Sheet Pan Chicken Recipe
Sheet Pan Chicken with croutons and small potatoes takes 20 minutes to prep and this entire dinner bakes in 50 minutes. Beautiful to serve for an easy family weeknight dinner or a fun meal prep idea sheet pan meals make prep and cooking so easy! The golden brown croutons go perfectly with the tender warm potatoes and lemony chicken.
Servings: 8
Calories: 399kcal
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 lemons each cut into 8 pieces lengthwise
- 2 ½ pounds small potatoes fingerling potatoes, or new potatoes (unpeeled)
- ¼ cup good olive oil
- 1 baguette cut into 1” pieces
- 1 teaspoon kosher sea salt
- 1 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper
- 2 pounds 3 breasts skinless chicken breast, sliced into 1” pieces
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika (not hot paprika)
- 1 tablespoon lemon pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Fill a small bowl with cool water and a splash of vinegar, clean the lemons. TIP: The vinegar helps clean fruits and veggies, and leaves no after-taste. Cut each lemon lengthwise into 8 pieces. Place on the large sheet pan.
- Fill a small bowl with cool water and a splash of vinegar, clean the potatoes. Cut small potatoes in half. Place on the large sheet pan.
- Next, slice the baguette bread loaf into 1" pieces and place those onto the sheet pan. Drizzle the oil, salt, and pepper and toss lemons, potatoes, and bread cubes well to combine on the sheet pan. You can also do this in a very large bowl, but that is one more thing to clean. In a small bowl, mix smoked paprika (not hot paprika) and lemon pepper. Next, cut the chicken breasts into 1” cubes, and toss the chicken cubes in the paprika and lemon pepper mix.
- Place chicken pieces on top of lemons, bread, and potatoes. Bake at 400 degrees 25 minutes, then drizzle a little more olive oil and toss again using tongs. Finish baking at 400 degrees for 25 more minutes until the bread is toasted, potatoes are tender, and the chicken is lightly browned and baked with the juices running clear and an internal temperature of 165 degrees.
Notes
Chicken
If you leave the chicken breasts whole, I found it is much harder to get everything to brown nicely and to cook evenly, that is why I used 1" chicken pieces, you could also swap in boneless chicken thighs. Cook the chicken till juices run clear, and the internal temperature is 165 degrees.Serving
Sprinkle a little tangy fresh lemon over the croutons, chicken, and potatoes. You can even eat some of the roasted lemon pulp spread onto the chicken, it is sweet and amazing. Serve with a fresh green salad, topped with some olives, parmesan cheese, and feta with a little homemade herb butter for the potatoes, and dinner is done!Make-Ahead
If prepping the sheet pan in the morning, cover well with plastic wrap, and chill in the fridge. Simply remove the plastic wrap, and pop right in the oven at dinner time!Clean Lemons & Potatoes
The splash of vinegar in a bowl of water helps clean fruits and vegetables and leaves no after-taste.Small Potatoes
The best potatoes for this recipe are Immature Small/Baby Potatoes, Fingerling Potatoes, or New Potatoes. There are more than 200 potatoes sold in the United States, and seven categories: russet, red, white, yellow, blue/purple, fingerling, and petite. Since small potatoes have not had time to harden their skin, they are more perishable than regular potatoes. The best way to store small potatoes is in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks, then use them in a recipe.Swaps and Additions
Other vegetables like sweet potatoes, bell peppers, onions, green beans, brussels sprouts, or carrots would all work in this sheet pan dinner. Cut the larger vegetables into smaller pieces so they cook evenly.Leftovers
Reheat in the microwave or on a sheet pan in the oven, and serve with some brown rice and have for lunch the next day.More Flavor Additions
Drizzle on some pesto sauce or a couple of tablespoons of minced garlic tossed in before baking.Nutrition
Serving: 6g | Calories: 399kcal | Carbohydrates: 45g | Protein: 30g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 72mg | Sodium: 624mg | Potassium: 1136mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 475IU | Vitamin C: 50.7mg | Calcium: 63mg | Iron: 3mg