— Recommendations are independently chosen by Reviewed’s editors. Purchases you make through our links may earn us a commission. Editor's Note: April 15, 2021
After new testing, we've named the Great Jones Holy Sheet our top choice overall for cookie and baking sheets. It's currently sold out, but will be back in stock in late April. We also tested the Vollrath Wear-Ever Half-Size Sheet Pan and Anolon Advanced Cookie Sheet with Silicone Grips.
Whether you’re a skilled home cook or an utter beginner, you definitely need a dependable baking sheet like our favorite Nordic Ware Baker’s Half Sheet (available at Amazon). It’s a vital tool for baking cookies, roasting vegetables, and cooking that frozen pizza you bought for lazy nights.
And no matter how frequently (or infrequently) you use your baking sheet, you'll want something that can stand up to high heat. But which baking sheets are up for the task, and which are just not worth the money?
To find out, we tested the top rated baking sheets, making seemingly endless batches of cookies, oodles of roasted vegetables, and enough frozen pizza to feed a small army. We also washed everything, taking note of what was an easy clean and what required some elbow grease. After extensive testing, here’s what we’re stocking in our cabinets.
Here are the best cookie and baking sheets we tested, ranked in order:
Nordic Ware Natural Aluminum Commercial Baker's Half Sheet Great Jones Holy Sheet AirBake Nonstick Cookie Sheet Farberware Nonstick Bakeware 11”x17” Cookie Pan USA Pan Half Sheet Pan Chicago Metallic Professional Non-Stick Cookie/Jelly-Roll Pan Artisan Professional Classic Aluminum Baking Half Sheet Pan with Lip Anolon Advanced Cookie Sheet with Silicone Grips 10"x15" Vollrath Wear-Ever Half-Size Sheet Pan Credit: Reviewed.com / Jackson Ruckar
The Nordic Ware Natural Aluminum Commercial Baker's Half Sheet is the best baking sheet we've tested.
Best Overall Nordic Ware Natural Aluminum Commercial Baker's Half Sheet
There’s a reason this American-made baking sheet tops charts around the internet. It’s lightweight, large enough to fit more than a dozen cookies, and easy to clean. Measuring 12 by 17 inches, we’re confident we can use it to cook enough vegetables for a small crowd—or for ourselves with plenty of leftovers. Even covered with goodies, this tray is light enough to hold with one hand while you scoop whatever you’re making onto a waiting plate.
Our biggest concern was cleaning. While the pizza slid off easily, cookies and vegetables took a bit more work and left a bit of residue. However, everything heavy duty came off with a few minutes of soaking. We recommend parchment paper or a Silpat mat to ensure that nothing sticks.
Given the high-quality construction, if you take care of this pan—wash it by hand and don’t even think about touching it with a metal spatula or fork—there's no reason why it shouldn't last for ages.
Pros
Versatile
Distributes heat evenly
Large and lightweight
Cons
Lining (parchment, foil, Silpat) recommended
Buy now at Amazon
$14.00 from Walmart Credit: Reviewed / Madison Trapkin
The Great Jones Holy Sheet is the best baking sheet for baking cookies thanks to its size and nonstick surface.
Best for Cookies Great Jones Holy Sheet
Great Jones makes high-performing products across the board, and Holy Sheet is no exception. Its nonstick coating is silky smooth and super easy to clean with a little soap, water, and little-to-no elbow grease.
This pan is a can’t-miss for folks who bake cookies often. During testing, we easily fit 12 cookies on this baking sheet and were impressed with how evenly they cooked on the tops and bottoms.
It’s a great size for cooking mini frozen pizzas, and we were able to squeeze a 14-inch pizza on it with the pizza hanging over the edges just a bit. Pizza and roasted veggies slid off the pan with ease, and while you can use nonstick spray or lining if you want to preserve this beautiful pan for as long as possible, we didn’t notice any discoloration during our testing.
It’s slightly more expensive for a single sheet pan, but it’s well-made, easy on the eyes, and we think the price is justified for the superior performance.
Pros
Nonstick
Bakes evenly
Attractive
Easy to clean
Cons
None we could find
Buy now at Great Jones
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How We Tested Credit: Reviewed.com / Jackson Ruckar
We cooked pizza and veggies in the pans to really get a sense for what it's like to use them.
The Tester
Hi, I’m Madison Trapkin, the kitchen and cooking editor here at Reviewed. I have a huge sweet tooth and chocolate chip cookies are one of my favorite treats, so a good baking sheet is essential in my home. By no means am I a professional baker, but I’ve tested everything from boxed cake mixes to pie dishes (further proof of my affinity for sugar).
And I’m Bethany, an avid home baker and freelancer for Reviewed. I’ve been terrorizing my mother in the kitchen since I was too small to hold a baking sheet straight. Now an adult, I regularly bake too many cookies, and weekly roast vegetables and other delights for dinner.
The Tests
To find our winner, we tested seven baking sheets of various styles (rimmed, rimless, AirBake, nonstick), materials (aluminum, aluminized steel, carbon steel, steel), and sizes. We used each pan to cook various baked goods, including frozen pizzas, sugar cookies, and mixed veggies and scored each based on size, weight, warp resistance, ease of food removal, how much effort it took to clean, and the overall experience of using the pan.
