Getting a family-style dinner on the table has never been easier than with this flavorful Sheet Pan Chicken Thighs recipe that’s baked with simple ingredients. It’s made with juicy chicken thighs, tender veggies, and 15 minutes of prep time and easy cleanup!
Table of contents
Baked Chicken Thighs
Part of being an adult is knowing you have to decide what to make for dinner every day for the rest of your life! There’s a funny meme on social media that says “I hate when I’m waiting for mom to make dinner only to realize I am the mom!”
This is why having sheet pan dinners that are easy to throw together, cost-effective, with amazing flavor are a game changer for busy families! Buy the meat when it’s on sale, and use whatever veggies are in season, or throw on whatever you’ve got in the fridge to reduce potential waste.
The herbs and spices used in the marinade are probably already on your spice rack, and then it only needs a minimum of 15 minutes to marinate.
This baked chicken thighs recipe is just one of many ways to enjoy one-pan meals that are also a healthy dinner. Sheet pan chicken thighs with sweet potatoes and apples is another!
It’s low carb, but you can serve these crispy chicken thighs with rice or potatoes on the side if you like.
A quick and delicious meal for busy weeknights with so much flavor!
Ingredients/shopping list
- Seasoning for the chicken: Onion powder, salt, and pepper.
- Marinade: Garlic, fresh thyme, olive oil, and lemon juice.
- Chicken thighs: I use bone-in and skin-on chicken thighs for maximum juicy flavor as well as crispy skin. Feel free to use skinless chicken thighs if you’d like.
- Veggies: Mushrooms, yellow squash, red bell pepper, yellow bell pepper, green bell pepper, and red onion.
How to Make this Simple Chicken Dinner
All you need are your basic ingredients, some seasoning, and a baking sheet and you’ll have an easy meal on the table in no time!
Step 1: In a medium bowl, stir together oil, lemon juice, minced garlic, and thyme.
Step 2: Pat the chicken dry with paper towels, then sprinkle with onion powder, salt, and pepper.
Step 3: Transfer the pieces of chicken to a large plastic zip closure bag and pour the marinade inside the bag, over top of the chicken.
Step 4: Marinate in the fridge for at least 15 minutes. If possible keep it in there for an hour or two to get the flavors to marry and penetrate the meat even more.
Step 5: Place chicken in a single layer on the rimmed sheet pan and bake for 20 minutes. While it’s baking, slice your veggies and toss them around in olive oil, salt, and pepper making sure they’re coated thoroughly.
Step 6: Once the 20 minutes is up, place the veggies around the chicken and continue baking for another 25 minutes until the skin is crispy and golden brown and the vegetables are cooked.
Variations/Substitutions
1: Boneless thighs: If you prefer a different cut of chicken like chicken legs or chicken quarters, by all means, use it. Bake boneless chicken thighs and veggies at the same time. Do this with chicken breasts as well.
2: A different herb. Swap sage for fresh rosemary or use a combination of both. Italian seasoning is also a great choice.
3: For a more intense garlic flavor, add more garlic powder to the chicken.
4: Other veggies: This is a great time to clean out your fridge! Swap my choice of vegetables for yours. Use all one color of bell pepper if preferred. Throw in some zucchini, broccoli, green beans, and asparagus.
5: In the fall, I like to use root veggies like sweet potatoes, butternut squash, carrots, or potatoes. In addition to brussels sprouts, cherry tomatoes, and yellow onion wedges!
6: Sprinkle a little balsamic vinegar or red wine vinegar over the vegetables.
Tips
- Keep baking times in check. Depending on whether you use bone-in or boneless chicken, or what veggies you use, this will affect your baking time. Everything is cooked on one sheet pan, but that doesn’t necessarily mean at the same time. Avoid overcooking the veggies or undercooking the meat!
- Check for doneness. The internal temperature of cooked chicken should be 165 degrees. Use a kitchen thermometer for an accurate reading.
- Do not overcrowd the pan. You want to leave enough room in between pieces of meat so that they crisp up and brown nicely.
FAQ’s
Keep stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Absolutely! You can make as much as can fit on a sheet pan. You can use two sheet pans to double the recipe as written or you can use one sheet pan to bake all the meat and another one to do all the veggies.
Once completely cooled, transfer everything to an airtight container or freezer-friendly bag. I like to portion it out so that I only need to thaw what I’m going to reheat at the time. Keep it frozen for up to 2 months.
If you have an air fryer, use that for a quick reheat of a few pieces of chicken. You can also reheat it in the oven or microwave a single serving.
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Sheet pan Chicken Thighs
Ingredients
- ¼ cup olive oil plus 1 Tablespoon
- 1 lemon
- 3-4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 Tablespoon fresh thyme
- 6 Chicken Thighs bone in
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 2 cups mushrooms sliced
- 2 yellow squash
- 1 red pepper sliced
- 1 yellow pepper sliced
- 1 green pepper sliced
- 1 red onion sliced
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine oil, lemon juice, minced garlic and thyme and stir to combine.
- Sprinkle chicken with the onion powder, salt and pepper.
- Place the chicken in a gallon size zip closure bag and pour the lemon garlic marinade into the bag
- Securely close the bag and make sure the chicken is thoroughly coated with the marinade and then place bag in the refrigerator.
- Marinate for an hour or two if possible but you can marinade for as little as 15 minutes if you are short on time.
- Preheat oven to 375° F
- Place the marinated chicken on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes.
- Cut the vegetables into pieces and place in a large bowl. Add the additional tablespoon of olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Stir to coat the vegetables thoroughly.
- After 20 minutes, place the vegetables around the chicken and cook for an additional 25 minutes until the chicken is golden brown and the vegetables are cooked.
Notes
Nutrition
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