Think those sheet pans were just for baking up holiday cookies and treats? Think again! It’s time to break them out and start this new year off with simplicity, clean eating and a whole bunch of deliciousness. Who’s with me? They are so quick, easy and approachable, that even those of you who don’t find cooking dinner your favorite part of the day will actually love how simple and easy these can be. So many ingredients to include can also come pre-prepped, such as veggies that are already cut to size and washed, making these sheet-pan dinners all that much easier. I love it when simple feels so fancy!
The other beauty of sheet-pan dinners is all the fun combinations of proteins, veggies and starches that are almost limitless. Not eating meat? Leave it out! Only doing seafood a few times a week? Try a sheet pan with shrimp and asparagus with a delicious lemon scampi sauce. Make a sheet pan of roasted vegetables to enjoy all week as a side dish. They can be adapted to fit any eating plan you may be following, or maybe you just want a delicious stress-free meal that can be cooked all together on one pan, making clean-up a breeze.
So what are you in the mood for dinner tonight? Choose your flair … a little Greek or Asian — maybe Mexican, or a simple sheet pan with all the veggies and protein tossed in a little olive oil and basic seasonings of salt, pepper and garlic powder. I mean it when I say that the options are limitless — you will not get bored!
One of my family favorites is the honey-Dijon chicken and vegetables. Here’s what I can tell you about this recipe: When you smother chopped chicken breast, crispy potatoes and tender broccoli in a sweet-and-tangy honey-mustard sauce, you know you’ve got something good on your hands. This one-pan dinner perfection is a dream for busy weeknights or nights when you just don’t want to cause much of a stir in the kitchen.
Here’s how it comes together: Toss everything on a sheet pan, roast until the vegetables are caramelized and the chicken is tender, then pile the mix into shallow bowls to catch the sauce. There’s no need for a side dish — this is a complete meal as-is. Just gather around the table, grab the forks and napkins and dig in!
Sheet Pan Honey-Dijon Chicken and Vegetables
(Serves 4/ Prep: 10 min/ Cook time: 30 minutes)
⅓ cup honey
¼ cup Dijon mustard
2 tbsp. whole-grain mustard
1 tbsp. white wine vinegar
1 tsp. sea salt, divided
½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 pound small red or Dutch baby potatoes
2 tbsp olive oil
1 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts or cutlets, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 pound broccoli, cut into bite-size florets
1 small red onion, cut into 1-inch pieces
Instructions
Arrange a rack in the middle of oven and heat to 425 F. Place a rimmed baking sheet in the oven while it is heating. (Yes, heat your sheet pan first!)
Whisk the honey, Dijon, whole-grain mustard, vinegar, pepper and ½ tsp. of the salt in a small bowl; set aside.
Wash potatoes and dry, then cut each small potato in half. Place potatoes, 1 tbsp. of the oil and 1 tsp. of salt in a large bowl and toss to combine. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and arrange potatoes in a single layer, cut side down. Return to the oven and roast for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, place the chicken, broccoli, red onion, remaining 1 tbsp. of oil and 1 tsp. of salt in the same bowl and toss to combine.
After 15 minutes, remove baking sheet from oven and add the chicken, broccoli and red onion to the baking sheet. Pour half of the honey-Dijon mixture over the chicken and vegetables and toss to evenly coat them in sauce. Spread chicken and veggies into a single layer.
Roast for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven, toss with the remaining honey-Dijon mixture, and spread back into an even layer. Roast until the chicken is cooked through and the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes more.
Another absolute favorite and quite possibly the easiest sheet pan dinner ever is baked shrimp scampi with asparagus. Roasting shrimp is one of my favorite methods to produce evenly cooked shrimp in just 6-8 minutes, and the hands-off method is foolproof and SO easy!
Asparagus cooks up equally as quick, and more importantly, your shrimp scampi sauce is also created all in one pan!
Sheet-Pan Shrimp Scampi with Asparagus
(Serves 4/ Prep: 5 minutes/ Cook: 11 minutes)
Asparagus and tomatoes:
1 pound thin/ medium asparagus, chopped into 1-inch pieces
1 pint cherry tomatoes (optional)
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped or minced
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper
Shrimp:
1 pound medium uncooked shrimp, shelled and deveined, tails off
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. fresh squeezed lemon juice
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. each - paprika, onion powder, dried basil
¼ tsp. red pepper flakes
Dash of fresh ground black pepper
4-8 tbsp. butter - cubed (8 tbsp. if serving with pasta, 4 if serving without)
Fresh chopped parsley
Fresh grated parmesan
Serve with:
1 pound linguini (or other pasta)
Zucchini noodles - Zoodles
Rice
Bread
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400.F.
Line a sheet pan with foil and lightly spray with cooking spray. Add tomatoes and asparagus, olive oil, garlic and S&P, toss and line in a single layer. Roast for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, add all of the shrimp ingredients to a medium bowl EXCEPT butter, and stir evenly to combine.
Remove pan and push tomatoes and asparagus to one side of the pan. Add shrimp and line in a single layer.
Top asparagus with 1 tbsp. cubed butter. Top shrimp with 4-8 tbsp. cubed butter, (depending on how much sauce you want to create) evenly spaced. Roast for 6 minutes or just until shrimp are opaque.
Remove from oven and garnish with more fresh squeezed lemon, fresh parsley and parmesan cheese.
