Looking for a fast, delicious, easy, and super healthy dinner? Welcome to sheet pan dinners. One pan/pot meals are a weeknight favorite for me because these recipes involve less clean-up and more consolidated cooking. You chuck everything on a baking sheet, pop it in the oven, and it all comes out in one neat package. I made up this sheet pan chicken with veggies the other night on the fly and decided to share it, along with some variations.
For this particular version, I used chicken thighs, asparagus, and sweet potato, but you could easily amend this to use any veggie combo so it’s more low carb for a keto option. Sheet pan chicken and veggies makes the perfect easy weeknight meal!
This recipe is paleo– grain and dairy free– and fairly low carb, but if you’re keto, you’ll need to avoid starchy root vegetables, so I recommend swapping out the potato for cauliflower. The recipe is also autoimmune protocol safe (though you might have to be careful of the spices you use), but you would want to make sure to use sweet potatoes and not regular potatoes which are nightshades.
Weeknight Sheet Pan Chicken with Veggies (Keto Option)
The basis for a sheet pan meal (in my humble opinion) is chicken and a couple different veggie options. I like to mix it up, so I use a root veggie with a lower carb veggie. For a keto version, you would use two lower carb veggies (think crunchy or cruciferous). Typically cruciferous like Brussels Sprouts, cauliflower, and broccoli work well along with the asparagus. Or zucchini would be a good low carb option also.
If you’re not looking to make this keto or low carb, you could use any combo of lower carb vegetable along with sweet potato, potato, or even beets or a parsnip. Or a potato parsnip combo. Get creative, and you do you.
To make the sheet pan chicken with veggies, you will need the following:
- 1 pound of skinless, boneless chicken thighs.
- 1 pound of asparagus, woody stems chopped off.
- 1 large sweet potato or a couple yukon golds, diced into small squares
- Spices you like: rotisserie blend, poultry seasoning, any spice blend you like
What you’ll do is first prep the chicken. I drizzled the thighs with olive oil and sprinkled all over with rotisserie chicken seasoning. You could also use poultry seasoning or any blend that you like.
Next, toss potatoes with olive oil until well coated and sprinkle with seasoning of your choice. I just used sea salt and pepper, but in the past I’ve also tossed them with olive oil, sesame oil, and cumin which is delicious. If using Brussels or cauliflower, slice and coat with olive oil and season.
Add parchment to a large baking sheet and arrange the sweet potatoes on one side. They will need a head start to roast before everything else. Roast at 400 for about 20 minutes.
Remove and toss sweet potatoes a bit, then arrange asparagus next to the potatoes. Place the chicken on top of the veggies, like the below pic. I usually nestle the chicken in with the veggies a bit on top so the juices season the veggies too.
Continue roasting, and after about 15- 20 minutes, check on the chicken. You’ll need to flip the asparagus too.
almost finished!
It depends on the size of your chicken thighs, and some cook faster than others. Everything should be fully finished after 45 minutes. Remember, the sweet potatoes will need about 20 minutes of advance roasting, then everything else should take about 15-20 minutes. But start checking the chicken after 15 minutes, as it may have to come out early. And it depends on the size of your asparagus too! If you’re using cauliflower or a cruciferous, it typically takes about 40 minutes to roast.
Make sure the potatoes get nice and browned on the edges.
Plate and enjoy! I love this dish because it yields a lot of leftovers if you’re cooking for one. Great way to batch cook so you’ll have a lunch or 2 in the following days.
Weeknight Sheet Pan Chicken & Veggies
Ingredients
- 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken thighs
- 1 pound asparagus, woody stems chopped off
- 1 large sweet potato or a couple yukon golds, diced into small squares. For keto option, use a head of broccoli or cauliflower chopped into florets, sliced Brussels sprouts, or a slice zucchini squash.
- extra virgin olive oil
- seasonings or blends you like. I used a rotisserie chicken spice blend for the chicken and simple sea salt and ground pepper for the veggies.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400.
- Cover a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Trim and pat chicken dry, then coat with a little olive oil. Sprinkle all over with rotisserie seasoning blend. Set aside.
- Prep veggies: Dice sweet potato into small chunks. Trim asparagus.
- Toss sweet potatoes with olive oil and salt. Same with asparagus, but keep separate.
- Add sweet potatoes to baking pan and roast about 20 minutes. Toss.
- Add chicken and asparagus to pan and roast another 15 minutes. Start checking the chicken. Toss the asparagus so it browns evenly.
- Continue roasting til everything is finished. Some items may cook more quickly than others. Just keep an eye on it.
- Plate & serve!
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Mary Vance is a Certified Nutrition Consultant and author specializing in digestive health. She combines a science-based approach with natural therapies to rebalance the body. In addition to her 1:1 coaching, she offers courses to help you heal your gut and improve your health. Mary lives in San Francisco and Lake Tahoe in Northern California. Read more about her coaching practice here and her background here.
