This lemon chicken tray bake, or sheet pan dinner, is an easy weeknight meal that combines crispy, savory chicken thighs, fresh thyme, roasted sweet peppers, cherry tomatoes, shallots, garlic, and bright lemon for an incredibly flavorful dish.
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The key to ensuring you have crispy chicken is to monitor your temperature.
Ovens are often off by 50°F or more. By purchasing a small, reliable oven thermometer, you will have a much more accurate understanding of your oven's heat.
What You'll Need
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- Chicken Thighs In place of one chicken thigh per person, you can also use chicken leg quarters. Be sure to check the internal temperature of chicken leg quarters and add time if needed to reach 165°F (74°C).
- Mini Sweet Peppers If you can't find these, try using bell peppers cut into 2-inch pieces.
- Cherry Tomatoes You could get away with using just cherry tomatoes or just sweet peppers, but they are really excellent together.
- Lemon Be sure to remove the seeds from your lemons before cooking. A nice variation of this dish is to use Meyer lemons.
- Garlic in its skin. I love roasting garlic as individual cloves in their skin to prevent burning.
- Shallot Quartering your shallots instead of slicing them will ensure sweet, tender shallots and safeguard against burning.
- Olive Oil A high-quality olive oil is always nice when your recipe has so few ingredients, but use whatever you have on hand.
- Fresh Thyme You can also use about 1 tablespoon of dried thyme or Herbs de Provence sprinkled over the chicken.
- Kosher Salt My recommendation is to use the brand Diamond Crystal because it allows you to easily adjust without oversalting. It is a flake shape as opposed to a compact grain, which means it has a less concentrated salty flavor by volume.
How to Prepare
Step One Preheat the oven to 400°F or 205°C. Cover your sheet pan with tin foil. Rub olive oil and some salt onto the chicken and spread a bit of olive oil on the sheet pan.
Step Two Once the oven is up to temperature, add the chicken and cook for 25 minutes. You should see some browning on the skin.
Step Three Meanwhile, mix remaining olive oil, salt, lemon, sweet peppers, cherry tomatoes, garlic, shallots, and thyme in a bowl.
Step Four Remove the chicken from the oven and add the remaining ingredients around the perimeter, leaving the chicken some room. Cook for another 25 minutes. Check that the chicken is crisp and its internal temperature is at least 165°F (74°C).
Step Five Remove the thyme leaves from the stem and discard the stem. Use a knife to extract the garlic from its skin, then chop and mix into the dish. Squeeze the lemon (being careful not to burn yourself) over the vegetables and serve.
Variations
Herbs de Provence In place of fresh thyme, try sprinkling a half tablespoon of dried Herbs de Provence over the vegetables and half over the chicken before cooking.
Fresh Herbs Try adding some fresh basil or parsley to the finished dish for added freshness.
Spicy Remove seeds and membrane from jalapeños and add them in with your sweet peppers.
How to Store
Cool and then store in an airtight container, making sure to transfer to the fridge within 2 hours of cooking for food safety reasons.
FAQ
This will last for 3 to 4 days in the fridge when stored in an airtight container.
You can, but the texture of the chicken skin will not remain crispy. I often remove the skin in this scenario.
Try having the chicken and vegetables with a baguette, over pasta, rice, or with some boiled or sautéed potatoes.
This is most often the case because your oven is displaying an incorrect temperature. Purchase a reliable oven thermometer for the most accurate reading. I have linked to the oven thermometer I use below.
Expert Tips
- To ensure crispy skin, purchase and use a reliable oven thermometer. You may discover your oven is off by 50°F/10°C or more. Working with an oven that is a true 400°F/205°C will create consistently crispy skin.
- Avoid crowding the chicken with too many vegetables, particularly the cherry tomatoes which may burst and release their juices. Place vegetables near the outer edge of the sheet pan so that you do not steam the crispy chicken skin.
- To maintain the crispy skin you've worked so hard for, serve the dish immediately once it is ready.
How to Serve
This lemon chicken tray bake can definitely be a meal unto itself, but here are some great ideas for how to fill out your dinner table:
Baguette - The tomatoes, lemon, and chicken fat will combine to create a delicious sauce in the bottom of the pan. Drizzle it on your plate and drag a piece of baguette through it.
Rice or Pasta - I like this Instant Pot Basmati Rice and this Instant Pot Brown Rice. This would also be delicious with some orzo, penne, or any other pasta you have on hand.
