The Best Baking Sheet

Marguerite Preston is a former professional baker and the senior editor of Wirecutter’s kitchen team.

In addition to editing cookbooks (both sweet and savory), Wirecutter editorial director Christine Cyr Clisset has reviewed a wide variety of kitchen equipment for Wirecutter.

For this guide:

• We pored over cookbooks such as The Gourmet Cookie Book and equipment reviews from a range of other publications.
• We interviewed Alice Medrich, who wrote Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy Melt-in-Your-Mouth Cookies, and Jennifer Aaronson, who was formerly the head food editor at Martha Stewart Living and the lead food editor for Martha Stewart’s Cookies.
• Since this guide was first published in 2013, we’ve spent over 45 total hours testing 15 sheet pans.
• In our most recent round of testing, we baked 24 batches of cookies, six pizzas, and pounds of oven fries.
• Like all Wirecutter journalists, I review and test products with complete editorial independence. I’m never made aware of any business implications of my editorial recommendations. Read more about our editorial standards.

A good baking sheet needs to cook evenly and withstand years of regular use. After we talked to experts, tested 15 pans, and researched many more, we came up with our criteria for an excellent pan, in order of importance:

A rim for versatility: Rimless sheets do allow you to easily slide cookies onto a rack, and America's Test Kitchen (subscription required) found that they bake cookies a bit faster thanks to better air circulation. However, we focused on rimmed sheets because they’re much more versatile; they can contain anything you want to roast.

Aluminum for even baking: Some baking sheets are made of aluminized steel or tri-ply (an aluminum core sandwiched by stainless steel), but bare aluminum pans are best. They conduct heat more efficiently, heat evenly, and cool quickly. Steel can heat unevenly and tri-ply is expensive and retains heat longer, causing burning.

Heavy gauge and warp resistant: Thicker pans tend to be more durable and bake more evenly than thinner pans––though going too thick adds weight and slows down browning. Both of our favorite rimmed sheets are 18 gauge, which we’ve found to be a good weight. Our rimless cookie-sheet pick is a thicker 10 gauge, which helps it stay flat without the structural support of sides.

No nonstick coatings: We’ve ruled out nonstick baking sheets because the finish degrades at high temperatures and inevitably scratches. Lining your pan with parchment paper creates a nonstick surface, makes cleanup a cinch, and adds insulation to minimize the risk of burnt bottoms.

Also, many nonstick pans are dark, so they absorb heat and can burn cookies on the bottom before the top is cooked.

Usability: Rimmed jelly-roll baking sheets are often thin, wobbly, and not as big as half-sheet pans, which are around 18 by 13 inches. Half sheets are the biggest standard size that can fit in most ovens (except the tiniest apartment ranges). And as a bonus, rectangular cooling racks often fit inside half-sheet pans—a handy setup for roasting meat or glazing cakes.

Simple is better: Baking sheets with extra features often cost more but don’t perform better. Insulated baking pans, which have an internal air pocket between thin sheets of metal, bake cookies more slowly. This is nice for delicate cookies that burn easily, but it’s unnecessary for most other things. Plus, experts say that a regular sheet pan lined with parchment works just as well for delicate bakes.

Pans with perforations or ridges are meant to circulate air for even browning and minimal sticking. Though we like the ridges on our favorite cake pans, those pans are also nonstick. Without that coating, food sticks to a baking sheet, and the ridges are a pain to clean.

How we tested

We designed our tests to assess pans’ durability and evenness of baking. We baked honey florentines (delicate cookies that can burn easily) and thicker sugar cookies to see how evenly they brown from top to bottom.

For consistency, we baked one parchment-lined baking sheet at a time on the middle rack and rotated it 180 degrees halfway through.

Pans can warp at high temperatures, so we tested their sturdiness by baking at 450 °F to 500 °F for at least 25 minutes. We assessed pan flatness and ease of cleaning after roasting.

Though most manufacturers advise against using the dishwasher for sheet pans, we’ve washed our pans in the dishwasher as well as by hand dozens of times in the Wirecutter test kitchen. They’re a bit discolored, but it hasn’t affected their performance.

The Nordic Ware Naturals Baker’s Half Sheet performed as well as or better than every other baking sheet we tested. It baked cookies more evenly than sheets twice the price and didn’t warp at high heat.

Although you might find a comparable pan at a kitchen-supply store, the Nordic Ware baking sheet is readily available online. It also happens to be one of the most-consistently inexpensive high-quality aluminum pans we’ve found.

It’s highly consistent. In every test, the Nordic Ware pan baked evenly, with no noticeable hot or cool spots. Slice-and-bake cookies came out golden brown on their tops and bottoms, delicate honey florentines caramelized without darkening too fast, and the bottom crust of a pissaladière baked uniformly.

In comparison, several other sheets we tried browned the bottom of our cookies slightly unevenly.

It holds up at high temperatures. During our high-heat tests—roasting at 425 °F, 450 °F, and 500 °F—the pan didn’t warp, buckle, or bend. And all the Nordic Ware pans in our test kitchen still lie flat after several years of use. In comparison, other pans (even the thick, pricey 13-gauge Vollrath 5314 half-sheet pan) warped slightly after just one round of roasting at 450 °F.

It comes in multiple sizes. The Nordic Ware pan also comes in quarter- and eighth-sheet sizes. These are useful to have in addition to the half-sheet size. They’re good for little things like toasting nuts or baking a few pieces of fish, and they’re easier to fit in your fridge.

