The 3 Best Baking Sheets of 2025
A good baking sheet needs to cook evenly and withstand years of regular use. After we talked to experts, tested 15 pans, and researched many more, we came up with our criteria for an excellent pan, in order of importance:
A rim for versatility: Rimless sheets do allow you to easily slide cookies onto a rack, and America’s Test Kitchen (subscription required) found that they bake cookies a bit faster thanks to better air circulation. However, we focused on rimmed sheets because they’re much more versatile; they can contain anything you want to roast.
Aluminum for even baking: Some baking sheets are made of aluminized steel or tri-ply (an aluminum core sandwiched by stainless steel), but bare aluminum pans are best. They conduct heat more efficiently, heat evenly, and cool quickly. Steel can heat unevenly and tri-ply is expensive and retains heat longer, causing burning.
Heavy gauge and warp resistant: Thicker pans tend to be more durable and bake more evenly than thinner pans — though going too thick adds weight and slows down browning. Both of our favorite rimmed sheets are 18 gauge, which we’ve found to be a good weight. Our rimless cookie-sheet pick is a thicker 10 gauge, which helps it stay flat without the structural support of sides.
No nonstick coatings: We’ve ruled out nonstick baking sheets because the finish degrades at high temperatures and inevitably scratches. Lining your pan with parchment paper creates a nonstick surface, makes cleanup a cinch, and adds insulation to minimize the risk of burnt bottoms.
Also, many nonstick pans are dark, so they absorb heat and can burn cookies on the bottom before the top is cooked.
Usability: Rimmed jelly-roll baking sheets are often thin, wobbly, and not as big as half-sheet pans, which are around 18 by 13 inches. Half sheets are the biggest standard size that can fit in most ovens (except the tiniest apartment ranges). And as a bonus, rectangular cooling racks often fit inside half-sheet pans — a handy setup for roasting meat or glazing cakes.
Simple is better: Baking sheets with extra features often cost more but don’t perform better. Insulated baking pans, which have an internal air pocket between thin sheets of metal, bake cookies more slowly.
This is nice for delicate cookies that burn easily, but it’s unnecessary for most other things. Plus, experts say that a regular sheet pan lined with parchment works just as well for delicate bakes.
Pans with perforations or ridges are meant to circulate air for even browning and minimal sticking. Though we like the ridges on our favorite cake pans, those pans are also nonstick. Without that coating, food sticks to a baking sheet, and the ridges are a pain to clean.
How we tested
We designed our tests to assess pans’ durability and evenness of baking. We baked honey florentines (delicate cookies that can burn easily) and thicker sugar cookies to see how evenly they brown from top to bottom.
For consistency, we baked one parchment-lined baking sheet at a time on the middle rack and rotated it 180 degrees halfway through.
Pans can warp at high temperatures, so we tested their sturdiness by baking at 450 °F to 500 °F for at least 25 minutes. We assessed pan flatness and ease of cleaning after roasting.
Though most manufacturers advise against using the dishwasher for sheet pans, we’ve washed our pans in the dishwasher as well as by hand dozens of times in the Wirecutter test kitchen. They’re a bit discolored, but it hasn’t affected their performance.
