Sheet Pan Chicken and Veggies

Name: Oven Roasted Vegetable with Chicken
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 40 min
Ingredients: 2 medium Boneless Chicken Breasts (Cut into cubes); 1 medium Zucchini; 1 Red Bell Pepper; 1 small head Brocolli (cut into florets); 1 medium Onion; 2 Carrots; 1/3 cup Grated Parmesan (To serve); 2-3 tablespoons Butter (melted); 1 tablespoon Olive oil; 1 tablespoon Garlic (minced); 2 teaspoons Italian Seasoning; 1-2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice; 1/2 teaspoon Red pepper flakes; salt to taste; Freshly ground pepper

Cooking chicken and vibrant colorful vegetables in a sheet pan makes your weeknight dinner easy and fuss-free. I have tossed the chicken in a zesty lemon garlic dressing that keeps the chicken juicy and tender, also the vegetable tastes so much better.

Cooking Chicken and veggies in an oven is one of the healthiest dinners that’s one pan, have perfectly charred veggies and juicy moist chicken. These vegetables are roasted in a buttery Italian dressing until tender and charred. Even a peaky eater would love these Sheet Pan Chicken and Veggies because of the zingy, bright, and refreshing lemon, garlic marinade.

I call this refrigerator cleaning meal because most of the time I throw in any vegetable that is available. What I love about it is, there is no strict recipe for this. It’s pretty versatile. You can use just about any veggies you prefer and also try different seasonings. Just take care of a few tips while roasting, and everyone at home will be pleased to have a delicious dinner that’s healthy, wholesome, and also tastes amazing.

This recipe works because

You begin with marinating the chicken and while it marinating you prep veggies and bake. There is no separate marinating time. You can in fact do all the prep a day in advance and pop it in the oven during dinner time.
Instead of baking everything together, baking the veggies and chicken separately ensures that the chicken is not overcooked and the veggies are cooked just right.

Ingredients You Need

Vegetables: Root vegetables such as Potatoes, Carrots, Parsnips, beetroot etc. Then there are soft veggies like broccoli, cauliflower, peppers, zucchini, butternut squash, Brussels sprouts, green beans, asparagus, Mushroom, and Onion.
Chicken- Boneless chicken breasts cut into 1-1.5 inch cubes.
Garlic – fresh minced garlic. You could also use garlic powder.
Butter and Oil – I love how both the fats add their own flavor to the dish. You could only use either butter or olive oil.
Seasoning – Salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, and chili pepper flakes.
Fresh Lemon juice- Lemon juice gives a burst of freshness and brightens up the veggies.
Parmesan cheese- I sprinkle freshly grated parmesan cheese towards the end. Because we have kept the seasoning minimal, a good sprinkle of parmesan at the end adds some depth and umami. By the way, I love to add parmesan to everything as it lifts the flavors instantly.

Add your own twist to the Sheet Pan chicken and veggies

To make the meal time less boring, I experiment with different veggies and also different seasonings. Cajun seasoning and Taco seasoning for a spicy kick. You could also use old bay seasoning or ranch like this Baked chicken leg with vegetables.

Here is a glance at the step-by-step process

Begin with making the marinade by mixing butter, olive oil, and seasonings and add it to the chicken breast. You can do this prep 24 hours ahead and let the chicken rest in the refrigerator.

Chicken breast doesn’t take too long to cook. While testing the recipe I tried baking everything together, but the veggies instead of getting roasted, got steamed and also did not cook properly. Hence we will first half cook the veggies for 10-12 minutes in a sheet pan.

Once the veggies are half cooked, place marinated chicken on top and bake again until chicken is cooked through and the vegetables look a little charred around the edges.

Recipe Tips & Tricks

First thing is to know your vegetables. Does it belong to the hard or soft category? It would help you decide the total cooking time and the cooking order. Hard vegetables definitely take more time to cook. If using veggies like potatoes, sweet potatoes, and carrots.
Cut vegetables to approximately the same size. Too small or too big, it will cook unevenly.
Chicken is my preferred protein. Boneless chicken breast or thighs work well. Shrimps also can be substituted. The cooking time would vary a little though.
Don’t overcrowd the tray at all. Make sure everything is arranged in a single layer. Vegetables when cooked release a lot of moisture. So if the pan is overcrowded, you will end up with more liquid in the pan and mushy veggies.
Avoid marinating chicken more than 24 hrs, as the acid in lemon will break down the proteins and the chicken will lose its texture if rested in the lemon marinade for too long.
If the chicken is in the refrigerator, bring it close to room temperature before popping into the oven.

Can We Make This Recipe In Air Fryer?

Roasting chicken and vegetables in an airfryer yields equally good results. In fact I absolutely love how lovely char the vegetables get when cooked in an airfryer. The process remains the same, first air fry veggies, then place chicken on top and airfry again until chicken is cooked. Only downside of cooking in an airfryer is, that you have to cook in 2 batches as the air fryer basket is not big enough to hold everything.

If you are someone who uses an airfryer a lot, then you must try this crispy airfryer chicken breast and Airfryer chicken and potato recipe.

Works great for meal prep

To speed things up and make weeknight dinner simple, you can pre-cut the veggies and marinate the chicken. Take out the chicken and bring it to room temperature while you bake the veggies.

As it stays well in the refrigerator, you could bake a big batch and meal prep for 4 days. Once it has cooled down, let it cool down, then store it in an airtight container.

Storing leftovers and reheating

Once fully cooled, this sheet pan chicken and vegetables recipe can be transferred to an airtight container and stored in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. If planning to freeze, then try avoiding veggies with high water content like zucchini, peppers, etc.

Reheating-

To avoid overcooking of chicken, take out the sheet pan chicken and veggies out of the refrigerator and let it come close to room temperature ( for about 30 minutes). Then reheat in a microwave or air fryer until chicken is warm enough.