This yummy sheet pan lemon garlic chicken is an easy weeknight dinner packed with flavor the whole family will love!
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My newest “tween”
It’s been a whirlwind of a spring around here, with all the school events that come with the end of the school year, a house move…and also our household spring birthdays! We have 2 of them in the spring to be exact, and my middle kiddo is officially 11! I feel like I have hit the tween jackpot so far, as my 2 girls in this age bracket have so far been quite a breeze considering. This age group also brings a different kind of busy to our household schedule than the baby, toddler, and little kid years, and boy oh boy have I been relying on sheet pan dinners during this “in and out the door every evening” season of having kids!
1 dinner, 2 sheet pans
I feel like sheet pan dinners are one of the most under-rated “fast weekday dinners,” especially with the Instant Pot craze, and the old faithful slow cooker all of our mothers used. Don’t get me wrong, I adore my Instant Pot, but when I am meal planning out my week, the dinners that come to mind for the busiest days are always sheet pan meals. And lately, they are on the rotation quite often. Protein, veg, starch all go in the same oven temp, and mom is hands free to tend to other things while it cooks? Sign. Me. Up.
But will my kids eat it?!
I know the lemon garlic flavors sound strong for a child’s palate, but this meal is super family friendly. The lemon and garlic are mild, though are enough to make an adult very happy too. And most kids are open to the idea of crispy potatoes and broccoli that tastes good after roasting. I would really encourage my young moms with babies and toddlers to toss a few bites of this on their highchair tray, or invite them to eat right off your plate too. The younger ages between 9 months old and 4 years old are super social eating ages – meaning, they are more likely to try something new if it is with you, and off your plate! You’ll be able to teach them to eat off their own plate with time, and with time they will actually want to do that -for now, don’t fret if all they want is what is on mom’s plate! Train their palates for these fun flavors, and this easy dinner meal can be on your rotation on the regular!
The Method :: The Lemon Garlic Marinade
The marinade for the chicken can be made up in advance, though is easy enough to make the night of as well. Just be sure you leave enough time for the chicken to marinade for at least 20 minutes. If you have a busy day, you can whisk it up before you leave in the morning, and toss the chicken in for the day. Or perhaps you get the chicken into the marinade before you leave to get the kids from school or practice so that it is ready to cook when you get home. Once you whisk the marinade together, you’ll want to scoop out about 1/4 cup into a small dish so that you have some to toss the veggies with that have not been touching the raw chicken.
The Method :: Prepping & Roasting the Potatoes
I like to spread this dinner out on 2 sheet pans despite the pictures. It allows for more even cooking and less “steaming” cooking versus roasting cooking so that you get a crispy outside on the potatoes and chicken. You can definitely back off on the amount and get everything on one sheet pan though if you have less people to feed. To get started, you’ll toss the potato quarters with a couple tablespoons of the reserved marinade and roast on the sheet pan first. The potatoes need more cook time than the broccoli and the chicken, so you’ll give them a head start.
The Method :: Prepping & Roasting the Rest of the Dinner
Once you stir the cooked potatoes around, you’ll toss the broccoli on the same sheet pan with the other 2 tablespoons of reserved marinade. I like to scoot the potatoes to one side of the sheet pan, and the broccoli goes on the other side, though you can toss them all together if you wish. Then, line up the marinated chicken thighs on the second sheet pan, and everything roasts together!
The Method :: The Dairy Free “Cheesy” Herb Sauce
The sauce…this sauce! You’ll want to dunk every piece, or drown the whole plate full in it because it just elevates every bite! While your dinner is cooking on the sheet pans in the oven, you can stir the sauce up in a small bowl in just a few minutes. This creamy dipping sauce will last for days in the fridge, so if you have any leftover (there is usually none leftover when I make it!), you can drizzle it on your salad, on a wrap, or any leftover chicken dinner you might have.
What if I can have dairy?
If your home consumes dairy, you can make the cheesy herb sauce with regular, plain yogurt, or Greek yogurt, and parmesan cheese instead of the coconut yogurt and nutritional yeast. Even sour cream is a good base – use what you have. It is delcious!
Are you a meal prepper?
