messy foods. Not only will it make cleaning simple but it will help to preserve that coating’s integrity and appearance. Shannon explains that using even too much oil to coat vegetables will cause the coating to discolor. That’s cosmetic, of course, but it doesn’t hurt to be cautious and pull out that roll of parchment paper.
Pros
- Available in a wide range of sizes
- Easy to clean
- Affordable price point
Cons
- Like other nonstick options in this test, these pans must be washed by hand and should not be used with metal utensils
Specs
- Material:Â Aluminum with nonstick silicone coating
- Available sizes:Â Three-quarter sheet (20.25×14.25″), half sheet (17.25×12.25″), jelly roll (15×10″), quarter sheet (13×9″) and mini sheet (9×6″)
- Price: $19-$42
Check Out More Test Kitchen-Preferred Products
Our Test Kitchen is constantly testing kitchen gadgets, cleaning gear and delicious food, looking for brands that deserve the right to be called Test-Kitchen Preferred.
If you’re looking to outfit your kitchen with a few new items, be sure to check out these tests:
Originally Published: May 17, 2023
