With school back in session (we hope) and after school activities gearing up, I’ve been struggling to provide healthy dinners during the week. A couple of years ago, I came across a magazine spread about sheet pan dinners. They advertised that they were easy, healthy and quick! I was skeptical because I’ve never thought to put grains, proteins, and vegetables on the same sheet pan and expect an edible dish. But I was wrong! It actually works really well if you follow some simple guidelines.
My favorite part about these dinners is that you only have to clean the sheet pan, knife and cutting board. No extra prep dishes or pans. You can add a ton of vegetables and even buy pre-cut or frozen veggies to speed things up.
I will share with you my latest recipe and you can find many more on Sheet Pan Dinners 101 from Forks Over Knives. If you’re more of a meat eater, you could easily add protein and check the internal temperature.
This is the basic structure of the recipe derived from Forks Over Knives:
The Flexible Sheet Pan Dinner recipe:
Use this foundational recipe, which is ready in 40 minutes and yields 8 cups, as a template for veggie-centric sheet pan dinners.
Ingredients:
- 1¼ cups quick-cooking whole grains (such as quinoa or instant brown rice)
- 8 cups fresh vegetables, cut into 1- to 2-inch pieces
- 1 15-oz. can of beans or lentils, rinsed and drained (or 1½ cups cooked frozen peas, edamame, or lima beans)
- 1 tablespoon desired ground spices (or 3 tablespoons chopped fresh herbs)
- 3½ cups vegetable broth or water
- Citrus juice, salad dressing, or your favorite sauce, for drizzling
- Chopped nuts, seeds, or nutritional yeast, for garnish
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Sprinkle the grains over the bottom of a 15×10-inch rimmed baking sheet.
- Toss together the vegetables, beans, and spices in a large bowl. Spread the mixture in a single layer over the grains. Carefully pour the vegetable broth or water into the pan. Cover the sheet pan tightly with foil or invert another baking sheet on top. Bake 20 minutes.
- Remove foil covering. Roast the uncovered sheet pan dinner 15 to 20 minutes more, or until the grains are tender and the vegetables are beginning to brown.
- To serve, drizzle with citrus juice or preferred sauce and sprinkle with your chosen garnish.
And here are the ingredients that I made for my latest sheet pan dinner. It was a big hit!
- Quinoa
- Cauliflower and onions
- Cooked lentils
- Dried Rosemary, oregano, basil, garlic powder, salt and pepper
- Low sodium vegetable broth
- Olive oil for drizzling
- Fresh parsley for garnish
Next, I want to try the Tex-Mex version! My family loves taco night so this might be a good replacement.
