We then used store-bought sugar cookie dough (for consistency’s sake) and baked cookies on each pan according to the instructions on the package for an uncoated, ungreased pan—in our most recent round of testing, this meant 350ºF for 17 minutes. We removed each pan to a cooling rack and after cooling inspected the cookies for evenness, texture, color, and spread. We noted how much the cookies stuck to the pan and how easy (or hard) it was to clean each pan by hand.
Nonstick baking sheets
To test nonstick pans, we cooked the same sugar cookies according to the directions for a nonstick pan (325ºF set to regular bake). Like with the uncoated pans, we observed how each cookie baked, but we also took note of how much they actually stuck to each nonstick pan. We then washed each by hand with a cellulose sponge.
We also cooked lightly oiled sliced zucchini rounds with the oven set to 400ºF on convection-bake for 17 minutes. After the pans cooled, we tried to remove the rounds with a silicone spatula, observing which pans held on to char and food as well as how evenly the zucchini was cooked on each pan. We then hand-washed each pan.
Everything was tested on its own on the middle oven rack for consistency’s sake and the oven was allowed to return to its target temperature between batches of cookies and vegetables.
Factors we evaluated
Because a baking sheet serves so many purposes, it has to be sturdy, reliable, and easy to clean. It should be able to survive some wear and tear—this isn’t a piece of kitchen equipment we want to be delicate with—and deliver the results we’re looking for, whether that’s a crisp, brown bottom on a grandma-style pizza, a golden-hue on tender sugar cookies, or charred florets on broccoli blasted at high heat.
Here’s what we considered when testing baking sheets.
Size
What we’re calling baking sheets are technically half-sheet pans. While a standard half-sheet pan is 18×13″, not all rimmed half sheets have these exact dimensions. Of the sheets we tested, one was 16×12″, another was 17×11¼”, and some were a true 18×13″, with more sizes in between. A few had prominent handles that protruded beyond the cooking surface area too. This may not affect whether your veggies get a nice char, but if you’re cooking in a smaller oven, it could determine whether the sheet fits inside at all. It also determines how easy that pan is to store. (By the way, if you do most of your cooking in a toaster oven, we recommend getting a quarter-sheet pan.)
Material(s)
For heat conduction, a bare aluminum sheet pan is ideal. It heats up quickly and cools down fast, which means your food will start cooking when it goes into the hot oven and stop cooking when it comes out. It’s also light in color, which gives you more control over just how brown the bottom of your cookies, cakes, or pizzas become. Aluminized steel, which is essentially steel sandwiched in aluminum, is more prone to uneven heat distribution. While stainless steel is a preferred material for many cookware pieces, it’s widely known to be a poor performer in the baking sheet category because it’s not as good at conducting heat as aluminum. When testing nonstick baking sheets, we looked at how functional and durable the nonstick coating was.
Rolled edges
Superior to flat rims, rolled edges reinforced around a steel rim reduce the risk of warping with dramatic changes in temperature, though they can sometimes accumulate rust on the underside of the pan if not thoroughly dried after washing. We took note of how effective each pan’s rolled edge was at combating warping.
Nonstick coating
While uncoated pans will always be our go-to recommendation for their versatility, heat tolerance, and durability, we know that some of you out there might be looking for nonstick baking sheet options. But nonstick coatings can sometimes be more trouble than they’re worth—many are not super effective and, even if they are effective, they’ll wear away over time. Nonstick baking sheets also tend to be darker in hue when compared to bare aluminum models. Darker trays absorb and radiate more heat, producing—no surprise here—darker results (cookies that were more brown than golden brown, for example). We were after a nonstick option that was truly nonstick, was durable after repeated use, and didn’t char the bottoms of our cookies.
