I Asked 4 Recipe Developers To Name the Best Everyday Baking Sheet—They All Said the Same Thing

One of my life goals was to have a kitchen with two ovens to bake in. When we bought our house in 2019, I couldn’t believe my luck that my double-oven dreams had come true. The only issue? The rest of the house was so tiny that my longed-for second oven became a storage cabinet for my enormous collection of sheet pans. 

I have a sheet pan for almost every occasion. I use tiny quarter-sheet pans to make baby food, to toast nuts, or as a plate for my kids when I’ve cooked their meal on it and simply can’t do another dish. I have sheet pans embossed with Christmas trees for festive occasions, a giant full-sheet pan for when I mean business and need to prep party-sized portions of food, and a few beat-up half-sheets for holiday cookie season when I’m baking all day. 

Much to my dismay, my husband has been asking me for years to downsize my collection, but I’ve had a hard time getting rid of them. I recently realized he was right; it was time to get rid of the pans that had seen better days and donate ones I didn’t use. Happily, that also meant I could add a few sparkly, new sheet pans to my cache! 

The question was, where to start? With so many different options on the market, I decided to reach out to some of the smartest recipe developers in the business to get their take on the best sheet pans to buy in 2024. They all suggested Nordic Ware Naturals Baking Sheets.

The Baking Experts I Spoke To

• Sara Tane: Private chef and recipe developer based in Los Angeles
• Rachel Dolfi: Culinary producer and food editor based in New York City
• Yumna Jawad: Recipe developer, founder of Oath Oats!, and author of The Feel Good Foodie Cookbook: 125 Recipes Enhanced with Mediterranean Flavors
• Marcia W. Smart: Culinary instructor, founder of Smart in the Kitchen School, and author of Dinner is Done

The Best Sheet Pan According to Recipe Developers

For me, and the experts I spoke with, one of the most important qualities in a sheet pan is versatility. It needs to work well for a variety of both sweet and savory cooking projects—and even some kids’ art projects, too! I prefer a sheet pan that is rimmed. Whenever I use a sheet pan without sides, I lose half of whatever I’m making on the floor. 

With the pressure of being on set, Dolfi depends on her two Nordic Ware Naturals Baking Sheets to accomplish all of her jobs. “They conduct heat the best, and they also get darker with time, which I love,” she says. “One of mine is lighter, and the other has darkened. The first one is for cookies, and the other is my roasted vegetable pan.”

With sheet pans in such heavy rotation, they also need to stand up to the toughest kitchen jobs. There is nothing worse than hearing that dreaded ‘pop’ from the oven as an inferior sheet pan reaches a temperature it can no longer withstand, sending oil and mess all over your oven. Nordic Ware Naturals Baking Sheets are made from pure, rust-free aluminum and have lifetime durability. They deliver consistently perfect, golden-brown chocolate chip cookies every time.

“They don't warp and are easy to clean,” says Tane. Plus, you can’t beat these sheets for the price point, she notes. “The Nordic Ware 2-pack is my go-to.” 

“Nordic Ware is heavy-duty,” Smart says. “They conduct heat well when you use them for roasted vegetables or sheet pan dinners.” A Costco shopper like me, points out that you can sometimes scoop these up there, making them an absolute steal. She stocks up whenever she sees them. 

Jawad appreciates Nordic Ware pans’ long-lasting resiliency. “I’ve had mine for seven years, and they still work as great as day one! Because these pans are 100% aluminum, they’re not only super durable, but they’re also great at distributing heat and cooling down quickly.”

Thanks to their expert advice, I’ll be breaking up with my emotional-support sheet pans and buying just a few Nordic Ware Naturals Baking Sheets to depend on. Who knows? I might even be able to use that second oven for something other than storage!

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