Understanding oven hot spots, rack positions and settings can help you create a large spread of appetizers, entrees, sides and desserts that are ready to go when you are. Read the 8 cooking tips below to learn how to plan and prep foods, position dishes, adjust racks and alter cooking times for cooking multiple dishes at once, no matter your oven’s size.
1. MAKE A PLAN- Round up your recipes and make a concrete plan to make sure every dish is ready for mealtime. Start by deciding when you want food ready to eat, then work backward from there to determine what needs oven space and when. Consider cooking baked goods or dishes that need time to rest after baking first, then move on to dishes like meats that likely require longer cooking times. Lastly, plan for dishes that need a quick rewarming or a brief broil to re-crisp prior to serving.
2. PREP FOOD IN ADVANCE- Not all dishes need to be baked on the same day they’re served to maintain freshness and flavor. Pies, for instance, can often be made ahead of time and then stored and reheated briefly prior to serving. Take an inventory of your planned recipes to see if any dishes are well suited to baking a day or two in advance.
3. USE AN AVERAGE TEMPERATURE- Juggling multiple dishes at once often means pairing sides, desserts or entrees in the oven that don’t typically bake at the same temperature. You can bake several dishes at once by setting your oven to the average temperature called for across recipes. If, for instance, one dish requires a temperature of 350℉ and another needs to bake at 400℉, set the temperature to 375℉ and keep a close eye on food as it cooks.
4. LEAVE ROOM FOR AIR CIRCULATION- Ovens rely on hot air circulation to thoroughly cook dishes, so dishes that are too close together may prevent food from cooking evenly. Try to leave a couple of inches between dishes and another couple of inches between dishes and the sides and back of the oven wall. Never overlap bakeware. If there’s space, try staggering dishes so no two dishes are directly above or below each other.
5. CONSIDER OTHER APPLIANCES- Your oven may not be your only appliance capable of prepping sides, appetizers and even entrees. If you have access, consider using a convection cooking setting like the one on these KitchenAid microwaves to bake dishes the same way an oven would, or try crisping and browning foods using an air fryer or air fry setting like the one on select KitchenAid countertop ovens. Select models have 9–12 settings for techniques like roasting, broiling, baking and even proofing dough that let you use it as a second oven for even more cooking capacity.
6. USE BROILER TO CUT PREHEATING TIME- Though it isn’t an ideal way to preheat, you can start cooking quicker by using your broiler to reduce the oven’s preheating time in a pinch. Simply set the oven to broil for 3 to 5 minutes, then adjust the settings to your desired baking temperature. This should reduce the overall time it takes for your oven to reach baking temperatures, helping you get food on the table faster.
7. ROTATE DISHES- Conventional ovens use radiant heat from elements at the top and bottom of the cooking cavity. This means dishes placed closer to them may cook faster. Some ovens may also be hotter towards the back where heat is less likely to escape when the door opens. Rotate dishes from front to back and between the top and bottom racks as they bake to help every item cook more evenly.
8. USE CONVECTION SETTINGS- Ovens with convection cooking circulate hot air throughout the oven cavity to help reduce moisture and cook food on different racks evenly. If possible, cook dishes using a convection setting to promote even heating from rack to rack and help reduce the moisture that cooking several dishes at once may introduce into the oven cavity. Plus, the even heat circulation of convection cooking reduces the need to rotate dishes to get evenly baked results.