Julie Clark
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Lemon Chicken Sheet Pan Dinner
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This lemon chicken sheet pan dinner is a healthy chicken recipe featuring juicy chicken with lots of bright lemon flavor. The addition of tender potatoes and zucchini make the sheet pan chicken a complete meal. And because it’s a one-pan dinner, clean-up is super easy.
Table of Contents
This easy lemon chicken recipe makes a delicious and easy weeknight dinner, yet it’s impressive enough to serve to guests.
Baking a complete meal together on one pan saves so much time, especially with the clean-up.
Who created sheet pan dinners?
We aren’t sure who first came up with sheet pan dinner ideas, but we love that they did! Sheet pan meals are easy to make and aren’t limited to main dishes, either; you can make sheet pan appetizers, too.
We’ve seen sheet pan supper ideas for meals like pork chops, baked chicken thighs, and even meatloaf! Sheet pan appetizers like loaded nachos are great for parties and for serving a crowd. You can even serve them directly from the sheet pan!
Need a large sheet pan?
Need a large sheet pan? We have this one and love it. It comes with the wire rack so your sheet pan dinner doesn’t get too soggy.
Is lemon chicken healthy?
Yes, this lemon chicken sheet pan dinner is very healthy!
In general, baked chicken is much healthier than fried or pan-seared chicken. This recipe uses chicken quarters, which have dark and white meat pieces. To make the lemon chicken sheet pan dinner healthier, you can make it using just chicken breasts.
Another idea for a healthy ingredient swap is to use sweet potatoes instead of russets. Sweet potatoes are a little lower in carbs and calories, and higher in vitamins A and C.
How to Make Sheet Pan Chicken
- Prepare. Preheat oven to 400º Fahrenheit. Drizzle a baking pan (with 1″ sides) with about 1 tablespoon olive oil. Brush over the pan to grease the entire bottom.
- Cut. Thick chicken breasts will take a long time to bake, so slice the chicken breasts in half so that they are thinner. We had 2 large chicken breasts and cut them into 4 thinner half slices. Place the chicken breast on the baking sheet with about 2″ between each piece.
- Arrange. Arrange the bite size potatoes and zucchini pieces around the chicken on the pan in a single layer. Squeeze the juice of one lemon over the chicken. Crush 1 teaspoon of dried rosemary over the whole pan, chicken and vegetables. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Drizzle the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil over the entire pan of potatoes and chicken.
- Bake. Bake for 15 minutes, then test the potatoes and chicken. Potatoes should be getting soft. Test the temperature of the chicken. The chicken is done when the center is 165ºF. At this point, if it is almost done, turn the oven broiler on high for 3-5 minutes. Watch closely and turn the broiler temp down if needed. Food can burn quickly on broil. Broiling will help the chicken and potatoes brown slightly on top. Total baking time will be between 20-30 minutes, depending on the size of chicken and potato pieces.
To make the sheet pan dinner pretty for serving, top with fresh rosemary, lemon wedges and lemon zest.
Vegetable Options
Not a fan of zucchini or potatoes? No worries! You can swap them out for vegetables like carrots, asparagus, or Brussels sprouts. Really, as long as the veggie is one that roasts well in an oven, you can use it on your lemon chicken sheet pan dinner.
Other Chicken Cuts
You can use any cut of chicken that you’d like, including bone-in chicken thighs, drumsticks or even chicken tenders. You’ll have to watch the baking time closely so you don’t overcook the chicken. Remember to always cook chicken to 165ºF internal temperature.
Serving Suggestions
The awesome thing about sheet pan dinners is that it’s a one-stop meal. Everything is on the pan! If you’d like, you could serve a garden salad, green beans, fruit salad and some homemade rolls with this chicken dinner.
Lemon Chicken Sheet Pan Dinner
This one pan, easy cleanup, lemon chicken sheet pan dinner features juicy chicken, tender potatoes, zucchini and lots of bright lemon flavor.
Servings 4
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil (divided)
- 1 1/3 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts (cut in half to be thin)
- 1 1/4 pounds small potatoes cut in half or quartered to be bite size
- 2 small zucchini sliced (⅓ pound)
- 1 large lemon
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary leaves
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400º Fahrenheit.
- Drizzle a baking pan (with 1" sides) with about 1 tablespoon olive oil. Brush over the pan to grease the entire bottom.
- Thick chicken breasts will take a long time to bake, so slice the chicken breasts in half so that they are thinner. We had 2 large chicken breasts and cut them into 4 thinner half slices.
- Place the chicken breast on the baking sheet with about 2" between each piece.
- Arrange the bite size potatoes and zucchini pieces around the chicken on the pan in an even layer.
- Squeeze the juice of one lemon over the chicken.
- Crush 1 teaspoon of dried rosemary over the whole pan, chicken and vegetables.
- Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Drizzle the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil over the entire pan of potatoes and chicken.
- Bake for 15 minutes, then test the potatoes and chicken. Potatoes should be getting soft. Test the temperature of the chicken. The chicken is done when the center is 165ºF. At this point, if it is almost done, turn the oven broiler on high for 3-5 minutes. Watch closely and turn the broiler temp down if needed. Food can burn quickly on broil. Broiling will help the chicken and potatoes brown slightly on top.
- The total baking time will be around 20-25 minutes, but this will depend on how thick the chicken is and how big the pieces of potatoes are. Lower the oven temperature as needed, but don't turn it any higher.
- Serve immediately.
- Store any leftovers in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Notes
Refer to the article above for more tips and tricks.
The calories shown are based on the recipe serving 4, with 1 serving being ¼ of the chicken/potatoes. Since different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information, the calories shown are just an estimate. **We are not dietitians and recommend you seek a nutritionist for exact nutritional information. The information in the nutrition box are calculated through a program and there is room for error. If you need an accurate count, I recommend running the ingredients through your favorite nutrition calculator.**
Nutrition
Calories: 393kcal | Carbohydrates: 29g | Protein: 36g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 97mg | Sodium: 771mg | Potassium: 1351mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 174IU | Vitamin C: 55mg | Calcium: 43mg | Iron: 2mg
Other Chicken Dinner Recipes
Try one of these chicken dinner ideas.
Maybe I used too many vegetables, but it took 3 times as long to cook, and I finally had to go to 425, then 450. Next time maybe I’ll cut squash thicker and potatoes thinner–that’s what took longest to cook. I put sprigs of rosemary and lemon slices under chicken. I put all veggies in a bowl with some garlic and olive oil to coat rather than pan. Next time I’d use foil instead of parchment so I could’ve placed under broiler. Tasted good though.
This recipe started us on the sheet-pan dinner trail! Super lazy and it tastes wonderful!
I can’t get enough of sheet pan recipes! And I love lemon and rosemary so I’ll definitely be making this soon!