This smoky, spicy sheet pan harissa chicken dinner with crunchy chickpeas and crisp tender broccolini is anything but boring. Serve with a cool, lemony yogurt sauce for a healthy weeknight dinner.
Sheet pan dinners are the workhorses of our weeknights. I may be a food blogger, and I may really love to cook, but I’m also a mom (when does that stop feeling weird to say?) to a just-turned-mobile baby and the owner of an Etsy shop. Sometimes, I just don’t have the brain power to manage more than one pot. And sometimes (more often than you’d think) I pull the frozen pizza card, because the struggle to get dinner on the table is universal. So if there’s anything I can do to simplify dinner, jazz it up, and keep it relatively healthy, I’m in.
Enter the sheet pan warrior. One pan to watch, one pan to clean. All of the cooking is done in the oven, so there’s no messy stovetop to worry about. The chicken, chickpeas and broccolini can be prepped ahead of time and put on standby for when dinner time approaches. If you really want to simplify the meal, just use a store bought harissa spice blend. The goal here is a delicious, healthy, non-boring chicken dinner, and this sheet pan meal delivers.
I love the rich, smoky blend of harissa inspired spices and the depth they bring to juicy roasted chicken thighs and chickpeas.
The crisp tender broccolini lightens the meal and, in my opinion, totally eliminates the need for a salad. And I know this dinner is all about simple, but don’t skip the sauce. It’s a cool, creamy, lemony dip that plays so well off of the spices. And it can be whipped up in the serving bowl, so this still counts as a one pan meal! (If you’ve read the recipe, I know what you’re thinking. Toasting spices doesn’t count either.)
I was inspired to develop this sheet pan dinner recipe by Sarah from Slice of Honey, who organized an incredible group of bloggers to put together their best sheet pan dinners.
here is a list of easy and delicious sheet pan dinners for busy families!
- sheet pan shrimp fajitas by Slice of Honey
- curried pork chop and potato sheet pan by Blogtastic Food
- sheet pan BBQ chicken meatballs and veggies by Ways to my Heart
- sheet pan italian stuffed portobellos and garlic breadsticks by Hangry White Male
- seasonal vegetables and italian sausage sheet pan by Julia Recipes
- sheet pan gnocchi and sausage by One Girl One Kitchen
- sheet pan chicken fajitas by Keeping It Simple Blog
- dukkah and parmesan chicken tray bake by Cupcakes and Couscous
notes on the sheet pan harissa chicken:
- You can always substitute in your favorite store-bought harissa spice blend for ease. Just know that if you use harissa paste, your chicken may not get as crispy and browned due to the extra moisture.
- The chicken and chickpeas can be tossed with the spices in the morning and marinated in the refrigerator until you're ready to cook.
more chicken recipes to try!
grilled turmeric chicken thighs
harissa grilled chicken skewers
grilled tamarind ginger chicken thighs
chicken pot pie with puff pastry
spicy fried chicken sandwich with jalapeño slaw
Printsheet pan harissa chicken with broccolini and chickpeas
This smoky, spicy sheet pan harissa chicken dinner with crunchy chickpeas and crisp tender broccolini is anything but boring. Serve with a cool, lemony yogurt sauce for a healthy weeknight dinner.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 4
- Category: Entree
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- ½ cup plain greek yogurt
- ½ cup sour cream
- juice and zest of 1 lemon (or 2 tablespoons of bottle juice)
- ½ cup olive oil, divided
- kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
- ½ teaspoon coriander seeds
- ½ teaspoon caraway seeds
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne (optional)
- 1 can chickpeas, drained, rinsed and shaken dry
- 4 chicken thighs, bone-in and skin on (about 1 ½ pounds), trimmed
- 1 pound broccolini, tough stems trimmed off
- fresh parsley, for garnish
Instructions
- Place a rimmed baking sheet in the oven, then preheat it to 475° F for at least 10 extra minutes to get the sheet pan super hot.
- Stir together yogurt, sour cream, lemon juice, zest and 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a small bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper and refrigerate until ready to eat.
- In a small dry skillet over medium heat, combine cumin, coriander and caraway seeds. Toast spices, shaking or stirring occasionally, until very fragrant and lightly browned, 2- 3 minutes. Transfer to a spice grinder or mortar and pestle, let cool briefly, and grind to a smooth powder. Pour mixture into a small bowl and add smoked paprika, chili powder, ginger, cinnamon, cayenne (if using), 1 ½ teaspoons of kosher salt and ½ teaspoon of black pepper. Stir to combine.
- In a small bowl, toss the chickpeas with 2 teaspoons of spice mixture and 3 tablespoons of olive oil. On a large plate, coat both sides of the chicken thighs with remaining spice mixture (you may not need all of it).
- When the oven is hot, drizzle one end of the sheet pan with olive oil then carefully place chicken thighs skin side down. Dump the chickpeas onto the other end of the pan. Reduce oven temperature to 425°F and roast for 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, toss broccolini with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, and massage oil into the leaves and florets to fully coat.
- Use tongs to flip the chicken thighs. Stir the chickpeas, then push them to the opposite side of the chicken to create space in the center of the pan. Dump broccolini in the open spot, toss to coat them in the pan juices, then spread into an even layer to prevent steaming. Roast another 8- 10 minutes, or until broccolini is crispy, the stems are tender and chicken is cooked through and registers at least 165°F in the thickest part of the thigh.
- Remove from oven and let cool slightly. Serve with yogurt dipping sauce and garnish with fresh parsley.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1
- Calories: 724
- Sugar: 6.2g
- Sodium: 1038mg
- Fat: 53g
- Saturated Fat: 12g
- Unsaturated Fat: 38.4g
- Trans Fat: 0.3g
- Carbohydrates: 26g
- Fiber: 8.7g
- Protein: 41g
- Cholesterol: 185mg
Julia says
This is a wonderful collection of easy pan sheet dinners. I am saving this and have to try one by one 🙂
Indi Hampton says
Thank you so much!