Ever wonder why there aren’t commercials for dishpan hands anymore? Growing up, given the airplay it got, it felt like an epidemic, and Madge the manicurist (remember the “You’re soaking in it” slogan?) was the savior.
Forty years later, Lisa is still haunted by the drudgery of dishwashing and has come up with the surefire way to forever eradicate unsightly hands: the one-pan dinner.
This Greek-style sheet pan chicken recipe has it all—juicy baked chicken, lemony herbed potatoes, peppers and zucchini, and the Mediterranean trifecta of tzatziki, feta, and olives—on a single sheet pan. So quick and delicious, with your lady-of-leisure hands intact, the only thing you’ll be left to ponder is how Calgon will take you away.–Julie Albert
Greek-Style Sheet Pan Chicken
Ingredients
For the tzatziki sauce
- 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1 cup (6 oz) grated English cucumber
- 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
- 1 garlic clove, finely minced
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
For the spice mix
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
For the chicken and vegetables
- Nonstick cooking spray
- 4 (about 2 lbs total) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in half on the diagonal
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1 pound new potatoes, cut into 1 1/2-inch (4-cm) chunks
- 2 medium (12 oz) red bell peppers, cut into 1 1/2-inch (4-cm) chunks
- 1 medium (about 7 oz) zucchini, cut into 1/2-inch- thick (12-mm) half moons
- One (14 1/2 to 19 ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained
- 1 lemon, washed and thinly sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, sliced
- 3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
- 18 Kalamata olives, pitted
Instructions
Make the tzatziki sauce
- In a medium bowl, combine the yogurt, grated cucumber, white wine vinegar, olive oil, dill, garlic, and salt. Whisk well to combine. Refrigerate until ready to use. The tzatziki can be made up to 1 day ahead.
Make the spice mix
- In a small bowl, combine the oregano, basil, thyme, lemon zest, salt, garlic powder, and pepper. Divide the spice mixture in half.
Make the chicken and vegetables
- Preheat the oven to 425ºF (218°C) with racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with aluminum foil and coat with nonstick cooking spray.
☞ TESTER TIP: If you have a very large baking sheet, you may be able to fit everything on one sheet without crowding, however, the vegetables may take longer to cook than the chicken.
- In a large bowl, toss the chicken breasts with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and half the spice mixture. Spread the chicken out on one of the prepared baking sheets.
- In another large bowl, toss together the potatoes, red peppers, zucchini, diced tomatoes, the remaining tablespoon of olive oil, and the remaining spice mix. Arrange the vegetables in a single layer on the second baking sheet.
- Scatter the lemon slices and garlic slices throughout the pan of vegetables. Bake until the chicken is cooked through and registers an internal temperature of 165°F (74°C), and the vegetables are tender, 25 to 40 minutes. If the chicken is cooked through before the vegetables are done, remove the chicken from the oven and cover with foil to keep warm.
- Combine the chicken and vegetables and top with feta cheese and olives. Serve with tzatziki sauce.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe Testers’ Reviews
This is a great weeknight meal because it uses common, easy to get ingredients, many of which I had on hand, and is fairly quick to put together. Not to mention, easy cleanup! However, it would also be a great dish for guests because it is quite tasty and looks beautiful.
With the red peppers and the green zucchini and the lemon slices, it’s very visually appealing. I served it right from the sheet pan. The chicken and vegetables were all nicely seasoned and cooked. The chicken was tender and the vegetables were done but nicely crisp.
The tzatziki sauce is probably my favorite part and the tartness really adds to the overall flavor of the dish. I plan to use it with other dishes. This is a nice combination of ingredients – truly a one-pan meal. The only thing I added was fresh sourdough bread.
A complete meal that is very easy and quick to put together using a single pan that’s lined in foil, thus avoiding any significant cleanup efforts. From start to finish, the recipe takes under an hour.
To save time, all the vegetable prep can be done hours, or even a day in advance and refrigerated. It has all the components and flavors of a classic Greek dish complete with a perfect tzatziki sauce on the side.
This was a great sheet pan dinner that had a wide variety of flavor but still didn’t take long to assemble. With a great mix of potatoes, zucchini, tomatoes, and peppers, there’s no need to make a supporting player since everything you need is altogether. The olives and feta really help bring it together at the end.
The tzatziki will be a little on the watery side, though you can avoid that by squeezing the moisture from your grated cucumber in a paper towel before adding it to the yogurt.
Want a delicious, balanced meal without having to wash a ton of dishes? This sheet pan dinner is loaded with vegetables, chicken, potatoes, and flavor!
The chicken was nice and juicy, and the tzatziki sauce is the best I’ve ever made. I was worried it would be too runny without squeezing the water out of the cucumber, but it wasn’t at all.
This is a quick and easy, hearty, and healthy dinner. I also imagine it would be great prepped ahead of time and thrown in the oven when you get home from a full day.
We enjoy good Greek food (and we have a favorite go-to place). So this recipe’s appeal was obvious. The dinner comes together very easily. I made the tzatziki the day before so that there was time for the flavors to come together. And being a sheet pan dinner, clean up is simple.
This recipe has the potential to alter the common thinking around sheet pan dinners: They are generally ho hum since everything is thrown and cooked together and not very creative. Not here.
The easy-to-make spice blend really gave the chicken and veggies a nice, deep flavor, while the olives and feta did their jobs to add a tangy and tart kick. The cooking creates a rich sauce on its own, but having the tzatziki sauce elevates the whole dish.
And it couldn’t be easier—no fuss, no muss. I went from zero to on the table in less than one hour (although I’d made the tzatziki sauce earlier in the day, but that only took 5 minutes or so). To top it all off, it’s hearty and healthy.
