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Sheet-Pan Kimchi Fried Rice
Kimchi fried rice doesn’t need a weeknight makeover — it’s already so easy. But this oven method maximizes the surface area of the dish by using a sheet pan, increasing the potential for that coveted nurungji, or scorched rice. By baking this dish, you can start with fresh rice (no need for day-old), as the dry oven heat draws out the moisture from the moist grains and turns them crispy-chewy, plus the only active cooking required here is stirring together the ingredients. The oven handles the rest, which means no actual stir-frying. Eggs cracked on top, gently baked to silky perfection, are a necessary finish, as the runny yolks sauce the gochugaru-stained rice.

Roasted Sheet Pan Potato Salad
In this homage to warm, mustardy German-style potato salads, bite-size potatoes are roasted with asparagus and sliced leeks until crisp, then tossed with a simple shallot-and-mint vinaigrette, which soaks into the warm vegetables and infuses them with flavor. Using just one pan makes things simple: less cleaning, more eating. Serve as a side dish, or add hard-boiled eggs for a hearty vegetarian dinner.

Sheet-Pan Crisp Tofu and Sweet Potatoes
Tossing marinated tofu squares in cornstarch before roasting makes them wonderfully crunchy and brown. Here, the tofu is cooked alongside spears of sweet potato, which are soft and silky against the crisp squares. A tamari-honey dressing spiked with rice wine vinegar acts both as marinade for the tofu and sauce for the finished dish. Then quick-pickled scallions and hot sesame oil make for a bright and spicy garnish.

Sheet-Pan Tofu and Brussels Sprouts With Hoisin-Tahini Sauce
Two powerhouse pantry ingredients – hoisin sauce and tahini – come together to turn this vegetarian sheet-pan dinner into a memorable meal. Hoisin, which is made with fermented soybeans, is often used as a sweet and savory glaze for meat, but it also injects big, deep flavors into vegetable-based dishes. Here, it is mixed with tahini to create a tangy, creamy sauce that is reminiscent of one served with fried rice noodle rolls at dim sum. This dish could be served with rice or noodles, or you could add a few spinach leaves for a salad-leaning meal, but the crispy, earthy brussels sprouts and toothsome golden tofu are more than hearty enough on their own.

Sheet-Pan Grilled Cheese
Ever dream of serving warm grilled cheese sandwiches to a crowd without feeling like a short-order line cook or getting stuck with a slightly soggy sandwich? A sheet pan can help: It allows you to cook four sandwiches at once, with less attention than they require on the stovetop, and provides the opportunity to add cheese to the outsides for a crisp, chip-like contrast to the gooey filling. This oven technique is amenable to different kinds of breads and cheeses, and can take additions for melts. Grilled cheese just got even more convenient.

Sheet-Pan Sesame Tofu and Red Onions
This sheet-pan recipe makes simple ingredients into a meal of delightful contrasts: savory and sweet, crisp and soft. The roasted tofu’s nuttiness is accentuated by a coating of turmeric and sesame seeds. Onions, which are often the sidekick to other vegetables, are roasted until soft, crackly-edged and sweet, becoming alluring enough to take top billing. A scattering of citrus-dressed herbs adds freshness. This dish goes well with steamed or roasted sweet potatoes or squash; massaged or sautéed hearty greens; rice or other grains; pita or tortillas; or something rich and creamy, like hummus, yogurt, mozzarella,peanut sauce or avocado.

Sheet-Pan Gnocchi With Asparagus, Leeks and Peas
This sunny dinner cooks entirely in the oven on two sheet pans, so both the vegetables and gnocchi are cooked properly with minimal effort. Asparagus, shallots, leeks and peas balance out the rich, caramelized gnocchi, but you could experiment with your vegetable choices: Cut delicate vegetables in larger pieces and firmer vegetables in smaller pieces so they cook at similar rates. Refrigerated gnocchi (often labeled “skillet gnocchi”) work best here, but shelf-stable gnocchi are also fine. Simply boil them first.

Sheet-Pan Fried Rice With Vegan ‘XO’ Sauce
While making fried rice the traditional way isn’t hard, this sheet-pan version is an excellent alternative method: It uses the oven for the heavy lifting and produces the perfect amount of crisping. Fried rice is the ultimate adaptable dish, and here, frozen mixed vegetables — that bag of corn, carrots, peas and beans that home cooks should always keep in the freezer — create a colorful canvas for an XO-inspired vegan mushroom sauce that infuses the dish with umami. The sauce is a wonderful condiment in itself, so make a double batch to keep in the fridge for slathering over noodles or roasted vegetables. You could use mushrooms other than cremini for the sauce; fresh or dried shiitake work incredibly well. Add more eggs if you wish, too.

