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Use your sheet pan to minimize costs and cleanup.

By Audrey Bruno

Sheet-pan dinners are famous for their convenience, but they’re not as well known for how cost-effective they can be. In case you aren’t familiar with the concept of sheet-pan dinners, they’re simply meals in which you roast all the ingredients in the oven at the same time on one pan—a huge plus if you’re not a fan of doing dishes (and if you are, please take this as an open invitation to my home).

Because they often rely on ingredients like frozen vegetables, starches like potatoes, and vegetarian protein sources like tofu, sheet-pan meals are budget-friendly too. Basically, they’ll make your life a little bit easier and cut costs in the kitchen all at the same time.

These 13 recipes are great examples of inexpensive sheet-pan dinners because none of them cost more than $2 per serving to make. Most of these recipes yield about four to six servings a pop, which can be great whether you’re cooking for one or a crowd. Things like Parmesan chicken and broccoli, chicken fried rice, and spicy tofu and green beans are just a couple of the dishes you’ll find that make great leftovers.

Whatever you’re craving, there’s sure to be something here worth adding to your weeknight dinner menu or Sunday meal prep plan.

Sunday meal prep plan.

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https://www.budgetbytes.com1

Roasted Cabbage and Kielbasa from Budget Bytes

These hearty ingredients are perfect for cozying up on a cold night. Get the recipe here.

Cost per serving: $1.42

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https://www.budgetbytes.com2

Sweet and Sour Chicken from Budget Bytes

Eat this chicken dinner on top of whatever you have on hand—it’s great wrapped up in a tortilla, atop a grain like farro or quinoa, or even in a piece of lettuce. Get the recipe here.

Cost per serving: $1.66

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Chicken Fried Rice from Le Creme de la Crumb

The best part about this fried rice sheet-pan dinner is not having to deal with the splatter from the oil that you usually get when you make it on the stovetop. Get the recipe here.

Cost per serving: $1.35

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https://www.lecremedelacrumb.com/4

Sheet Pan Fajitas from Le Creme de la Crumb

You don’t even need to use plates with this recipe: Wait till the chicken and veggies have had a chance to cool, then transfer them straight from the pan to your tortilla and dig in. Get the recipe here.

Cost per serving: $1.87

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https://emilykylenutrition.com5

Garlic Tofu and Brussels Sprouts from Emily Kyle Nutrition

With pumpkin seeds, cranberries, and Brussels sprouts, this dish is a great way to make it feel like Thanksgiving any time of the year. Get the recipe here.

Cost per serving: $1.96

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https://damndelicious.net6

Cauliflower Nachos from Damn Delicious

If you’re planning on serving this at a party, make a second tray because the first will go very fast. Get the recipe here.

Cost per serving: $1.83

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https://www.delishknowledge.com7

Spicy Tofu and Green Beans from Delish Knowledge

Roasting the tofu and the green beans at a high temp helps them both develop a delightfully crispy texture. Get the recipe here.

Cost per serving: $1.97

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https://damndelicious.net8

Zucchini Parmesan from Damn Delicious

This recipe has all the saucy, cheesy flavors of chicken Parmesan, but it’ll be on the table much quicker. Get the recipe here.

Cost per serving: $1.56

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https://www.5dollardinners.com/9

Honey-Garlic Chicken and Potatoes from $5 Dinners

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Parmesan-Crusted Chicken With Broccoli from SkinnyTaste

A little bit of Parmesan packs a lot of flavor into this super-simple broccoli and chicken number. Get the recipe here.

Cost per serving: $1.38

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https://www.theseasonedmom.com/11

Sausage, Green Beans, and Crispy Potatoes from the Seasoned Mom

Pro tip: When the sausage and veggies are just about done, top them with a few raw eggs, stick them back in the oven for a few minutes, and serve the whole thing for brunch. Get the recipe here.

Cost per serving: $1.75

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https://www.5dollardinners.com12

Beef Roast With Winter Vegetables from $5 Dinners

A long roasting process at a low temperature yields extremely tender meat and flavorful vegetables. Get the recipe here.

Cost per serving: $1.97

https://3e03ef587ffd0067f7fae43f1fc5b123.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-38/html/container.html

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https://www.eazypeazymealz.com13

Chicken Stir-Fry from Eazy Peazy Mealz

If you’re running low on ingredients, you can totally toss whatever frozen vegetables you have in your freezer into this sheet-pan dinner. Get the recipe here.

Cost per serving: $1.19

Comments

Thank you, love sheet pan recipes so always looking for new ones. And, I recognize many of these sites :).

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