I want to buy some new sheet pans and wire racks to use for roasting veggies, cooking bacon, etc.

Looking on Amazon, there are a ton of options. Any recommendations? Pros and cons for aluminum vs stainless?

Half sheet size and dishwasher safe are my only requirements.

Most sheet pans are aluminum because it's better at conducting heat and spreads the heat evenly. I use the heavy duty (thick) pans from restaurant supply.

Vollrath is the most common brand. I'm not sure they are dishwasher safe, but if you line them in aluminum foil, you can hand wash them in about five seconds. Get some 1/4 sheet pans while you're at it.

HTownAg98 said:

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Vollrath is the most common brand. I'm not sure they are dishwasher safe, but if you line them in aluminum foil, you can hand wash them in about five seconds.

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I see Nordic ware as very popular online and in the various equipment reviews.

FYI if your aluminum sheet pans get crusty and black from the dishwasher a scotch pad works great at getting them back to normal.

I got some Nordic Ware from Amazon a few years ago. Good, heavy duty. Can't imagine I'll be needing others for a few decades.

Most of mine have come from Ace Mart or other restaurant supply type store. There's no need to pay for a name brand. I also very rarely bake anything straight on the pan. I almost always use parchment, a silpat type mat, or foil.

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Most of mine have come from Ace Mart or other restaurant supply type store. There's no need to pay for a name brand. I also very rarely bake anything straight on the pan. I almost always use parchment, a silpat type mat, or foil.

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Using parchment and/or foil means never having to wash sheet pans again... ever...

aggiespartan said:

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Most of mine have come from Ace Mart or other restaurant supply type store. There's no need to pay for a name brand. I also very rarely bake anything straight on the pan. I almost always use parchment, a silpat type mat, or foil.

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I thought the big difference in brands and reputation was based on their tendency to warp in the oven, esp for the rimmed kind.

Based on the amount of use our sheet trays get, I think we can safely say that the non-brand name sheet pans from a restaurant supply store should be sufficient. I think the concern would be the non-brand name ones from bed bath and beyond or marshalls or similar.

biobioprof said:

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aggiespartan said:

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Most of mine have come from Ace Mart or other restaurant supply type store. There's no need to pay for a name brand. I also very rarely bake anything straight on the pan. I almost always use parchment, a silpat type mat, or foil.

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I thought the big difference in brands and reputation was based on their tendency to warp in the oven, esp for the rimmed kind.

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So when you go to a place like Ace Mart or look on Webstaurant, they will usually have different qualities of pans. Usually ranging from something like 14 gauge to 18 gauge. I just checked and Webstaurant even has 12 gauge. The lower the number, the lower the quality. I generally get the 18 gauge (or the heaviest they have). The heavier ones won't warp, or at least to any extent that is noticeable.

You have that backwards. The larger the number, the thinner the metal. 12 ga. is thicker than 18 ga.

D`Funkaladu` said:

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You have that backwards. The larger the number, the thinner the metal. 12 ga. is thicker than 18 ga.

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Yea, I really don't look at the numbers much. I just grab the heaviest. I've got over 40 pans. A few are from costco, a couple are from Macys, but the majority are from restaurant supply stores. I haven't bought any online because the shipping is always bad.

If you are mainly cooking for 2-3 people check out the 1/2 sheet pans.

Matsui said:

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If you are mainly cooking for 2-3 people check out the 1/2 sheet pans.

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Do you mean 1/4? Most home ovens won't fit a full sized pan.

1/4 sorry

Thanks for all the info.