I sometimes daydream about foods that will taste and look good together on a sheet pan. This one hits all the buttons: it’s tasty, pretty, and healthy. It is loaded to the brim with chicken thighs covered in lemon slices, artichoke hearts, wedges of sweet red onion, bite-sized chunks of Yukon Gold potatoes, thick slices of zucchini, and sprigs of fresh thyme. It sparks joy.

You can change up the Yukon Golds to Trader Joe’s Potato Medley, and get a whole new color palette using the same recipe.

Sheet pan recipes are all about getting dinner on the table quickly, so theoretically, there is no time to devote to long periods of marinating meat. To get around that, I started my meal prep by mixing the olive oil, seasonings, artichokes, and chicken in a bowl, and setting them aside to briefly marinate while I washed and chopped the vegetables. It worked. The chicken marinated long enough to become flavorful.

I use either bone-in or boneless, skinless thighs depending on what I have on hand. To keep the meat moist while it cooks, place a slice of lemon over each thigh.

As I developed this recipe, I used frozen artichokes. They left a preservative aftertaste in my mouth so I switched to the canned and jarred varieties. They were much better. If using frozen, Trader Joe’s was the best tasting of the four brands I tried.

As I have mentioned in previous posts, McCormick’s California Style Garlic Pepper is one of the ways I push the easy button when it comes to quickly and tastefully seasoning food for roasting. I especially love it in my make-ahead recipe for Everyday Salad Dressing that doubles as a marinade for most varieties of meat and fish.

I used dried thyme in the marinade and fresh for the garnish. When substituting fresh herbs for dried in a recipe, the rule of thumb is to use three times as much of the fresh as called for of the dried.

Roasted Lemon Chicken, Potatoes, Zucchini, and Artichokes

Yield: Serves 4
Prep time: 15 minutes   Roasting time: 45 minutes

Ingredients 

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 teaspoons McCormick’s California Style Garlic Pepper
1 teaspoon dried thyme or 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, more for garnish
1 large lemon
1 pound boneless chicken thighs, or 4 bone-in thighs
1 (8½ ounce) can whole artichoke hearts packed in water, cut in half
½ pound red onion, cut into wedges
1 pound zucchini squash, unpeeled, cut into thick 1-inch slices
1½ pounds Yukon Gold, or colorful waxy potatoes, unpeeled, cut into 1½-inch chunks

Instructions
Preheat oven to 400º. Line a half sheet pan with parchment paper.

Prepare marinade: Pour olive oil, salt, garlic pepper, thyme, lemon zest, and sliced lemons into a large mixing bowl. I use a Microplane grater to zest the lemon. Remove pithy ends and cut lemon into four slices, one to cover each piece of chicken.

Prepare chicken: Trim fat and remove skin (if using bone-in thighs) so lemon slices can impart their citrusy flavor directly onto the meat.

Add chicken to marinade and toss until well-coated.

Prepare artichokes: Cut artichokes in half. Add to chicken. Set chicken and artichokes aside to marinate while you prep the other vegetables.

Prepare onions, zucchini, and potatoes as noted. Cut zucchini thickly so it won’t cook quickly and turn to mush.

Add vegetables to the bowl of marinating chicken and mix until everything is well-coated.

Spread ingredients onto sheet pan. The pan will be crowded, but everything will become tender as it cooks.

Roast for 45- 60 minutes. There is no need to stir. I have cooked this at 425º with good results, too — the vegetables brown a little more and the lemon slices cook enough to become edible.

This sheet pan supper recipe was originally published on Mason-Dixon Knitting, a beautiful and fun knitting website chock-full of well-written posts on knitting and life along with gorgeous yarns, patterns and notions for purchase.

Other Sheet Pan Marvels:

Italian Sausage, Peppers, Onion, and Potato Sheet Pan Supper

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