This Chicken and Asparagus Sheet Pan Dinner is such an easy family meal – everything cooks right on the same sheet pan in the oven!
Easy Chicken Sheet Pan Dinner
I like to speed up dinner prep (and avoid lots of dish washing) with sheet pan dinners. You know, where you cook everything right on the one pan – from the chicken to the asparagus and even the potatoes!
- You only have the one sheet pan to wash – so easy to clean up afterwards!
- Prep time is super quick, especially if you use baby potatoes: It’s very little work to prepare the potatoes and vegetables, and then you just roast everything in the oven.
- We’re adding the asparagus only for the last 10-15 minutes of the baking time, so nothing gets overcooked or undercooked here.
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Ingredients you’ll need
Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post for quantities!
Ingredient notes
- Chicken: I use bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs for this recipe. I feel like they yield the juiciest result. You can also make this recipe with boneless/skinless thighs or boneless/skinless chicken breasts, but you will need to roast the potatoes by themselves for 15 minutes first, before adding the chicken to the pan to bake for around 20-25 more minutes. Otherwise, the chicken will be overcooked.
- Asparagus: The thickness of the asparagus dictates when you need to add it to the pan. Very thin asparagus spears will only need 8-10 minutes, medium spears 10-12 minutes and thicker spears 15-18 minutes. Mine in the photos needed 15 minutes, for reference.
- Potatoes: You can use regular potatoes instead of baby potatoes, if you prefer. It’s just a little extra prep work. If using regular potatoes, you might want to peel them (depending on the cleanliness/toughness of their skin). You’ll also want to dice them into roughly 1.5 inch pieces.
- Lemon: If you don’t have any lemon (or don’t like it), you can also use the balsamic glaze from my Balsamic Glazed Chicken Sheet Pan Dinner on the chicken thighs instead.
- More flavor: Want to marinade your chicken thighs before baking them? Try my Greek Chicken Marinade, my Balsamic Chicken Marinade or my Lemon Garlic Chicken Marinade!
How to make a Chicken Asparagus Sheet Pan Dinner
1. Toss the chicken and potatoes with some olive oil on a sheet pan, then season with the blended spices and seasoning (I toss the potatoes with the spice mix and rub it on the chicken thigh skin for maximum flavor).
combine seasoning season chicken & potatoes
2. Neatly arrange the potatoes on one side of the pan, the chicken on the other. Tuck a few lemon slices underneath the chicken thighs – I place them underneath and not on top to get the lemon flavor on the chicken, but to ensure the skin still gets crispy.
arrange on pan with lemon
3. Roast the chicken and potatoes for 20 minutes, then carefully remove from the oven and place the chicken on top of the potatoes with the help of kitchen tongs. Baste with the juices from the pan.
4. Place the asparagus on the now-empty side of the pan, toss in the juices and season with some extra salt and garlic powder and arrange with the lemon slices.
baste chicken finish roasting with asparagus
5. Finish roasting for another 10-15 minutes, until the chicken is fully cooked and the asparagus and potatoes are tender. Serve immediately.
Recipe tips
- The chicken thighs take around 30-35 minutes to bake. Since the asparagus is done a lot faster, it goes on the sheet pan for only the last 10-15 minutes, that way you don’t end up with overcooked vegetables. So, please don’t ignore this part of the instructions!
- To make sure everything fits on one pan, you’ll place the chicken on top of the potatoes after the first 20 minutes. That way the juices from the chicken drip down on the potatoes and give them so much extra flavor – win! This means the potatoes will stay more soft though and won’t get very roasted. For a roasted finish on them, remove everything else from the pan once the chicken is done. Drain any juices from the pan (save them – serve them like a sauce with the chicken!), then flip the potatoes all to face upwards and broil for 1-2 minutes.
- If your chicken thighs get too dark on top before the asparagus is done, move your pan to the lower-middle rack in your oven to keep the chicken further away from the heat on top.
