As a well-established one-pot recipe fanatic, it should come as no surprise that their oven-based brethren, sheet pan recipes, have found their way into my heart. Place veggies, meats, sauces, and more on one tray, then simply roast away? Yeah, you know I'm in.
Now, I'm not some sort of weirdo who'd pick veggies over a bag of chips on most occasions-- let's get that straight right off the bat. But still I've gotta tell you, when you roast veggies like this, all tossed in a delicious marinade, letting them deeply browned in spots... it's a treat. No I'm serious, the vegetables are something you LOOK FORWARD to eating, and even more so because you know they're good for you.
There were only a few vegetables leftover from this Sheet Pan Thai Peanut-Chili Chicken yesterday and as James and I were trying to divvy up our dinners, I couldn't help but laugh at how passionately we were making our cases to have the lion's share of them. We were each ready to sleep on the couch if it meant we got some extra broccoli. We were willing to fight dirty for the snow peas.
And of course the veggies aren't the only things to love about this sheet pan recipe: let's just talk for a second about this saucy, slightly sticky, perfectly cooked chicken breast.
Honestly, I generally try to use chicken thighs in place of chicken breast these days, simply because thighs stay juicier and more tender when cooked. However, I've been trying to incorporate more lean proteins into my meals lately since my whole house is on a "we live by the beach and aren't swimsuit ready so let's get it together" kick, and chicken breast fits the bill. I'm happy to say that the chicken breast wound up cooking perfectly and didn't dry out at all. Probably thanks to the marinade-slash-sauce that it's slathered in!
What's the sauce made of? It's a simple mixture of Thai sweet chili sauce, lime juice, soy sauce, peanut butter, garlic, and ginger. And though it doesn't require a ton of ingredients, it packs in a ton of flavor, preventing our chicken breasts and vegetables from being bland and boring. I like to use some of the sauce to marinate the chicken for at least a half hour, toss some of the marinade over the vegetables, and reserve a bit for brushing on the chicken after its cooked. It's important to keep that last bit separate because you don't want to brush your cooked chicken with anything that's been in contact with raw chicken, of course. Don't worry though, there's plenty of sauce to go around.
James kept saying that this Sheet Pan Thai Peanut-Chili Chicken looked like I worked really hard on it for how quickly I was able to throw it together, and I agree. I didn't even have to buy the vegetables all separately, I simply grabbed a bag of stir fry vegetables that included broccoli, snap peas, and carrots, and mixed in some chopped bell peppers and onions. And you could really use whatever you happen to have in your house instead, if you prefer-- zucchini and cauliflower would also both be great, for example!
So what do you say? Are you going to make Sheet Pan Thai Peanut-Chili Chicken this weekend? It's a recipe you're going to want to make ASAP. (And when you do make it, don't forget to take a picture and tag #hostthetoast on Instagram to show it off!)
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Sheet Pan Thai Peanut-Chili Chicken
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 6 1x
Description
Adapted from http://therecipecritic.com/2017/02/sheet-pan-thai-glazed-salmon-vegetables/
Ingredients
- 3 large boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut in half lengthwise
- Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste
- ½ cup sweet Thai chili sauce
- ¼ cup lime juice
- ¼ cup low sodium soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons natural peanut butter
- 1 inch piece fresh ginger peeled and grated
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 bell peppers, stemmed and chopped
- 1 medium bunch of broccoli, separated into florets
- 2 handfuls snow peas
- 2 carrots, sliced
- ½ white onion, chopped
- 2 tablespoons oil
- Lime wheels, to top
- ¼ cup unsalted peanuts, chopped
- Fresh cilantro and/or thai basil, to serve
- Basmati rice, to serve
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Season the chicken breast pieces generously with salt and pepper and place in a large, sealable plastic bag.
- In a medium-sized bowl, combine the sweet Thai chili sauce, lime juice, soy sauce, peanut butter, ginger, and garlic. Pour enough to cover the chicken into the sealable plastic bag. Close, shake around, and allow the chicken to marinate for at least 30 minutes.
- Remove the chicken from the marinade and place the chicken on a large nonstick baking sheet. Brush the chicken with additional marinade, if desired.
- In a separate large bowl, toss the bell peppers, broccoli, snow peas, carrots, and onion with the oil and about ⅓ cup's worth of the chicken marinade. Season with salt and pepper. Lay the vegetables around the chicken and top with lime wheels. Discard all of the remaining marinade that has touched raw chicken.
- Bake for about 20 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through and the vegetables are tender.
- Drizzle the chicken and vegetables with additional marinade, if desired, sprinkle the chicken with the crushed peanuts, and broil to further crisp the vegetables and toast the peanuts, about 2 minutes.
- Top with cilantro and/or thai basil, and serve over basmati rice with additional sauce, if desired.
- Prep Time: 38 mins
- Cook Time: 22 mins
Skip says
Hi Morgan, first time long time. Is it okay to use marinade that my raw chicken was soaking in that far in to the cooking process?
Morgan says
Hi! You don't want to use the marinade that your chicken was in to baste the chicken as it cooks-- you want to use the reserved marinade that didn't touch the chicken.
Sarah says
Made this tonight and it was delicious! We added fresh pineapple chunks to our veggie mix!
Monique says
This looks great! Was the stir mix you used frozen? I’ve never roasted frozen veggies. Thanks!
Morgan says
No, it wasn't frozen. It's a bag of fresh mixed veggies!
Lisa says
This recipe is such a winner! Such great flavors and easy to tweak the veggies to what you've got on-hand. Delish.
Julie says
Mmmm. Mmmmm. That's me making yummy sounds. I've made this probably 6 times over the past few months. It's a hit every time. It's definitely one of my favorite meals to make. Love!
Charlene Parry says
This was great, wonderful flavor!
Julia says
Do you think this would be good with almond butter instead of peanut butter? We have a peanut allergy in my family.
Morgan says
Yes absolutely! Almond butter would still be tasty 🙂
April says
Thanks for the recipe! It was good. I think next time I'll tenderize the chicken so it's all the same thickness. We only had it with snow peas and carrots, but I like have the option of so many veggies to choose from for this dish. It went well with jasmine rice that I'd cooked with minced garlic and basil leaves.
Tiffany says
This is a keeper! The marinade is amazing. We use the date lady’s sweet chili sauce - it doesn’t have any weird additives and it’s sweetened naturally with dates. Huge fan. I’ve added this recipe to our meal rotation - it was a huge hit in our household!!