Easy Sheet Pan Dinners (Ultimate Dinner Hack? 8 Examples!)

Life gets busy and stressful at times, but you still want to make a healthy dinner for your family. This is where Sheet Pan Meals come into play!

In general, most sheet pan meals are super easy to prepare and you then you pop them in the oven. Less actual cooking and less pans to clean make these a great option if you are in a hurry.

What is a Sheet Pan Meal?

Basically, a sheet pan meal is the oven equivalent to a one pot dinner. There are tons of recipes out there to make a sheet pan meal but each one usually consists of 4 parts.

• Meat– this can be anything from various cuts of chicken, pork chops, salmon, shrimp, and some non-meat options like tofu.
• Vegetable– Almost any vegetable can be included on a sheet pan meal, but in order to have a good texture it is best to stick with fresh vegetables. (Most canned and frozen vegetables will just turn to mush. A few frozen veggies that do work are corn on the cobb, butternut squash, onions and peppers.
• Starch– typically the starches tend to be potatoes of various types. I see lots of russet potatoes, red potatoes, sweet potatoes, frozen French fries, and even tater tots! (occasional you will see sheet pan meals that tell you to make pasta or rice on the stove to accompany the parts on the sheet pan.
• Flavor– I would say this last part is the most important part! We add flavor to sheet pan meals using various premade store-bought sauces or making our own at home. There are tons to choose from, so get creative!

Now let’s go over some easy sheet pan meals that are super yummy!

1. BBQ Chicken Sheet Pan

This one is super easy, and you can actually use any cut of chicken you like (breasts, tenderloins, leg quarters, etc.) I would suggest cutting any large pieces like breasts in half or even thirds so it will cut down on the cooking time.

Frozen corn on the cobb is one of the few frozen items that I would recommend on a sheet pan meal because it does not get mushy.

For the potatoes, you can use any kind, but just cut them into 1-to-2-inch chunks. The bigger the pieces the longer they will need to cook.

I put my chopped potatoes and corn in a large bowl, then drizzle some oil and sprinkle on some seasonings like salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic, favorite seasoning blend, etc. I then arrange them on the greased sheet pan.

In the same bowl that I just used, I add my chicken and generous pour the BBQ sauce on top. The goal is to fully coat each piece of chicken.

Go ahead and place these on the sheet pan as well and try not to stack the chicken on top of any of the vegetables. Bake in 400 degree oven until chicken is done and potatoes are tender. This typically takes about 45-50 minutes.

Pro Tip: if you are cooking for a larger family, split the potatoes & corn on to one pan, and place chicken on a separate pan!

2. Sausage & Veggie Sheet Pan Meal

This is one of my family’s favorite dinners and it is so simple and easy to make! I start by chopping my potatoes into small 1-2 inch chunks. I peel and chop the carrots into about the same size. Then I chop the sausage into about the same size as well.

Place the potatoes, carrots, and sausage in a big bowl and drizzle with some oil. Add some of your favorite seasonings and shake it till everything is coated.

Spread everything out on a greased sheet pan and bake in a 400 degree oven until potatoes are tender. Depending on the size of the potatoes this typically takes about 45 minutes.

Top with shredded cheese, and place back in oven to melt it. Serve with some sour cream on top. (We rarely if ever have any leftovers from this meal!)

3. Ranch Pork Chops Sheet Pan Dinner

This is another super easy one! I like to start by cutting my red potatoes into quarters. (I go a little smaller pieces if the potatoes are really big. I then wash and break my green beans in half but you can keep them whole if you like.

I toss these in a bowl with oil and seasonings like salt, pepper, garlic powder, etc. Then spread these out around the edge of the sheet pan.

For the pork chops, I like to season them very generously with ranch seasoning on both sides. Then I place these in the middle of the pan.

Bake in a 400 degree oven for about 30-45 minutes. This totally depends on the thickness of the pork chops and the size of the potatoes.

4. Teriyaki Chicken Sheet Pan

Maybe I am stuck in my ways, but I like any oriental style meals to be served with rice. So I start my rice on the stove first, and then I prep my sheet pan.

For the broccoli and carrots, I like to cut the broccoli in nice bite sized pieces and chop the peeled carrots into diagonal slivers. (Just slice on a diagonal for a fun shape or just cut into rounds, either way is fine.)

I do like to season the broccoli and carrots with a drizzle of oil and basic seasonings like salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. You can use whatever seasonings you like!

For the chicken drumsticks, I place them in a bowl and generously coat them with the teriyaki sauce.

To arrange your sheet pan, I usually place the broccoli and carrots on one side and place the chicken on the other side. You can mix them up if you like, it is totally a personal preference.

Bake in 400 degree oven for about 30-45 minutes or until chicken is fully cooked. If you broccoli starts to char, you can place aluminum foil over that side to prevent it from burning. I do check on them frequently and stir/flip as needed. We serve this meal with a side of rice!

