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6 Meals to Make in Your Small Roasting Pan

by HexClad Cookware

If you’ve cooked with our Small Hybrid Roasting Pan, you already know it’s a weeknight MVP, delivering big flavor in a compact package, whether you’re roasting Piri-Piri Spiced Roast Chicken With Potatoes or making our Bourbon-Glazed Smoky Bacon-Wrapped Pork Tenderloin. And while the full-size Hybrid Roasting Pan has its place, the smaller version holds its own, even for a British-inspired Sunday roast.

But don’t stop at the usual suspects. We turn to this pan for crisped-up veg sides, baked breakfast dishes and saucy enchiladas that feed a crowd. Let these unexpected recipes be your excuse to reach for the Small Hybrid Roasting Pan more often. You might even start seeing it as your stealthiest kitchen workhorse.

1. Chicken Katsu Curry

This lighter take on Japanese-style chicken katsu skips the fryer and bakes the cutlets right in your Small Hybrid Roasting Pan. The curry sauce builds layers of flavor fast: Softened onion, carrot, garlic and ginger get hit with ketchup, curry powder and turmeric. It's all then simmered with stock and cilantro stems. After blending, it becomes a colorful, velvety base for the dish. Add the crisp chicken on top with steamed brown rice, broccolini and lime wedges on the side and you’ve got a dinner that feels at once special and satisfying.

2. Hot Cross Buns

Traditionally eaten on Good Friday but worth making any time of year, these pillowy buns are laced with warm spices and studded with dried fruit. We soak the mix—currants, golden raisins and candied citrus peel—in English Breakfast or Earl Grey tea for a subtle twist that deepens the flavor. Baked snugly in the Small Hybrid Roasting Pan, they rise into a golden, pull-apart bake with soft sides and even browning. The built-in handles on the pan make oven transfers a breeze, and when the buns are ready, don’t hold back on the softened butter.

3. Spiced Herby Hasselback Butternut Squash

This harissa-brushed butternut squash delivers major visual payoff with minimal fuss—a showy, flavor-packed side that’s equally at home on a weeknight table or front and center at Thanksgiving. The hasselback technique (helped along with a pair of chopsticks) creates thin, accordion-like slices that crisp at the edges and soak up the spiced oil as they roast. Skip the rack and nestle the squash halves directly in your Small Hybrid Roasting Pan, where they caramelize beautifully and stay upright for easy serving. Finished with fresh cilantro and red chiles, it’s the kind of dish that gets people talking before they even take a bite.

4. Brown Sugar-Cinnamon Crunch French Toast Casserole

This dessert-for-breakfast bake hits all the right nostalgic notes. Think: cinnamon-sugar cereal meets tender, custardy French toast. After soaking slices of bread in a vanilla-scented egg mixture, you’ll top them with a brown sugar-pecan streusel to add a touch of decadence. The Small Hybrid Roasting Pan is just the right size to hold it all, and the straight sides help the casserole rise high and bake evenly. Once the dish is golden and puffed, just add syrup and a handful of berries and it’s ready for the table. The recipe is great for holidays, brunch guests or any morning that deserves something sweet and warm straight from the oven.

5. Classic Herb, Olive and Garlic Focaccia

The Small Hybrid Roasting Pan is ideal for focaccia. It distributes heat evenly and draws out a crisp, golden crust that makes each slice especially satisfying. This version gets topped with rosemary, sliced garlic and Kalamata olives, which nestle into the dimpled dough as it rises and bakes. Serve the finished focaccia warm with soups or salads, slice it into slabs for sandwiches or simply pair it with olive oil and a glass of wine. If you have leftovers, cube and toast them into croutons that leave store-bought versions in the dust.

6. Enchiladas Divorciadas Recipe

Red and green sauces share the spotlight in this vibrant pan of chicken-and-cheese stuffed enchiladas. Poached chicken adds tenderness and gives you a quick homemade broth to use in the sauces, though rotisserie chicken and boxed broth work just as well for an easy weeknight dinner. Spread across the bottom of the Small Hybrid Roasting Pan, the sauces divide each enchilada in two, with one side tangy and green, the other smoky and red. Bonus points if you make your own corn tortillas, but even store-bought ones hold up beautifully once sauced and baked.