5 Healthy Sheet Pan Dinners For Busy Weeknights

By: Chris Freytag, CPT // August 26, 2022

Part of the reason eating out is so convenient is because you don’t have to wash the dishes!

That’s where healthy sheet-pan dinners come into play. Preheat your oven, throw everything on the sheet pan (including protein and veggies!), set the timer, and move on!

When it’s done, you’ll have a delicious dinner with only one pan to clean. That’s what I’m talking about.

Sheet Pan Dinners Expert Tips

Here are a few tips for becoming a sheet-pan recipe master:

Use aluminum foil, parchment paper, or a Silpat mat on the pan, and the cleanup will be even easier!
Pair quick-cooking vegetables and proteins together and slow-cooking vegetables and proteins together; i.e. you wouldn’t throw asparagus (which takes only 10-15 minutes) onto the same pan as spaghetti squash (which can take 45-60 minutes).
Use the time it takes to cook in the oven to make some rice, couscous or pasta on the side. I know… it’s one more dish to clean, but c’mon two ain’t bad.
Cut vegetables roughly the same size to encourage an even cooking.
For slower cooking vegetables, consider bone-in meat such as bone-in chicken thighs or t-bone steak so as not to dry out the meat by the time the veggies are done.
If you’ve run into a problem where the meat is done, but the veggies are still firm, just remove the meat to a plate allowing it to rest (which is recommended anyway to ensure better flavor and moisture), and allow the vegetables to continue in the oven.
Is your recipe looking a little peaked? Turn the broiler on for the last couple of minutes of cooking to nicely brown and caramelize your ingredients.

Now that you know all there is to know about making recipes on a sheet pan, here are 5 awesome sheet pan recipes we love!

1. Sheet Pan BBQ Chicken & Sweet Potato Fries

Ingredients:

1 pound chicken drumsticks
½ cup store-bought or homemade BBQ sauce
2 medium sweet potatoes, washed
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon paprika
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat to 400.
Place drumsticks on the baking sheet, leaving one-half of the baking sheet empty.
Lather with half of the BBQ sauce.
Cover with foil.
Bake 10 minutes.
While the chicken cooks, cut sweet potatoes into fry shapes.
When the chicken has cooked 10 minutes, pull out, flip chicken pieces, re-apply remaining BBQ, place sweet potatoes on the empty half of the baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, seasonings and bbq and cook with chicken additional 20 to 30 minutes until chicken is no longer pink and sweet potatoes are tender.

2. Apple Cider Glazed Pork Chops, Apples & Fennel

Apple Cider Glazed Pork Chops, Apples & Fennel on a sheet pan

Ingredients:

4 pork chops
2 apples, sliced into quarters
2 fennel bulbs, cut in half lengthwise and then cut into 1-inch segments
Olive oil
Salt & Pepper
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

For the glaze:

1.5 cups apple cider
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 tablespoon whole grain mustard
3 tablespoons maple syrup

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425.
Place pork chops, apples, and fennel on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil and salt & pepper.
Drizzle a touch of balsamic over the fennel.
Bake for 25-30 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a saucepan over high heat, add apple cider, apple cider vinegar, and mustard, and bring to a boil.
Allow to boil for several minutes until reduced by 2/3.
Turn off the heat and stir in maple syrup.
Allow to cool slightly until the pork is done.
Let pork rest and let fennel roast a touch longer if necessary.
Drizzle with sauce.

3. Vegetarian Roasted Root Veggies & Beans with Chipotle Cream

Vegetarian Roasted Root Veggies & Beans with Chipotle Cream on a sheet pan

Ingredients:

4 red (and/or golden) beets, each beet cut into quarters, then each quarter cut in half
1 pound fingerling potatoes, cut into quarts
4 large parsnips, chopped
5 large carrots, chopped
10-15 brussels sprouts, cut into quarters
4 whole cloves garlic
1 can kidney beans, drained & rinsed

Chipotle Cream:

½ cup Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon chipotle in adobo sauce

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400.
Line the baking sheet with parchment and place all vegetables (not beans) on the sheet.
Drizzle with olive oil, salt & pepper, and any other desired seasonings.
Bake for 20 minutes.
For the chipotle cream, mix all ingredients together and refrigerate until ready to use.
After 20 minutes, give all the vegetables a good toss and bake for another 20-25 minutes.
In the last 5 minutes of cooking, toss beans with the vegetables.
Top with chipotle cream.
*These veggies are awesome to eat on their own, on a tostada, or used all week in different recipes.