Sheet Pan Pesto Chicken and Vegetables
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All you need is one pan and 15 minutes to get this Sheet Pan Pesto Chicken with potatoes and carrots into your oven.
I have always been a fan of easy one pan meals, but now that I have a semi-mobile baby who no longer naps in the evening, I’ve become more than just a fan. Now, I’m more like the crazy lovestruck tween hanging pictures of One Direction on her walls…only instead of posters of cute boys, I’m obsessing over full course meals made all on one pan with less than 15 minutes of prep time. One pan meals are my hero, baby.
These Pesto Chicken Thighs with Carrots and Potatoes are just one of the meals that’s been saving my life these days. The whole recipe is in your oven in less than 15 minutes. 45 minutes later, the dishes are done, the baby isn’t screaming, and dinner is ready to go.
Well, maybe I should clarify. The baby might be screaming, but it won’t be because you’ve been neglecting him while you try to make some fancy pants meal on the stove.
How to Make Sheet Pan Pesto Chicken
Strap your baby to you, plop him in the Bumbo, or throw a blanket on the floor and let em’ roam. Chop up some potatoes and carrots then whisk together olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic and pesto. Spread the veggies and chicken thighs on a pan, sprinkle with salt and pepper, then give them all a good rubdown with the pesto mixture. Yes, your child will probably attempt to face plant into the dog’s water bowl right when your hands are covered in raw chicken juices. This is just a fact of life, and I am powerless against it.
After you’ve panicked and smeared chicken juice on the baby, all you have to do is pop that tray in the oven and you’re done! Feel free to remove all chicken juices from your offspring at this time.
I know we all love an easy dinner, but guys, this dinner is also crazy good. Bone in, skin on chicken thighs are so tender and flavorful, and roasting them like this gives them the best crispy skin. The pesto is the perfect compliment to the subtle sweetness of the carrots, and the baby reds round out the meal with their trademark creaminess.
This meal tastes like spring and winning. Put it on your meal rotation, and experience the taste of victory.
One Pan Pesto Chicken Thighs and Vegetables
Ingredients
- 1 lb. bone in skin on chicken thighs
- 1 lb. bone in skin on chicken wings or drumsticks
- 1 1/2 lbs. baby red potatoes (quartered)
- 10 carrots (chopped into 1/4 inch thick sticks)
- Kosher salt and pepper (to taste)
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
- 1/2 cup prepared basil pesto
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil.
- Spread the carrots, potatoes, and chicken out on the baking sheet. Generously sprinkle everything with Kosher salt and black pepper. It should look like a light snow has fallen on everything.
- In a mixing bowl, stir together the olive oil, balsamic, pesto, and garlic. Rub the mixture all over the chicken and veggies. Place in the oven and bake for 40-50 minutes, or until vegetables are tender and chicken registers at least 165 degrees. If the chicken skin isn't super brown or crispy, place the chicken under the broiler for an additional 2-3 minutes to crisp up.
Notes
- Feel free to use all thighs or all drumsticks in this recipe.
This sounds great but, for a partner with cardiac issues, I wanted to use skinless boneless breasts. Also added Brussels sprouts, sweet potatoes, red onion and lots more garlic. I had to play with the cooking time. It was delicious and quite a bit lower in fat & cholesterol making it more if a Mediterranean diet sheet pan. Yum!
I used my homemade pesto. I added zucchini and onions, So easy and delicious!
So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for sharing!
We had this tonight for Sunday dinner – easy and delicious! I added some onion flakes to the mixture and next time I make it I would add 5 cloves of garlic (2 were good but it could use more). Cut your veggies small so they cook thoroughly. Chicken was moist and skin was perfect. Thank you for the recipe!
We did not have balsamic vinegar so we used redd wine instead.
Great recipe! Super easy and delicious. Don’t know what the problem was with the one commenter who’s veggies didn’t cook and her fam didn’t like the recipe. My picky family loved it. Making again this week with my homemade pesto. Yum!
I’m so glad you all enjoyed it! I bet it’s AMAZING with homemade pesto!
So glad I found this when I was looking for chicken pesto recipes. This sheet pan recipe is quick and easy to make and I love your presentation of it. Thanks for sharing this. Cant wait to try this out.
My family LOVES this recipe!! I use boneless skinless thighs. I like making it a large baking dish, usually 2 dishes. Plenty leftovers for lunches or dinner next day!