Potatoes - Try this with some easy sautéed sweet potatoes for a little added sweetness and a hint of heat.
More Recipes You'll Love
If you're in the mood for more chicken, try these recipes:
📖 Recipe
Lemon Chicken Tray Bake
Equipment
- Oven Thermometer (Optional)
Ingredients
- 4 chicken thighs bone-in, skin-on
- 2 shallots quartered, skins removed
- 8 cloves garlic in their skins
- 1 lemon sliced, seeds removed
- 1 pound sweet baby peppers sliced in half, seeds and stem removed
- 1 pound cherry tomatoes stems removed
- 5 sprigs fresh thyme or more to taste
- 3 tablespoons olive oil extra virgin, plus extra to grease pan
- kosher salt to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F or 205°C. Cover your sheet pan with tin foil. Pat chicken as dry as possible, then rub olive oil and some salt onto chicken and spread a bit of olive oil on the sheet pan.
- Once the oven is up to temperature, add the chicken, skin side up, and cook for 25 minutes.
- Meanwhile, mix remaining olive oil, salt, lemon, sweet peppers, tomatoes, garlic, shallots, and thyme in a bowl. Remove the chicken from the oven and add the remaining ingredients around the perimeter of the sheet tray.
- Cook for another 25 minutes or until the peppers are sweet and slightly charred, the chicken skin is crisp, and its internal temperature reads at least 165°F (74°C).
- Remove the thyme leaves from the stem and discard the stem.
- Let the garlic cool for a minute or so until ready to handle, or use a knife to extract the garlic from its skin. Chop the garlic and mix into the dish. Squeeze the lemon (being careful not to burn yourself) over the vegetables and serve.
Notes
- You can also make this dish with chicken leg quarters. Use the same cook times.
- Cool and then store in an airtight container, making sure to transfer to the fridge within 2 hours of cooking for food safety reasons. It will last for 3 to 4 days in the fridge.
- You can make this ahead of time, but the texture of the chicken skin will not remain crispy. I often remove the skin in this scenario.
- To make this a meal, try having the chicken and vegetables with a baguette, over pasta, rice, or with some boiled or sautéed potatoes. You can also just have the chicken and vegetables for a low carb option.
- If your skin is not getting crispy, your oven may be displaying an incorrect temperature. Purchase a reliable oven thermometer (the one I own is linked above under Equipment) for an accurate reading.
- Avoid crowding the chicken with too many vegetables, particularly the cherry tomatoes which may burst and release their juices. Place vegetables near the outer edge of the sheet pan so that you do not steam the crispy chicken skin.
Jennifer says
Some of my fav flavors are in this dish and it turned out perfectly! The chicken was moist and tender, and the veggies nicely roasted. And cleanup was a breeze! So good and so easy!
Genevieve says
Thank you Jennifer! I’m so glad you enjoyed it.
Leigh says
I *love* a sheet pan dinner. This one is exceptionally good and a great way to use up those summer tomatoes from the garden. I used rosemary instead of thyme (it was all I had on hand) and it came out great!
Genevieve says
I’m sure the rosemary was fantastic. Thanks so much, Leigh!
Sachi says
My whole family loved this recipe and it was just perfect for a tasty and easy low-carb weeknight meal. Thank you for the recipe!
Genevieve says
I’m so happy to whole family liked it! Thanks Sachi!
Sherry says
Sheet pan dinners are the best!! Your chicken recipe was the perfect size meal for my family and everyone loves the flavor of the roasted vegetables and chicken thighs. Thank you for a great dinner recipe!!
Genevieve says
Thank you so much Sherry!
Heidi says
Sheet pan dinners are my favorite! This one was particularly yummy and healthy, which makes it even better. I loved the thyme and lemon. My family will definitely be making this again!
Genevieve says
Thanks Heidi! I’m happy your family enjoyed it.
Cami says
The whole family loves this recipe! Thanks for sharing this!
Genevieve says
Thanks Cami!
Elena says
Love quick chicken dinner recipes! This one sounds and looks great. On my week plan now 😊 Thank you for sharing!
Genevieve says
Thanks Elena! Hope you and your family enjoy.
Allyssa says
This is really easy to follow, loved this lemon chicken tray bake recipe! It's really tasty and very flavorful! Will surely have this again! Highly recommended!
Genevieve says
Thank you Allyssa!