The 6 Best Quarter Sheet Pans of 2023

What to Look for in Quarter Sheet Pans

Material

Aluminum is the most common option for sheet pans. It conducts heat well, so the food cooks evenly, and it heats up and cools down quickly. Uncoated aluminum is rated for higher temperatures than sheet pans with a nonstick coating. If you want to use the pan for broiling foods as well as baking, be sure to look at the maximum heat it can take. Sheet pans made of stainless steel tend to be heavy-duty, are also quick to heat up, and distribute heat well. Unlike aluminum, most stainless steel baking sheets are dishwasher safe, but the material isn't naturally nonstick. Finally, consider your utensils because metal spatulas and tongs will scratch and chip nonstick surfaces such as silicone and ceramic.

Construction

Sheet pans do a lot of hard work in the kitchen and need to handle extreme temperatures, so durability is a significant consideration. When shopping for an aluminum pan, remember that a 16-gauge pan is thicker than an 18-gauge pan. It's common for metal pans to warp as they heat up, which can cause uneven cooking and spills if you have liquid in the pan. A thicker pan with a reinforced rim is less likely to warp in the oven.

Color

Lighter surfaces absorb less heat, cook more efficiently, and are the preferred choice for baking. Cookies and bread baked on dark surfaces may not cook through but become too brown and crisp on the bottom. Darker pans, including hard-anodized aluminum, will also cook food faster, so you may have to lower the heat by 25 degrees or shorten the recipe's cooking time. A silicone mat can help distribute the heat, and dark pans are good when you want crispy crust on something like pizza.

FAQs

What are the different sheet pan sizes?

Sheet pans (or baking sheets) come in several sizes, and the quarter sheet pan is not the smallest. A full sheet pan (26 x 18 inches) will generally only fit in commercial ovens. The most common size in home kitchens is the 18 x 13-inch half sheet pan. The quarter sheet pan is the same size as a 9 x 13-inch cake pan, and two can fit side by side in the average oven. Eighth sheet pans are the smallest (6.5 x 9 inches), and these are handy for small cooking and baking tasks.

What is the difference between a sheet pan, cookie sheet, and jelly roll pan?

Cooks tend to interchange the names sheet pan, baking sheet, cookie sheet, and jelly roll pan. While all of them can handle many of the same cooking tasks, there is a difference.

• A sheet pan and baking sheet are the same thing: a flat-bottomed, rimmed pan. They're the most versatile and can cook nearly anything you'd make on a cookie sheet or jelly roll pan.
• A jelly roll pan is a type of sheet pan that's typically 10.5 x 15.5 inches. While it can be used like any sheet pan, it's designed to bake a thin cake of a specific size that you intend to roll, such as a Yule log.
• Cookie sheets come in several sizes but are typically about the same size as a jelly roll pan. The main difference is that they are not rimmed, so cookies slide right off the edge. Many have one raised side that's easier to grip.
  

Why do baking sheets turn brown?

Even if you buy a light-colored pan, it may turn brown if you use it a lot for a variety of foods. This is very common with baking sheets because they are so useful, with the ability to cook everything from sheet pan dinners and potatoes to delicious cookies. Over time, a buildup of fat and oil bakes onto the surface—similar to the seasoning on cast iron—and gives the pan a dark patina. While you might want to restore your baking sheets to their like-new shine (it's a time-consuming task), many bakers prefer the extra gentle browning produced by a well-used pan.

How We Researched

To compile this list, our team of editors and contributors spent hours researching the best quarter sheet pans on the market, evaluating their key features—such as material, performance, and ease of cleaning—in addition to reviews from customers and other trusted sources. We then used this research to assign a star rating from one to five (five being the best; one being the worst) to certain products on the list.

Why Trust The Spruce Eats?

This piece was written by Bernadette Machard de Gramont, an LA-based writer who specializes in global food and wine content. After a two-year stint at the Williams-Sonoma Headquarters in San Francisco, she amassed a comprehensive collection of bakeware, including the USA Pan and Nordic Ware Naturals baking sheets, which she uses extensively. She now researches and tests a variety of cookware, bakeware, and wine tools and interviews field experts for their insight.

Sources

• Carol Borchardt, a personal chef and recipe developer
• Daniel P. Craig, kitchen appliance expert with more than 20 years working in professional kitchens