Sheet Pan Chicken with Apples, Bacon, and Brussels Sprouts


Sheet pan chicken with apples, bacon, and Brussels sprouts is a simple weeknight dinner solution that’s full of savory veggies and juicy chicken. A tangy sauce adds flavor. And the brilliance of using a sheet pan makes prep, cooking, and clean up a snap.

A sheet pan filled with roasted chicken thighs, apples, bacon, Brussels sprouts, and sweet potatoes.

Adapted from Cathy Erway | Sheet Pan Chicken | Ten Speed Press, 2020

As the world’s second-biggest fan of chicken (the number one fan being my terrier mutt, Doug), I love it unconditionally, in all its forms. Trends come and go, but chicken is forever. The same can be said for the humble sheet pan, that kitchen workhorse crammed in oven drawers everywhere. The low rim and large real estate of a sheet pan make it the ideal way to serve a delicious, well-rounded dinner with minimal dishes.–Cathy Erway

CAN I MAKE A SHEET PAN DINNER WITHOUT A SHEET PAN?

If you’re thinking that you might be able to pull this off with a large cast-iron pan, you’re going to be disappointed. There’s just not enough room and nothing will get crispy–it will just steam.

And if you think you can roast your chicken separately from the rest, author Cathy Erway has something she’d like you to hear. “By roasting chicken on a sheet pan along with everything you want to eat with it, you have a family of ingredients that are individually intensifying in flavor while at the same time, by sheer proximity, leaching up the rendered juices and fats from the chicken, lifting up their flavors even more. Apples roasted without chicken on the same pan would be a much less exciting product (and a vegan one). Onions are not just onions once they’re on a sheet pan with chicken; you’re taking advantage of every droplet of the incredible flavor enhancer that is chicken fat—properly-revered in traditional Jewish cooking and named schmaltz in Yiddish.”

Sheet Pan Chicken with Apples, Bacon, and Brussels Sprouts

A sheet pan filled with roasted chicken thighs, apples, bacon, Brussels sprouts, and sweet potatoes.

Sheet pan chicken with apples, bacon, and Brussels sprouts with an autumn-ish union of root vegetables, sweet apples, and smoky bacon, is certainly not for autumn only. It’s a year-round staple in our household, and we really unlocked the sheet pan chicken secret when, one night, we added pomegranate molasses to the mix for a burst of sweetness and acidity. This turned out to be a very good decision.

Cathy Erway

Prep 30 mins

Cook 30 mins

Total 1 hr

Serving: 1servingCalories: 777kcal (39%)Carbohydrates: 40g (13%)Protein: 33g (66%)Fat: 54g (83%)Saturated Fat: 14g (88%)Polyunsaturated Fat: 9gMonounsaturated Fat: 27gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 179mg (60%)Sodium: 401mg (17%)Potassium: 951mg (27%)Fiber: 7g (29%)Sugar: 17g (19%)Vitamin A: 12631IU (253%)Vitamin C: 42mg (51%)Calcium: 78mg (8%)Iron: 3mg (17%)

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Originally published August 24, 2021

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