Sheet pan meals are my weeknight salvation. The main dish and sides are cooked in the same pan at the same time. All you have to do is slide it into the oven, grab a bottle of wine and your favorite book, then hide from the kids for an hour.
This particular sheet pan dinner is next level. Not only are juicy chicken thighs and creamy potato wedges cooked together to flawless crispiness, but you make a slurp-worthy sauce–where?–in the same sheet pan!
Just mash the deeply roasted garlic, stir in some chicken broth to loosen up any stuck-on brown buts, squeeze over some roasted lemon, and pour it over the chicken and potatoes. Boom. Bang. Dinner is done. Just one pan to wash.
Why Our Testers Loved This
It was no surprise that the testers loved the simple preparation method and minimal clean-up involved with this lemon garlic sheet pan chicken thighs recipe.
When it came to texture and flavor, the testers were blown away. Leah L. was “deliriously happy” with the crisp brown potatoes and their “soft, fluffy, delectable interiors,” while Barbara H. was astounded that she had created a meal that tasted like chicken Vesuvio in under an hour.
What You’ll Need to Make This
- Chicken thighs–Use bone-in chicken thighs for this recipe. The bone helps to keep the chicken moist and helps the meat cook through in the same amount of time as the potato wedges.
- Potatoes–For marvelously tender potato wedges, I recommend using Yukon Gold potatoes. You can substitute red potatoes, but they won’t be as soft and creamy as the Yukon Gold potatoes.
- Garlic cloves–The recipe calls for 10 cloves of garlic. (I’ve used more, but that’s me–a garlic head.) Ten may seem like a lot, but after roasting with the chicken and potatoes, they mellow in flavor and take on slightly sweet notes.
- Chicken broth–This gives the sauce a little extra flavor. Homemade chicken stock is killer in this, if you have it. If you’re fresh out of both, you can use water.
How to Make This Recipe
- Mix the oil, oregano, salt, and pepper together in a large bowl.
- Add the chicken and potatoes and mix well to thoroughly coat each piece.
- Pile the garlic in the middle of the sheet pan and arrange the chicken around it.
- Scatter the potato wedges and lemon halves around the chicken. Roast until golden brown and cooked through, then transfer the chicken and potatoes to a serving platter.
- Mash the garlic on the sheet pan.
- Pour in the broth, squeeze over two roasted lemon halves, and stir to combine. Drizzle the sauce over the chicken and potatoes and serve immediately.
Common Questions
Yes, you can. I recommend using bone-in chicken breasts, as boneless breasts could dry out toward the end of the cooking time. If your chicken breasts are very large, cut them in half crosswise so they finish cooking at the same time as the potatoes do.
My testers enjoyed this sheet-pan chicken dinner with a side of salad or roasted vegetables, such as Italian roasted cauliflower, asparagus, or spicy roasted Brussels sprouts. Since your oven will already be hot, plop the veggies you want to roast on a separate sheet pan and add them to the oven for the final 20 to 30 minutes of cooking time, more if cooking larger vegs.
The most important thing to remember when making a sheet pan meal is not to crowd the pan. Make sure everything’s in a single layer with enough space for air to circulate. If not, you’ll steam your food rather than roast it, and you’ll miss out on those oodles and oodles of crispy bits.
The testers found that a half-sheet pan (13-by-18-inches) worked perfectly for this recipe. If you’re doubling the recipe, be sure to use two pans.
Helpful Tips
- Store leftover chicken and potatoes in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Leftover sauce can be stored in a separate container.
- To reheat, warm the chicken and potatoes in a 325°F oven, and reheat the sauce in a small saucepan on the stovetop.
- This recipe is suitable for gluten-free and dairy-free diets.
More Easy Sheet Pan Chicken Recipes
Write a Review
If you make this recipe, or any dish on LC, consider leaving a review, a star rating, and your best photo in the comments below. I love hearing from you.–David
Lemon-Garlic Sheet Pan Chicken Thighs
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more for serving
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more for serving
- 3 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, trimmed of excess skin and fat
- 1 1/2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into 1-inch thick (25 mm) wedges
- 10 medium garlic cloves, peeled
- 2 medium lemons, halved crosswise
- 1/4 cup canned chicken broth or homemade chicken stock, or water
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 475°F (240°C).
- Stir the oil, oregano, 1 1/4 teaspoons of salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper together in a large bowl. Add the chicken and potatoes to the bowl and give everything a good toss. Use your hands to rub the seasoning into the chicken so each piece is fully coated.
- Pile the garlic in the middle of a large rimmed baking sheet, then arrange the chicken in a single layer, skin side up around the garlic.
- Scatter the potato wedges around the chicken, then nestle the lemon halves in the mixture, cut sides facing up. Drizzle any herbed oil from the bowl over the chicken and potatoes.
- Transfer the baking sheet to the oven and cook until the chicken and potatoes are golden brown and the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165°F (74°C) on an instant-read thermometer, about 30 minutes.
☞ TESTER TIP: If your chicken and potatoes aren't crisped to your liking, switch the oven to broil and cook, watching closely, until the chicken and potatoes are crisp and browned on top, about 3 minutes.
- Arrange the chicken, potatoes, and two of the lemon halves on a serving platter.
