Sheet Pan Lemon Garlic Chicken Thighs

With this dinner recipe for sheet pan lemon garlic chicken thighs, you can get supper on the table in under an hour and use just one pan. After seasoning your protein, starch and vegetables, you spread them out on your cooking pan, pop it in the oven and before you know it, dinner is ready.

Sheet Pan Lemon Garlic Chicken Thighs Dinner

Sheet pan cooking became a thing a few years ago when someone somewhere created an easy cooking blog and suggested cooking everything all at once in one pan. Kind of like using your slow cooker to make it easier to get dinner on the table. Or making sheet pan pancakes when you don’t have a griddle available to cook each hotcake separately.

When my girls were young, we would make breakfast pizzas for dinner, all in one pan. Yet I never knew to call them sheet pan breakfast pizzas. I really should try that recipe again as a sheet pan meal for having breakfast for dinner and see how it lands.

Here is a primer on sheet pans, including the three most common sizes and which one you should always have in your kitchen.

This recipe for making a dinner of lemon garlic chicken thighs is a great way to use an affordable protein. Chicken thighs tend to be cheaper than chicken breasts. Also, because they are a bit fattier, they don’t dry out easily. It’s why I like to use them for my fried chicken in the Crock Pot recipe.

Ingredients

• 2 pounds chicken thighs
• 24 ounces baby yellow potatoes
• 2 bunches asparagus
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 cloves garlic peeled
• 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 lemon sliced

Step-by-Step Instructions

Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. Preheat the oven to 400 F.

Place the chicken thighs in a large bowl or zip-top plastic bag. Add the oil, garlic, Dijon mustard, lemon juice and seasonings. Mix, making sure the thighs get completely coated. If you’re marinating in the plastic bag, close the top and give it a few good shakes. Add the chicken thighs to the sheet pan.

To the same bowl — or bag — where you just marinated the chicken, add the chopped potatoes and mix or shake well to cover them in the leftover sauce. Scoop the potatoes out onto the sheet pan and use the back of a wooden spoon to spread out.

Cut the ends off the asparagus and add to the remaining marinade sauce. Coat with whatever is leftover and then add to the sheet pan.

Place the lemon slices on top of the chicken, potatoes and asparagus. Add to the preheated oven and cook for 35-45 minutes. You want to make sure that the chicken is cooked completely. Use an instant read meat thermometer inserted into the center of the thickest piece of chicken. When it reaches 165 F, it is done and safe to eat.

Once the chicken is cooked and browned, take it out of the oven. Serve and enjoy.

Notes

The last time I made this and took these pictures, you can see that things burned a little too much. To avoid this the next time, here’s what I would do: cover the sheet pan in aluminum foil before putting it in the oven. About halfway through cooking — set a timer — remove the aluminum foil and let the sheet pan cook uncovered for the remaining time. That way, the marinade has less time exposed to the oven heat and is less likely to burn.

If you don’t have or don’t like asparagus, you can try a different green, such as string beans, broccoli or even Brussels sprouts cut in half.

If you run out of the sauce before marinating the potatoes or asparagus, just add a little extra Dijon mustard and lemon juice with a little water and stir.