Size is an important factor in a baking sheet, particularly if you’re only planning to own one. So we judged the baking sheets on how many cookies comfortably fit, whether or not a frozen pizza would squeeze in, and of course whether or not they would fit in a standard oven.
While I don’t mind a baking sheet with a bit of weight—solid construction means it’s less likely to warp—a heavy sheet is tough to hold on to. We tested how easy it was to handle each tray with one hand, and whether you could hold the sheet comfortably while also removing your food to settle on the cooling rack.
We also judged the nonstick factors after cooking. Specifically, how easy was it to remove things from the tray? And how easy was it to clean?
Through it all, we paid close attention to the overall experience of using each pan. Was it easy to grab? Did it hold food securely? Was baking even? The worst thing you can do for your kitchen is stock it with equipment that you don’t like, so I asked the above questions with an eye towards which pan I would be happy to use every day.
How to Clean Baking Sheets
First, measure 1/4 cup of baking soda and 1/4 cup of vinegar. Then, evenly spread the baking soda on the baking sheet and pour vinegar on the baking sheet and let the ingredients react to each other. In a sink, submerge the baking sheet in hot water and let it sit for half an hour to 45 minutes. Drain the sink and scrub away the grime or dirt with steel wool. Finally, wash the sheet with regular soap and water and let dry.
Credit: Reviewed.com / Jackson Ruckar
We tested nonstick capabilities and how easy each pan was to clean.
Other Baking Sheets We Tested Farberware Nonstick Bakeware 11-Inch x 17-Inch Cookie Pan
This baking sheet's aggressively nonstick surface was a breeze to clean with everything we tested, and it had slightly extended side rims that made it easy to remove from the oven.
However, this pan warped notably at higher heats, leaving me doubtful that it would last a long time in an active kitchen.
Pros
Good nonstick coating
Cleans up easily
Cons
Warps at high heat
Buy now at Amazon
$43.49 from Overstock USA Pan Half Sheet Pan
Unlike the other smooth-bottomed sheets, this pan had some curves. Specifically, the bottom was corrugated. While this didn’t cause things to cook any differently, it made it trickier to clean, as there were more corners where grease could hide. Luckily the nonstick coating works well.
The pan bakes well and offers lots of space for your meal, but is also on the heavier side. For that reason, it’s solidly in the middle of our list.
Pros
Spacious
Bakes well
Cons
Difficult to clean
Hefty
$20.99 from Amazon
$27.24 from Walmart Chicago Metallic Professional Non-Stick Cookie/Jelly-Roll Pan
The solid construction and smooth nonstick coating of this pan would have won my heart, if only it wasn't so small! Just a few inches longer than a sheet of paper, this pan was the smallest we tested—and the difference was noticeable. Cookies baked nicely and slid off easily, but I couldn't fit many on the sheet. A standard-sized frozen pizza wouldn't fit either, and I had to balance it precariously on the rim of the sheet, rather than the bottom, where it proceeded to ooze into a folded rectangle during baking.
If you want a baking sheet sized for an incredibly small oven, or one that will fit nicely on crowded counters, this is your sheet. But if you want to make a regular amount of food with it, you'll be sorely disappointed.
Pros
Solid construction
Nonstick coating holds up well
Cons
Small
$18.38 from Amazon
$12.99 from Bed Bath & Beyond Artisan Professional Classic Aluminum Baking Half Sheet Pan with Lip
This sheet looked almost exactly like the Nordic Ware, but warped at 400°F and made hilarious popping noises after I took it out of the oven to cool. It also fell victim to a classic aluminum pan pitfall, which is looking not-quite-clean after washing. I worry about how easily it seemed to pick up scratches just from sliding in and out of my oven.
If you buy this one, treat it carefully, with a plastic or silicone spatula rather than a metal one (which I recommend with all pans, anyway). And while I wouldn’t warn you to avoid this sheet altogether, I would caution you to only use it with parchment paper and at lower oven temperatures.
Pros
Good-looking
Cons
Prone to warping and scratches
Looks worn quickly
$23.12 from Amazon
$23.12 from Wayfair Anolon Advanced Cookie Sheet with Silicone Grips, 10" x 15"
If you’re interested in a baking sheet with extra comfy handles, this one could be right for you. It’s important to note that this is a half-size sheet pan, so while it’ll be easier to store it won’t fit tons of food. In fact, we couldn’t cram a 14-inch pizza on here during testing no matter how hard we tried.
That said, this pan is really easy to clean and distributes heat evenly so that cookies turn out perfectly golden brown.
Pros
Comfortable to grip
Sturdy
Easy to clean
Cons
Small
Heavy
$14.99 from Amazon
$14.99 from Bed Bath & Beyond Vollrath Half-Size Wear-Ever Heavy-Duty Aluminum Sheet Pan
This no-frills baking sheet is just fine. It’s affordable, but you'll need to use non-stick cooking spray or some sort of liner to avoid sticking, which means an extra step every time you use it. During testing we experienced slight warping at 400°F, but that’s not uncommon for aluminum.
This sort of sheet pan is common in restaurant kitchens, so the “half-size” in its name is a bit misleading as this 18-by-19-inch pan is technically half the size of a 18-by-26-inch commercial baking sheet. In reality, this pan is a great size for the home cook, assuming you’re in the market for an ultra-budget option and don’t care about build quality.
Pros
Affordable
Great size for cookies or roasted vegetables
Cons
Needs non-stick cooking spray or lining
Warps at at 400°F
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