This super easy sheet pan chicken breast recipe has a great Italian flair and is crusted with Parmesan cheese breading. Roasted with carrots and potatoes, you will have a complete healthy meal for the entire family in less than an hour.
Introduction
My mind goes to sheet pan meals in my never-ending quest not to work hard. They are the easiest one-pan recipes to roast a complete meal all at once.
This time I wanted a chicken sheet pan meal. I only checked a few other recipes since it is so straightforward and just did it my way.
Do you know that the roasting time for skinless boneless chicken breasts is like chunks of potatoes and carrots? Pour it all on a baking tray with some Parmesan, bread crumbs, and spices.
My Rating
A nice solid 4. Great for a weeknight change of pace.
🐓Ingredients
The Chicken
I'm suggesting skinless boneless chicken breasts. Since they mostly weigh more than one serving, just cut them in half before cooking.
You can use thighs but cook to 180°, which is better for thighs. Also, if you wish, skin-on chicken may be used.
You may brine the chicken to help prevent drying out.
Vegetables
Root vegetables, like potatoes and carrots, are suggested since the cooking time will generally be the same as the chicken. Plus, they are forgiving if a little overcooked.
Potatoes should be about 1-inch in size. I suggest something like red potatoes or Yukon since the skin is thin. Russets will work, but I would peel them due to the thick skin.
Carrots need to be about baby carrot size since large whole carrots will take longer to cook. You can use the "baby carrots" if you want, but they have less taste.
Sweet potatoes and Brussel sprouts have a similar time, but they will take longer if large.
Onions cooking time varies by size, but they can dominate the flavor, so be careful with onions.
Some vegetables like broccoli florets, bell peppers, or cauliflower will take about half the time. Some vegetables, like green beans, will need cooking times that vary widely, and I don't suggest them due to that variability—cook them separately.
The one thing to remember about all roasted vegetables is to use plenty of oil.
Parmesan Cheese and Bread Crumbs
Use a good quality Parmesan cheese, preferably freshly grated.
The preferred bread crumbs are Italian or cheese flavored Panko bread crumbs. You can use other flavors and could use standard bread crumbs.
Seasoning
This is an Italian version, so an Italian seasoning mix to replace the basil and other spices would be a good substitute to decrease the number of ingredients.
But you can make it what you want by changing the spices and breadcrumbs.
👨🍳How to Make Sheet Pan Chicken Breasts
- Preheat the oven.
- Prepare a large sheet pan with a good spray of PAM.
- Trim and cut up chicken breasts.
- Clean and trim carrots and potatoes to size.
- In a large bowl, coat chicken and vegetables with oil and seaonings.
- Spread the chicken and vegetables over the sheet pan.
- Mix topping of bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese and seaonings.
- Sprinkle the topping over the ingredients on the tray.
- Give the chicken and vegatables a spray of PAM.
- Bake until the vegetables are cooked and tender and chicken is 165°—about 35 minutes.
- Brown more with the broiler if needed.
❓FAQs
This recipe, as written, needs a 13X18 inch sheet pan and makes four good-sized servings.
The recipe can be easily cut in half and would use a 9X13 inch sheet pan or baking pan.
Do not cover the chicken or vegetables with aluminum foil. We want to bake the meat and vegetables and not steam them. The browning, called a Maillard reaction, adds lots of taste to the final results.
Foil or parchment paper is helpful for clean-up but not required. Just cover the baking tray if you wish and a good spray of baking spray.
Leftovers in an airtight container are good in the refrigerator for 3-4 days and 3-4 months in the freezer.
📖Sheet Pan Recipes
One Pan Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Potatoes and Carrots
Easy Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas
This recipe is listed in these categories. See them for more similar recipes.
🖼️Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
Preheat oven to 375° convection or 400° regular oven.
Pat dry two skinless boneless chicken breasts. Trim and cut in half if average size. Cut in thirds if huge.
Prep veggies. Wash, peel, and cut carrots into slices or ¾ to 1-inch chunks. Wash and cut small red potatoes in half. If using other potatoes, cut into ¾ to 1-inch pieces.
Toss chicken, potatoes, and carrots into a large bowl and mix with one tablespoon olive oil, ½ teaspoon each of thyme, basil, garlic powder, and black pepper. Add one teaspoon of coarse salt and mix well.
Prep 13X18 baking sheet pan with a coat of PAM. Spread the chicken and veggies over the baking sheet.
Mix the topping of ⅓ cup Italian breadcrumbs and ⅓ cup grated Parmesan (fresh preferred). Sprinkle over the chicken and veggies.
Give the chicken and vegetables a light spray of PAM to keep them moist.
Bake until veggies are golden brown and chicken is 165°—about 35 minutes. Your time will vary with the size of the pieces and your oven.
📖Recipe
Sheet Pan Chicken Breasts with Vegetables
Ingredients
- 2 skinless boneless chicken breasts
- 6 red potatoes - small
- 4 carrots - medium
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ teaspoon thyme
- ½ teaspoon basil
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon coarse salt
- ⅓ cup Italian bread crumbs - Panko
- ⅓ cup Parmesan cheese - fresh preferred grated
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375° convection or 400° regular oven.
- Pat dry two skinless boneless chicken breasts. Trim and cut in half if average size. Cut in thirds if huge.
- Prep veggies. Wash, peel, and cut carrots into slices or ¾ to 1-inch chunks. Wash and cut small red potatoes in half. If using other potatoes, cut into ¾ to 1-inch pieces.
- Toss chicken, potatoes, and carrots into a large bowl and mix with one tablespoon olive oil, ½ teaspoon each of thyme, basil, garlic powder, and black pepper. Add one teaspoon of coarse salt and mix well.
- Prep 13X18 baking sheet pan with a coat of PAM. Spread the chicken and veggies over the sheet.
- Mix topping of ⅓ cup Italian breadcrumbs and ⅓ cup grated Parmesan (fresh preferred). Sprinkle over the chicken and veggies.
- Give the chicken and vegetables a light spray of PAM to keep them moist.
- Bake until veggies are golden brown and chicken is 165°—about 35 minutes. Your time will vary with the size of the pieces and your oven.
My Private Notes
Recipe Notes
Pro Tips
- An easy recipe to cut in half. A 13X18 size sheet pans work great for the full recipe. Use the smaller size 9X13 for a half recipe.
- You can use chicken thighs if you wish.
- The potatoes can be any potatoes cut into about 1-inch chunks, I do not suggest Russet potatoes due to the thick skin. Something like red potatoes works well.
- The carrots can be baby carrots, but cut up whole carrots will have more flavor.
- You can use an Italian seasoning mix in place of the suggested spices.
- Cook until chicken breasts are 165° and 180° if using thighs. Potatoes and carrots should also be brown and tender.
- Leftovers are good for 3-4 days refrigerated and 3-4 months frozen.
To adjust the recipe size:
You may adjust the number of servings in this recipe card under servings. This does the math for the ingredients for you. BUT it does NOT adjust the text of the instructions. So you need to do that yourself.
Nutrition Estimate
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Originally Published April 5, 2015. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.
Deborah L
Dr. Dan, I used unseasoned panko crumbs which is what I have (more versatile) and you mentioned Italian seasoned. I added some of the chicken / vegetable seasonings. What do you recommend to turn plain into Italian? It's cooking as I type and smells wonderful. I'm rating it as 'so far, so good'.
Deborah L
And the finished end result is: Delicious! Chicken and potatoes and onion wedges were delicious. Carrots were very, Very, al dente. Will cut them much smaller next time. Great dinner recipe.