One-pan meals turn daily dinner struggles into mealtime wins, but what do you do when your main course and side dish require different cooking times? With our Modular Sheet Pans, your meat or fish, and vegetables won’t have to stay in the oven for the same amount of time. Instead, you can cook and season them together yet separately, so everything’s cooked just the way you want it to be.
Here are a few ways you can get more out of mealtime with our Modular Sheet Pans.
1. Pick Your Produce
When you’re making something like Roasted Vegetables, choose vegetables that have the same roasting time. Asparagus, mushrooms, and plum tomatoes are a tasty option that take only about 25–30 minutes to cook. Or, if you have a little more time on your hands, cook baby carrots, leeks, and acorn squash together for 40–45 minutes.
Now, here’s where the Modular Sheet Pans can help you out! If you’re roasting vegetables with different cook times, you can use the two smaller pans to separate, season, and cook your veggies. For example, you can place your asparagus in one pan and diced potatoes in the other. Then, just cook your veggies in stages by popping the longer-cooking veggies (i.e. the potatoes) in the oven first.
2. Preheat Your Pans
As soon as you start preheating your oven, pop your pans in. Why? Because this easy technique will add beautiful browning and rich flavor to your meal. When you preheat your pans, the chicken, pork, and/or vegetables will start cooking and browning almost immediately, ensuring even crispiness throughout.
3. Control the Crowd
One of the most common problems when it comes to preparing one-pan meals is an overcrowded pan. Piling too many ingredients into a pan can make your food pale, dry, and flavorless. Again, our Modular Sheet Pans offer a simple way to avoid this mealtime misstep.
Using the different-sized pans, you can separate your meat and fish, starches, and veggies from one another before placing them all in the oven. Make sure the food pieces on each pan are spread out at least an inch apart. This will give every piece of food enough breathing room so heat and air can circulate, which will help your food develop good color, flavor, and moisture.
4. Time It Out
Most veggies and proteins (ex. chicken) have different cooking times, so when you make them together in the same pan, the protein usually needs more cooking time. Here’s how much longer most proteins need in the oven when they’re cooked along with veggies.
Type of Protein | Additional Cooking Time |
Flank Steak | 20 minutes at 450°F (232°C) |
Boneless Chicken Breasts or Thighs | 15–18 minutes at 450°F (232°C) |
Sausage | 5–10 minutes at 450°F (232°C) |
Salmon | 11–13 minutes at 450°F (232°C) |
Pork | 15–18 minutes at 450°F (232°C) |
Need an example? If you’re making something like Flank Steak Tacos, put the marinated steak in the oven first. Then, after about 20 minutes, add the peppers and onion to the oven using the Modular Sheet Pans. When everything looks tender and cooked through, remove all the pans from the oven. As you let the steak rest, quickly cover the veggies with aluminum foil to help them retain heat. And boom, dinner’s done!
5. Rotate Your Pans
All ovens—even the most state-of-the-art ones—have hot and cold spots. That’s why it’s always a good idea to rotate your pans halfway through cooking. It helps distribute heat and airflow, allowing more uniform cooking and even browning.
So, now that you know all these tips and tricks, what meals will you make with the Modular Sheet Pans? Tell us in the comments below.
Yummy
So excited to use my pan in the ways described above!
Thank you for these tips
I’m so happy to have bought these because I can bake chicken strips by themselves! Also I might bake potatoes and serve them haven’t in quite a while!
I will do the roast chicken and veggies! I can’t wait
I love, love my new modular sheet pans!
I just got my pans yesterday, but I think I’m gonna really like them. They are just the right size because it is just my husband and I now. Think they will be great for cooking smaller meals.
I loved my pans they are the perfect size 👍🏻👍🏻
I love my pans they are incredible used them for the first time and the pot roast was excellent. Awesome pans I will be using them alot. Thankyou
Salmon and roasted veggies…yum!
I rarely use my full size oven anymore…I have a NuWave over on my counter that I needed the smaller backing size sheets for and these modular ones are perfect….can not wait to use them.
I want to try the Flank Steak Tacos!
I am looking forward to using my modular pans for cooking both the vegetables and meat, chicken and fish!
I just used my new pans for salmon and broccoli 🥦 so awesome ❤️
I just received the set of 3 modular pans and am very impressed with their quality and heft — I am going to enjoy using these! Honestly I usually just get inexpensive pans like this size at Wal-Mart and throw them away after a year or two, but I can tell I will have these a long time — just like the baking stones I’ve been using for years. I am going to have to get some other bakeware like these pans!