Talking with my brother and his wife this week, I was struck by how overwhelming cooking supper, (and a healthy one at that) can be for a busy family. Between being stressed out from work, you may even have a young one running around needing attention, and taking care of your own sanity, supper plans can easily fall by the way side. Moms and Dads alike who may not be overly comfortable or practiced in a kitchen need a simple and manageable solution to planning healthy meals for the week. I take for granted how easily cooking comes to me, and what I may consider a pretty basic cooked meal seems like a big under taking for others.
My solution to this problem:
Half hour sheet pan suppers.
The result looks impressive, and can easily please a hungry crowd. The execution of these healthy weeknight meals is very simple though. The only requirement for getting these one pan meals on the table is 15 minutes of prep the night before. I feel like this is a simple step that can be planned into your routine, and is a small price to pay for providing your family with a filling and healthy meal that requires almost no time at the stove and very minimal clean up!
[clickToTweet tweet="This sheet pan garlic & lemon roasted #chicken is the ideal #supper on a busy night. #healthymeals" quote="Try this simple sheet pan dinner, for a healthy, filling meal any day of the week! Virtually no cooking or cleaning involved!"]
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Roast Sheet Pan Chicken
This one pan meal will feed a family of four, but can easily by cut in half or multiplied to feed a larger group.
You'll need:
- 4 (preferably skin on) chicken legs or breasts
- 4 potatoes cut into ⅛th wedges
- 4 cloves garlic or handful fresh garlic scapes
- 1 lemon cut into thin slices
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1 pint button mushrooms
- 1 small head broccoli
- ½ cup olive oil
- 1 tablespoon chive blossom vinegar (or any vinegar)
Spices from your pantry: (learn which spices you should always stock in your pantry!)
- Paprika
- Turmeric
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
- Salt
- Pepper
15 Minutes of Prep
This prep should be completed the night before and goes pretty quick. Don't over think it and complete these steps before sitting down to relax for the night or going to bed. You'll be grateful you took this time tomorrow.
1. Chop your peppers, mushrooms,broccoli, (and garlic scapes if using) into bite sized pieces. Depending on the size of the mushrooms, I halve them or simply keep them whole. Place all the chopped vegetables in a bowl, cover and place in the fridge.
2. Wash the potatoes and then cut them into ⅛th wedges. Toss the cut wedges in a bowl with ¼ cup olive oil, 1 tablespoon onion powder, ½ tablespoon garlic powder, ½ tablespoon paprika, 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper. Cover the bowl and place it in the fridge.
3. Take the four chicken legs/breasts and place them in stainless steel bowl with the sliced lemon and garlic, ½ teaspoon turmeric, 2 teaspoon onion powder , 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon pepper, ¼ cup olive oil and 1 tablespoon chive blossom vinegar. Mix together, cover the bowl and place it in the fridge.
Chefs tip: The measurements above do not have to be exact, but are an outline. Once you do a meal like this a few times, you can simply estimate how much spices you want in with your chicken etc. I usually just use a small spoon and do, 1 spoon of this, 2 spoons of that etc. Play around with spice combinations until you find a mixture you really like.
That's it. The steps are pretty straight forward and go quick. Cut the vegetables first, then cut and mix the potatoes, and finally mix the chicken and spices. If you do the steps in this order you only need 1 knife, 1 cutting board and don't need to was your hands in between each step.
30 min. Chicken Sheet Pan Dinner
About forty minutes before you plan on having supper on the table, (this allows for taking things from the fridge etc), take all three bowls of your supper prep from the fridge and pre heat the oven to 425F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper, and then lay out the potato wedges on one half of the pan.
On the other half of the pan spread out the chopped vegetables, drizzle them with oil and then arrange the chicken breasts on top of the veg.
Place the sheet pan in the oven and let it roast for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, take the sheet pan out of the oven. Check the temperatures of the chicken to double check it is fully cooked. It should be 165F. Your one pan roast chicken is now ready to eat! Divide up the potatoes, vegetables and chicken and serve!
While having to plan ahead for a sheet pan supper, does take getting used to, 30 minutes of un-attended cooking for a full fledged healthy meal is pretty darn good. Keep in mind that a frozen pizza still takes 20-25 minutes to bake, and is not nearly as healthy!
As an added bonus these sheet pan suppers involve almost zero clean up! Besides the dishes you ate with, you only have three bowls and a sheet pan to wash, all of which can go in a dishwasher!
Tried the recipe? Take a picture and tag me on Facebook & Instagram: @earthfoodandfire . For more from scratch recipes follow me on Instagram & Pinterest
Garlic and Lemon Sheet Pan Chicken
Ingredients
- 4 skin on chicken legs or breasts
- 5 medium russet potatoes cut into ⅛th wedges
- 1 lemon sliced
- 4 cloves garlic or handful fresh garlic scapes
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1 pint button mushrooms
- 1 small head broccoli
- ½ cup olive oil
- 1 tablespoon chive blossom vinegar or any vinegar
- Spices from your pantry
Instructions
Prep
- Chop your peppers, mushrooms, onion, and garlic, (or garlic scapes) into bite sized pieces. Depending on the size of the mushrooms, I halve them or simply keep them whole. Place all the chopped vegetables in a bowl, cover and place in the fridge.
- Wash the potatoes and then cut them into ⅛th wedges. Toss the cut wedges in a bowl with ¼ cup olive oil, 1 tablespoon onion powder, ½ tablespoon garlic powder, ½ tablespoon paprika, 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper. Cover the bowl and place it in the fridge.
- Take the four chicken legs/breasts and place them in stainless steel bowl with ½ teaspoon turmeric, 2 teaspoon onion powder , 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon pepper, ¼ cup olive oil and 1 tablespoon chive blossom vinegar. Mix together, cover the bowl and place it in the fridge.
Cooking
- About forty minutes before you plan on having supper on the table,take all three bowls of your supper prep from the fridge and pre heat the oven to 425F.
- Line a sheet pan with parchment paper, and then lay out the potato wedges on one half of the pan.
- On the other half of the pan spread out the chopped vegetables, drizzle them with oil and then arrange the chicken breasts on top of the veg.
- Place the sheet pan in the oven and let it roast for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes, take the sheet pan out of the oven. Check the temperatures of the chicken to double check it is fully cooked. It should be 165F.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition info is auto-generated. This information is an estimate; if you are on a special diet, please use your own calculations.
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Michelle Brenton
Hey, Markus. This was indeed an easy meal to prepare. I wanted to make it as soon as I read it, so the chicken and veggies didn't have a chance to sit overnight. For our tastes, I would use less turmeric and vinegar. Is the only lemon the slices on top in the picture? The potatoes were fantastic - I made extra and put them in a glass pan to roast. Great meal!
Markus Mueller
Fantastic! Glad you liked the meal! Yes the only lemon is the slices on top of the chicken ...you would get more of the flavour if it sat with the chicken overnight. You could also simply squeeze the lemon juice and use that in the marinade!