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Whether you're roasting veggies or baking cookies, you'll need a couple of these.
A sheet pan is an absolute cooking essential, no matter your skill level in the kitchen. In fact, every cook and baker should have several of them. From baking your favorite cookie recipe to roasting every vegetable you can think of to cooking easy sheet pan dinners that make cleanup a snap, baking sheets have endless uses. But such a basic cooking tool means tons of options out there in different materials and sizes — factors that can affect how your food cooks. So we put sheet pans of all kinds to the test to determine which will give you the best and most consistent results.
In the Good Housekeeping Institute Kitchen Appliances and Innovation Lab, we’ve been testing cookware and bakeware for decades. For this test, we tested more than 20 sheet pans to evaluate their performance and ease of use. We baked cookies and roasted broccoli on each pan to score the evenness of cooking, cleaning and even how they warped over time. Here are the best sheet pans you can buy in 2022, according to our testing results.
Stick around after our top picks to learn more about how we tested sheet pans and what you should keep in mind when shopping for them.
Nordic Ware's uncoated aluminum sheet pan is sleek and lightweight, making it exceptionally easy to use, store and clean. In our tests, this sheet pan came out on top in both our cookie and broccoli roasting tests. The light-colored aluminum delivered superior results, yielding cookies that came out evenly browned and uniform in shape with a chewy and crispy texture. The broccoli also came out evenly and consistently crisp without any pooling of oil. We didn't notice any warping with this sheet pan during our broccoli testing, which is something we assess when cooking at higher temperatures.
Take note that while this sheet pan stands on top for performance and ease of use, this product is not dishwasher safe and should be washed by hand. Washing in the dishwasher can cause it to tarnish quicker.
Wilton’s alloyed steel, dark-colored sheet pans performed exceptionally well in our tests. The cookies we baked had crispy edges, chewy centers and nicely browned bottoms, which could likely be contributed to the pans' dark color. The broccoli browned evenly on all sides with a nice crispy texture and the oil didn't excessively pool anywhere.
This affordable set of two sheet pans not only delivered solid results but the handles made it easy to transfer them in and out of the oven. This set also comes with two different size pans so you can choose the one that's right for whatever you're cooking. Take note that while this product is dishwasher safe, hand washing is recommended.
The Great Jones Holy Sheet Pan is the perfect sheet pan for those who love vibrant and fun colors to spice up their kitchen.
The ceramic nonstick coating on this pan not only helped produce even results but also allowed for easy cleaning. Our cookies were baked uniformly and were evenly browned on both the tops and bottoms. Our broccoli florets had almost an air-fried crisp with consistent results across the batch.
We tested the 18.5 by 13.5-inch sheet pan, and the larger size allowed for more room in between broccoli florets to prevent steaming. Take note that this sheet pan comes in three different colors and two different dimensions depending on the color: Broccoli: 17.25" x 12.25"; Raspberry and Blueberry: 18.5" x 13.5".
It may be pricey, but we were impressed by the quality of this sheet pan and its heavy-duty construction. Made of heavy-gauge aluminum, the All-Clad Pro-Release sheet pan is solid and sturdy and did not warp during testing, which is common with sheet pans at higher temperatures.
In our testing, this sheet pan performed very well across cookie baking and broccoli roasting, but be warned that the broccoli caused some staining, and the sheet pan required some effort to clean.
This sheet pan has three handles that make it convenient to transfer in and out of the oven, but it may feel heavy to some and may not be ideal for those who prefer lightweight sheet pans.
This uncoated, aluminized steel Chicago Metallic sheet pan showed particularly stand-out results in our broccoli test. The broccoli cooked evenly without needing to be rotated while cooking, and the broccoli slid off the pan easily without staining. This sheet pan lent an air-fried texture to the broccoli florets and all florets were crisp to the touch while being fully cooked through. The light color of this sheet pan also ensured even cookie browning, and each of the cookies came out round and identical to one another.
One thing to note is that while this sheet pan is dishwasher safe, hand washing is recommended.
In the Good Housekeeping Institute, we have baked more than 300 cookies and 20 pounds of broccoli in the interest of finding the best sheet pans. We evaluated cookies on the time they took to bake and the evenness in browning on both the tops and bottoms. For our broccoli test, we evaluated crispiness, evenness and how easy the sheet pan was to clean. We paid attention to any pooling of oil or staining and whether the sheet pan warped at a high cooking temperature.
