You can’t enjoy the aroma of fresh-from-the-oven cookies or herby sheet-pan chicken thighs wafting through your house without a trusty baking sheet or two. After hours of testing and tasting—someone had to do it—we’ve concluded that the Nordic Ware Naturals Baker’s Half Sheet is the best all-purpose baking sheet.
This 13-by-18-inch pan performs nearly as well and looks almost identical to our main pick but usually costs a few dollars more.
If you prefer a rimless sheet to slide cookies easily onto a cooling rack, this one is less likely to char baked goods than thinner sheets, and its two handles make it easy to rotate in the oven.
Since this guide was first published in 2013, we’ve spent over 45 total hours testing 15 sheet pans. After making 24 batches of cookies, six pizzas, and pounds of oven fries, we found that the Nordic Ware pan bakes as evenly as baking sheets twice the price and doesn’t buckle at high heat like cheaper models.
The Nordic Ware Naturals Baker’s Half Sheet has been our top pick since 2013, and after using it frequently for years, it still lies flat and bakes cookies to an even golden brown. Other aluminum pans may perform similarly, but the Nordic Ware baking sheet consistently costs the least for a pan of its quality. It’s a durable workhorse that can handle a wide variety of tasks, from roasting crisp oven fries to cooking a quick sheet-pan dinner.
This 13-by-18-inch pan performs nearly as well and looks almost identical to our main pick but usually costs a few dollars more.
If you can’t find the Nordic Ware pan or if cleaning the stamped logo on its surface bothers you, the Artisan Professional Classic Aluminum Half Sheet is a decent runner-up. Like the Nordic Ware baking sheet, it’s made of strong, uncoated 18-gauge aluminum that withstands high heat. But it darkened oven chips slightly faster than the Nordic Ware baking sheet, and the higher price tag doesn’t yield better performance.
If you prefer a rimless sheet to slide cookies easily onto a cooling rack, this one is less likely to char baked goods than thinner sheets, and its two handles make it easy to rotate in the oven.
We prefer rimmed sheets for their versatility, but if you like a rimless cookie sheet, we recommend the Vollrath Wear-Ever Aluminum Cookie Sheet With Natural Finish. This two-handled pan was easy to rotate in the oven, baked cookies evenly, and was simple to clean. Made of 10-gauge aluminum, it’s thicker than our main pick, which is necessary to prevent warping without the structure of rims. But it isn’t as all-purpose as our other picks, because it doesn’t contain roasting vegetables or the juices from a sheet-pan dinner.
Why you should trust us
In researching this guide, we pored over cookbooks such as The Gourmet Cookie Book and equipment reviews from a range of other publications. We also combed Amazon reviews and interviewed Alice Medrich, who wrote Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy Melt-in-Your-Mouth Cookies, and Jennifer Aaronson, who was formerly the head food editor at Martha Stewart Living and the lead food editor for Martha Stewart’s Cookies.
In addition to editing cookbooks (both sweet and savory), Wirecutter deputy editor Christine Cyr Clisset has reviewed a wide variety of kitchen equipment for Wirecutter. Marguerite Preston is a former professional baker and the senior editor of Wirecutter’s kitchen team.
How the Nordic Ware Naturals Baker’s Half Sheet has held up
After years of heavy use at home and in Wirecutter’s test kitchen, all our Nordic Ware Naturals Baker’s Half Sheets (and quarter- and eighth-sheet pans) still perform great. We’ve roasted vegetables at 500 °F without the pans warping and used them to support heavy casseroles and pies.
The well-used pans do show their age. The smaller-size pans in our test kitchen are all tarnished from being tossed in the dishwasher. And, as discussed below, some have started to develop a dark patina of baked-on oils. But that patina actually isn’t a bad thing.
The Kitchen Tools We Use Daily: Rimmed Baking Sheets and Wire Racks
Are air-bake sheets better than traditional baking pans?
The main advantage of air-bake sheets over traditional baking pans is the more uniform heating of food. The air-insulated technology makes it easier to prevent the over-browning of the cookie bottom. This eliminates the problem of undercooked middles while improving the texture of your cookies.
What kind of cookie sheet do you use for baking cookies?
An insulated or “Airbake” sheet like the Airbake Nonstick Cookie Sheet is my favorite for cookies. These pans are essentially two sheets of metal with an air pocket between them. This prevents food from burning and is therefore perfect for baking delicate cookies and pastries.
Are air-bake pans better than a single layered cookie sheet?
The air-bake pans are advertised to provide more control over the baking process and to deliver more consistent baking results than a single-layered cookie sheet. An air-bake cookie sheet is supposed to eliminate the problem with burnt cookie bottoms, allowing the cookies to cook evenly.
Why are air-bake cookie sheets so popular?
The bottom sheet blocks the intense oven heat, while the cushion of air reduces the temperature of the top sheet, which comes in contact with food. Air-bake cookie sheets have become extremely popular among professional and home cooks because of their great and consistent baking results.