Sheet Pan Dinners: 16 Easy Traybake Dinners for Weeknights
Sixteen sheet pan dinners grouped by chicken, fish and shrimp, sausage and pork, and meat-free, with the five oven rules that make a traybake roast instead of steam.
By Eatpace 10 min read 
A sheet pan dinner is the closest a weeknight gets to cooking itself. You chop for ten or fifteen minutes, toss everything with oil and spices in one bowl, spread it out, and the oven does the rest while you lay the table, help with homework or sit down. In Britain the same thing is called a traybake, and whichever word you use, the appeal is the same: one pan to wash and almost nothing to watch.
The catch is that sheet pan dinners are easy to get slightly wrong. Crowd the pan and the vegetables steam instead of browning. Put potatoes and shrimp in at the same time and one of them is ruined. Both mistakes are simple to avoid once you know the rules the good recipes follow.
So this post starts with those rules, then gives you 16 sheet pan dinners from the collection, grouped by what goes on the pan: chicken, fish and shrimp, sausage and pork, and meat-free. Each is named with its own total time from the recipe. Most take 35 to 60 minutes, but only 10 to 15 of those need you. The sheet pan dinners page has the full shelf.
The five rules that make a sheet pan dinner work
Good traybake recipes share a few habits. They are what separates browned edges from a pan of pale, damp vegetables, and they work for anything you put in the oven tonight.
- Use a hot oven. Nearly every dinner here roasts at 425°F (220°C). Lower than that and vegetables soften before they color.
- Give everything room. One layer, with a little space between pieces. If it does not fit, use two pans rather than piling up; most of the recipes below call for two.
- Cut to the clock. Potatoes go in first with a 15 to 25 minute head start, chicken pieces join them, and fish and shrimp go in for the last 6 to 15 minutes.
- Season in a bowl, not on the pan. Toss everything with the oil and spices in a large bowl so every piece is coated, then spread it out.
- Swap the pans halfway. Ovens are hotter at the top and back. Switching racks and giving everything a stir at the halfway point evens it out.
Chicken sheet pan dinners
Chicken is where most people start with sheet pan cooking. Thighs stay juicy at high heat, breasts cook quickly when cut into strips or pieces, and both take a spice rub well.
Harissa Chicken and Chickpeas takes 45 minutes and is the one to make first. Chicken thighs, chickpeas, red onion, bell pepper and zucchini get tossed in harissa, cumin and smoked paprika, roast for half an hour across two pans, and finish with lemon and crumbled feta. The chickpeas roast alongside and do the job of a side, and there are 49 g of protein per serving. Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas is the quickest chicken dinner here at 35 minutes: strips of chicken with peppers and onion roast for about 20 minutes, and you warm the tortillas and stir lime juice into Greek yogurt while they cook.
If what you are after is a lemon chicken traybake, there are two very different ones. Greek Lemon Chicken and Potatoes takes 60 minutes: potato wedges and red onion roast with lemon slices for 25 minutes before the chicken and olives join them, then feta and parsley go over the top. Crispy Lemon Chicken, also 60 minutes, gives the chicken a Parmesan and panko crust with lemon zest in it, baked crumb side up next to potatoes, zucchini and cherry tomatoes. In both, the potatoes get a head start so everything finishes together.
Three more for the chicken nights. Peri Peri Chicken Sheet Pan is 55 minutes, with chicken, peppers and red onion tossed in hot sauce, lemon, garlic, smoked paprika and cayenne, and yogurt on the side to cool it down. Paprika Chicken and Chorizo takes 50 minutes. The chorizo roasts with chicken thighs and peppers on one pan while the potatoes get a head start on another, and everything is tipped together at the end. Sheet Pan Chicken Parmesan at 40 minutes is the family one: breaded cutlets and broccoli bake on one pan, then get tomato sauce and mozzarella for the last few minutes, and the bread toasts on the same pan at the end. At 51 g of protein per serving, it is the most protein-heavy dinner in this post.
Salmon, shrimp and white fish
Fish is the sheet pan ingredient that rewards timing most. A salmon fillet needs about 12 minutes and shrimp need less, so they go onto a pan where the vegetables have already had a head start.
Honey Garlic Salmon is the model, at 52 minutes. Potato wedges roast for 15 minutes, zucchini, peppers and red onion join them for 10, and then the salmon goes on with a glaze of honey, garlic, soy sauce and lemon for the last 12. One pan for everything. Sheet Pan Lemon Garlic Shrimp takes 35 minutes: asparagus roasts for 8 minutes, then the shrimp go on with garlic and Parmesan for another 6 to 8, while quinoa simmers on the stove.
Greek Cod and Potato Bake is 55 minutes and uses a baking dish rather than a flat pan. Potatoes and red onion roast for 25 minutes, then cherry tomatoes, olives and garlic get tossed through, the cod is nestled on top with feta around it, and the whole thing bakes for 15 minutes more. It is one of the lighter dinners here at 466 calories per serving. Sheet Pan Shrimp Boil, 50 minutes, is the oven version of the Southern classic: Cajun potatoes first, then corn and andouille sausage, then shrimp in garlic butter for the last 8 minutes.
Sausage and pork
Sausage is made for the oven. It browns on its own, its fat roasts the vegetables around it, and it is hard to overcook. Pork chops need more care.
Sheet Pan Sausage Gnocchi takes 40 minutes and uses one of the best tricks in sheet pan cooking: shelf-stable gnocchi go straight onto the pan without boiling, with sausage, peppers, red onion and cherry tomatoes, and roast until golden. Parmesan melts over the top for the last few minutes. Sheet Pan Pork Chops and Apples is 45 minutes. Sweet potato and onion get 15 minutes on their own, then the chops go on a second pan with apple wedges and a brush of Dijon mustard. Take the pork out when it reaches 145°F (63°C) inside and let it rest for three minutes while the apples finish.
A good sheet pan dinner asks for fifteen minutes of your attention and gives you the rest of the evening back.
Meat-free sheet pan dinners
Vegetables are where sheet pan cooking is at its best, because high, dry heat is exactly what makes cauliflower, zucchini and tomatoes taste of something. The trick for a meat-free traybake that counts as dinner is to put a protein on the pan with them: chickpeas, white beans or cheese.
Sheet Pan Margherita Pizza is 35 minutes and the easiest win with children. Store-bought dough is stretched into an oiled pan, baked bare for 8 minutes at 475°F (245°C) so the bottom crisps, then topped with tomato sauce and mozzarella for another 10 to 12. Spiced Cauliflower and Chickpeas takes 45 minutes: cauliflower, chickpeas, red onion and pepper roast with curry powder, cumin and turmeric, and couscous steeps on the side for the last 5 minutes. It is fully vegan, and if you like the pairing, there are 16 more couscous dinners to try.
Sheet Pan Pesto White Beans is 37 minutes and the one to make with whatever is left in the vegetable drawer. White beans, cherry tomatoes, zucchini and red onion roast until the tomatoes burst, then everything gets tossed with pesto and lemon, with bread to scoop up the juices. It brings 28 g of protein, mostly from the beans. Parmesan and most pesto are made with animal rennet, so use vegetarian versions of both if you need it strictly vegetarian.
Sheet pan or one pot: which is better on a weeknight?
Both promise one thing to wash, but they win at different things.
For speed, a one-pot dinner on the stove usually finishes sooner. A pasta or a curry that cooks in one pot can be on the table in 25 to 35 minutes, while most sheet pan dinners above take 35 to 60. But the one pot wants you at the stove, stirring and adjusting. The sheet pan wants you for the first 15 minutes and then leaves you alone. If your evening is short on minutes, cook in a pot. If it is short on attention, use the oven.
For cleanup, a lined sheet pan is hard to beat: a pot with a sauce in it needs a soak, parchment goes in the trash. For taste, the oven gives you browned edges and caramelized vegetables, and the pot gives you a sauce. On a night you want something saucy and comforting, one-pot dinners are the better shelf. When you want something roasted with lemon squeezed over it, use the pan.
How to fit sheet pan dinners into the week
Sheet pan dinners suit busy weeks, as long as they land on the right nights. The 50 and 60 minute ones are for evenings when you are home early and can let the oven run. The 35 to 40 minute ones, like the fajitas, the shrimp or the pizza, will fit a normal work night if the oven goes on first.
They also make the shopping simple. The same handful of ingredients keeps coming back above: potatoes, bell peppers, red onion, zucchini, lemons, a can of chickpeas. Plan two or three sheet pan dinners in one week and much of the grocery list does double duty, with fewer half-used vegetables at the end. Leftovers keep in the fridge for up to three days, and cold roasted chicken and chickpeas make a decent lunch.
A planner can match the dinners to the nights for you. Eatpace keeps your next few dinners ready, starting tonight, and turns them into one grocery list, sorted by aisle. On a night when 55 minutes suddenly looks like too many, tap Swap and choose Quicker, and a faster dinner takes its place without the rest of the plan changing.
For more ideas, the sheet pan dinners collection is the next place to look, and the guide to getting dinner on the table in 30 minutes after work is for the nights when even the fajitas feel long. Rate the traybakes you liked Loved it in Eatpace and more like them come round.
What is a sheet pan dinner?
A sheet pan dinner is a whole meal, usually a protein and vegetables, roasted together on one flat baking pan in a hot oven. In the UK it is called a traybake. Most take 10 to 15 minutes to prepare and 20 to 45 minutes in the oven.
What temperature should I cook a sheet pan dinner at?
425°F (220°C) suits most of them, and nearly every recipe in this post uses it. It is hot enough to brown vegetables and chicken before they dry out. Sheet pan pizza goes higher, to around 475°F (245°C).
How do I keep sheet pan vegetables from getting soggy?
Spread them in a single layer with space between the pieces, use two pans if one is crowded, dry anything wet before it goes on, and roast at a high heat. Crowding is the most common cause of soggy vegetables, because they steam in their own moisture.
How do I cook fish and potatoes on the same sheet pan?
Give the potatoes a head start of 15 to 25 minutes, then add the fish for the last 10 to 15. Salmon fillets need about 12 minutes at 425°F and shrimp need 6 to 8, so they always go in last.
Can I prepare a sheet pan dinner ahead of time?
Yes. Chop the vegetables and mix the spice rub in the morning or the night before and keep them covered in the fridge, with raw meat or fish in a separate container. In the evening, toss everything together and put it in the oven.
The dinners in this post
Every one is in the Eatpace catalogue, with the time and nutrition on the recipe. Add it to your plan in the app.