If you like to prep a week’s worth of lunches for your busy day, this meal can be prepped on a Sunday to portion out for your lunches for the week so easily. Use portion containers to store it in, and you’ll have an easy lunch to pull from whether you are at work, or busy with littles at home.
Sheet Pan Lemon Garlic Chicken, Potatoes, & Broccoli with Dairy Free “Cheesy” Herb Sauce
Ingredients
For the Lemon Garlic Marinade ::
- ½ cup olive oil
- 3-4 cloves of garlic minced
- Zest of 1 lemon
- Juice of ½ lemon about 3-4 tbsp
- 1 tbsp spicy brown mustard or regular mustard
- 1 tsp raw honey
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp basil
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp sea salt
- ½ tsp pepper
For the Sheet Pan Dinner ::
- 1 recipe of the above Lemon Garlic Marinade
- 8 boneless chicken thighs
- 8-9 yellow potatoes quartered
- 1-2 heads of broccoli cut into florets (about 6 or so cups)
- Sea salt/pepper to taste
For the Dairy Free “Cheesy” Herb Sauce ::
- 1 cup full fat dairy free yogurt such coconut yogurt I like the large tubs of So Delicious plain yogurt
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- 1 tsp dried chives
- ½ tsp dried dill
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- Pinch of pepper
Instructions
Make the Lemon Garlic Marinade ::
- Whisk the marinade ingredients in a container that has a lid. **Scoop out ¼ cup of the marinade into a small bowl to save for the veggies.**
Marinade the chicken ::
- You’ll want to marinade the chicken for at least 15-20 minutes, but you can do this in advance in the morning if you want. Rinse and pat dry your chicken thighs, add them to the marinade that is in the container, put the lid on the container, and shake it up to mix the marinade and the chicken. Let the chicken marinade in the refrigerator until you are ready to make dinner.
Make the sheet pan dinner ::
- Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees and get 2 large sheet pans out. Do not spray or line the sheet trays.
- Toss the quartered yellow potatoes on one of the sheet trays with 2 tablespoons of the reserved lemon garlic marinade and about ¼ to ½ tsp of sea salt to taste.
- Roast the potatoes at 425 degrees for 15 minutes, and then give them on a stir on the sheet tray. S
- Scoot the potatoes to one half of the sheet tray, and add the broccoli florets to the other side. Toss the broccoli florets with the other 2 tablespoons of lemon garlic marinade and sprinkle a few pinches of sea salt.
- On the second sheet tray, line up the marinated chicken thighs, and then put both sheet trays into the oven together to roast for 25 minutes.
Make the Dairy Free “Cheesy” Herb Sauce ::
- While the sheet pan dinner is in the oven, you can stir up the dairy free “cheesy” herb sauce. OR this can be made up to a couple days in advance and stored in the refrigerator. Add all of the ingredients for the sauce into a small bowl, and stir together until combined.
Notes
- You can swap the thighs for chicken breasts but you’ll want to fillet any breasts that are on the thick side to match the size/thickness of the thighs represented here.
- You can swap the broccoli for whatever veg is in season! Use green beans, asparagus, zucchini, or a mixture of veg!
- If you are not dairy free, you can use regular yogurt or Greek yogurt and parmesan for the cheesy herb sauce.
- This dinner makes a great meal prep for a whole week to warm up for work.
- Any leftover chicken can be cut up and used for salads, wraps, or stir fry
More real food recipes you might like! ::
- Sheet Pan Teriyaki Meatballs & Roasted Veggies
- 20 Minute Hawaiian Chicken & Roasted Veggies with Date Sweetened BBQ Sauce
- 30 Minute Sheet Pan BBQ Chicken & Roasted Veggies
- Sheet Pan French Fries
- Sheet Pan Fish Tacos
- Sheet Pan Chicken Nuggets
- Sheet Pan Steak Fajitas
- Mini Meatloaves and Sheet Pan Roasted Veggies
This was delicious!!! I made it with halved chicken breasts and the dairy recipe substitutes. My kids don’t like cooked veggies, let alone broccoli, and they ate it all with the sauce! (One even asked for seconds of broccoli!) Definitely going into our rotation.
Definitely a win! Thank you for sharing! I’m glad the dairy subs worked great for you!