Healthy Eating 101 Ask the Test Kitchen The Best Sheet Pans, According to Our Test Kitchen From cookies to roasted vegetables, a good sheet pan is a necessity in any kitchen. By Alex Loh Alex Loh Alex is assistant digital editor for EatingWell. When she's not thinking about food, you can find her reading, watching TV or on a quest to find the best sandwich. Alex is a graduate of Dickinson College where she earned a degree in English. EatingWell's Editorial Guidelines Published on June 13, 2021 Share Tweet Pin Email We independently evaluate all recommended products and services. If you click on links we provide, we may receive compensation. Learn more. Photo: Courtesy of the Merchants Whether you're a novice home cook or a well-seasoned professional, a quality sheet pan is vital to anyone spending time in the kitchen. A sheet pan can do it all, including baking fruit bars, roasting vegetables and even cooking entire dinners from start to finish. To help you accomplish all of your cooking and baking dreams, we've pulled together this list of the best baking sheet pans so you can find the best fit for your needs. The Best Chef's Knives, According to Our Test Kitchen What Is a Sheet Pan? Whether you're cooking or baking, it's important to have the right kind of bakeware for the task at hand. That being said, there can be some confusion between sheet pans, baking pans and cookie sheets, so let's break it down. A sheet pan, also known as a baking sheet, is a pan with rolled edges that can be used for pastries, vegetables, meats and more. Whereas a cookie sheet has a flat edge and a lip on the sides, which makes removing baked goods without ruining their shape easier. Finally, a baking pan is actually a category of pans consisting of items like muffin tins, loaf tins, Bundt cake tins and more. (If you want to learn more about the difference between cookie sheets and baking pans, this guide from Martha Stewart is helpful.) Things to Consider When Buying a Sheet Pan Size of Sheet Pan Sheet pans come in three sizes: quarter, half and full. Typically, a quarter sheet pan measures 9 by 13 inches while a half sheet pan's dimensions are 13 by 18 inches. Finally, a full sheet pan is 18 by 26 inches and is usually too big for a standard oven, so a quarter sheet pan or half sheet pan are the best options for home cooks. Color of Pan A darker sheet pan will conduct heat more quickly than a lighter-colored sheet pan. As a result, foods typically brown faster on a darker pan, so it's important to keep in mind as you may need to make adjustments to oven temperatures and baking times. Texture of Pan Some sheet pans have a textured surface, which can manifest in ridges or bumps along the bottom of the pan. This texture can increase the airflow when baking or roasting, which helps promote even coloring of whatever you're cooking; it can also help strengthen the pan. In addition to the texture of the pan, another thing to consider is if there is a nonstick coating. Most sheet pans have a nonstick coating that can help prevent food from sticking and allow you to cut back on oil used. How to Clean Baking Sheets Best Sheet Pans This is our list of the best sheet pans to make it easier for you to pick one. We tested both half and quarter sheet pans and each pan went through two tests: baking a batch of chocolate chip cookies and roasting russet potatoes. Best Half Sheet Pan: KitchenAid Best Quarter Sheet Pan: USA Pan Best Textured Sheet Pan: Williams Sonoma Best Colorful Sheet Pan: Great Jones Best Lightweight Sheet Pan: Made In Best Darker Sheet Pan: Wilton Read on for details on what makes these sheet pans the best, as well as the pans that deserve an honorable mention. Best Half Sheet Pan KitchenAid Nonstick Aluminized Steel Baking Sheet Kitchenaid Buy Now After testing by baking more than 100 cookies and roasting dozens of potatoes, the KitchenAid model was the best half sheet pan. This sheet pan is made from aluminized steel and is lighter in color compared to other models on this list. Both the cookies and the potatoes had nice even browning and were removed from the pan with zero stickage. But the best thing about this sheet pan is the fact that it has extended handles, which make it easy to grab the pan from the oven without touching the food on the pan and dirtying your oven mitts. Plus, the pan is dishwasher-safe and is available in two other sizes, 9-by-13-inch and 10-by-15-inch, so you'll always have the right size for any recipe. Buy