Other baking sheets we tested
Uncoated baking sheets
Fat Daddio’s Natural Aluminum Half Sheet Pan
Low cost, but surprisingly sturdy, the Fat Daddio pan performed admirably against higher priced competitors. Cookies and vegetables browned evenly, pans cleaned up afterward with a soft sponge, and both cookies and vegetables released nicely with a spatula, leaving behind very little residue. The pan did warping some during the high-temperature test however, and it didn’t feel as high grade as our winning pick. Still, for its low cost, the Fat Daddio pan performed above expectations.
Chicago Metallic Commercial II Traditional Uncoated Jelly Roll Pan
This uncoated pan from Chicago Metallic impressed us, and we were close to recommending it as an alternative to the Nordic Ware because of its similar price tag and performance. Despite its being made of aluminized steel, which typically doesn’t conduct heat as well as the pure aluminum, it produced nicely browned veggies and cookies that were on par with the bare aluminum cookie sheets we tested. But this pan is noticeably heavier than the Nordic Ware one, and for that reason we recommend you go with the latter.
Norpro Comercial Grade Jellyroll Pan
Norpro’s aluminum half-sheet pan had a little more flex in the middle than we would have liked, and even with sturdy, rolled edges, it warped under high heat. While it snapped back into place after cooling, the warping did keep the vegetables from browning as evenly as the top performers, though not so much that it ruined dinner. It cleans up fairly easily, and cookie residue and roasted vegetable fond came out with a little bit of dish soap and some elbow grease.
Made In Half Sheet Pan
The half sheet pan from Made In is visually very similar to our winning pick, and it performed well. It has a slightly less brushed finish and is a tad heavier, made of 18-gauge aluminum rather than the Nordic Ware’s 20-gauge. But the biggest difference is the price: At $25 for one sheet pan, it’s by no means expensive, but you can get two Nordic Ware pans for the same amount of money.
Hestan Provisions OvenBond Tri-ply Half Sheet Pan
Hestan’s luxe line of cookware consistently performs well in our product tests, and this pan is no exception. Like their other products, their take on a half sheet pan is stunning, the kind of piece you want to use as serveware or transform into a bar tray. But it’s not just a looker: This pan performed comparably to some of the top contenders in the uncoated category across all three of our tests. Despite its being made of stainless steel (which has less thermal conductivity than aluminum, meaning stainless pans will take longer to heat up and cool down), Hestan uses an aluminum core in its OvenBond line to promote even heat conduction. This pan can also withstand temperatures up to 600°F—as high or higher than any other sheet pan on the market. But that luxe look and technology comes at a price: This pan rings up at $130, which is simply far more than most people are willing to spend on an item as utilitarian as a sheet pan. It’s also heavier than other pans we tested, and bulkier due to the (granted, very pretty) handles. It would certainly make a nice gift, but it isn’t the pan we’d want to reach for every day.
Vollrath Wear-Ever Half-Size Sheet Pan
The Vollrath Wear-Ever Half-Size Sheet Pan is another uncoated pan that’s similar to the Nordic Ware, but it’s much thicker (13-gauge), about twice the price, and produced middle-of-the-road results.
Artisan Professional Classic Aluminum Half Sheet
The 18-gauge Artisan Professional Classic Aluminum Half Sheet did a decent job of crisping the bottom of our baked goods, but it was really hard to clean. Browned bits from bread and vegetables stuck and held on, even with vigorous scrubbing.
Winware by Winco Sheet Pan
This was one of the flimsier pans that we tested, and it showed in the results. The Winware pan rapidly warped during the high heat test, and it warped again when roasted vegetables. Cookies came out slightly uneven, and some bits of our roasted veg were charred while other areas were left pale and soggy. It also needed the most scrubbing to clean up, with vegetable fond needing to be scraped off in places where it stuck hard to the pan’s surface. Even with its low price, this pan isn’t worth considering.
Bellemain Heavy Duty Aluminum Half-Sheet Pan (No longer available)
The bare/uncoated Bellemain Heavy Duty Aluminum Half-Sheet Pan is comparable in price to the Nordic Ware Natural Aluminum Half Sheet, but it was almost too thin and didn’t sufficiently brown anything we cooked on it. It’s also out of stock as of our most recent update.
