tastings and testings

A Perfect Trio for Small Kitchen Jobs and Small Kitchens

A small cooling rack and small plastic lid are the perfect complements to our favorite small rimmed baking sheet.

By Riddley Gemperlein-Schirm

Published June 12, 2019.

Large rimmed baking sheets, which measure 16½ by 11½ inches, are the MVPs in most home kitchens—we use ours in the test kitchen for roasting, baking, toasting, and much more. Recently, our test cooks have developed an affinity for smaller, quarter-size rimmed baking sheets, which measure 11½ by 8 inches. Their petite size makes them ideal for small tasks such as baking a few cookies, roasting one or two fish fillets, and toasting nuts or seeds; they even fit inside a large toaster oven.

Nordic Ware, the maker of our favorite large rimmed baking sheet, also offers a smaller version, the Nordic Ware Naturals Quarter Sheet, for about $9, so we decided to put it to a few kitchen tests to see if we could recommend it as well. We loved its sturdiness and straight sides, which made it easy to grip and slide in and out of the oven. Its 1¼-inch rim also kept food from spilling over when we tossed cauliflower in oil or flipped chicken. We were so happy with this sheet’s performance that we highly recommend it.

And while this sheet is a kitchen gamechanger on its own, it becomes a real workhorse when combined with our recommended small wire rack from Checkered Chef, which is sturdy and fits snugly inside the sheet, and our recommended plastic lid, also from Nordic Ware, which is durable, easy to attach and detach, and ably keeps foods fresher than either plastic wrap or aluminum foil.