Roasted Vegetables
The key to roasting all kinds of vegetables is to know the right temperature for cooking them. Dense, low-moisture vegetables (like the roots and squashes in this recipe) need lower heat and more time in the oven than vegetables with more moisture, like eggplant or zucchini. Then simply toss your vegetables with oil and season with salt and pepper before roasting. Top your roasted vegetable with a couple of fried eggs or a dollop of yogurt, or both, and you have a meal.

Sheet-Pan Gnocchi With Mushrooms and Spinach
This sheet-pan dinner is inspired by classic steakhouse sides: roasted mushrooms, creamy horseradish-mustard sauce, wilted spinach and roasted potatoes. Well, kind of. Instead of whole potatoes, this recipe uses store-bought gnocchi, a superspeedy stand-in that takes on the fun combination of browned and chewy when roasted. This dish is hearty enough to be a full meal, though it’d also make a great side to braised beans, roast chicken, a seared pork chop and, of course, steak. To get vegetarian recipes like this one delivered to your inbox, sign up for The Veggie newsletter.

Twice-Baked Potatoes
At its simplest, a twice-baked potato is creamy, cheesy mashed potatoes cradled in crisp, salty skin. That’s the recipe you see here: comforting, satisfying and pretty much ideal. But if you dream of other flavor combinations, like bacon, scallions and sour cream; blue cheese and chives; or cauliflower and Parmesan, just follow the recipe below and stir in any additions (reserving some for garnish) after the dairy in Step 3. Shower the top with more grated cheese if you like, then bake, garnish and dig in.

Skillet Chicken With Silky Peppers and Green Olives
Made with diced fresh tomato and colorful sweet bell peppers, this savory chicken dish is lively and bright. Cooked as written, the sauce is on the brothy side, perfect for pouring over rice or couscous, or for sopping up with bread. But if you prefer it to be heartier, remove the chicken pieces from the pan once they’re cooked, then simmer to reduce the sauce, stirring occasionally, for another 5 to 8 minutes. Return chicken to the pan and stir in olives, then garnish with herbs to serve.

Shrimp Scampi With Orzo
The universal appeal of shrimp scampi, frankly, isn’t the shrimp but the pan sauce: garlicky butter lightened with white wine and bursts of lemon, parsley and red-pepper flakes. Scampi is often tossed with pasta or served with crusty bread, but this version instead uses quick-cooking orzo. It simmers directly in the pan sauce, imparting a starchy gloss — and soaking up the garlicky scampi flavors. Toss the shrimp with some garlic, lemon zest and red-pepper flakes to marinate while the pasta gets a head start on the stove, then simply toss the shrimp on top of the orzo to steam. It all comes together in a flash, and feels effortless. Pair this dish with Caesar salad, steamed broccoli or arugula, or bask in its simple comfort, straight from a spoon.

Chopped Salad With Chickpeas, Feta and Avocado
Like any good chopped salad, the lettuce here is in equal balance with the other ingredients, making this a great choice for those who are less than enthusiastic about leafy greens. Creamy feta and avocado mingle with briny olives and capers while cucumbers and finely chopped romaine provide crunch. Use this recipe as a template for making the most of ingredients you have on hand; radishes, cherry tomatoes or diced onion would all be welcome here. The same flexibility applies for the croutons: Stale bread works, of course, but even leftover hot dog buns, pita bread or oyster crackers become excellent little croutons when toasted in the oven.

Baked Spaghetti Squash
Once baked and scraped into noodle-like strands, spaghetti squash becomes a frequent pasta understudy, tossed with pesto, tomato sauce or roasted vegetables. But it’s a versatile ingredient, as its mild flavor and gentle crunch also make it a good base for stews or even curries. For a basic roasted spaghetti squash recipe, follow Step 1, scrape the insides into strands, and be on your way. For a complete side dish, proceed with the rest of the recipe and top with herby breadcrumbs and Parmesan. You can also add mozzarella, which will melt into delicious little pools among the squash strands.

Sheet-Pan Fish Tikka With Spinach
Tikka marinade imbues meats and veggies with extreme flavor: Complex, layered heat comes from garam masala and red chiles, garlic adds a delicate depth and ginger a mellow freshness, while yogurt cools, tenderizes and extends flavors from the spices. Though traditionally anything with tikka marinade is cooked on coals for smokiness (see Tip), the flavors come together well in a home oven. This recipe calls for any fleshy white fish that can stand this mix of heady spices and maintain its structural integrity for 12 to 15 minutes in the oven. Lay the fish on a bed of spinach, and the marinade will flavor both. The preparation is simple for this recipe, but the flavorful results are anything but.