Misen Aluminum Half-Sheet Pan (Discontinued)
At the time of publishing, Misen’s Aluminum Half-Sheet Pan—our 2022 top pick—is no longer available on the brand’s website. The Misen was more expensive than the Nordic Ware aluminum baking sheet, and the differences in performance were negligible. But we preferred the Misen’s weightier 16-gauge aluminum and appreciated the option to buy a $40 set that included one half-sheet pan and one quarter-sheet pan.
Nonstick baking sheets
All-Clad Nonstick Pro Release Half Sheet
The All-Clad Nonstick Pro Release Half Sheet is another heavy-gauge aluminized steel baking sheet with a PFOA-free ceramic-reinforced nonstick finish. The pan performed well in our testing, though not quite as well as the Oxo, and the gray coating had some minimal staining after the first cook. We thought the three wide handles might come in, er, handy but they were actually kind of awkward to use with bulky oven mitts.
USA Pan Bakeware Half-Sheet Pan
The USA Pan Bakeware Half-Sheet Pan is a heavy aluminized steel baking sheet with a ceramic nonstick coating and a texture similar to the Oxo. The USA Pan produced nicely browned vegetables but the cookies we made on it were too crisp.
Calphalon Nonstick Baking Sheet
This pan performed just fine in our cooking tests, but it was warped by the time we were done putting it through its paces.
Nordic Ware Naturals Aluminum NonStick Baker’s Half Sheet
Considering how much we love the Nordic Ware uncoated sheets, we were surprised to find that everything we cooked stuck to the Nordic Ware Naturals Aluminum NonStick Baker’s Half Sheet. It was also the hardest nonstick sheet pan to clean. We might as well have been using the bare Nordic Ware pan.
GreenPan Greenlife Ceramic Nonstick Cookie Sheet
We were eager to try this entry from the maker of our favorite ceramic nonstick pan. With six color options, it sure does look cute—but unfortunately, we found that cookies baked on this pan spread more than we’d like, resulting in too-crisp browned edges.
Cuisinart Chef’s Classic Aluminized Steel Baking Sheet
This pan felt sturdy, with slightly higher sides than other pans we tested that we’d imagine could be nice for baking projects like focaccia and sheet cake. That said, it was pretty heavy and produced cookies that spread and browned on the bottom a bit too much.
Great Jones Holy Sheet
As much as we wanted to love the gorgeous, colorful sheet pans from Great Jones, in our side-by-side testing, the Holy Sheet didn’t perform as well as some of the other nonstick pans. Roasted broccoli and cauliflower stuck to it, as did sugar cookies—and it was harder to clean than other nonstick baking sheets too. With long-term use, we’ve noticed that even with exclusive hand-washing (as recommended by the brand) the coating began to chip and wear away within about a year.
Le Creuset Nonstick Metal Bakeware Sheet Pan
Le Creuset’s foray into the baking sheet world is a little confusing. Instead of aluminum or aluminized steel, Le Creuset opted for a carbon steel pan with a silicone nonstick coating. Carbon steel is known for even heat distribution and building a natural nonstick polymerized coating like cast iron, so adding a silicone layer seems…odd. The cookies and vegetables both left a greasy residue on the pan, and the zucchini tasted oily. While it is a sturdy pan that resists warping, the notably wide lip makes it difficult to stack with standard half-sheet pans. For all its unique design choices, this pan underperformed at basic baking tasks—even if it was the easiest to clean.
Chicago Metallic Elite Nonstick Carbon Steel Baking Sheet
Unsurprisingly, the Chicago Metallic Elite Nonstick Carbon Steel Baking Sheet—yet another heavy aluminized steel baking sheet—also turned out too-crisp cookies.
What to do with a baking sheet
Now that you know which sheet pans to buy, it’s time to put them to work. Here are some of our favorite ways to use this versatile piece of cookware.
