Citrus-Chipotle Sheet Pan Chicken Thighs

👩🏻‍🍳 Tamara Talks – About Sheet Pan Dinners

“Sheet pan dinners” are trending, and with good reason. Roasting tends to be a healthy and flavorful cooking method, and ONE. PAN. Less clean up time means more time to sit and enjoy a nice meal (with or without a glass of wine!).

My biggest concern when creating a “sheet pan dinner” is cooking times. It’s easy to come up with flavors that work with all the ingredients. Cooking times? Not so much. 

Admittedly, chicken breast is not my favorite. I do acknowledge its health benefits, and I use a good amount of it. However, I do not roast it. I see a lot of sheet pan dinners that include chicken breast, and they evoke images of shoe leather. Is that TMI?

Veggies require different cooking times to become tender and flavorful. The challenge, then, lies in cooking your protein and your veggies long enough to get the protein cooked, and not long enough to result in soggy vegetables. I don’t care for crunchy sweet potatoes either. Just sayin’…

When I began working on Citrus-Chipotle Sheet Pan Chicken Thighs, I knew I wanted to use chicken thighs – while a bit higher in fat and calories – they’re more forgiving with cooking time. The chicken thighs require about 20-30 minutes on 400° making them a good candidate for roasting alongside sweet potatoes. However, the sweet potatoes can take up to an hour unless they’re sliced fairly thin (as opposed to wedges or chunks). 

📋 Ingredients Notes

Here is a quick look at the ingredients in the recipe – it’s handy to use at the grocery store or as a summary of what you need. Skip to the recipe for quantities.

Citrus-Chipotle Glaze

• chipotle chiles – Use 1 (or 2 if you like heat) chipotle chiles with about a tablespoon +/- adobo
• blood orange – Tangerines, cara cara, clementines, any orange will substitute just fine. You use both zest and juice.
• lime
• lemon – I use Meyer lemons when I can get them. Grapefruit is a great addition!
• ground cumin
• garlic
• sweetener – I typically use agave nectar. Honey also works well, but you may want to double the amount.
• sea salt and fresh ground pepper

Sheet Pan Chicken Thighs and Vegetables

• chicken thighs – I find they roast better than chicken breast, and result in a more moist chicken. The timing works out well with the vegetables in the recipe.
• sweet potatoes
• summer squash – Mexican grey squash, zucchini, yellow squash, patty pan are all great options.
• shallots – Red onion is a great substitute.
• bell peppers – I love colorful food, and like a mix!
• tiny tomatoes
• sea salt and fresh ground pepper
• cilantro and/or scallions for garnish
• Orange slices for garnish

💭 Tips

Given the Mexican flavors in this dish (cumin, citrus, chipotle), I wanted to include Mexican grey squash (or zucchini). The trick is to get the sweet potatoes tender without having mushy squash! I cut the squash in fat chunks, and the sweet potatoes in thinner slices. Problem solved!

🍷 Pairing Suggestions

This sheet pan dinner is a one dish wonder. You don’t need any sides! We love it with a crisp rosé. Craft beer lovers will appreciate a saison (farmhouse ale).

Sheet Pan Chicken Thighs with Citrus-Chipotle Glaze really is simple, and so delicious! Don’t forget it’s also gluten free, dairy free, and relatively low carb. And when you’re done? Only one pan to clean!