Sheet Pan Dinners 101 (with Recipes)

Looking for warm, hearty meals that require minimal effort and cleanup? Sheet pan dinners, aka tray bakes, have you covered. Think of them as the 21st century’s answer to casseroles. The savory, satisfying, one-pan meals have a major advantage over casseroles, too: The high-heat roasting method used to cook them yields luscious contrasts in taste, texture, and flavor. 

While it’s easy to turn any roasted vegetable recipe into a sheet pan dinner–our Roasted Vegetable Breakfast Hash and Roasted Red Potatoes and Cabbage are excellent candidates—we’ve come up with a master recipe for a meal that’s packed with produce. (For more inspiration, check out the “5 Healthy Sheet Pan Dinner Combos” options that follow.)

Use this foundational recipe, which is ready in 40 minutes and yields 8 cups, as a template for veggie-centric sheet pan dinners. 

INGREDIENTS

1¼ cups quick-cooking whole grains (such as quinoa or instant brown rice)
8 cups fresh vegetables, cut into 1- to 2-inch pieces
1 15-oz. can of beans or lentils, rinsed and drained (or 1½ cups cooked frozen peas, edamame, or lima beans)
1 tablespoon desired ground spices (or 3 tablespoons chopped fresh herbs)
3½ cups vegetable broth or water
Citrus juice, salad dressing, or your favorite sauce, for drizzling
Chopped nuts, seeds, or nutritional yeast, for garnish

INSTRUCTIONS

Need some sheet pan inspiration to get started? Try one of these ingredient combinations. Follow the instructions from the Flexible Sheet Pan Dinner Recipe (above).

1¼ cups kasha
3 cups butternut squash cubes
3 cups halved Brussels sprouts
2 cup sliced leeks
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 tablespoon cumin
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
2 tablespoons chopped walnuts or pecans

1¼ cups bulgur
3 cups zucchini chunks
3 cups cherry tomatoes
2 cups onions
1 can black-eyed peas, rinsed and drained
1 tablespoon herbes de Provence
2 tablespoons sunflower seeds

1¼ cups quinoa
1 lb. fat asparagus, cut into 2-inch pieces
2 cups baby carrots
2 cups halved baby potatoes
1 large red onion, sliced
1½ cups frozen, thawed lima beans
1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon
2 teaspoons minced garlic
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast

1¼ cups millet
3 cups diced bell peppers
4 cups halved mushrooms
1 cup sliced green onions
1 can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 tablespoon chili powder
1–2 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons pepitas (pumpkin seeds)

1¼ cups instant brown rice
2 cups cauliflower florets
2 cups green beans
2 cups diced sweet potatoes
2 cups sliced onions
1½ cups cooked lentils
1 tablespoon curry powder
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons raisins or dried currants

Here are our top tips for sheet pan supper success. 

A 15x10-inch rimmed, heavy-duty or commercial-grade baking sheet, also called a half sheet pan, is large enough for a 4-serving meal and sturdy enough for easy maneuvering in and out of the oven. Nonstick versions make for easy cleanup, though they aren’t necessary. 

Be sure to preheat the oven to 400–425°F. The high oven heat serves two purposes: It gets things going during the first “covered” stage of the cooking, then adds rich, roasted flavor to the final dish. 

When adding whole grains to a sheet pan dinner, opt for those that cook in 15 minutes or under. Quinoa, bulgur, kasha, freekeh, millet, and instant brown rice all have similar cooking times and liquid requirements and can be used interchangeably. 

Anything goes when it comes to choosing vegetables for a sheet pan dinner—even a medley of whatever’s left in your fridge—but we recommend including onions in the mix for flavor. Cut all vegetables the same size (1 to 2 inches is good) so that they cook evenly. 

This seals in heat and moisture for the first stage of cooking. A more eco-friendly option is to cover everything with a second, upside-down half-sheet pan. 

If grains aren’t cooked all the way through and the pan seems dry, add ¼ to ½ cup more liquid and roast 10 minutes more. You can also give everything a quick blast under the broiler for extra browning.

A simple drizzle of citrus juice or a salad dressing will wake up the flavors of sheet pan dinner components. You can also dollop the finished dish with pesto or another homemade sauce. 

A scattering of nuts, seeds, nutritional yeast, and/or fresh herbs adds a finishing touch to sheet pan dinner medleys.