Cooking fads come and they go. We always have a heads-up here at The Purple Onion because our customers come in asking for this produce, that spice, or some new-to-them products. Sometimes, an idea sticks and we find ourselves fielding lots of questions about it.
One of those is the sheet-pan meal plan.
You know the one: Put everything on the sheet pan and put it in the oven. Voila! Dinner is served.
Except, just like other cooking methods, there are a few points to consider for a good sheet-pan dinner. After all, you want a dinner that’s got some contrasts and flavors, not some stuff that looks like it got thrown on the pan and baked.
Since we enjoy them at my house, I’ve come up with a list of tips that help make our sheet pan meals enjoyable and not just stuff on the sheet pan.
Sheet pan cooking all starts with a rimmed baking sheet. I recommend a good quality, half sheet pan (13-by-18 inches) that is heavy duty, uncoated aluminized steel. These are sturdy enough to hold up to the cooking and large enough to give your food room.
Making a sheet pan dinner is a little like matchmaking. You want the proteins and veggies to be paired so they can cook at the same temperature for the same amount of time. Or, you want to realize that you’ll need to add something that needs less cooking time a bit after the first item goes in.
Which comes to another tip: It’s OK to open and close the door to add or take out any of the food in your sheet pan dinner. For instance, if you’re making a roast pork dinner with green beans, hold off on adding the beans until the last 10 minutes or so to keep them crisp. Or if you want fish and root vegetables, cook the veggies until they are almost done, then tuck the fish filets on top to continue roasting until the fish is perfect.
Seasoning is your friend. Maybe you’re making an Italian-inspired chicken dinner. For that, you might want to toss the chicken and veggies all in Italian seasoning for a similar flavor profile. But for another meal, you might decide you want barbequed chicken and veggies. Feel free to sauce the meat with your favorite sauce and just flavor the veggies with salt and pepper.
Placement matters. If you need to turn your meat or toss the veggies during cooking, make sure to place foods on separate sides of the sheet pan instead of mixing them up before tossing them in. If there’s no tossing and turning, mix away! If you feel like the sheet pan is getting overloaded, use two. Put the food that needs tossed or less cooking time on its own pan.
If you need a bit of extra browning or crisping, just turn the broiler on for the last few minutes of cooking time. Stay close! You want brown or crisp, not burnt. Check around and you’ll even find some sheet pan meals made with the broiler.
Before you serve your meal, give a thought to some fresh touches you might add. Herbs, citrus slices, fresh tomatoes or crisp produce that complement the meal add texture and taste.
You don’t have to just think dinner with your sheet pan cooking. For a breakfast crowd, try sheet-pan egg sandwiches. One batch makes enough for 12 bacon, egg, cheese and veggie sandwiches. As for your main-course meals, any protein, veggies and fruits can be combined to make a great meal of your favorite food combinations. You can even cook rice on your sheet pan if you want to. As for dessert, you could go for a slab pie, but at our house, just give us S’mores!
