A sheet pan dinner has exactly one problem to solve. Everything on the pan has to be done at the same moment, and chicken breast, baby potatoes and asparagus are not remotely close on their own. Every recipe below is really an answer to that question, and there are only two levers available: the oven temperature and how big you cut things.

The temperatures on this page run from 350 to 475 degrees Fahrenheit, and the spread is not arbitrary. The four 25-minute recipes here are all fish or shrimp, because those cook fast enough that the vegetables can be sliced thin and go in at the same time. The 60 and 70 minute ones are all whole chicken breasts or whole potatoes, where the pan has to run long enough for the dense thing to finish and the vegetables have to be cut large enough to survive it. Anything in between is a compromise between the two, usually solved by cutting the protein smaller rather than the vegetables bigger.

The second thing worth knowing before you start: a crowded pan steams instead of roasting. If the pieces touch, moisture leaves them and has nowhere to go, and you get pale, soft vegetables rather than browned edges. Two pans at once is almost always better than one packed pan, and it costs nothing but a second sheet of parchment.

Calories run from 217 a breadstick to 678 a serving for steak and potatoes, and five of the twenty-five are not dinner at all. The sausage group is the clearest illustration of the whole idea: five recipes, five different vegetables, and the differences between them are almost entirely about which vegetable can take 400 degrees for the same forty minutes the sausage needs.

Chicken and Vegetables

Five where whole chicken breasts set the clock and the vegetables have to be cut to match.

Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas

The chicken is sliced into half-inch strips rather than left whole, which is the only reason this finishes in forty minutes with the peppers. Thirteen spices and seasonings in the rub and lime juice at the end. Sixteen other pages link to it, the most of any sheet pan recipe here. View the full recipe — 40 minutes · serves 4 · 538 calories · 425 degrees F

Sheet Pan Garlic Parmesan Chicken and Potatoes

A pound and a half of chicken against a pound and a half of baby potatoes, which is why this one runs fifty-five minutes. The butter and half cup of Parmesan go on at the end rather than at the start, so the cheese browns instead of burning. View the full recipe — 55 minutes · serves 4 · 538 calories · 400 degrees F

Sheet Pan Italian Chicken and Broccoli

Nine ingredients and a dry rub rather than a marinade, which keeps the surface dry enough to brown. Three cups of broccoli, cherry tomatoes and a bell pepper, and at 344 calories the lightest chicken dinner in this group. View the full recipe — 40 minutes · serves 4 · 344 calories · 400 degrees F

Sheet Pan Lemon Herb Chicken and Vegetables

Seven ingredients, and deliberately flexible: four cups of whatever vegetables you have, cut to a similar size, with the zest and juice of two whole lemons. The recipe tells you which vegetables need cutting smaller, which is the part that actually matters. View the full recipe — 45 minutes · serves 4 · 460 calories · 400 degrees F

Sheet Pan Lemon Oregano Chicken and Zucchini

Zucchini and cherry tomatoes rather than root vegetables, which release water as they roast and keep the chicken from drying out. Smoked paprika alongside the oregano, and one lemon rather than two. View the full recipe — 45 minutes · serves 4 · 377 calories · 400 degrees F

Glazed and Sticky

Five built on a sauce that reduces on the pan. Sugar burns, so these need either a higher heat and less time or the glaze added partway through.

Sheet Pan Teriyaki Chicken and Pineapple

Sheet Pan Teriyaki Chicken with Pineapple on a kitchen table

The chicken is cubed to one inch and there is a tablespoon of cornstarch in the sauce, which is what turns the pan juices into an actual glaze rather than a puddle. Two cups of pineapple, and the fruit sugar is why this runs at 425 for only thirty-five minutes. View the full recipe — 35 minutes · serves 4 · 441 calories · 425 degrees F

Hawaiian Chicken Sheet Pan with Pineapple and Peppers

Hawaiian Chicken Sheet Pan meal with bright vegetables and pineapple

Soy sauce, pineapple juice, honey and rice vinegar with cornstarch, poured over a pound and a half of chicken and two colors of bell pepper. Sixteen ingredients, and at 391 calories lighter than it reads. View the full recipe — 40 minutes · serves 4 · 391 calories · 425 degrees F

