Chicken and Broccoli Sheet pan
Prep Notes
This is speedy, crispy sheet pan chicken, with lots of boldly-flavored ingredients to keep the meal square and interesting. It’s a combination of tips and tricks I gathered from smart people from across the food world. Set a timer twice when making this dish—the first time to remind yourself to flip the chicken, and the second time to check its doneness—so there are no surprises, or burnt dinner! With a little attention to detail (and a few smart tricks), we can all get to a better sheet pan chicken dinner every single time.
Ingredients
6 chicken thighs, bone-in, and skin-on
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 tablespoon olive oil
For rest of sheet pan:
2 medium crowns of broccoli thinly sliced into small florets
116-ounce can chickpeas (drained and rinsed)
1/3cup sun-dried tomatoes
1/2teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
juice and zest of 1 lemon (zest lemon first, then cut and squeeze)
1/3cup finely grated parmesan cheese
few wedges of lemon, if desired
Directions
Heat oven to 500° F.
Place an empty sheet pan in the oven while it heats (no parchment or oil needed). Dry chicken well with paper towels.
Mix together salt, black pepper, baking powder, paprika, and cumin in a small bowl. Season chicken thighs evenly with the spice rub (on both sides and under the skin). Let it rest uncovered (skin-side up) at room temperature while the oven heats up.
Drizzle olive oil evenly across the skin. Carefully transfer the chicken thighs, skin-side down, to the preheated sheet pan. You’ll hear the chicken sizzle as it hits the pan. Immediately lower heat to 425° F and continue roasting for 15 minutes (set a timer).
Meanwhile, in a large bowl, toss broccoli, chickpeas, and sun-dried tomatoes with 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt and 2 tablespoons olive oil and lemon juice and zest mix until evenly coated.
Remove the pan from the oven when the timer goes off. Flip the chicken so it’s skin-side up (the skin should be starting to crisp and brown in spots), and evenly. Add broccoli mixture, distributing it as evenly as possible amongst the chicken thighs (it’ll be a full pan but everything should fit). Continue roasting for another 10 minutes (set the timer again!).
When the timer goes off, scatter the parmesan evenly over the dish, and check the chicken for doneness (target temperature is 165° F in the thickest parts). Continue roasting for another 5 to 10 minutes, if needed, or until the chicken is done. Remove the sheet pan from the oven and let the chicken rest for 10 minutes. Taste a piece of the broccoli; if it’s not yet tender, remove the chicken to a plate and return the sheet pan to the oven while the chicken rests, stirring the broccoli, chickpeas, and sun-dried tomatoes well. Adjust seasoning to taste, and serve warm with lemon wedges on the side (if using).