They’re also excellent for toaster ovens and better quality than the pans that typically come with the appliance. The eight-sheet fits in all of our favorite toaster ovens, and the quarter-sheet also fits in our larger picks.

It has a lifetime limited warranty. However, the warranty “does not include damage caused by accidents, misuse, [or] overheating,” and Nordic Ware isn’t specific about what it means by “overheating.”

How the Nordic Ware Naturals Baker’s Half Sheet has held up

After years of heavy use at home and in Wirecutter’s test kitchen, all our Nordic Ware Naturals Baker’s Half Sheets (and quarter- and eighth-sheet pans) still perform great. We’ve roasted vegetables at 500 °F without the pans warping and used them to support heavy casseroles and pies.

The well-used pans do show their age. The smaller-size pans in our test kitchen are all tarnished from being tossed in the dishwasher. And, as discussed below, some have started to develop a dark patina of baked-on oils. But that patina actually isn’t a bad thing.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

The stamped logo is hard to clean. The surface of the pan has a slightly raised logo stamped on one end, which can be tricky to clean. Baked-on oils may accumulate faster in that spot. But it’s just a small area, and a bit of staining doesn’t affect the performance. If the logo bothers you, our runner-up, the Artisan Professional Classic Aluminum Half Sheet, is completely smooth.

It’s hard to keep it stain free. As with all bare aluminum sheet pans, oils and fats will adhere to the surface during cooking, causing the pan to develop a dark brown patina over time. This seasoning (which is similar to the seasoning on a cast-iron pan) may be unsightly, but it’s actually a good thing—it contributes to better browning and makes the pan more nonstick. You can scrub it off with some effort if you want. Or just line your pan with foil or parchment every time.

The dishwasher tarnishes the pan. It’s ok to put the Nordic Ware pan in the dishwasher, but doing so causes it to dull and discolor over time. Nordic Ware’s use & care instructions note that the “discoloration is merely cosmetic and will not affect baking properties or safety of the pan.”

If our main pick is unavailable, the Artisan Professional Classic Aluminum Half Sheet is a wonderful alternative. It also has a completely smooth surface, so it’s a good choice if you think the stamped logo on the surface of the Nordic Ware pan will drive you crazy (it’s hard to clean and accumulates stains).

The Artisan baking sheet performed about on par with the Nordic Ware pan and tends to be the closest in price. It evenly baked cookies to a nice golden brown and never warped in our battery of high-heat tests.

We did, however, hear some crackling when the pan was hot and sitting on the counter, suggesting that it moves slightly as it adjusts to the temperature change. It’s also less readily available than the Nordic Ware pan in smaller quarter- and eighth-sheet sizes.

The Vollrath Wear-Ever Aluminum Cookie Sheet With Natural Finish isn’t as versatile as a rimmed baking sheet, but it’s terrific for cookies. This heavy-gauge sheet bakes gently and evenly and has two open sides that allow you to slide cookies directly onto a cooling rack.

Raised handles on the short ends make it easy to rotate the pan in the oven and to get a secure grip when you’re ready to pull the pan out. It also has a small hole on one end for hanging.

Rimless cookie sheets tend to be more awkward to maneuver than rimmed sheet pans. When pulling sheets like this one from the oven, parchment paper is more likely to slide off. However, of the three rimless sheets we tested, our also-great pick from Vollrath was the easiest to use because its two handled ends prevented parchment sliding.

Unfortunately, the warranty on Vollrath Wear-Ever bakeware only covers use in “commercial foodservice,” so this pan isn’t covered for use at home. But it should hold up well for many years of normal use.

We tested the Nordic Ware Prism Half Sheet to see how the ridged surface compared with the smooth aluminum of our top pick. It browned cookies slightly less (a plus if you’re baking delicate cookies), but stuck-on food was difficult to remove.

The USA Pan Large Cookie Sheet and USA Pan Jelly Roll Pan have corrugated bottoms to promote even browning. Unfortunately, the nonstick coating doesn’t withstand higher temperatures or frequent abuse from spatulas. The cookie sheet also has only one handle, so it’s awkward to rotate in the oven.

The Member’s Mark Half-Size Aluminum Sheet Pan from Sam’s Club was the runner-up in our 2013 guide. It bakes as evenly as the Nordic Ware baking sheet, and you get a two-pack for the price of one of our main pick. But the pan did buckle in high heat and is available only at Sam’s Club.

The Vollrath 5314 Half-Size Wear-Ever Heavy-Duty Aluminum Sheet Pan With Natural Finish is a thick, 13-gauge pan. But surprisingly, it warped slightly while baking honey florentines at just 375 °F. It warped even further while roasting sweet potatoes at 425 °F.

The 18-gauge Vollrath 5303 Half-Size Wear-Ever Heavy-Duty Aluminum Sheet Pan With Natural Finish is well reviewed on Amazon. It performs similarly to other 18-gauge sheets, but it browned cookie bottoms unevenly.

The Chicago Metallic Commercial II Traditional Uncoated Large Jelly Roll Pan overly browned honey florentines in our tests.

Circulon’s carbon steel 11-Inch x 17-Inch Nonstick Cookie Pan baked cookies evenly, but our potato chips wound up burned in spots. It feels sturdy, but the nonstick surface wears off over time.

At around $100, the All-Clad D3 Stainless 3-ply Bonded Roasting Sheet 10 x 14 inch is too expensive. It also has a rim on one side, making it hard to maneuver and less versatile than a fully rimmed sheet.

This article was edited by Lizzy Briskin and Marguerite Preston.