DIY Sheet Pan Meals

No matter what your resolutions are this year, cooking more meals at home can help you get there. Sheet pan meals are a great way to get a meal on the table. Let your oven do the heavy lifting and even catch a break on clean up! Once you know the rules of sheet pan meals, you can start to break them--we've got tips for taking your sheet pan meals past the basics.

Tip #1 Pick ingredients that have similar cooking times and temperatures. Don't put whole carrots and a delicate fish in at the same time or you'll end up with hard carrots or overcooked fish.

If your ingredients don't have similar time and temperature needs, you can always add them in stages. Roast those carrots alone until they're almost done, then add the fish and cook until it's flaky and cooked through.

Tip #2 Cut vegetables uniformly, so everything cooks at the same rate. Whether it's cubed butternut squash, wedged potatoes, or broccoli florets, food will cook more evenly if you're working with the same size and shape pieces. You don't need a ruler, but try to keep things consistent.

Tip #3 Add flavor! Whether you're marinating a protein, tossing everything in the same spice blend, or roasting additional ingredients that will become a sauce, make sure all the flavors you're working with go well together.

Tip #4 Roast your sheet pan meal, don't steam it. If you overcrowd the pan with the food you've dutifully selected, prepped, and seasoned, the water evaporating will steam the food and you won't get the crispy edges that make roasted food so good. Even though these sheet pan meals are perfectly suited to using fewer dishes, there's nothing in the rule book that say you can only use one. Spread things out to allow for air circulation.

Tip #5 Add a bit of freshness to your meal. Fresh herbs, a squeeze of citrus or a no-cook sauce will ensure your sheet pan meal is balanced and exciting.