In 5 simple steps, learn how to create your own sheet-pan recipe! Sheet-pan recipes are perfect for any time you're looking for a hassle-free meal.
Not only does this method of cooking make meal prep easy, but it also requires little to no dishes (other than your trusty sheet pan).
If you're not sold just yet, another bonus is how customizable the recipes can be–switch up your spices, and/or vegetables and you have a whole different meal!
1.) Gather Your Ingredients!
Make sure you check your meal plan to see if you have meal carbs and which ones. Sweet potatoes or even bakers potatoes will appear on higher intakes and are great for roasting. If you don't have any meal carbs, carrots or butternut squash will give a similar feel to a more starchy food with fewer carbs in it!
Other vegetable carbs that work great to roast are:
- Turnips
- Onions
- Broccoli
- Cauliflower
- Zucchini
- Mushrooms
- Brussel sprouts
- Tomatoes (though they generally don't need as much time.)
2.) Grab Oil For Roasting
Determine how many meals you're going to make out of the sheet pan meal. If you are making it into 4 meals you could multiply your dinner fat allotment by 4 and use that amount of oil on the sheet pan (generally 2Tbsp for 4 servings on most plans).
- Which oil should you use? We recommend naturally refined avocado oil, virgin coconut oil, or ghee as they have a high smoke point (can bake at a high heat without releasing any carcinogens). If you want to use the fat in other parts of the meal, you can also give them a quick spray of cooking oil (like PAM) to likely coat them so they won't stick.
3.) Time to Spice It up!
Add some fun flavor kicks both before you put it in the oven and even after… garlic, lemon or lime, dry rubs or spices, and sauces or dressings that are 40 calories or less!
- One of our favorite fall sheet pan ideas is roasting chicken breast, sweet potatoes, and brussel sprouts then placing them on a bed of arugula with a little balsamic vinegar!
4.) Determine a Cooking Time
For the cooking time and temperature of your oven, we recommend roasting between 350-400 degrees. The longer and hotter you roast the veggies the more nutrients you lose so reducing the time and temperature slightly can help retain the vitamins and minerals.
5.) Enjoy!
Here are some of our favorite sheet-pan recipes from around the web! We’ve included some tips and tricks for each one to make sure they’re MetPro approved.
Paleo Sheet Pan Chicken with Roasted Baby Potatoes
MetPro Alterations: Remove honey, use 1 lb of chicken, 11 oz of potatoes*
MetPro Serving: 4 servings
MetPro Serving Breakdown:
Meal Carb= 2 servings
Protein= 2 servings
Veggie Carbs= 0 (though recommend roasting carrots on another plate)
Fats= ½ fat
Sheet Pan Shrimp Fajitas
MetPro Alterations: exclude sour cream, only 2 Tbsps oil, only corn or whole wheat tortillas, 24 oz of shrimp (1.5 lbs)
MetPro Serving: 4 servings
MetPro Serving Breakdown:
Meal carbs= adjustable with tortillas (2 meal carbs for 2 15 gram carb corn or whole wheat tortillas)
Protein=2 servings
Veggie Carbs= 1.5 meal carbs
Fats= ½ fat
Lemon Chicken and Artichokes
MetPro Alterations: 20oz of chicken, only 2 Tbsp oil
MetPro Serving: 6 servings
MetPro Serving Breakdown:
Protein=2 servings each
Veggie Carbs= 1.5 veg carbs
Fats= 1/2
Curried Tofu with Vegetables
MetPro Alterations: 2.5 Tbsp oil, no cashews, fat-free Greek yogurt
MetPro Serving: 4 servings
MetPro Serving Breakdown:
Protein= 1 serving
Meal carb= 2 servings
Veggie Carbs= 1.5 veg carbs
Fats= 1 serving
Sumac Chicken and Vegetables
MetPro Alterations: 4 Tbsp oil, 2 lbs chicken breast, No brown sugar
MetPro Serving: 8 servings
MetPro Serving Breakdown:
Protein= 2 servings
Veggie Carbs= 1.5
Fats= ½
Chipolte Pork Dinner
MetPro Tips: no honey, no canola oil (sub olive)
MetPro Serving: 4 servings
MetPro Serving Breakdown:
Protein= 2 servings
Meal carbs= 2 servings
Veggie Carbs= 1 serving
Fats= ½ fat
Honey Soy Salmon Dinner
MetPro Tips: Four 4 ounce filets of salmon (16 total), 1 Tbsp oil for step 2 and then for step 3 just use PAM cooking spray and toss the garlic and ginger on
MetPro Serving: 4 servings
MetPro Serving Breakdown:
Protein= 2 servings
Meal carbs= 1 serving
Veggie Carbs= 1.5
Fats= 1 serving