- Mash the garlic cloves with a fork or potato masher until they form a rough paste. Squeeze over the remaining 2 lemon halves, then drizzle over the chicken broth. Stir to combine and season to taste.
☞ TESTER TIP: The lemons will be hot! To protect your fingers, use the masher or a pair of tongs to squeeze the juice from the lemon halves.
- Pour the sauce over the chicken and potatoes, and sprinkle with parsley. Serve immediately.
Notes
- Don’t crowd the pan–If your sheet pan is on the smaller side, or you find that your chicken and potatoes are crowded, divide everything between two sheet pans. Food that’s crowded won’t crisp properly.
- Storage–Store leftover chicken and potatoes in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Leftover sauce can be stored in a separate container.
- Reheating–To reheat, warm the chicken and potatoes in a 325°F oven, and reheat the sauce in a small saucepan on the stovetop.
- Dietary–This recipe is suitable for gluten-free and dairy-free diets.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe Testers’ Reviews
This is a working Mom’s dream dinner. I love a one-pan wonder, and this sheet-pan chicken thigh recipe is definitely a keeper. In an hour, I had dinner on the table.
The chicken skin becomes very crisp making it impossible not to eat. The potatoes are crisp yet soft in the middle. I added a small tray of zucchini and cauliflower to roast the last 15 minutes of baking as we love our vegetables. We also had a small salad.
This is the kind of recipe I can see myself making again and again. Sheet-pan meal? Love. Quick and easy chicken dish? Double love. Potatoes with lemon-garlic sauce? Triple love.
The potatoes were everyone’s favorite part. Some bits were crisp and brown, but all of the wedges had soft, fluffy, delectable interiors. They soaked up the chicken juices, herby olive oil, and garlic like flavor sponges. I could have eaten just the potatoes and been deliriously happy.
This sheet pan chicken recipe is fantastic! There are a few simple ingredients, quick prep time, and time to tend to other tasks while it bakes.
The chicken was perfectly golden and crispy on the outside, moist and tender on the inside. The potatoes were cooked to perfection with an impressive amount of browning. The sauce was amazing and quick to prepare.
I love a good chicken dinner and that is exactly what this recipe gives you, a good chicken dinner. The preparation is simple and I liked the idea of the potato wedges.
We loved the crispy skin on the chicken and the creamy, crunchy potatoes. The potatoes and chicken had a hint of lemon, which we enjoyed very much. Definitely a recipe I’ll make again.
Achieving the beautiful Chicken Vesuvio di Chicago flavor in thirty minutes astounds me. The skin married with the pan sauce readily, and while I thought it might be too lemony with all the pulp that squished out, it was just right.
Making a shortcut pan sauce IN the sheet pan feels like a really genius move I haven’t encountered before, but one I’m certain I’ll repeat.
The pile of garlic gets surrounded by a wall of chicken, sort of like you’re circling wagons on the Oregon Trail, and it does let them get soft without burning. When combined with the lemon juice and parsley, you get a bracingly fresh and tart pan sauce, a great compliment to the potatoes and chicken.
I saw the 475°F temperature here and raised an eyebrow. Then I got to directions for making a pan sauce on the sheet pan, and the other eyebrow went up. And then—wow!—this works. Eyebrows back at rest. Stomachs satisfied.
This made 4 to 6 servings. We had the chicken and potatoes with vegetable-and-barley-stuffed peppers.
This sheet pan chicken thigh recipe is simple and deliciously possible for a weeknight meal — but with Sunday-roast flavours. I grew up with roast chicken over vegetables with lemon and oregano as a Sunday or even birthday dinner request, but roasting a whole chicken (and negotiating the dark versus light meat preferences) is much more of a commitment than I want to make on a weeknight. This is dinner in an hour with all the good parts.
This easy sheet pan chicken dinner was a winner in my book and certainly worthy of a tester’s choice award. The genius lemon garlic sauce made all the difference between what would have been a pretty good dish and something delectable.
Although my chicken was fully cooked in 30 minutes, it looked a bit pale for my liking. A few minutes under the broiler remedied that, resulting in an irresistibly crispy browned skin, and gave the potatoes a needed boost of color as well. A side of simple roasted broccoli provided an excellent complement and was easy to cook in the already hot oven.
This sheet pan chicken thighs recipe is about as unfussy as can be. After a simple prep, the chicken, potatoes, garlic, and lemons are roasted on the sheet tray. The roasted garlic and lemon meld together with the browned bits to make a tasty sauce, with a bit of parsley for freshness.
So easy to prepare and so packed with flavor, this sheet pan chicken and potatoes is already on my list of repeat meals. The simple instructions and the resulting flavor, aroma, and visual appeal make this an easy go-to to satisfy a comfort food craving.
My fellow eater took one bite and spontaneously said, “This is really good” without any prompting, a rare endorsement. To me, anything under an hour from start to finish that tastes great is worth the effort and this is good enough to serve to guests.
This is a dish that should be in everyone’s recipe repertoire. It’s super easy to make, and the pan sauce perfectly complements the chicken. Although you are using fairly high heat in the oven, the chicken remains perfectly moist (due in large part to the fact that you are using bone-in, skin-on chicken.)
