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25 Sheet Pan Chicken Thighs You Haven’t Made for Dinner Yet

We love a low-maintenance chicken dinner as much as the next guy, but why do boneless, skinless breasts get all the love? It’s time to turn to chicken thighs, which were practically made for those one-dish recipes we fall for again and again. They’re juicy, versatile and flavorful, plus they can handle a hot oven like nobody’s business. Don’t believe us? Make one of these 25 recipes for sheet pan chicken thighs and thank us when you’re done.

31 Side Dishes to Serve with Chicken Thighs


1. Honey Mustard Sheet Pan Chicken with Brussels Sprouts

  • Time Commitment: 50 minutes
  • Why We Love It: sheet pan recipe, beginner-friendly, kid-friendly

Bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs have all the benefits of a whole roast chicken without any of the fuss.

2. One Pan Roasted Chicken With Carrots

  • Time Commitment: 30 minutes
  • Why We Love It: <30 minutes, sheet pan recipe, gluten free

Say goodbye to a pile of pots and pans in the sink, and hello to tender, garlicky carrots and chicken thighs.

3. Sheet Pan Indian-Spiced Chicken

  • Time Commitment: 1 hour, 10 minutes
  • Why We Love It: low sugar, beginner-friendly, dairy free

While the chicken is roasting, the potatoes in this dish are hard at work soaking up all those glorious juices. (And you’re barely lifting a finger.)

4. Dorie Greenspan’s Sheet Pan Balsamic Chicken with Baby Potatoes and Mushrooms

  • Time Commitment: 1 hour, 15 minutes
  • Why We Love It: <10 ingredients, special occasion–worthy, no sugar

Greenspan calls for chicken legs (i.e., the thigh and drumstick attached), but you can swap in regular chicken thighs as you please. They’ll be just as bronzed and beautiful at the end of cooking.

5. Dijon-Maple Chicken with Brussels Sprouts and Butternut Squash

  • Time Commitment: 55 minutes
  • Why We Love It: <10 ingredients, high protein, dairy free

When the most difficult thing you have to do is chop vegetables, you know it’s going to be a good dinner. (Psst: Here’s how to break down a butternut squash without any mishaps.)

6. Sticky Orange Chicken with Caramelized Onions and Fennel

  • Time Commitment: 2 hours
  • Why We Love It: <10 ingredients, sheet pan recipe, gluten free

This one is reminiscent of our favorite takeout treat, but so much healthier. (If you don’t love fennel, you can try bok choy or another green veggie instead.)

7. Easy Greek Sheet Pan Chicken Souvlaki and Potatoes

  • Time Commitment: 1 hour
  • Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, gluten free

If we didn’t know any better, we’d think we were eating oceanside in Greece. Must be the feta.

8. The Best Sheet Pan Chicken Piccata

  • Time Commitment: 50 minutes
  • Why We Love It: special occasion–worthy, sheet pan recipe, gluten free, dairy free

Whip this one out at your next dinner get-together and let everyone think it was hard work. (Best party trick ever? We think so.)

9. Easy Mango Chutney Chicken Sheet Pan with Cauliflower

  • Time Commitment: 55 minutes
  • Why We Love It: <500 calories, crowd-pleaser, dairy free, gluten free

What serves a crowd, takes less than an hour to make and hits all the right notes of salty, savory and sweet? This guy.

10. Crispy Smoked Paprika Chicken

  • Time Commitment: 1 hour, 5 minutes
  • Why We Love It: <10 ingredients, beginner-friendly, gluten free

The key to getting crispy skin is not overcrowding the pan. Want to take it a step further? Put a wire baking rack inside the sheet pan for even more crispiness.

11. Thai Chicken Thighs

  • Time Commitment: 13 hours (includes marinating)
  • Why We Love It: <10 ingredients, dairy free

Sure, there are no dishes when you order delivery. But there’s also no satisfaction of making a gourmet dinner yourself. It’s your call.

12. Five Spice Chicken Sheet Pan Dinner

  • Time Commitment: 1 hour, 45 minutes
  • Why We Love It: gluten free, crowd-pleaser

Fun fact: Five spice is a combination of cinnamon, star anise, fennel, white pepper and cloves. It’s also an excellent companion to chicken, carrots and cabbage.