Sheet Pan Honey Balsamic Chicken and Potatoes

Ten ingredients and seventy minutes, the longest in this group, because whole chicken breasts and whole baby potatoes both have to finish. A quarter cup each of balsamic and olive oil with two tablespoons of honey. View the full recipe — 1 hour 10 minutes · serves 4 · 487 calories · 400 degrees F

Sheet Pan Lemon Balsamic Chicken and Potatoes

Thighs instead of breasts, which is the real difference from the honey version: dark meat tolerates the long roast without drying, so this comes in twenty minutes shorter. Lemon juice and zest in place of the honey, so it finishes sharp rather than sweet. View the full recipe — 50 minutes · serves 4 · 386 calories · 400 degrees F

Sheet Pan Honey Dijon Chicken with Sweet Potatoes and Brussels Sprouts

Seven ingredients: thighs, sweet potatoes, Brussels sprouts, and a quarter cup each of honey and Dijon. All three components want the same forty-five minutes at 425, which is unusual enough to be worth noticing. View the full recipe — 1 hour · serves 4 · 400 calories · 425 degrees F

Sausage, Five Vegetables

Smoked sausage is already cooked, so the vegetable decides the time. These five are the same idea solved five ways.

Sheet Pan Sausage and Potatoes with Onions

Eight ingredients, and the one the rest of the site reaches for: nineteen other pages link to it. Potatoes are the slowest thing here, so they go in cut small and the sausage joins them rather than the other way round. View the full recipe — 45 minutes · serves 4 · 590 calories · 400 degrees F

Sheet Pan Sausage and Peppers

Peppers and onions cook in about the same time the sausage needs to brown, which makes this the simplest version of the idea: everything on at once, forty minutes, done. Eight ingredients and 432 calories. View the full recipe — 40 minutes · serves 4 · 432 calories · 400 degrees F

Sheet Pan Sausage and Veggies

Thirty-five minutes, the fastest of the five, because the vegetable mix is cut small rather than left in chunks. Ten ingredients and 400 calories a serving, the lightest here. View the full recipe — 35 minutes · serves 4 · 400 calories · 400 degrees F

Honey Garlic Sausage Sheet Pan with Sweet Potatoes

Sweet potatoes rather than white, which hold more sugar and so caramelize at the edges, plus a honey garlic glaze on top of that. Ten ingredients and 515 calories, and the sweetness is the point rather than a side effect. View the full recipe — 45 minutes · serves 4 · 515 calories · 400 degrees F

Sheet Pan Chicken Apple Sausage with Sweet Potatoes and Brussels Sprouts

Chicken apple sausage with sweet potatoes and Brussels sprouts at 425, which is hot enough that the sprout leaves crisp rather than soften. Fourteen ingredients, the longest list of the five, and 635 calories. View the full recipe — 45 minutes · serves 4 · 635 calories · 425 degrees F

Fish, Shrimp and Steak

Four of these are done in twenty-five minutes, which is only possible because fish and shrimp cook faster than any vegetable needs to.

Sheet Pan Garlic Shrimp and Asparagus

Twenty-five minutes, nine ingredients, 244 calories a serving. The lightest recipe on this page, and the shrimp go on partway through because they need about six minutes to the asparagus. View the full recipe — 25 minutes · serves 4 · 244 calories · 400 degrees F

Sheet Pan Garlic Butter Salmon

Ten ingredients and twenty-five minutes. Salmon is forgiving on a sheet pan because the fat keeps it moist past the point a lean fish would dry, which is why the garlic butter can go on at the start. View the full recipe — 25 minutes · serves 4 · 479 calories · 400 degrees F

Sheet Pan Hoisin Salmon and Asparagus

The same twenty-five minutes with a hoisin glaze and asparagus. Hoisin has enough sugar in it to scorch, so this is the one to watch at the twenty-minute mark rather than walk away from. View the full recipe — 25 minutes · serves 4 · 515 calories · 400 degrees F

Sheet Pan Tilapia Vegetables

Tilapia is lean where salmon is fatty, so this runs at 425 for a shorter time rather than 400 for longer. Ten ingredients and 350 calories, and the fish goes on top of the vegetables rather than beside them. View the full recipe — 25 minutes · serves 4 · 350 calories · 425 degrees F

Sheet Pan Garlic Butter Steak and Potatoes

Sixty minutes, because the potatoes start alone and the steak joins them for the last stretch. That staggered start is the whole technique here, and 678 calories is the richest serving on this page. View the full recipe — 1 hour · serves 4 · 678 calories · 400 degrees F

Nachos, Pizza and Dessert

Five where the sheet pan is doing a different job: spreading something thin so all of it gets crisp at once.