Thank you for letting me know! I absolutely love to hear that!
This was delicious! Even my husband, who rarely compliments my cooking, said wow, this is really good! Whole family raved about. The balsamic vinegar really makes it! Will make this often.
Thank you so much for this recipe! It’s super easy to make and I just don’t have the words to describe how delicious this was 🙂 Will be making this the next time we have guests!
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Thank you so much for this recipe! It’s super easy to make and I just don’t have the words to describe how delicious this was 🙂 Will be making this the next time we have guests!
Thanks for your kind words. I am so glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Amazing taste! I made a change which I think improved the end result. I marinated 2 pounds of drumsticks in 1/2 cup of the pesto for 2 hours in the fridge. I followed the rest of the directions. It turned out really well!
We made this tonight for supper and it was excellent! We used regular red potatoes and cut them up and
cut the carrots into bigger pieces. We did not have balsamic vinegar so we used redd wine instead. So easy to make and greaqt taste.
Made it – loved it! It was a big hit with my Wed night cooking group. Thanks for sharing this recipe. Wonderful flavor, loved the pesto mixed with balsamic, EVO & garlic.
Plan on making the one pan pesto chicken thighs and veggies tonight. Can’t wait to try it!
Wondering if there are some typos here?? The prep and cooking times seem to be flipped and the nutritional count surely isnt really 816 per serving EEK!
You’re right! The prep and cook time is switched. I’ve fixed that now. And the nutrition is definitely not right either. This is a new feature we’ve just recently updated and we’re still working out a lot of kinks. Thanks for pointing it out! We’ll see if we can get that fixed!
Thanks for this recipe! My grocery store didn’t have bone-in thighs, so I used all drumsticks. The recipe was easy and it turned out really well and got great reviews from the fella.
Awesome! I’m so glad you both enjoyed it. Thanks for coming back to let me know!
This is the sixth time I have made this and it is always a hit. Thank you for sharing!!
That’s amazing! Thank you so much for sharing. It always makes my day!
Wow. I have to admit I doubted this recipe, but I love Pesto and with two under two it was too easy not to try. It was SOOO good! So easy.
We used only thighs and seasoned them with some seasoned salt about 30 minutes before and let it come to room temp. I also added whole baby portobello mushrooms. Next time I’ll add Broccoli. My husband said it was one of the better meals I’ve cooked (he typically cooks). It will become a staple in our house. The only thing that didn’t work was that the skin didn’t get crispy. Any suggestions on how to fix that next time around?
Made it tonight , first sheet pan dinner. It was a hit with all
5 of us, 3 happy teenagers and two adults . Thanks for sharing I really needed something new.
That is awesome! Thanks so much for coming back to let me know!
This is a regularly made recipe in our home. My husband & I often work late hours and our teenage son sometimes has to take care of dinner for his younger siblings and this is one of their most requested meals in those situations. I put everything together in the morning & refrigerate it. When they’re ready for dinner he throws it on the sheet pan & bakes it! All my kids are super picky eaters too.
This makes me so happy. Thank you so much for sharing Lydia! I’m glad it’s been a hit for you and your family!
Can I use chicken breasts instead of drumsticks and wings? How would I cook that?
I think you could but the breasts will likely be dries out if you cook them for that length of time. You could bake them on a separate pan from the vegetables so you could take the chicken out when it’s done but continue to cook the veggies until they’re soft.
This is a first for me, I have never given a poor rating on anything. I made this exactly as directed. I let it rest for 10 minutes before serving. Thank goodness I didn’t make it for company. It was just me and my husband. The potatoes and carrots were not done but the chicken was. So, I took the chicken out of the pan and cooked the potatoes and carrots another 35 minutes. We sat down to eat and boy was I disappointed!! I hated it and my husband said I don’t think this is going to be made again. I said ABSOLUTELY NOT.Flavors didn’t compliment each other!
Hi Debra, I’m sorry to hear that. Several other people have tried it and enjoyed it and it’s a regular around here. Everyone’s tastes are different. Sorry this one wasn’t a hit for you!
This was easy and it was absolutely delicious!!
Yay! That’s exactly what I was going for. So glad you liked it!
After working all day, this was a perfectly easy…simple and very satisfying meal for my family! Thank you for the wonderful recipe.
I love hearing that! Thanks so much for coming back to comment. It makes my day!
Can’t take my eyes off the chicken thighs!
Haha! They are pretty tempting, aren’t they?