5. Chicken Caprese Sheet Pan

If you love bruschetta, you will probably love this meal! Oh, my goodness, it is just so good.

We start out by tossing our washed cherry or grape tomatoes in a little olive oil and Italian seasoning. You can use whatever seasoning you like though.

Next, I season my chicken breasts with a little salt and pepper on both sides and lay them out on the sheet pan. Depending on the size of the chicken breasts, I may cut them in half to shorten cooking time.

We will top each breast with a slice of fresh mozzarella cheese and a sprinkle of balsamic vinegar. Then we add our tomatoes to the pan around the chicken.

To finish it off, I sprinkle everything with some finely chopped fresh basil. You can skip this step and add whatever fresh or dried herbs you like.

Bake this in a 400 degree oven for about 45 minutes or until chicken is fully cooked. We typically serve this with garlic bread and a side salad. We used to do pasta but honestly it was just too much, so we just leave that out now.

6. Shrimp Scampi Sheet Pan Meal

The last few times I have made this, I actually started doing it in a glass lasagna pan because I am less likely to spill the butter sauce. So you may want to use a pan that 2 inch sides.

This is another super easy bake in the oven meal, but I do like to boil some pasta on the stove to go with this. You can use any dry pasta you like, we typically use spaghetti noodles or a fun shape like bowties.

This sheet pan is going to get all mixed together, so I just use one bowl to make this. I add my defrosted shrimp, sliced zucchini, sliced yellow squash, lemon slices, and 1/2 inch chunks of butter.

I typically use a whole stick of butter for more sauce, but you can use however much you are comfortable with.

I do add just a little oil to the bowl, some minced garlic, and a garlic herb seasoning blend. I use a spoon and mix this well to make sure everything is coated with seasoning.

Spread this out in my 9 x 13 glass pan, and bake in a 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes. This cooks the zucchini and yellow squash so it is still a little crisp. If you like your zucchini and squash more tender, then you could just bake them for 15 minutes and then add the shrimp to the pan and bake for another 15 minutes.

I remove the pan from the oven, and you can leave the lemon slices in the pan, but I usually remove them. Next, I add my drained cooked pasta and stir everything all together. If you don’t like it mixed, you can easily just spoon the shrimp and veggies over your pasta.

7. Chicken Fajita Sheet Pan

This one is another huge hit with my family and so easy to make! I do like to use chicken breasts for this meal, but I will cut it into strips first. I typically do just one-inch strips, and then add them to a bowl. Drizzle with some oil and season well with taco seasoning.

For the onions and peppers, I also prefer them to be cut into strips that are about 1/2 inch thick. I drizzle with oil and season with salt and pepper.

I put all the veggies and chicken on a greased sheet pan and try to keep them pretty well spread out. Bake this in a 400-degree oven for about 30-40 minutes or until the chicken is fully cooked.

We serve this with flour tortillas and occasionally a side of yellow rice or refried beans. You can also top your fajitas with sour cream, shredded cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, salsa, etc.

8. Everything Salmon Sheet Pan

This is a friend of mine’s favorite dinner, and I love how it makes salmon super easy to cook! This one is a 3 step sheet pan meal though to make sure everything is cooked fully at the same time and nothing gets overcooked.

Step 1: Sweet Potatoes

Wash and chop sweet potatoes into 1 inch chunks or 1/4 inch slices. Drizzle with oil and season with your favorite seasoning. (Try to stay away from too much salt since the everything bagel seasoning will be a little salty)

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes and then remove the sheet pan from the oven.

Step 2: Aspargus

At this point I flip my potatoes around, and add my trimmed asparagus. Spray with oil or pan spray, then sprinkle with a little salt and pepper.

Bake at 350 degrees for 10 more minutes and then remove sheet pan from the oven.

Step 3: Salmon

There are multiple ways to season your salmon, but the easiest is just to lightly coat with oil and generously top with everything bagel seasoning.

We have also tried using brown mustard or dijon mustard brushed on the top to help the seasoning stick and it worked great!

Arrange your potatoes and asparagus to allow enough room to place the salmon without overlapping. Bake at 350 degrees for another 10-20 minutes.

Keep an eye on this because your timing will be directly related to the thickness of your salmon. You will know the salmon is done because it will get flaky!

Sheet Pan Meals without a Recipe

I love to utilize sheet pan meals for using up odds and ends. You don’t need a huge amount of meat, potatoes, or veggies to make this work.

Sheet pan meals are great to make very large dinners for bigger families but you may need to split it up over multiple sheet pans. Overcrowding a pan will make it take longer to cook and may end up with certain parts over cooked.

Sheet pans meals are really only limited to your imagination, so be willing to explore new flavors and sauces. There are also tons of recipes available on Google and Pinterest.

Just remember you don’t have to follow a recipe exactly, you can substitute and remove items that you are not a fan of so don’t let certain ingredients stand in your way!