Here’s a healthy sheet pan chicken thighs recipe that comes together fast and proves that cooking at home couldn’t be easier. Season tender chicken thighs with a flavorful chipotle seasoning rub, then cook it to juicy perfection on a sheet pan along with broccoli florets and red onion. Add the finishing touch by drizzling servings with the most delicious homemade honey-mustard sauce. We love rounding out this recipe by serving it with mashed sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, or mashed cauliflower for a scrumptious and nutritious meal.
Sheet pan Chicken Thighs with Broccoli is a weeknight dinner winner!
When you’re feeling short on time but you want to put a home-cooked meal on the table, turn to this recipe. Sheet Pan Chipotle Chicken Thighs with Broccoli is quick to prep and it cooks fast. Plus, it’s healthy, satisfying, and delicious! While the chicken and vegetables are in the oven, use that time for a quick kitchen clean-up, to set the table, and to whip up the Honey-Mustard Sauce. This sauce is where it’s at, adding flavor to the dish, and any leftovers make an awesome salad dressing.
Ingredients for Sheet Pan Chicken Thighs
We kept this sheet pan recipe simple by using a few real-food ingredients and added flavor with a homemade chipotle seasoning mix and a creamy honey-mustard sauce that we know you’ll love. Here’s what you need:
- Boneless, skinless chicken thighs – for sheet pan recipes like this one, we prefer chicken thighs because they cook tender and stay juicy. You can also use chicken breast, though the cooking time may vary depending on thickness of the breasts.
- Broccoli florets – for a shortcut, use a 12-ounce bag of pre-chopped raw broccoli
- Red onion
- Avocado oil or olive oil
- Brown sugar
- Chipotle seasoning mix – you’ll need ground cumin, chili powder, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, chipotle powder, fine salt, and black pepper
- Nonstick cooking spray
Ingredients For the Honey Mustard Sauce:
- Mayonnaise – we prefer avocado oil-based mayo, such as this one from Primal Kitchen. For egg-free use a vegan mayo or plain Greek yogurt
- Dijon mustard
- Honey
- Coconut aminos or low-sodium soy sauce
- Dried thyme
- Garlic powder
- Salt and pepper
How to make Sheet Pan Chipotle Chicken Thighs with Broccoli and Honey-Mustard Sauce
Sheet pan recipes couldn’t be easier, which is why they’re always a hit in our homes. Here are the quick steps to follow to get this dinner on the table tonight.
- Prepare the sheet pan ingredients: Place a large rimmed baking sheet in the oven and preheat the oven to 450℉ with the pan in the oven. This helps to achieve even cooking and crispiness. While the oven preheats, place the broccoli florets and onion in a medium bowl; toss with oil. Prepare the seasoning rub by combining the spices. Rub oil over the chicken thighs then sprinkle generously with the seasoning rub.
- Cook the chicken and vegetables: When the oven is preheated, carefully remove the hot sheet pan from the oven. Spray with cooking spray and then spread the vegetables in an even layer on the baking sheet, leaving spaces for the chicken thighs. Add the chicken thighs to the pan between the vegetables. Bake for 15 minutes. Stir and bake for another 5 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and registers 165℉ on an instant read thermometer.
- Make the Honey-Mustard Sauce: While the chicken is cooking, prepare the sauce by combining all of the sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
- Serve and enjoy! Divide the chicken and vegetables among plates. Drizzle servings with Honey-Mustard Sauce.
How to store Leftover Sheet Pan Chipotle Chicken Thighs and Broccoli
To store the leftovers of this sheet pan chicken thighs recipe, we recommend separating the vegetables, sauce, and the cooked chicken into separate airtight containers; refrigerate for up to 3 days. For an easy reheat-and-eat meal, store the chicken and vegetables in a 2-compartment, microwave-safe, meal prep container. This makes for an easy meal to enjoy for the next day’s lunch or dinner. Simply reheat in the microwave then drizzle with the sauce.
How to meal prep this Sheet Pan Chicken Thighs recipe
There are two ways we like to prep this recipe ahead:
Prep ingredients up to the point of cooking: This method is a great option if you plan to serve this meal as a weeknight dinner. Chop the vegetables, mix the seasoning rub, make the sauce, and thaw the chicken thighs (if frozen), so that all the ingredients are ready to go when you plan to make the meal. Store everything in separate containers in the fridge for up to 2 days. Taking care of these simple tasks will make a for an incredibly easy throw-together weeknight dinner.
Cook, store, reheat, and serve: This prepare-ahead-of-time method is for those who want to have an easy, reheat-and-eat option for the week. Prepare the recipe all the way through step 7, allow the food to cool, and then individually portion out the chicken and vegetables into microwave-safe containers (use 2-compartment, microwave-safe containers if you’d like). Store the Honey-Mustard Sauce in a separate container or small mason jar. When ready to eat, place one of the prepared containers of food in the microwave and cook for 30-60 second intervals until heated through. Drizzle with the Honey-Mustard Sauce just before serving. Enjoy the prepared meals within 3 days.