Bake, of course
Cookies are the obvious choice here. But we wanted to mention them to point out that you don’t need any kind of special cookie sheet to bake cookies—you don’t need something that’s nonstick or edgeless or insulated or anything. A half-sheet pan is the perfect tool. Depending on what you’re baking, just line it with parchment or a silicone baking mat, or simply grease it with butter or oil. You can also make slab pie or focaccia in a sheet tray. You can’t do that on that edgeless insulated cookie tray!
Roast vegetables (or anything)
If you’re already using a sheet tray for anything other than making cookies, you’re probably using it to roast vegetables, right? For extra-crispy roasted vegetables, put the sheet tray in the oven while it preheats so it’s nice and hot. This is especially good for potatoes, but you can really roast anything on a sheet pan. The fact that the sides are only an inch high means that more direct heat can circulate around what you’re roasting, yielding crispier surfaces all around. It’s so much better than roasting in a deeper roasting pan, cake pan, or other baking pan.
Cook an entire dinner
There are days when we want to stand over the stove stirring risotto, or whizz sauces in the blender, or spend five hours making lasagna, dirtying every dish in the kitchen in the process. And then there are days when all we want is something simple, easy, and delicious that can be on the dinner table in 30 minutes and uses just one pan—and when that’s the case, sheet pan dinners are the answer. If you’re bored of your usual chicken-and-veg route, try this Roasted Niçoise Salad With Halibut, or this hands-off paella.
Crisp up oven foods
The more air you can get moving around the food you’re cooking in the oven, the crispier that food will get. So instead of putting meat and vegetables directly on the baking sheet, you can add an oven-safe wire rack into your sheet tray and proceed with roasting. This is great for baking breaded cutlets or for finishing a pan-seared a pork chop in the oven. This is also the best way to cook crispy bacon for a crowd.
Similarly, a wire rack fitted into a sheet tray in a warm oven is great for anything that you want to keep warm without condensation forming on the bottom (think pancakes or waffles). And whenever you’re deep-frying, that sheet tray fitted with a wire rack is your best friend: Have it ready right next to the stove to let freshly fried chicken drip and cool without getting soggy.
Editor’s note: We recommend using uncoated baking sheets for this trick because a metal rack on top of a ceramic-coated nonstick baking sheet in a hot oven will likely result in damage to the baking sheet.
Make better pizza
You don’t need a pizza stone to make great pizza at home, just heat an overturned sheet tray in your oven as hot as it will go and spread the dough on top for thin crust pizza, or bake it inside for a thicker grandma-style pie.
Similarly, you can get a crispier crust on a frozen pizza by cooking it directly on your oven rack and placing a baking sheet on the rack below to catch crumbs, melting cheese, and other toppings.
Dry herbs and produce
Line a sheet tray with a clean dish towel and spread freshly washed herbs, greens, veggies, or berries out to dry. (Paper towels work, too, but using a sheet tray and a towel eliminates unnecessary paper waste.)
Cool grains
If you want to cook a big batch of whole grains that will keep in the fridge for cold salads or other meals throughout the week, we recommend lining a sheet tray with parchment paper and spreading the hot grains out over the tray to cool faster so they don’t overcook. Sure, you could run your cooked grains under cold water to stop the cooking, but that’ll make them all wet and soggy.
Additional testing by Alaina Chou and Jesse Raub
Why should you trust Epicurious?
We’re home cooks just like you—and we bring a home cook’s perspective to all of our rigorous testing. But unlike you, we have an extra 10 hours a day to spend geeking out over kitchen tools because it is literally our job. We don’t only use our recommended products in controlled settings, we bring the best ones into our own kitchens to help us put dinner on the table on a Wednesday night for our families, or to throw a dinner party for 12. When we recommend a product, you should trust that we’ve used it—a lot—just like you will. Read more about our testing process and philosophy here.
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