13. Chicken Adobo with Garlic Rice

  • Time Commitment: 1 hour, 15 minutes
  • Why We Love It: special occasion–worthy, beginner-friendly

The classic tangy, sweet and salty Filipino dish got an upgrade. (And by that we mean minimal cleanup and 15 minutes of prep.)

14. Sesame Soy Chicken Bowls with Coconut Rice

  • Time Commitment: 1 hour, 5 minutes
  • Why We Love It: sheet pan recipe, beginner-friendly

While the sesame chicken roasts in the oven, you can make the rice and prep your toppings. When the timer goes off, you’ll be ready to dig in.

15. Sheet Pan Harissa Chicken with Chickpeas and Sweet Potatoes

  • Time Commitment: 55 minutes
  • Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, <10 ingredients

This one had us at harissa…and again at feta. The whole sheet pan thing is just the cherry on top.

16. Sheet Pan Roasted Garlic Butter Herb Chicken with Potatoes and Brussels Sprouts

  • Time Commitment: 45 minutes
  • Why We Love It: <10 ingredients, gluten free

When nothing but hearty and rustic will do, this is the ticket.

17. Paleo Chicken Teriyaki

  • Time Commitment: 38 minutes
  • Why We Love It: low carb, gluten free, dairy free

It takes less than 40 minutes from start to finish and that’s including a homemade teriyaki sauce.

18. One Pan Roasted Chicken and Veggies

  • Time Commitment: 40 minutes
  • Why We Love It: <10 ingredients, gluten free, dairy free

Proof that there’s nothing wrong with a classic, especially when it’s this foolproof.

19. Sheet Pan Olive Bar Chicken

  • Time Commitment: 1 hour
  • Why We Love It: <500 calories, dairy free, gluten free

Buy all the briny stuff at the grocery store and you’re halfway to dinner. This. Is. Genius.

20. Oven Fried Southern Hot Honey Chicken

  • Time Commitment: 45 minutes
  • Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, special occasion–worthy

The only messy part is going to be your fingers.

21. Baked Crispy Chicken Thighs

  • Time Commitment: 35 minutes
  • Why We Love It: low carb, gluten free, dairy free

If you think this dish sounds plain or boring, wait until your first bite. It’s called roast chicken magic (and the secret is egg whites).

22. Sheet Pan Peri Peri Chicken with Portuguese Red Pepper Sauce

  • Time Commitment: 55 minutes
  • Why We Love It: gluten free, dairy free

The tiny potatoes will absorb all the schmaltz-y goodness of these spicy thighs. Are you hungry yet?

23. Sheet Pan Crispy Chicken Carnitas with Winter Citrus Pico de Gallo

  • Time Commitment: 1 hour
  • Why We Love It: sheet pan recipe, gluten free, <500 calories

Carnitas is traditionally made with pork, but marinating chicken thighs in a spicy, citrusy mixture yields remarkably similar results. A quick trip under the broiler adds irresistibly crispy texture.

24. Sheet Pan Buttermilk Chicken Thighs with Plums, Shallots and Honey

  • Time Commitment: 8 hours, 30 minutes (includes marinating)
  • Why We Love It: sheet pan recipe, <10 ingredients, crowd-pleaser

The key to impeccably seasoned, juicy meat is in the marinade. The buttermilk tenderizes the chicken and allows the salt to permeate throughout. The plums and shallots are interchangeable with other fruits and alliums, and we think apples, grapes, leeks and thinly sliced red onion would all be lovely.

25. Sheet Pan Chicken Shawarma with Lemon-Tahini Drizzle

  • Time Commitment: 45 minutes
  • Why We Love It: sheet pan recipe, gluten free, dairy free

Not only is it a breeze to make and clean up, it’s also paleo-friendly and gluten, dairy and grain free. If you ask us, it was love at lemon-tahini drizzle.


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Senior Food Editor

Katherine Gillen is PureWow’s senior food editor. She’s a writer, recipe developer and food stylist with a degree in culinary arts and professional experience in New York City...