What makes Sheet Pan Chicken Thighs with Broccoli Healthy?
When creating new recipes for you, we always keep simplicity and health in mind. This recipe is well-balanced and contains an adequate amount of protein, healthy fats, and fiber from real food, nutrient-dense ingredients including:
- Chicken thighs – a healthy source of quality protein that you can count on providing you with lean, lasting energy and essential nutrients like amino acids, niacin, selenium, and vitamin B6. Curious how to select the best chicken for you. Read this post for detailed info on what to look for on poultry labels.
- Broccoli – loaded with vitamins, minerals, and fiber plus a boat load of antioxidants, just one cup of this cruciferous vegetable contains as much vitamin C as an orange. Vitamin C helps protect your body from free radical damage, regulates immune health, is necessary for collagen production, and promotes healing.
- Red onion – another great source of vitamin C, onions are also known to help with reducing inflammation in the body thanks to a mighty antioxidant called quercetin
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Sheet Pan Chicken Thighs with Broccoli
Here’s a pleasing and perfect weeknight dinner that comes together fast with a few real-food ingredients. Seasoned with a chipotle spice rub and drizzled with a honey-mustard sauce, this sheet pan chicken thigh recipe does not skimp on flavor!
Ingredients
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (1 1/4 lbs), patted dry
- 1 (12-ounce) bag raw broccoli florets (6-7 cups)
- ½ medium red onion, sliced (1 cup)
- 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon avocado oil or olive oil, divided
- 2 teaspoons brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon fine salt
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon chipotle powder
- Nonstick cooking spray
Honey Mustard Sauce:
- 3 tablespoons mayonnaise (for egg-free use vegan mayo or plain Greek yogurt)
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 2 teaspoons coconut aminos (or 1 teaspoon low-sodium soy sauce)
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- Pinch of fine salt and black pepper
Instructions
- Place a large rimmed baking sheet in the oven and preheat the oven to 450℉ with the pan in the oven. Preheating the baking sheet helps the ingredients cook evenly.
- While the oven preheats, place broccoli florets and onion in a medium bowl. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon of oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss to coat. Set aside.
- Make the rub: In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, cumin, chili powder, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, black pepper, and chipotle powder.
- Rub the chicken thighs with the remaining 1 teaspoon of the oil. Sprinkle all over with the seasoning rub.
- When the oven is preheated, use an oven mitt to carefully remove the hot sheet pan from the oven. Spray the sheet pan with cooking spray. Spread the vegetables in an even layer on the baking sheet, leaving spaces for the chicken thighs. Nestle the chicken thighs among the vegetables.
- Return the baking sheet to the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Stir the vegetables and continue cooking until the chicken is cooked through and registers 165℉ on an instant read thermometer, about 5 minutes more.
- While the chicken is cooking, prepare the Honey-Mustard Sauce by combining the mayonnaise, mustard, honey, coconut aminos, thyme, and garlic powder in a small bowl. Taste and season with salt and pepper as desired.
- Serve Honey-Mustard Sauce with chicken and vegetables. Any leftover sauce may be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up 4 days.
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Nutrition Information
- Serving Size: 1/4 of the recipe with sauce
- Calories: 343
- Fat: 19 g
- (Sat Fat: 4 g)
- Sodium: 655 mg
- Carbohydrate: 14 g
- (Fiber: 2 g
- Sugar: 8 g)
- Protein: 27 g
- Cholesterol: 116 mg
Dietary
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Jordan says
This was so yummy! I forgot to buy sweet potatoes, so I added gnocchi to the sheet pan instead. Still turned out delicious! My husband doesn’t like honey mustard, but I convinced him to try it…next thing I know, he has it drizzled over his entire plate lol. Can’t wait to try it with sweet potatoes next time!
Stacie Hassing says
Thanks for the feedback Jordan! We are happy you enjoyed this recipe!
Sally L says
Amazing. Absolutely delicious.
Jennifer Dixon says
I left the brown sugar out but this was both easy and delicious! My husband made wild rice to go on the side. It also smelled DIVINE whilst cooking. Full disclosure, I was in a rush so did not measure any of the spices – just a couple shakes of each… 🙂
Debi McNamara says
We absolutely loved this recipe! I doubled the recipe to serve to dinner guests and everyone raved about it. It is a beautiful dish to serve. it did take almost 30 mins to bake the chicken so plan ahead. The thighs that I baked were large, however, and the oven had twice as much to cook since i had two full sheets so maybe that is why more time was needed. The broccoli and onions were tender and perfect.
making again in a few weeks for a large family dinner. This is a new favorite!
Stacie Hassing says
Awesome Debi! Thanks for the great feedback and 5-star review!
Abby Healy says
What is the other side you show in the picture?
Stacie Hassing says
Hi Abby, that is baked sweet potatoes removed from the skin and mashed. Here is our link to make it: https://therealfooddietitians.com/baked-sweet-potatoes-recipe/