Most of our top performers are dishwasher safe and have rimmed edges or handles that made them easier to use during cooking and cleaning. Our top performers baked consistently golden cookies — chewy on the inside and crispy on the edges and consistently crispy and evenly cooked broccoli florets.
✔️ Size: Sheet pans come in multiple sizes: quarter sheets, half sheets and full-size. Even an inch can make the biggest difference for how many servings you can make. Full-size sheet pans measure 18" x 26" and are generally used in commercial kitchens — they usually do not fit in home ovens. Half sheet pans are great for the everyday home cook and are the most common size for baking homemade desserts and meals. They usually measure 18” x 13” inches, but some differ by an inch in dimension depending on the brand. Quarter sheet pans (usually 13" x 9") are perfect for cooking individual portions or performing small tasks like toasting nuts. Some brands also offer micro sheet pans (10" x 6") for even smaller cooking tasks. Take note of your oven measurements when purchasing your next sheet pan, as ovens vary in size.
✔️ Material: Most baking sheets are made of either aluminum, aluminized steel or stainless steel. Aluminum is valued for being lightweight and conducting heat evenly while aluminized steel is common for its uniform heat transfer, durability and scratch resistance for long-lasting use. Stainless steel is generally more expensive than aluminized pans and does not need to be coated. Stainless steel is less prone to buckling under higher temperatures and provides even heating across the surface. Keep in mind that stainless steel materials take a longer time to heat up. We largely stuck to testing aluminum and aluminized steel due to their versatility and popularity. ✔️ Coating: Sheet pans treated with a nonstick coating don’t require greasing but often lose their effectiveness over time. They are generally easy to clean and require less oil when cooking. Pans that are uncoated last longer but require greasing and/or lining with parchment for the best results. Uncoated surfaces can be used at high heats without fear of damaging a nonstick coating. In general, nonstick sheet pans do not brown as well as uncoated pans, which can be a good thing for desserts but less desirable for savory foods. Sheet pans with ceramic nonstick coating retain more heat (and can handle higher temperatures) and generally do not require as much oil. Take note that nonstick sheet pans often can't handle high oven temperatures, so they're not recommended for broiling. ✔️ Dark vs. Light Color: Sheet pans also come in different colors – usually dark or light. After testing dark and light-colored surfaces, our results showed that darker surfaces get food crispier and browner, which might require you to adjust your recipe's cooking time or temperature for the best results as edges and bottoms cook faster than the center. Lighter surfaces are great for baking cakes and cookies as they provide even cooking performance without the edges or bottoms cooking quicker than the rest of the recipe. ✔️ Gauge: A sheet pan’s gauge or thickness is also important to consider, and most sheet pans fall in the 10- to 18-gauge range. The higher the gauge, the more durable the sheet pan. Sheet pans with higher gauges are better at handling higher temperatures and are at a lower risk for warping. Lower gauge sheet pans are more prone to bend out of shape and buckle with higher temperatures, which eventually affects the sheet pan’s cooking performance. ✔️ Rim/handle: Rimmed sheet pans, also known as jelly-roll pans, have raised edges that are typically 1-inch high. Rims add stability to sheet pans and make them less prone to warping. They are great for baking and cooking as they allow for more food capacity and prevent any spillage or overflow from cooked foods. Some rimmed sheet pans come with handles for easy transfer in and out of the oven.
✔️ Cleanability: Not all sheet pans are dishwasher safe, and there are many factors to consider before putting your sheet pan into the dishwasher. While coatings and materials may be dishwasher safe, they can rust or scratch while mixing with hot water and other utensils in the dishwasher. To prolong the life of the pan, hand washing is generally recommended.
Sophie Park was a product reviews fellow at the Good Housekeeping Institute Kitchen Appliances and Innovation Lab. She is a graduate of Rutgers University with a degree in business analytics and information technology; at GH, she spent the majority of her time testing appliances and creating datasets for Lab recordings.
For this story, she worked closely with Nicole Papantoniou, the director of the Kitchen Appliances and Innovation Lab. Nicole oversees all content and testing related to cooking products, including baking sheet testing and our previous bakeware tests.