This Sheet Pan Chicken Thighs recipe is the perfect weeknight meal with minimal prep and easy clean-up. It's served with potatoes & veggies.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Easy dinner: These chicken thighs are a quick and easy dinner idea. Everything comes together on one pan for minimal clean-up!
- Super flavorful: The spice blend is so yummy. You can use it for other proteins as well.
Ingredients & substitutions
- Chicken thighs – you can use bone-in or boneless chicken thighs with or without the skin for this recipe, just keep in mind the cooking time will alter.
- Yukon gold potatoes – use any kind of potatoes of your choice.
- Red pepper – or another colour bell pepper like yellow or orange pepper.
- Red onion – white onion, yellow onion or shallots would all be good instead.
- Olive oil – substitute for another neutral cooking oil.
- Lemon juice – freshly squeezed or bottled lemon or even lime juice can be used.
- Salt & black pepper – to taste.
- Lemon – leave this off if you don’t have any fresh lemon.
- Garlic – freshly minced garlic is best but jarred minced garlic will work in a pinch.
- Kalamata olives – use another kind of olives or capers.
- Parsley – basil or oregano will provide a similar flavor.
- Feta cheese – swap out for another cheese of your choice or leave this off for a dairy-free option.
Spice blend
- Paprika – cayenne or chili powder would also work here.
- Onion powder – substitute for garlic powder or onion salt (leave out the rest of the salt if you use onion salt).
- Garlic powder – freshly minced garlic or extra onion powder can be used instead.
- Salt & pepper – to taste.
How to make sheet pan chicken thighs
Step 1: Prepare the vegetables.
Toss the potatoes, red pepper and red onion with olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Step 2: Season the chicken thighs.
Mix together the teaspoon paprika, teaspoon onion powder, teaspoon garlic powder, and half teaspoon salt and pepper in a small bowl. Rub the chicken thighs with the spice blend.
Step 3: Bake the chicken thighs.
Place chicken thighs and lemon slices on the sheet pan, then bake in the oven.
Step 4: Serve and enjoy!
Remove from the oven and assemble Mediterranean bowls if desired. Serve and enjoy!
Recipe tips & variations
Here are some of my top tips for making these chicken thighs, including some recipe variations:
- Don't overcrowd the pan: Make sure the chicken and vegetables are in a single layer, and there's not too much overlap, or the ingredients won't cook properly.
- Try different spices/marinades: Feel free to get creative with the seasonings you use. Try fajita seasoning, jerk seasoning, or even marinate the chicken in one of my chicken thighs marinades.
- Swap out the veggies: Add in any veggies of your choice like brussels sprouts, broccoli, carrots, sweet potatoes, red onion and more. Just make sure you cut the vegetables into bite-sized pieces.
- Use a meat thermometer: An instant read thermometer is the easiest way to ensure your chicken is cooked all the way through.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you use chicken breasts instead?
You can use boneless skinless chicken breasts for this recipe, but they won't need to cook for as long. They'll probably only take about 20-25 mins to cook, versus the thighs which take about 35 mins. Use a meat thermometer to ensure you're not under or over cooking.
Why is there so much liquid at the bottom of the sheet pan?
The chicken will release juices while it cooks, so it's totally normal for there to be liquid at the bottom of the sheet pan after cooking. I like to line the sheet pan in parchment paper for easy cleanup.
Can you make them ahead of time?
If you want to prep this recipe ahead of time, you can chop up all the veggies and rub the chicken with the spice blend a couple days in advance. Store everything separately in the fridge in glass containers. When you're ready to eat, all you have to do is stick everything on a sheet pan and cook!
What to serve
These sheet pan chicken thighs are a full low-carb meal on their own. If you want to serve them with a little something extra, here are some ideas:
- Cauliflower rice
- Creamy mashed potatoes or cauliflower mashed potatoes if you want to keep the meal low-carb
- Light side salad with homemade dressing
Storing and reheating
Store any leftovers in the fridge for 4-5 days. Sprinkle some water over top and cover with a damp paper towel, then microwave for 1-2 mins. Add on some fresh feta and dig in!
You can also freeze the cooked thighs for up to 3 months. Defrost in the fridge then reheat as normal, or reheat straight from frozen for 6-7 mins in the microwave with a damp paper towel over top.
More easy sheet pan dinners
Meal prep tools
- Grab some glass meal prep bowls if you plan on storing the leftovers in the fridge.
- I get all my free-range chicken from Butcher Box, conveniently delivered to me frozen.
- Get a meat thermometer to make sure your chicken is cooked through.
Sheet Pan Chicken Thighs
Ingredients
- 8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs or boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 2 Yukon gold potatoes chopped
- 1 red pepper chopped
- 1 red onion chopped
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 lemon sliced (optional)
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- Salt & pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup kalamata olives
- 1/2 cup parsley chopped
- 1/4 cup feta crumbled
Spice blend
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp each salt & pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 F. Toss potatoes, red pepper and red onion with olive oil, lemon juice and season with salt and pepper on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Rub chicken thighs with spice blend, then place on sheet.
- Add lemon slices, then bake for 35-38 minutes if using skin-on, bone-in thighs. If using boneless, skinless thighs, bake for 25 minutes.
- Remove from oven and mix garlic into veggies, then garnish with kalamata olives, parsley and feta. Serve and enjoy!
Comments & Reviews
Katie Didow says
This meal couldn’t be easier!