This Sheet Pan Balsamic Chicken is a healthy, low carb dinner idea – it comes together on one pan, ready to eat in 30 minutes and is great for meal prep!
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Balsamic Chicken Recipe Notes and FAQ
There a few different balsamic chicken recipes floating on the Internet, with most calling for an easy chicken marinade. I’ve seen recipes for honey balsamic chicken, grilled balsamic chicken, and even a slow cooker version.
As you can imagine, this type of balsamic chicken recipe is perfect as a last minute dinner or your weekly meal prep – you can prepare a whole bunch of healthy food at the same time, and you're ready to take on the work week with ease! Leftovers won’t be a problem with this flavourful chicken dinner – turn this balsamic chicken recipe into meal prep lunches for the week too!
Whether it's a last minute meal or you want to be organized when it comes to work week lunches, this Balsamic Chicken should be at the top of your list to make, and you can always change up the ingredients too!
Don't be afraid to clear out your vegetable crisper if you have other veggies you'd like to use in this Sheet Pan Balsamic Chicken recipe, and you can certainly also add in a starch such as baby potatoes if you don't need this to be a low carb dish.
I would recommend cutting the baby potatoes in quarters if using just to ensure that they cook quickly along with the rest of the ingredients but other than that, you're good to go!
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What are sheet pan meals?
The premise of sheet pan dinners like this balsamic chicken version is a simple one. Sheet pan meals allow you to prepare dinners your family loves, with everything cooking on the same pan. With fewer dishes to wash, the after-dinner clean-up is so quick and easy!
Essentially, sheet pan meals are one-pot dinners. The difference is, everything bakes on a metal sheet pan in an oven instead of a skillet or pot on the stovetop.
You will want to make sure the chicken is cut up into small pieces in order to ensure it will be fully cooked in 15 minutes. With the higher temperature of the oven (450 F degrees) and the small cut of the chicken, the chicken and vegetables will be cooked at the same time without anything getting too mushy or watery.
How do you make an easy balsamic chicken marinade?
The base of the balsamic chicken marinade in this recipe is balsamic vinegar and olive oil. To that base, dijon mustard, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper, and some minced garlic are added. No sugar even required!
An easy way to marinate chicken is to pour the marinade ingredients into a Ziploc bag with the chicken and vegetables. Shake to combine, refrigerate, then let everything marinate for up to 24 hours. The longer you marinate chicken breasts, the more time they will have to soak up the marinade flavours.
Of course since we are focused on quick and easy meal prep over here, you can always just mix together in a large bowl or on the sheet pan itself too and bake right away. The balsamic vinegar and Dijon mustard are the perfect combo of flavours and will really make all the ingredients shine whether marinated for a while or just thrown straight into the oven.
Can you use a balsamic vinaigrette as a marinade?
You can use bottled balsamic vinaigrette dressing if you prefer – just be aware that most bottled dressings have sugar added to them. It is a handy shortcut if you don't mind the sugar or have a sugar-free option so don't be afraid to skip the homemade balsamic marinade if you need to!
Using homemade balsamic marinade will allow you to control the ingredients though, and it’s less expensive too.
Being aware of all your options will help you prep this balsamic chicken the quickest way possible so you can reduce the number of meals you're eating out each week, and that above all other things is one of the healthiest things you can do for yourself so you're on the right track either way!
Can you freeze this balsamic chicken recipe?
If you like to make freezer meals, you can definitely use this recipe as one! After you prepare the balsamic chicken marinade, pour it into a large Ziploc bag with the chicken and vegetables. Be sure to press as much air as possible from the bag before closing it. Label the bag, lay it flat in a freezer, and you’re good to go!
A day or two before you want to cook the sheet pan balsamic chicken recipe, transfer the bag to a refrigerator and let it defrost overnight.
From there, you can place everything on your sheet pan and bake according to the instructions below!
Food Safety Tip:
To prevent spills should the bag leak, it’s best to place the bag inside of another container. Store it on the bottom shelf of the fridge, away from any raw vegetables or other foods that could be contaminated from a spill.
How to make Sheet Pan Balsamic Chicken
Whether you make this meal from frozen or you prepare it fresh, assembly and cooking will be the same.
Spread the balsamic marinated ingredients evenly over a sheet pan, trying not to overlap the foods.
Pro Tip:
Keep clean-up minimal by lining the sheet pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil. After cooking, simply toss the liner away and if necessary, rinse the pan. It doesn’t get any easier than that!
Let me know in the comments below if you've given this Balsamic Chicken a try!
Meal Prep Tools
Grab some glass meal prep bowls if you plan to eat this Sheet Pan Balsamic Chicken as your weekly lunches!
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Sheet Pan Balsamic Chicken
Ingredients
- 3 chicken breasts, diced into small pieces
- 1 carrot, chopped
- 1 zucchini, chopped
- 1/2 cup brussels sprouts, sliced in half
- 1 red pepper, chopped
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp dijon mustard
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1/2 tsp each salt & pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 F. Add the ingredients to a parchment-lined baking sheet and toss well to combine (you can also toss in a large bowl then add to baking sheet if that's easier).
- Bake for 15 minutes, stirring halfway through, until veggies and chicken are fully cooked. Divide among meal prep bowls then serve and enjoy!
Lauren says
If you’re placing into meal prep containers, how much should a serving weigh in ounces? 🙂
Taylor Stinson says
Unfortunately I don’t provide serving info by weight. Divide the recipe evenly in 4 and one of those is a serving size 🙂
Christina Jones says
Can you replace the balsamic vinegar with apple cider vinegar? I thought I had balsamic but I don’t!
Taylor Stinson says
Hey Christina – you can but it will change the taste quite a bit!
Jackie says
Do I marinate the veggies with the chicken overnight?
Taylor Stinson says
No just the chicken!
Aurora says
How do you make the sauce?? I’m doing week 2 right now for meal prepping and there is absolutely no instructions on how to make any of the sauces or how to marinade (like what to put in) it just says prepare the sauce, or marinade the meat but there’s no other info. This is very frustrating 😢
Taylor Stinson says
Hi Aurora – you will be adding all of the ingredients to a sheet pan and tossing to combine before baking. No need to marinate anything. This includes the ingredients that will be used to season the chicken (eg olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic, etc). There is no need to mix together a separate sauce as all the ingredients listed will be tossed together and that will give you the flavour. I’m sorry if you found this confusing.