it: Amazon, on sale for $13 (orig. $20) Best Quarter Sheet Pan USA Pan Nonstick Quarter Sheet Pan USA Pans Buy Now The model from USA Pan was the best quarter sheet pan tested. With a textured surface, this sheet pan produced evenly cooked and perfectly browned potatoes. Along with the ridged surface, the sheet pan has a nonstick coating and a wire reinforcement in the rim of the pan for durability. While the sheet pan is dishwasher-safe, hand-washing is recommended to maintain the quality of the pan. Buy it: Williams Sonoma, $19 Best Textured Sheet Pan Williams Sonoma Goldtouch Pro Nonstick Corrugated Half Sheet Williams Sonoma Buy Now We tested both textured and untextured sheet pans from Williams Sonoma, and the textured one produced the best results. With a diamond-textured surface, this pan produced potatoes and cookies that were evenly browned and could be removed from the sheet pan with ease (whereas we had difficulty removing the cookies from the untextured pan). This gold-colored sheet pan would look gorgeous in any kitchen and is made from aluminized steel with a wired rim. Buy it: Williams Sonoma, $30 You might also consider: OXO Good Grips Nonstick Pro 2-Piece Sheet Pan Set OXO Buy Now Similar to the Williams Sonoma, the OXO sheet pan features a textured surface, but with ridges. Both the half sheet pan and the quarter sheet pan produced similar results with each ingredient nicely cooked and easy to lift off the pan. Made from aluminized steel with a ceramic coating to protect against scratching, staining and corrosion, these sheet pans are hand-wash only. (Tip: when cleaning, we found it easiest to remove browned bits when scrubbing with the lines rather than against.) Buy it: OXO, $35 Best Colorful Sheet Pan Great Jones Holy Sheet and Great Jones Little Sheet Great Jones Buy Now From their Dutch oven to their baking line, Great Jones has become known for their colorful products with catchy names, and the sheet pan is no exception. The half sheet pan dubbed "Holy Sheet" and the quarter sheet pan named "Little Sheet" come in two fun color options: blueberry and broccoli. We tested the green broccoli color and were pleased with the resulting cookies and potatoes, which were perfectly browned. These bright sheet pans are made from aluminized steel, steel rods and a ceramic coating and would pop in any kitchen. Buy it: Great Jones, $35 for Holy Sheet and $45 for two Little Sheet pans Best Lightweight Sheet Pan Made In Sheet Pan Made In Buy Now If you prefer a pan without nonstick coating, the Made In sheet pan will make any home cook feel like a professional. Made from aluminum and oven-safe up to 450℉, this pan produced evenly browned cookies, although there was some inconsistency in the color of the potatoes. The best part about this pan, though, is its lighter weight, especially compared to other models on this list, which made it easy and comfortable to place and remove the pan from the oven with just one hand. This sheet pan comes in two sizes and should be hand-washed (read more about why we love this sheet pan). Buy it: Made In, $19 for a quarter sheet pan and $25 for a half sheet pan Best Darker Sheet Pan Wilton Nonstick Diamond-Infused Baking Sheet Wilton Buy Now If you're looking to save time in the kitchen, a darker sheet pan like this one from Wilton can help speed up your cooking. The darker navy blue sheet pan conducted heat evenly, especially when tested with potatoes, which achieved good browning on both the top and bottom of the potatoes. Compared to other pans, you can use metal tools with the Wilton thanks to the unique diamond-infused nonstick coating that prevents scratching. At 10 by 15 inches, the budget-friendly Wilton is the perfect size for small- and big-batch cooking. Buy it: Amazon, $10 You might also consider: Le Creuset Sheet Pan Le Creuset Buy Now Le Creuset is known for their long-lasting cast-iron products, and the same quality is extended to their sheet pans. Made from carbon steel, the dark-colored pans produced evenly browned cookies and potatoes that were consistent in color. With the help of the nonstick coating, the cookies and potatoes lifted readily from the surface of the pan, which also features heat-resistant silicone grips to help remove the pan with ease. The Le Creuset pans come in two sizes: small (12-by-13-inch) and large (12-by-16-inch). Buy it: Le Creuset, $25 for a small pan and $32 for a large pan Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit