Whether You Want Cookies or Chicken Wings, These Are the Best Baking Sheets

Our Top Pick

Nordic Ware Naturals Baker's Half Sheet

$30 at Amazon $40 at Sur La Table $28 at Wayfair

Nordic Ware's sheet pan rivals more expensive models in practically every area. Crafted from rust-free aluminum with reinforced and encapsulated rims, it's highly durable, resistant to warping, and substantial in feel, without being obtrusively heavy.

Both Allrecipes product tester Sarah Zorn and Allstar Nosheen Babar put this to the test in their home kitchens, and the easy-to-grasp pans dazzled every time. Each recipe she tried baked evenly within the anticipated time, and nary a brown bottom or burning was observed. After taking them out of the oven, the pans cooled within 10 minutes and never warped. “The price considering the quality is excellent and I would definitely recommend a set of these for anyone in their kitchen,” she says.

The minor issues here are that they can become scratched by metal utensils and that you'll need to hand-wash them. If you experience water spots, as Nosheen did, you can simply wipe them down with a dish towel.

The Details: 17.9 x 12.9 inches; aluminum; hand-wash only

Our Other Top Pick

Great Jones Holy Sheet Pan

$30 at Nordstrom View on Greatjonesgoods.com

Great Jones clearly prizes style in its line of thoughtfully crafted cookware boasting vibrant colors. Take the Holy Sheet, which comes in five shades that ensure you won't need to bother with platters for serving sheet-pan suppers. And it's very much built to carry that weight, made from aluminum-sandwiched steel with reinforced rolled rims and 1-inch high sides. Even empty, the pan itself is hefty at a sizable two pounds, which can also be a detriment since it's harder to hoist single-handed.

Allstar Nikki Russell tested this with a range of recipes, including Keto Smoky Chicken and Vegetables, and ended up absolutely loving the Holy Sheet. “I REALLY enjoyed this baking sheet and it is well worth every penny and then some,” she says. She enjoyed the even baking and effortless cleanup. Even bacon, a food known to create baked-on grease spots, came out perfectly crispy while the sheet only needed a few drops of soap to wipe clean.

The easy cleanup meant Nikki didn't need to place this in her dishwasher, though that would've been safe to do. Based on our first tests, you should line our pans with parchment or a silicone baking mat, as we were left with small scorches and spots of discoloration.

The Details: 18 x 13 inches; aluminized steel; dishwasher-safe

Best Value

Artisan Professional Classic Aluminum Half Sheet

$17 at Amazon

Cheaper baking sheets usually mean hearing a warping pop the first time it's in the oven. But you won't have such issues with the Artisan Professional aluminum baking sheet. A part of Allstar Maura Rawlette testing was baking this in a 450-degree oven for 30 minutes, and no bending or warping was observed, thanks to its reinforced rim.

Its durability is also due to the 18-gauge aluminum build. This is a thinner build than lower-gauge baking sheets, but on the plus side, it still heats evenly and will cool down quickly so you don't overbake your cookies. Maura used this to roast delicata squash and twice to bake tofu, and everything cooked perfectly.

The only real downside to come out of Maura's testing was that this sheet pan isn't really dishwasher safe. “I did put it in the dishwasher with burnt black sauce, and it all came off,” she says. “While the pan was clean, it did discolor some from the dishwasher.” Since it came clean easily when she tackled sticky glaze by hand, we recommend you stick to hand-washing.

The Details: 18 x 13 inches; aluminum; dishwasher-safe

Best Nonstick

USA Pan Aluminized Steel Half Sheet Pan

$25 $22 at Amazon $25 at Walmart $24 at Wayfair

While you can create a nonstick surface with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat, but being able to just slide your baked goods off your sheet pan makes life easier. The extremely slick silicone coating on this USA Pan baking sheet is top-notch, as is the pan's construction. What's even better is its performance during testing thoroughly impressed Allstar LaDonna Langwell. “As a baker, this is hands down one of the best pans I have ever used, and I just really am amazed at its craftsmanship,” she says.

As our testing has shown, many nonstick baking sheets end up not being so nonstick, or they're prone to warping. LaDonna didn't experience either issue with the USA pan. Her trials included hoagie rolls, cookie dough, and biscuits, all of which are notoriously sticky doughs. Besides needing to wait a few minutes for the cookies to firm up, each of her tests slid right off the sheet pan. Everything baked perfectly, thanks in part the ridges allowing hot air to envelope the goods.

Most impressive was the yogurt biscuits, where overbaked bottoms like sticking to the pan and ripping your biscuit. “The biscuits also turned out great,” LaDonna says. “No sticking and no tearing.” Even when a few cookies let behind some crumbs, all the pan needed was a wipe-down. "You can literally wipe this pan out while using it for the next use," she says.

LaDonna did report that this pan can retain heat for a while due to its steel build, so you'll want to transfer baked goods to a wire rack as soon as possible. This also should be hand-washed and isn't built for high-heat roasting or baking high-fat foods like bacon.

The Details: 17.75 x 12.75 inches; aluminized steel; hand-wash only

Best Splurge

Caraway Baking Sheet

$55 $49 at Amazon $45 $41 at Target $50 at Nordstrom

Whether you need a great gift for a foodie in your life or want to treat yourself to an amazing baking sheet, the Caraway baking sheet is the answer. The sheet's interior steel is wrapped in Caraway's ceramic coating, which means it comes in an ever-increasing range of modern colors. Being made of steel means this is a sturdy and durable sheet, but without a rolled edge, warping is possible (though it didn't happen during our tests).

During that testing, Nikki liked a lot of aspects of the sheet. It's a significant size so she was able to fit the entire recipe for Mediterranean Chicken Sheet Pan Dinner and baked off a batch of Italian Nachos. She also cooked a few batches of everyone's favorite frozen foods. Even when a few brown spots were baked on, she was able to cleanup the Caraway with minimal effort. She did notice, though, that to cook anything evenly, she needed to flip the food partway. This wasn't an issue for her but might be a dealbreaker if you like to set it and forget it.

Nikki also observed that the Caraway's handles—not the actual sheet—stayed hot-to-the-touch for a while, often longer than 30 minutes. Even so, we like this sheet pan for anyone who regularly cooks up a storm in the kitchen.

The Details: 18 x 13 inches; ceramic-coated steel; dishwasher-safe, but hand-washing is recommended

Best for Roasting

Made In Aluminum Sheet Pan

$25 at Amazon $25 at Walmart View on Madeincookware.com

We love this Made In Sheet Pan because it's durable, easy to use, and versatile. It's lightweight yet sturdy enough to maneuver with one hand, even when piled with food, and high walls help contain drippings and grease. It also has a smooth, untextured surface, which speaks to its versatility.

An aluminum rod placed under the rolled rim increases durability and keeps the pan from warping or buckling. Since 18-gauge aluminum conducts heat quickly, our vegetables roasted evenly and our cookies didn't expose any hot spots during our first round of testing. When Maura put it to the test more recently, she also experienced perfectly baked chocolate chip cookies, chicken breasts, and sweet potato fries.

Designed in concert with Pitmaster Matt Horn for use at his restaurant, this pan clearly has what it takes to hold heaping amounts of barbecue. It comes in half-sheet and quarter-sheet sizes, and you can choose between having a nonstick coating or not. And the best part is, it's a breeze to clean, which means it can be swiftly scrubbed free of caked-on fond and sauce.

The Details: 17.75 x 13 inches; aluminium; hand-wash only

Best for Baking

Williams Sonoma Goldtouch Pro Cookie Sheet

$35 at Williams Sonoma

There's no denying that this is one pretty pan. Finished with a lustrous, golden nonstick coating, it provides a striking backdrop for all manner of baked goods. But its beauty isn't only skin deep. Crafted from aluminized steel with a diamond-textured surface, it's especially strong and sturdy, and promotes better airflow for even baking.

This is another baking sheet we've tested twice with great results if you keep it within its temperature range. Baking is clearly this pan's forte. It's a true cookie sheet with three flat sides and an angled front rim for gripping, though Nosheen found the rim a bit hard to grasp when she had oven mitts on. Even though, she was able to get the sheet out of the oven without cookies sliding off. Another reason this is great for baking is that it cools down quickly, within seven minutes, so no cookies continue baking on the sheet.

She loved the cookies and naan she baked on the sheet, and only experienced issues with the higher-heat naan. Not realizing how strict the oven-safe temperature of 450°F was, the 500°F oven caused the sheet to warp. This might've been behind why one naan browned a bit more than the other, though both were delicious. While this is dishwasher-safe, hand-washing will help preserve the coating, and Nosheen realized it doesn't even fit in her standard dishwasher.

The Details: 18 x 14 inches; aluminized steel; dishwasher-safe, but hand-washing is recommended