15 Ways to Use a Sheet Pan
The Sheet pan.
This workhorse gets used almost every day in my kitchen. I whipped it out yesterday when I needed to freeze my 16 quarts of strawberries I ordered.
Before we get started for the season, I wanted to devote an entire blogpost to the sheet pan, because it’s so incredibly versatile and you can use them in so many places.
Some of them I’ve recently learned that surprised me.
Now before we dive in, let me make sure you understand what I mean by “sheet pan.”
I am not talking about a cookie sheet. I used to think the two were inter-changeable.
They are not.
Cookie sheets are flat with one curved lip edge.
A sheet pan has a lip around the edge on all four sides (to catch run-off). I own a couple of 18×13 pans, because they get used so often. But you can get different sizes too. I recommend this brand. (That’s an affiliate link so I get a small commission if you purchase).
So here’s my list of 15 ways to use sheet pans.
1. Sheet pan meals –If you don’t know what sheet pan meals are, Google it or look them up on Pinterest.
Basically, the appeal is that you can fit an entire meal on one sheet pan, throw it in the oven, and have a meal ready in 45 minutes.
Yes. That easy.
You can find our video tutorial in the “Roadmap to CSA Success” course inside the SLFarms Membership Academy.
2. Pizza Pan or pizza peel – Hot baking stone in the oven. Fully loaded pizza on the counter. How do you get one to the other? Flip over a sheet pan and slide the pizza onto the back. Or brush on some olive oil and place your pizza crust right inside the pizza pan.
3.Freezing meat , fruit or blanched veggies – I freeze my berries on a wax-paper lined sheet pan first (so they don’t clump together). Then throw them into a Ziploc bag. You can also freeze clumps of blanched greens this way, dumplings, meatballs, or veggie burgers.
4. Pot lid — I do this all the time, especially for my frying pans that don’t come with a lid.
6. Wooden skewer soakers — Grilling with bamboo skewers requires soaking the skewers in water. Rather than struggling to find a bowl large enough to fit their length, place them in a sheet pan with a half-inch of water. When you’re done, use the emptied pan to transport your food to the grill.
7. Cookies – Keep your cookies from sliding off the edge by using sheet pans to bake them. You can stack two pans together and you’ve got an insulated setup to keep the bottoms of cookies from over-browning.
8. Slab pie – OMG. Where have you been my whole life and how did I just find out about you? Two options here: cover the bottom and sides of a sheet pan with store-bought pie dough. Spread with pie filling, top with lattice strips of more pie dough, and bake.
For version two, press shortbread cookie dough into a sheet pan and bake until golden. Let cool, then spread with jam and top with berries.
9. Combine it with a metal wire rack for baking – I use this to bake sweet potato fries.
10. Drip catcher — use it to keep pies, bacon, souffles, lasagnas, gratins and other casseroles from dripping out onto your stove.
11. Place your pie plate on a parchment-lined sheet pan. This will help you get a crisp crust and keep the bubbling juices from overflowing into your stove (and burning).
12. Lined with paper towels, you can use sheet pans to drain just-fried foods or water-packed tofu.
13. Slider maker — When you’re feeding a crowd, just press your beef into the sheet pan, cook, and then cut into squares for sliders. Top with toppings.
14. Transport food from one place to another – such as the kitchen to the grill. It’s a sturdy way to move things.
15. And if you have toddlers… I recommend filling a sheet pan with flour, dropping in a few Matchbox dump trucks or steam rollers, and letting your kids play. This would keep my two boys fascinated for at least 30 minutes. I’d set aside the pan (keep the flour in it) and just pull it out in my toy rotation. We called it “playing flour.” You could also use rice. Yes, it’s a little messy, but it also meant 30 minutes of blissful peace for me.