- Make sure your chicken reaches an internal temperature of at least 165°F for safe consumption.
Recommended internal temperature for chicken
Wondering when your chicken is done and safe to be eaten? I highly recommend investing in (the following is an affiliate link an I earn a commission for purchases made through it) a meat thermometer. I check pretty much everything I cook and bake with mine to make sure I’m at the accurate temperature.
The US government’s food safety website recommends cooking all poultry to an internal temperature of at least 165°F (74°C) for safe consumption.
Tips for leftovers
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave or in the oven at 400°F until piping hot all the way through.
Serving ideas
We enjoy this sheet pan dinner with a tossed green salad in a tangy Lemon Poppy Seed Salad Dressing. It’s also delicious with a Creamy Cucumber Salad, a Cucumber Tomato Salad or even a fully loaded Cherry Tomato Salad, if you need to bulk things up a little.
If you’re feeding big eaters or need to stretch the meal, you can also pass some bread to make sure everyone has enough food. My No Knead Bread (or No Knead French Bread!), Easy Homemade Bread or Easy Sourdough Bread are all great to mop up all of those delicious pan juices.
PS If you try this recipe, please leave a review in the comment section and add a star rating in the recipe card – I appreciate your feedback! Follow along on Pinterest, Facebook or Instagram.
Printable recipe
Chicken and Asparagus Sheet Pan Dinner
Recipe details
Ingredients
Seasoning blend
- 1 teaspoon salt more or less to taste
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder plus ¼ teaspoon extra for the asparagus
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ground black pepper to taste
Chicken & vegetables
- 1 ½ pounds baby potatoes halved
- 1 ½ pounds chicken thighs visible fat removed
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 lemon sliced
- 1 pound asparagus tough ends trimmed
Instructions
- Prep: Preheat oven to 425°F. Combine ingredients for seasoning blend in a small bowl.
- Prep potatoes: Place potatoes on one half of a rimmed sheet pan. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons olive oil, then sprinkle with 2 teaspoons of seasoning blend.
- Prep chicken: Place chicken thighs on remaining space on sheet pan. Rub with 1 tablespoon olive oil, then rub with remaining 2 teaspoons of seasoning blend. Tuck lemon slices under chicken.
- Bake: Bake in hot oven for 20 minutes.
- Add asparagus: Carefully remove sheet pan from oven. With kitchen tongs, carefully place chicken on top of potatoes. Baste with juices from pan.Place asparagus on now empty side of pan. Drizzle with remaining tablespoon of olive oil and season with salt, pepper and ¼ teaspoon garlic powder. Toss carefully to evenly coat with seasoning, oil and pan juices. Arrange lemon slices between asparagus.
- Finish: Finish baking for 10-15 minutes, or until asparagus is tender and chicken is done to an internal temperature of at least 165°F. Serve immediately.
Notes
Ingredient notes
- Chicken: I use bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs for this recipe. I feel like they yield the juiciest result. You can also make this recipe with boneless/skinless thighs or boneless/skinless chicken breasts, but you will need to roast the potatoes by themselves for 15 minutes first, before adding the chicken to the pan to bake for around 20-25 more minutes. Otherwise, the chicken will be overcooked.
- Asparagus: The thickness of the asparagus dictates when you need to add it to the pan. Very thin asparagus spears will only need 8-10 minutes, medium spears 10-12 minutes and thicker spears 15-18 minutes. Mine in the photos needed 15 minutes, for reference.
- Potatoes: You can use regular potatoes instead of baby potatoes, if you prefer. It’s just a little extra prep work. If using regular potatoes, you might want to peel them (depending on the cleanliness/toughness of their skin). You’ll also want to dice them into roughly 1.5 inch pieces.
- Lemon: If you don’t have any lemon (or don’t like it), you can also use the balsamic glaze from my Balsamic Glazed Chicken Sheet Pan Dinner on the chicken thighs instead.
