Sheet Pan Balsamic Chicken + Veggies Dinner {30-Minute Meal}
Dinner has never been tastier (or easier!). This healthy sheet pan balsamic chicken meal can be yours in less than 30 minutes; it is delicious served on its own or over pasta!
Well, if this delectable sheet pan balsamic chicken and veggie meal has taught me anything, it’s that sometimes the tastiest (most colorful!) meals don’t have to be difficult.
This sheet pan dinner is about as easy as you can get!
And the flavor and yummy-factor are out of this world delicious.
It kind of takes the “eat your colors” mantra that I preach to my kids about every day to a whole new level (and no, orange Hot Cheetos don’t fulfill this criteria).
Amazingly, given my teenagers’ love for the aforementioned Hot Cheetos and Takis (please tell me he’s not the only one), no one complains when this simple dinner shows up on the table.
Of course, it doesn’t hurt that a lot of times, we take the delicious mashup of chicken + veggies + seasoned balsamic sauce and toss it all on top of pasta.
With a hefty sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.
This sheet pan balsamic chicken meal is perfect with pasta.
The lingering tangy and sweet sauce on the bottom of the sheet pan gives just the right amount of oomph to the tender pasta, and I’m guessing it’d be wonderful over quinoa or rice, too.
However, the sheet pan ingredients are fulfilling and delicious served on their own, too, for a low-carb, healthy meal.
We’ve already established that roasted vegetables are where it’s at, but you throw them in with chicken and Italian-flavored balsamic goodness, and they are out of this world.
You creative home cooks don’t need me to mention this, but those vegetables you spy up there?
Yeah, they are super adaptable.
You could change out any of the vegetables listed in the recipe for other veggies you have on hand or ones that your taste buds like just a teensy bit more.
Cauliflower. Asparagus. Brussels sprouts. Mushrooms.
You can also cook the tomatoes right in there with everything else, but I like the fresh pop of flavor they add when I toss them in after the whole mashup of sheet pan goodness comes out of the oven.
Check out the notes of the recipe for a few other suggestions, too!
Sheet pan dinners may be, like, so last summer, but I’m hanging on for dear life. This one’s a keeper.
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Sheet Pan Balsamic Chicken and Veggies
Ingredients
- 2 small-medium zucchini squash, (about 340 g), ends trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 to 2 small-medium yellow squash, (about 340 g), ends trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 red, orange or yellow bell pepper, cored, seeded, and cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 medium red onion, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 medium head of broccoli, (about 340 g), stem trimmed, and florets cut into 1-inch pieces or so
- 1 to 1 ½ pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into thin strips
- ⅓ cup balsamic vinegar
- 3 tablespoons olive oil, avocado oil, or canola/vegetable oil
- 1 to 2 tablespoons honey, depending on how sweet you want it
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon salt, I use coarse, kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper, I use coarsely ground black pepper
- 1 to 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Place the chopped veggies evenly on a large sheet pan (about 11X18-inches or so). Lay the chicken strips on top of the vegetables.
- In a small bowl or liquid measuring cup, whisk together the balsamic vinegar, oil, honey, basil, oregano, salt and pepper (if the honey is too thick to whisk in evenly, microwave or heat the mixture for a few seconds and then whisk together). Pour the mixture over the chicken and veggies.
- Toss everything together until the chicken and vegetables are coated with the sauce. Arrange the ingredients in an even layer again making sure the chicken pieces aren’t overlapping each other.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes until the vegetables are sizzling and crisp-tender and the chicken is cooked through. Add the cherry tomatoes into the mix and give a quick toss.
- Serve immediately (as is, or over pasta with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese).
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe
We love this and serve it over pasta as suggested. I like to mix all the veggies in a bowl with the seasonings and oil first, then spread it on a sheet pan. I’ve even thrown rotisserie chicken in at the end for an even quicker meal!
Out of this world! Best roasted veggies we’ve ever had. I can’t wait to make this one again!
Made this tonight to take to another family (actually doubled the recipe so as to have enought for my family too 🙂 ) It was delicious and since they needed gluten free and dairy free, it was perfect. (Served theirs with gluten free noodles). Did make one adjustment: made the sauce ahead and marinated the chicken breast pieces in half of it for about 2 hours….then followed the rest of the directions as written. Thanks for a yummy recipe, Mel!
This was absolutely delicious! The only deviation I made to the recipe was to double the sauce (we love sauces around our house) and use extra squash instead of zucchini (no particular reason).
I cooked up some organic, small-grain brown rice to go with this, and it was a major hit!
Next time I make this, which will be very soon, I will also add some fresh mushrooms.
We eat Mediterranean-style, and this hits the mark for both tastiness and health! Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Just tried this last night, and it’s absolutely wonderful! So tasty! Didn’t use the yellow squash because what was at the store didn’t look great, so just used 2 zucchini. Also used Roma tomatoes, sliced over an inch thick and then quartered into chunks, instead of cherry tomatoes–worked just fine.
Another “hit” from Mel, and definitely a keeper!
So simple and so good!
Thank you so much for this delicious, easy and incredibly healthy dish. My family devoured it and asked for it to be in the rotation.
I have recently moved in with the love of my life, who likes simple food – a protein, a vegetable, a starch. Seasoning? Never met her. While I am an excellent home cook, and he praises every meal I make him, this was met with “Amy. This is the BEST thing you’ve ever made. Can you make it again with mushrooms next week?” So naturally we will be eating this tonight on top of Chrissy Teigen’s cheesy polenta (OMG) and yes, I have added a pound of halved mushrooms. Thank you, Mel – your recipes will be the reason I end up with a ring on my left hand.
We love this meal! I usually Use kielbasa sausage instead of chicken. it is super tasty!
So so Good! Flavorful!! Quick! Healthy! Yum! Thanks Mel!
We ate this for the first time last night. I LOVED the sauce and how easy it was to swap out vegetables for ones my family likes. I did as someone else suggested and cooked the sweet potatoes first for about 10 min before adding everything else. We ate it immediately after I pulled it out of the oven and the first few bites were good, but the more I ate the better it got. I took a poll and the entire family agreed this should go in our rotation. Love it when I get to add another Mel recipe to my collection 🙂
This is incredible! I cook this so much now. I have mixed it up with just Italian salad dressing too!
This sat in my pile of recipes to try for WAY to long. Delicious!! I love the variety of veggies you can use as a base. I was skeptical about everything being cooked through, so I went about 20-25 minutes and it was perfect. The veggies had just the right crunch. Thanks!
Oh yes, and when my son saw me getting all the veggies ready, he started to turn up his nose. Then he asked, “is it from Mel?!” When I said yes, he was willing to eat it without any problem.
Haha, that’s super flattering!