Fresh herbs and smoky bacon flavour this healthy dinner of Sheet Pan Chicken and Roasted Harvest Vegetables. Roasted veggies and chicken thighs make a complete meal, made in one pan and baked on a sheet pan in the oven in about 40 minutes. Amazing flavours in an easy weeknight meal!
This post has been immensely popular. I've updated it with new photos and information to make it more helpful. Enjoy!
This sheet pan chicken dinner with roasted harvest vegetables looks like a hot mess, and that's exactly what it is!
Fall vegetables, tossed on a sheet pan, drizzled with oil and fragrant herbs, topped with chicken and bacon results in a quick meal! Believe it or not, this dinner all turns out evenly cooked in less than 40 minutes. The trick is to bake it at high heat and chop all the vegetables the same size.
One of my favourite meals to make in the fall has been Harvest Chicken with Bacon and Rosemary. It's a one-pot meal, bursting with flavour.
But in my seemingly never-ending goal to make the easiest dinners possible, I adapted that recipe and made it even more simple. This sheet pan chicken and veggies was the result.
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❤️Why this recipe works
- Roasted tiny potatoes, sweet potatoes, zucchini, shallots, and thick chunks of sweet apple make a beautiful coloured rainbow of harvest vegetables.
- I use chicken thighs for this tasty recipe and they become perfectly seasoned and juicy with crispy, nicely browned skin
- It's all baked on, you guessed it: one pan.
- Sheet pan dinners are so convenient! This one with chicken thighs has become one of my favorite go-to weeknight dinners. It's so easy to prepare and there's only one pan to clean. Minimal prep, minimal clean-up!
🛒 Ingredients
Ready to begin? Here's what you'll need to make this easy dinner of chicken and veggies, all roasted in the oven.
- chicken thighs: bone-in, skin on thighs
- bacon: cut in small pieces
- baby potatoes: I like to use the red, yellow and blue creamer potatoes.
- sweet potatoes: or yams. Lots of stores seem to mix up these names! I use the darker orange tuber, which many people call sweet potatoes, but are actually yams!
- zucchini and/or Brussels sprouts
- shallots: or onion
- apple: a sweet variety like Honeycrisp, Fuji or Gala
- herbs: fresh or dried rosemary and thyme
- marinade ingredients: olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, thyme, dried red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper.
🔪 Instructions
- You'll start by combining the marinade ingredients and adding the marinade to the chicken thighs. Use a marinating container or a zipper top bag. Massage the marinade into the chicken thighs, then refrigerate them while you prepare the veggies.
- Next, prepare the vegetables. Cut them roughly the same size so they'll cook at the same rate. For example, if some potatoes are larger than others, cut them in half. I like to slice Brussels sprouts in half too, as they sometimes take longer to cook.
- Now that you have them cut, transfer the veggies to a large bowl and toss with olive oil, salt and pepper.
- Arrange the vegetables on a foil-covered (or sprayed) sheet pan.
- Slice the bacon into pieces about 1-inch long and add them randomly to the sheet pan.
- And finally, add the marinated chicken thighs to the pan, laying them on top of the vegetables. Drizzle any extra marinade in the bag over the chicken and veggies.
- Roast in the oven for 35 - 40 minutes or until chicken registers 165°F. with an instant-read thermometer and has browned.
- Transfer to the broiler for 2 - 3 minutes if you like the skin crispier or if the bacon is not as crispy as you'd like. Watch carefully to prevent the skin from burning.
Equipment
sheet pan: Use a half sheet pan. This is a heavy gauge aluminum pan with raised sides. It measures 18 inches by 13 inches. It is strong enough to be able to withstand high heat and to be placed under a broiler. (affililate link)
instant-read meat thermometer: Make sure your chicken is cooked to a safe temperature by using a meat thermometer. An instant-read thermometer is exactly what it's called. It reads the internal temperature of your chicken thighs instantly so there's no guesswork involved. (affiliate link)
👍🏼 Helpful Tips
You'll find complete step-by-step instructions in the recipe card below. Read through these helpful tips, first.
- Try to cut all vegetables the same size so they'll be ready at the same time.
- If you're using boneless thighs, they will take about 10 minutes less to cook, so cut your vegetables in slightly smaller pieces.
- Don't leave out the apple! The contrast of sweet apple and salty, smoky bacon is delicious!
- Leave the apple peel on so the slices keep their shape. Make sure you don't slice the apple too thinly, or the slices may become too soft once baked.
- Roasting time will depend on the thickness of the chicken pieces, the size of the vegetables, and the accuracy of your oven temperature.
🔁 Possible variations
You can easily substitute your favourite fall vegetables in this sheet pan chicken dinner. For example, try
- fingerling potatoes
- butternut or acorn squash cubes
- carrots
- parsnips
- white onions
- red onions
- beets
- Brussels sprouts
Make sure to cut them in uniform sizes so they will cook at the same rate.
