Sheet Pan Chicken Thighs and Vegetables

Sheet pan chicken thighs and veggies are so easy to throw together, bake, and enjoy with your family. A healthy meal with tons of flavor for the win. This easy chicken thigh recipe is a really cheap dinner meal!

Sheet Pan Chicken Thighs and Potatoes

You could even add small diced taters into the mix so they get tender too. Choose whichever chicken and vegetables you’d like. The trick is choosing veggies is to choose those that cook tender at about the same time.

Meaning I wouldn’t choose broccoli and brussels because the latter takes a whole lot longer in the oven to get soft. The other would be mush when it’s done. Meat needs to be defrosted, if not then follow our frozen chicken thighs in air fryer recipe with air roasted vegetables instead.

Baked chicken thighs

These are healthier than fried of course. We make air fryer chicken thighs quite often and that is a good method as well. Using hot air instead of oil the fat drains away from the meat in the cooking process. If you do have that machine I would give them both a whirl so you can compare the two.

Are chicken thighs bad for you?

Both chicken thighs and breasts are good sources of lean protein. They do differ in the amount of calories, fat and saturated fat though. Everything in moderation y’all. For a normal serving though, which would be 1-2 for a meal I would still say they’re a healthy choice.

• The same amount of dark chicken meat without the skin would provide three times the amount of fat vs. breasts. It still isn’t much though.
• If you’re looking for a tender, cheap cut this is it. Coming in at less than half as expensive typically, I feel chicken thighs are not given the appreciation they deserve.
• I use them often in recipes over and above breasts because they’re so inexpensive and don’t come out dry at all.

Our Instant Pot chicken thighs and boneless skinless chicken thighs Crockpot recipes are a great examples of this.

Best chicken marinade

That depends on whom you ask really. We just made one with some balsamic vinegar, olive oil and 2 other ingredients. You could use a bottled sauce of your choice really. The possibilities for this are endless.

Are chicken thighs dark meat?

YES! Chicken breasts are the white meat, whereas thighs have a darker appearance. The texture of the meat is quite different as well. If you’ve eaten turkey legs, and pieces of breast at Thanksgiving you’d be familiar with the difference.

Both are relatively lean cuts commonly found in your local supermarket. Pieces with the skin, typically drumsticks and wings, have higher fat content.

Sheet pan chicken

What vegetables go good with chicken? Sweet potatoes, brussel sprouts and red onion work great with this particular easy dinner recipe. If cooking them separately I might choose a head of broccoli, spinach, or try jicama for a change. These veggies are loaded with vitamins, minerals and fiber but offer a minimal number of calories.

This is what you’ll need for this sheet pan meal:

1. Chicken thighs
   1. this is how to cook frozen chicken thighs if you forgot to defrost them
2. Veggies
   1. if you add potatoes too they need to be small bite size in order to get tender
3. Olive oil
4. Balsamic vinegar, use your favorite brand for this but a good one is worth it
5. Honey
6. Salt and pepper
7. Thyme
8. Baking sheet

Low and slow is key. Yes you could make this as a slow cooker chicken thighs and potatoes meal but it won’t get crisp like these do.

Baked Chicken Thighs Recipe

Follow these basic steps to make this recipe. If you need directions for baking frozen chicken thighs you would need to refer to this other post instead. Both work great but require different temperatures and timing of course.

1. In a bowl mix together honey, vinegar, thyme and olive oil. Pour this into a gallon freezer bag with your meat. Lay flat in your fridge for at least 2 hours to marinate.
2. When done preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare vegetables and put into a bowl with last 2 tbsp of olive oil + salt and pepper to taste. Toss to coat. Pour these on a sheet pan.
3. On another sheet pan put thighs with skin side up on top
   Bake until roasted chicken pieces are crispy on top and veggies are tender, around 50 minutes total cooking time.

Can squeeze a bit of lemon juice on top like our Instant Pot lemon chicken, my family loves this one during the week. If you love this recipe try our Instant Pot honey mustard chicken with a yummy sauce too.

Chicken Thighs and Vegetables

Have leftovers? You can save them and enjoy again for lunch the next day too. You want to make sure it’s saved properly, in a sealed container or freezer bag is best. Refrigerate for up to 3 days but within 24 hours will give you the best results. Reheat in a covered pan with a bit of olive oil or in the microwave for 1 minute.

If you love this sheet pan chicken dinner ideas, try these others too! Wanna make another favorite sheet pan dinner? Try our slow cooker bbq chicken thighs I swear once you try it this way that takes just about an hour it just might change your life. Ok, maybe just change the way you cook a bird from now on.

• We’ve made sheet pan fajitas that were fantastic, even my girls loved them.
• Steak and veggies on a sheet pan would be a great choice too some night, or smoked chicken thighs.