Sheet Pan Chicken with Lemon

Fri, 15 Jan 2021 17:22:21 +0000

This Sheet Pan Chicken with Lemon is full of zesty flavor!

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Everyone loves an easy one-pan meal and this will be your new favorite. It’s simple to prepare and has everything you need from protein to vegetables, to potatoes, all loaded onto one sheet pan with a bright sunny lemon flavor.

Sheet pan dinners have become popular for good reason – they are simple yet delicious. Perfect for a quick but nourishing meal. Dinner can be served in 45 minutes or less as we do with our 30-minute Sheet Pan Salmon with Asparagus.

Ingredients for Sheet Pan Chicken and Potatoes:

4 Chicken Thighs
4 Chicken Legs
Baby or Pee Wee Potatoes
Carrots – we use rainbow baby carrots
Olive Oil
Large Lemon
Rosemary and Thyme
Garlic
Salt and Pepper

Substitute ingredient ideas:

The beauty of Sheet Pan Dinners is that the substitutions are endless!

However, if you choose a more tender vegetable, such as asparagus or broccoli, be sure to add it later to the sheet pan, as it won’t require as much cooking time as the carrots. All of the vegetable and potato pieces should be about the same size to ensure even cooking.

Here are some ideas for substitutions:

Use all chicken thighs or all chicken legs
Swap in chicken breasts: Using chicken breasts is easy, however, you will need to cook the chicken about 10 minutes less. Start the sheet pan with just the potatoes and carrots and cook for about 10 minutes, then remove the pan from the oven, and add the chicken breasts to finish.
Try Yukon Gold or Russet potatoes cut into cubes
Swap potatoes for butternut squash cubes
Use cubed or sliced turnips or kohlrabi
Any variety of herbs will work: try oregano, lemon thyme, or basil
Swap the lemon for oranges for a sweeter flavor

How to make Sheet Pan Chicken:

Preheat the oven to 425°F and set an oven rack to the middle position.
Wash chicken and vegetables and pat dry.
Zest and juice large lemon. Set aside.
Chop rosemary, thyme, and garlic – we like to use a mini processor to make quick work of the chopping.
Add the lemon juice, lemon zest, 4 tablespoons of the olive oil, salt, and pepper to the food processor and combine, or mix in a small bowl, to make the lemon marinade.
Toss the potatoes and carrots with half of the marinade. You can combine directly on the sheet pan.
Coat the chicken with the remainder of the marinade making sure to cover all of the chicken.
Nestle chicken onto the sheet pan with the potatoes and carrots. Everything should be in a single layer.
If needed, drizzle the pan with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil to make sure everything is well coated.
Put the sheet pan in the oven and cook for 35-40 minutes, depending on the size of your chicken pieces. Chicken should cook to an internal temperature of 165°F. Shake the pan once or twice during the cooking time.
Remove from the oven and let rest for 5-minutes before serving. We like to squeeze a little lemon juice over the whole pan when it comes out of the oven, but that is optional, depending on how much you love lemon.

Great dishes to pair with Lemon Chicken:

This dinner has it all, however, if you want to add a salad or bread on the side here are some good matches:

Tricolore Salad with Oranges really compliments the citrus in the chicken.
A simple salad with arugula and our Classic Balsamic or Champagne Vinaigrette or our easy Lemon Vinaigrette will round off your dinner nicely.
Try our sky-high Baking Powder Biscuits with Flavored Butter on the side.
Need an easy bread for dinner? Try our 4-ingredient Beer Bread or Beer Bread Rolls.

Suggestions for wine pairing:

Your weekday wines:

Palmina Pinot Grigio, Santa Barbara, California
Acacia Carneros Chardonnay, Carneros, California

Your weekend wines:

Sauvion Sancerre Sauvignon Blanc, Loire Valley, France
Rombauer Chardonnay, Napa Valley, California

A special occasion wine:

Louis Jadot Chassagne Montrachet, France
Patz & Hall Chardonnay Hyde Vineyard Carneros, Napa Valley, California

Sheet Pan Lemon Chicken and Potatoes

Easy Sheet Pan Lemon Chicken with Potatoes and Carrots is the perfect one-pan meal. Loaded with flavor from a lemon, rosemary and garlic marinade.

Course Dinner

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 35

Total Time 45

Servings servings

Calories 121kcal

Author Cyndy Ufkes – The Art of Food and Wine

Equipment

Sheet Pan

Ingredients

4 chicken thighs, bone-in with skin, about 6 ounces each
4 chicken legs, skin-on, about 6 ounces each
16 ounces baby potatoes
12 ounces baby carrots
5 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
1 large lemon, zested and juiced
3 Tablespoons fresh rosemary, leaves only (or 2 teaspoons dried)
1 Tablespoon fresh thyme (or 1/2 teaspoon dried)
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425°F. Set an oven rack to the middle position.
Rinse chicken pieces and pat dry. Wash potatoes and carrots and pat dry.
Zest lemon, cut in half and juice the whole lemon.
Finely chop rosemary, thyme, and garlic with a knife or in a mini food processor. Mix together with lemon juice, lemon zest, 4 tablespoons olive oil, salt, and pepper.
In a large bowl, or directly on the sheet pan, toss potatoes and carrots with half of the lemon marinade and spread out over the pan.
Toss the chicken pieces with the remainder of the lemon marinade and arrange on the sheet pan. Be sure everything is in a single layer.
Drizzle the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil, if needed, over the chicken, potatoes, and carrots.
Place into the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes, depending on the size of your chicken pieces. Check to make sure the potatoes are cooked through by piercing with a fork.
Remove from the oven and let rest for 5-minutes before serving.

Nutrition

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lemon chicken - The Art of Food and Wine