Broiled Salmon With Mustard and Lemon
In this simple salmon recipe, a quick stint under the broiler transforms smooth Dijon mustard into a savory, caramelized crust, and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice adds just the right brightness and tang to the rich, sweet fish. Covering the baking pan with a protective layer of aluminum foil helps with the cleanup, meaning you can cook dinner and wash up in under 30 minutes.

Maple and Miso Sheet-Pan Salmon With Green Beans
For a weeknight salmon that’s impressive enough for entertaining, look no further. Salty miso paste and sweet maple syrup are the backbone of this simple, flavor-packed marinade, which is about as involved as this uncomplicated recipe gets. Here, the fish soaks up the sauce as the oven gets hot, and the snappy green beans roast in the same amount of time as the fillets. Start some rice when you walk in the door and you’ll have dinner on the table in under a half hour.

Peach and Molasses Chicken
The sauce here relies on store-bought jam as a shortcut to intense fruit flavor and it is amazing on chicken. This recipe, adapted from the cookbook “Watermelon and Red Birds” by Nicole Taylor, is special enough for your Juneteenth celebration, but it’s so delicious, it can be cooked on a weekly rotation. Almost any fruit jam works, too, if peach isn’t your thing. As for the chicken itself, so much of the fat and flavor comes from the chicken skin that removing that outer layer is tantamount to robbing the meat of most of its taste, so do what it takes to find skin-on pieces. The crispy, charred chicken edges, drenched with the sauce, only happen with skin attached.

Vegetarian Bean and Cheese Enchiladas
Enchiladas can be a bit of a project, but here, the process has been streamlined, making them a truly possible weeknight endeavor. Begin by sautéing peppers, onions and garlic until charred in spots, then blend half of the vegetables with canned tomatoes and chili powder for the sauce and combine the rest with black beans, shredded cheese and cumin for the filling. If you’re short on time, you could use store-bought enchilada sauce (you'll need three cups), but quality varies, so taste it and add whatever you think is missing: chipotle in adobo or chili powder for smokiness, hot sauce for heat, dried oregano or fresh cilantro for complexity and salt for overall flavor.

Yakitori-Style Salmon With Scallions and Zucchini
Yakitori is a Japanese dish in which boneless chicken pieces seasoned with salt (shio) and a soy basting sauce (tare) are threaded onto bamboo skewers and grilled over a charcoal fire. This weeknight meal borrows the flavors of traditional yakitori and applies it to salmon and vegetables. A salty-sweet sauce of soy sauce, sugar, vinegar, garlic and ginger doubles as a glaze and serving sauce. Tossed with greens, the leftover salmon and vegetables make a nice salad the next day, and the sauce keeps in the refrigerator for up to a week. Brush it onto chicken or pork chops before roasting, or use it to season your next clean-out-the-fridge fried rice.

Roasted Chicken Thighs With Tangy Apricots and Carrots
As with J. Kenji López-Alt’s mayo-marinated chicken or Ali Slagle’s ginger-lime chicken, this streamlined recipe takes advantage of the best qualities of mayonnaise. Here, serving as both chicken marinade and cooking fat, mayonnaise underpins a sweet and tangy sauce warmed through with chili powder (the spice blend used for chili, not powdered chile peppers). Dried apricots, rehydrated in the pan juices, add delightful morsels of tangy wonder. This recipe features roasted carrots, but you could use any vegetable you like: Sliced red onions and parboiled fingerling potatoes are just a couple of ideas. Serve with white rice or other grains.

Caramelized Lemon Chicken
Making a chicken shine with glaze typically requires combining a form of sugar (like honey or maple syrup) with something to balance that sweetness, like lemon juice. But there is an ingredient in your baking arsenal that does both of those things: lemon curd. The sugars in the curd help the skin caramelize to a deep mahogany, while the curd’s fat and moisture keep the meat juicy. Spread it on chicken and each bite gets perfumed with sunny lemon. While you can make this recipe using chicken just as you purchased it, the added step of removing the backbone (also known as spatchcocking or butterflying) ensures all parts get browned.

Eggplant Pasta With Anchovy Bread Crumbs and Capers
In this colorful dish, there’s as much of the eggplant and tomato topping as there is pasta. They’re all tossed together with loads of garlicky, anchovy-imbued breadcrumbs and a hit of fresh basil or parsley. Serve it with a big salad of crisp lettuces for crunch. It’s a dish that’s good hot, warm or at room temperature, so you can make this recipe a little ahead of time if that works best for your kitchen flow.