Sheet Pan Loaded Nachos

Eighteen minutes, the fastest recipe on this page, and eight ingredients. The sheet pan matters here because a single layer is the only way every chip gets cheese instead of the middle going soggy. View the full recipe — 18 minutes · serves 4 · 593 calories · 350 degrees F

Sheet Pan Chicken Nachos with White Queso and Pico De Gallo

Thirty-two chips laid out individually with chicken tenders cooked in taco seasoning, white queso, and pico de gallo. A tablespoon of tequila in the chicken, and 475 calories a serving. View the full recipe — 35 minutes · serves 4 · 475 calories · 350 degrees F

Sheet Pan School Pizza

Twenty-one ingredients and 475 degrees, the hottest oven on this page, which is what gets the bottom crisp in a pan rather than on a stone. Twelve squares at 332 calories, cut rectangular the way the cafeteria did it. View the full recipe — 50 minutes · makes 12 squares · 332 calories

Sheet Pan Breadsticks

Nine ingredients and 110 minutes, almost all of it rising rather than working. Twelve breadsticks at 217 calories each, baked in a single pan so they stay soft against each other and crisp on top. View the full recipe — 1 hour 50 minutes · makes 12 breadsticks · 217 calories each

Sheet Pan Apple Crisp with Oat Pecan Topping

Sixteen servings from one pan, which is the reason to make a crisp this way rather than in a dish: the topping to fruit ratio goes up and every portion gets a crisp edge. Thirty-one other pages link to it, the most of anything here. View the full recipe — 50 minutes · serves 16 · 329 calories · 425 degrees F

Sheet Pan Questions Worth Answering First

Why do my vegetables come out soggy instead of browned?

The pan is crowded. When pieces touch, the moisture coming out of them cannot evaporate, so it sits as steam against the food and you get pale and soft instead of browned. Spread everything in a single layer with visible pan between the pieces, and use two sheets rather than one if it does not fit. Wet food also steams: pat chicken dry and drain anything canned or thawed before it goes on. A marinade that is mostly liquid will do the same thing, which is why several recipes here use a dry rub.

How do I stop the chicken drying out while the potatoes finish?

Stagger the start or change the cut, and the recipes here do both. Potatoes cut to three quarters of an inch take roughly as long as a whole chicken breast; cut to an inch and a half they take much longer, and the chicken overcooks waiting. The alternative is putting the potatoes in alone for fifteen minutes first, which is what the steak recipe does. Chicken thighs are the simplest fix of all, because dark meat holds up through a long roast in a way breast does not.

Should I line the pan, and with what?

Parchment for anything sticky or sugary, because a honey or teriyaki glaze welds itself to bare metal and takes the browned edges with it when you scrape. Bare metal, or metal with a light oil, for anything you want maximum browning on, because parchment insulates slightly and foil can reflect heat unevenly. Avoid foil under acidic food like lemon and tomato: it pits and can leave a metallic taste.

What size pan, and does the material matter?

A half sheet, which is about 18 by 13 inches, is the standard and what every recipe here assumes. A quarter sheet holds roughly half as much, so a four-serving recipe needs two of them. Choose a rimmed pan rather than a flat cookie sheet so juices stay on it, and heavy aluminum rather than thin dark steel, which warps and creates hot spots that burn one corner while another is still raw.

Can I prepare these ahead?

Most of the way, yes. Cut vegetables and mix the glaze or rub up to two days ahead and keep them separate in the refrigerator. What you should not do is toss the vegetables in salt and oil the night before, because the salt draws water out and you start the roast with wet food. Chicken in an acidic marinade also degrades: more than a few hours in lemon or vinegar and the surface goes chalky. Assemble on the pan right before it goes in.