Is It Actually Possible To Cook 2 Different Things In The Oven At Once?

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

Perhaps the most stressful part of cooking a big dinner is facing the dilemma of where multiple items need to be baked in your only oven. True, you could press your air fryer, toaster oven, and/or slow cooker into service, but there are times when only the oven will do. Say you've mastered the best oven temperature range for chicken thighs, for instance, and don't want to compromise — but your frozen rolls also need to bake. Are you simply out of luck? The answer is a tentative "no."

It's usually possible to cook two different items in the oven at once, with a few caveats. Homemade baked goods like breads and cakes, for instance, should always be cooked at the exact temperature and time called for and ought to have the oven to themselves. Almost everything else, on the other hand, has more leeway. You may be able to get away with cooking two — or even more! — foods at once if you stagger your pans to ensure sufficient airflow between the top and bottom rack. 

It also helps if you're willing to use one or more oven thermometers to see exactly when food comes up to temp. That's because your oven temperature may be inaccurate, plus you'll be opening the door more frequently and allowing heat to escape. Do two items not require the same temperature? Feel free to compromise on one temp in the middle of the range and adjust the cooking time. Items that require a lower temp should go up top, while higher-temp items should sit lower and therefore closer to the heating element.

Over on Reddit, users struggled with cooking two or more foods on special occasions and chimed in with useful tricks for mastering double cooking. "Switch positions and rotate halfway through cooking. Additional time may be needed as there is more food that requires heat," advised one Redditor. That advice was carried over in the same thread by another commenter: "If you have two items, my thumb rule is to give them 25% extra time." 

More nuanced advice came from another Reddit post on r/cookingforbeginners: "You learn the hot spots in your oven and put the item that needs the higher heat there. You can double-cookie sheet/double parchment paper things to help protect the bottom, and tinfoil the tops. Really, if you learn what a properly cooked item is on its own first, you can just watch and pull items out when they are done."

Ultimately, cooking more than one thing in the oven doesn't have hard-and-fast rules, just recommendations. Frequent checking of more delicate items will prevent burning, while hardier items can be left alone on the bottom. Airflow counts, too! A few digital probe thermometers may just be your best friend for accurately checking doneness — tons of customers left good reviews for this TempPro model with an easy-to-read LCD screen. And, in a pinch, don't forget that you can use your oven's bottom drawer if it's a warmer to keep food toasty while other items finish up.