I love sheet pan meals. They’re warm, comforting, and no-fuss meals. Just pop everything on the sheet pan, and you get 30 to 50 minutes to hang out with your kids before dinner is ready! The perfect way to end a really busy day.
My kids love pretty much anything that is roasted with garlic. While my daughter tends to push any garlic that she can find to the side of her plate, it is still the secret spice to getting her to eat everything. Even if she doesn’t like the idea of garlic, she still loves the flavour. So don’t shy away from the garlic in these recipes.
Sheet Pan Pierogi Dinner
(Prep time 5 minutes, Bake time 35 minutes)
My husband is Doukhobor, which means that pierogies are usually boiled, then fried up with copious amounts of butter and caramelized onions. It is delicious, but this recipe is easier. I’ve chosen to serve it with cauliflower, but any vegetable will work. Oven-roasted cauliflower tends to be popular with kids.
1 head of cauliflower
16 pierogies
5 tbsp olive oil
3 cloves of garlic
½ tsp salt and black pepper, to taste
Sour cream, for serving
1. Preheat the oven to 400 F.
2. Cut the cauliflower into bite-sized florets. The centre is also edible, so don’t waste it! Chop it into French fry sized sticks.
3. Drizzle 2 tbsp of olive oil on your baking sheet. Lay out the pierogies and cauliflower. Drizzle with the remaining olive oil. Pop them in the oven for 20 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, finely dice the garlic. After 20 minutes, take the sheet pan out of the oven, toss everything and add the garlic, salt and pepper. Bake for another 15 minutes. The dinner is ready when the pierogies are cooked through.
Baked Gnocchi
(Prep time 10 minutes, Bake time 40 minutes)
There’s something comforting about a pasta that bakes in its own sauce. Feel free to add bite-sized pieces of sausage or pepperoni for a bit more flavour. Swap the mushrooms for another favourite vegetable. Coloured peppers or fresh spinach are both nice.
¼ cup of olive oil
2 cups of diced mushrooms
4 cloves of garlic
1 package of uncooked potato gnocchi (500g)
½ tsp salt
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
½ tsp sugar
28 oz can of diced tomatoes
2 cups of mozzarella cheese
Grated Parmesan cheese
1. Preheat the oven to 400 F.
2. Finely dice the mushrooms and garlic.
3. Place the gnocchi and the vegetables into the centre of a large baking dish. Pour over the olive oil. Sprinkling on the herbs and salt. Toss everything so that it is fully coated, and spread it evenly in the baking dish. Pour over the can of tomatoes and gently stir to ensure that the gnocchi are evenly covered by tomato.
4. Bake for 20 minutes. Toss to ensure even baking. Sprinkle the dish with mozzarella cheese and bake for 20 more minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbling.
5. Serve with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
Sheet Pan Potato Hash
(Prep time 15 minutes, Bake time 35 minutes)
We serve sheet pan hash for a fancy breakfast or a simple dinner. It’s easy to prep if you have a mandolin or food processor with a grater attachment. Otherwise, give yourself a bit more prep time to dice or grate the vegetables by hand.
3 large potatoes
2 sweet potatoes
5 mushrooms
1 green pepper
1 onion
3 cloves of garlic
1 Tbsp smokey paprika
1 tsp thyme
¼ cup of oil
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp salt and ground black pepper, to taste
4 eggs
1. Preheat the oven to 450 F.
2. Coarsely grate the potatoes, sweet potato and mushrooms. Finely dice the green pepper, onion and garlic.
3. Place the vegetables on a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle on the olive oil, toss to coat. Add in the paprika, thyme, oregano, salt and pepper. Stir one more time to make sure that everything is well coated, then spread it out evenly on the baking sheet.
4. Bake for 20 minutes. Stir the hash one more time, to ensure even cooking.
5. With the back of a spoon, make four small wells in the potatoes. Crack an egg into each well. Season each egg with a bit of salt and pepper.
6. Bake until the egg whites are fully set, about 12 to 15 minutes. Serve immediately.