- More flavor: Want to marinade your chicken thighs before baking them? Try my Greek Chicken Marinade, my Balsamic Chicken Marinade or my Lemon Garlic Chicken Marinade!
Recipe tips
- The chicken thighs take around 30-35 minutes to bake. Since the asparagus is done a lot faster, it goes on the sheet pan for only the last 10-15 minutes, that way you don’t end up with overcooked vegetables. So, please don’t ignore this part of the instructions!
- To make sure everything fits on one pan, you’ll place the chicken on top of the potatoes after the first 20 minutes. That way the juices from the chicken drip down on the potatoes and give them so much extra flavor – win! This means the potatoes will stay more soft though and won’t get very roasted. For a roasted finish on them, remove everything else from the pan once the chicken is done. Drain any juices from the pan (save them – serve them like a sauce with the chicken!), then flip the potatoes all to face upwards and broil for 1-2 minutes.
- If your chicken thighs get too dark on top before the asparagus is done, move your pan to the lower-middle rack in your oven to keep the chicken further away from the heat on top.
- Make sure your chicken reaches an internal temperature of at least 165°F for safe consumption.
Leftovers
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave or in the oven at 400°F until piping hot all the way through.Nutrition
More recipe information
Recipe first published on 04/22/2019. Updated with new photos, better text and slight improvements to the recipe on 04/13/2021.
More sheet pan dinners
P.S: For more easy chicken dinners, check out our collection here: Easy Chicken Recipes
Kristen says
I’ve been making this recipe for a couple years now. It’s a family favorite. I use smoked paprika just because I prefer that flavor and I do cook it a bit longer, but the ingredients are perfect as is. It’s simple, easy, affordable, and delicious. If you love this recipe, I recommend to try smoked paprika instead of regular, it just adds a nice touch.
Nora says
Thank you so much for making my humble sheet pan dinner part of your family’s rotation, Kristen! I appreciate your trust in my recipe. And smoked paprika sounds fantastic here!
Catherine Tyssen says
I made this tonight for dinner, it was very good. However, the chicken took quite a bit long than what was in tge recipe. We followed the directions exactly! We do enjoy our chicken very well done! Thus our experience! it was very good!!
Char says
Easy and delicious
Sarah says
Excellent and so convenient!
AS says
Flavors were good, but our chicken skin wasn’t even close to crispy like yours in the image. Next time would probably pan sear the skin side of the chicken before flipping and finishing on the sheet pan.
Yvette says
This was so easy and soo delicious. I will be adding to my favorites.
Tony says
I made this dish last night for the first time my wife and I enjoyed it totally I did have to cook it a little bit longer 👌
Ann says
This is one of my go to recipes!!! The lemon and seasoning makes it!! So delicious!!! I wouldn’t change a thing!!
Linda says
This recipe is my go-to for when we have friends over for dinner for the first time. It never disappoints, can feed a crowd if I add extra ingredients and they always think it looks fancy. Thank you!
Nora says
That’s so great to hear, Linda!
Merri says
This was very easy and delicious. In fact, my 16 yo son said he wasn’t hungry until he saw what was on the plate. He tried to steal his Father’s plate…lol. I did everything the recipe said except the lemon slices as family are not huge lemon people. Still a ton of flavor on everything! Chicken was moist, asparagus was tender and the potatoes were cooked just right. This was a great weeknight meal that didn’t disappoint. Guess what…no leftovers…all gone! Thank you, it’s a keeper!
Nora says
Haha, what a compliment! Glad the recipe was a hit, Merri.
Kathy says
Prepared the dish tonight and it turned out delicious! Recipe was easy to use.
Nora says
I’m so glad, Kathy!
Bill says
Outstanding! Very easy to make and a new family favorite. Look forward to trying the other sheet pan recipes.
Nora says
I’m so glad, Bill!
Pam says
It was excellent!! I had boneless skinless thighs, so I threw the potatoes in the oven while it heated up and they cooked perfect(: Thanks for the yummy recipe! ❤
Nora says
I’m so glad, Pam!