You can also substitute boneless chicken breasts for the thighs. While they won't have as much flavour as thighs, some people prefer them. Be sure to brush them with a little oil, or baste them partway through cooking time to keep them moist.
As always, check their internal temperature with an instant-read meat thermometer. It should register 165°F.
🍽 Serving suggestions
You won't need anything more than these roasted chicken thighs and veggies to make a meal. However, if you want to make a larger meal, serve these on top of rice or quinoa.
You can also add pasta! Cook your favourite pasta shapes (or gnocchi) while the sheet pan meal is roasting in the oven, then toss it all together with cooked and drained pasta.
🗓 How to store leftovers
Remove leftover chicken and veggies from the sheet pan and transfer to an airtight container to store in the fridge. Reheat in the oven at 350°F. for 10 to 15 minutes or until heated through, or gently reheat in the microwave. You can also reheat individual portions in an air fryer by using the reheat function.
🗒More easy sheet pan dinners
Enjoy this healthy sheet pan chicken and vegetable dinner this week! And when you make it, let me know in the comments section below.
When you make this recipe, please leave a comment and a star rating below. I love hearing how it turned out for you, or what adaptations you made. Thanks in advance! Subscribe to my newsletter and have new recipes delivered straight to your inbox once a week.
📖 Recipe
Sheet Pan Chicken and Roasted Harvest Vegetables
Equipment
Ingredients
- 8-9 medium chicken thighs bone-in, skin-on
Marinade Ingredients
- ¼ cup olive oil extra virgin
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
- sea salt and pepper to taste
Vegetables
- 24 tiny baby potatoes
- 2 medium sweet potatoes
- 2 medium shallots
- medium zucchini
- 1 medium Honeycrisp apple (or other sweet apple) cut in ¾ inch slices
- 1 tbsp each fresh thyme and rosemary or 1 teaspoon each dried
- sea salt and pepper to taste
- 4 slices thick-cut bacon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F.
- Whisk marinade ingredients together. Pat chicken dry and place in a zipper top. Pour marinade over all, close bag tightly and massage the marinade into all the chicken pieces. Refrigerate.
- Prepare a large sheet pan (with sides) by either lining it with foil or lightly coating it with oil or cooking spray.
- Chop vegetables so they are of uniform sizes. Leave apple unpeeled, remove the core and slice into ¾ inch chunks. If they are thinner, they cook too quickly and become too soft.
- Transfer vegetables to a bowl. Toss with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Arrange vegetables on sheet pan.
- Chop bacon into 1-inch pieces and arrange randomly on the vegetables.
- Place chicken pieces on top of the vegetables and drizzle with the remaining marinade from the bag in which you marinated the chicken.
- Bake at 425°F for 35 to 40 minutes or until chicken registers at least 165°F on a meat thermometer. If you want the chicken skin crispier, place the tray under the broiler for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Garnish with fresh herbs (thyme and rosemary) and serve.
Notes
- Try to cut all vegetables the same size so they'll be ready at the same time.
- If you're using boneless thighs, they will take about 10 minutes less to cook, so cut your vegetables in slightly smaller pieces.
- Don't leave out the apple! The contrast of sweet apple and salty, smoky bacon is delicious!
- Leave the apple peel on so the slices keep their shape. Make sure you don't slice the apple too thinly, or the slices may become too soft once baked.
- Roasting time will depend on the thickness of the chicken pieces, the size of the vegetables, and the accuracy of your oven temperature.
Joyce
Elaine, how long can chicken marinade in fridge? Is there a max time?
Elaine
Hi Joyce, Chicken holds up well in a marinade. You can let it sit for up to 8 hours, or even overnight.
Jan
This sounds delicious! I have a question as to when to add the additional rosemary and thyme? Also when it states remaining marinade does it mean the marinade from the chicken?
Elaine
Hi Jan, Thanks for your questions. The additional fresh rosemary and thyme are added as a garnish before serving. Yes, the "remaining marinade" is from the bag in which you marinated the chicken. I hope this helps clarify and that you love this sheet pan meal!
Leila
This one never fails to satisfy everyone around the table!
Laura
Such a great one pan meal!
Elaine
Thanks! It's a reader favourite because it's so adaptable to whatever vegetables you like!
Joyce Mitchell
I made this last night. We loved it! I used boneless skinless thighs and I didn’t have the small potatoes so I used baking potatoes (2). The only requests I got for change was to add more apple and zucchini. Haha. Give this a try. You will love this healthy meal!
Lily
Absolutely delicious! Love the bits of bacon and sliced apples in this recipe.
Elaine
Thanks Lily!
Patti
What can I substitute zucchini with? And please don’t say Brussels sprouts my family don’t like either one,
Elaine
Hi Patti, You can just leave out the zucchini if you like. Try adding carrots, cubed squash, or even green beans. I hope this helps!
Maggie Wilcox
Could you add parsnips to this recipe?
Elaine
Absolutely!