Do you know what’s better than restaurant takeout? A quick easy, healthy, and delicious sheet pan dinner. In fact, sometimes it’s quicker. If you calculate the time it takes you to decide, order, and then wait for delivery. This lemon chicken gets done in just 45 minutes and it’s got meat and veggies, which means you don’t need to make anything else. Told you it was better than any takeout, didn’t I?
Why make this chicken dinner
Dinner on a sheet pan is an easy way to cook delicious food for a weeknight. This sheet pan lemon chicken recipe packs a punch of flavor, and won’t make a mess of your kitchen. It’s simple! You need very few ingredients and only one pan – the sheet pan! Use any chicken you have on hand, legs, thighs, breast or a whole chicken cut into pieces. And most of the ingredients are simple and easy to find or simple pantry staples. I serve a nice crusty bread with the pan juices. But you can also use the pan juices and cook with a little flour and stock or white wine to make a nice sauce to serve with the chicken. Also, leftovers keep well in airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. And, the chicken makes a great addition to sandwiches and wraps such as chicken fajitas.
Step-by-step: Sheet pan lemon chicken recipe
Preheat oven to 400°F / 200°C/ Gas Mark 6 Marinade – In a small bowl, combine the lemon juice, olive oil, minced garlic, Kosher salt, and black pepper.
Sheet pan – In a 15 x 10 sheet pan arrange the chicken pieces on one side, followed by the potato, and sweet potato on the other side (as shown in the video).Pro tip – You can line the sheet pan with foil or parchment paper for easy clean-up. Or, spray the pan with oil to prevent sticking. Marinate – Season everything with salt and pepper. Using a pastry brush, coat the chicken pieces and veggies generously with the lemon marinade. Then, turn the chicken and brush the other side too.Pro tip – We cook the chicken now but you can also marinate this chicken in a bowl in the refrigerator for 6 to 8 hours. Herbs – Sprinkle the chili flakes over the chicken. Place the onion rings and lemon slices over the chicken. Tuck the sprigs of rosemary and thyme around the sheet pan.Pro tip – Brush the rosemary and thyme with a little oil to prevent them from burning.
Bake – Roast in the oven on the middle rack for about 35 to 40 minutes turning the chicken and potatoes once in between.Pro tip – Turning the potatoes will make them a little crisper on all sides. The internal temperature of the chicken should read 165°F on an instant-read meat thermometer. Rest – Let the chicken rest for a few minutes. You can serve them directly on the sheet pan or transfer them to a serving platter.
Variations
Veggies – You don’t have to use potatoes and sweet potatoes. In fact, use whatever veggies you have on hand. I often use this recipe to use leftover vegetables at the end of the weekend. Marinade – Of course, this one has a strong lemon flavor. But you can reduce the lemon to just about 1 tablespoon. Lemon butter chicken – Add 1/4 cup melted butter instead of oil to the marinade and brush just as we did in the recipe here. Lemon sriracha chicken – Add up to a tablespoon of sriracha in the marinade before you brush over the chicken. The color of the roasted chicken will be a deeper red.
Frequently asked questions
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