This Sheet Pan Lemon Basil Chicken makes a super easy weeknight meal with just a few ingredients, but lots of flavor! 30 minutes and dinner is done. Paleo and Whole30 approved!
Besides my Instant Pot and Slow Cooker recipes, I’m kind of living off these sheet pan meals. Everything gets tossed into one dish, thrown in the oven, and voila!! And I know you all are loving them too, as I have received many requests for more. And no worries, I have a plethora of ideas for more sheet pan recipes to come!
But first, let’s start with this Lemon Basil Chicken. Lemon, basil, and garlic, what more could you want in a dish? Chicken, potatoes, and asparagus rounds out this dish that gets perfectly roasted in the oven. It has a similar taste to a pesto, but without the cheese and lemon instead. If pesto is your jam (it is totally my jam), then you will devour this dinner!
As a nutritionist and home cook, Sheet Pan meals loaded with veggies are my favorite! I can create an amazing sauce with fresh herbs that are nutrient dense, but also flavors the dish in the best way possible!
How to make Sheet Pan Lemon Basil Chicken:
- I start off by making a simple marinade in my food processor. Keep in mind, when I say marinade, I also mean that as long as the chicken is covered in the sauce for at least 1-2 minutes, you’re totally fine! I am trying to make this recipe as simple as possible, and not time consuming. However, choosing to marinade this chicken early in the day is also a great idea. I
- Spread parchment paper out on a baking sheet to prevent a mess, and then scatter the veggies and chicken. The sauce will be poured over the vegetables too, so they roast nicely with lots of flavor!
- Adding extra salt and lemon pepper is a must to finish off this dish. It gives it the extra punch of flavor! You can also make extra sauce and use it to drizzle over your veggies and chicken. Also, if you don’t follow a dairy-free diet, feel free to sprinkle with some parmesan cheese.
Tips and Variations:
- I used russet potatoes for this dish, and it’s important that you chop them in to small pieces, or else they won’t cook properly. They only have a slight crispy texture, but are mainly soft. If you prefer, you can easily swap out the russet potatoes for another vegetable like zucchini or brussel sprouts.
- In place of asparagus, green beans are also a fantastic option!
- Want to add parmesan cheese to your basil sauce? Perfect! Add in 1/4 cup for a true pesto.
Serving and Storing:
This dish does not need much else to serve, it’s pretty complete! I do love to add some micro greens and also serve over a bed of greens.
Perfect for meal prep, you can make this recipe on the weekend, then divide up to enjoy throughout the week!
Other Sheet Pan Meals:
Sheet Pan meals are some of my favorites! Here are a few simple ideas of other sheet pan dinners you may love:
- Chicken Shawarma with Sweet Potatoes
- Chipotle Steak Fajitas
- Rosemary Balsamic Sheet Pan Chicken with Bacon and Apples
- Cashew Shrimp and Veggies
Be sure to rate the recipe below and comment if you make it! Also, tag me on Instagram @wholesomelicious with your creations. I love to see them!
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Sheet Pan Lemon Basil Chicken
This Sheet Pan Lemon Basil Chicken makes a super easy weeknight meal with just a few ingredients, but lots of flavor! 30 minutes and dinner is done. Paleo and Whole30 approved!
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs chicken breast tenders or chicken breasts cut into strips
- 1/3 cup avocado oil or olive oil
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 3 tbsp chopped fresh basil
- 1 large clove garlic minced
- 1/2 tsp salt + more to taste
- 2 large russet potatoes skinned and chopped into small pieces (see picture above)*
- 12 asparagus stalks
- 1 tsp lemon pepper + more to taste
Instructions
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Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with foil and use a non-stick spray.
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Make your marinade: in a food processor, blend oil, lemon, basil, garlic and salt until well combined. If it’s too thick, add in another tbs of oil.
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Use approximately 1/3 cup marinade to cover the chicken in a large ziplock bag or container. Shake to completely cover.
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Spread out the chicken on the cookie sheet, be sure to make room for vegetables.
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Now spread out the potatoes and asparagus, into 1 layer if possible. Drizzle the remaining marinade on the vegetables.
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Bring to the oven and bake for 15 minutes at 375 degrees. Bump up the temperature to 425 for 10 more minutes. Check on your dish to ensure the chicken is cooked through and the veggies have a nice golden top. If you want crispier potatoes, you can choose to remove the chicken and asparagus, and pop the potatoes back in the oven for an additional 10 minutes.
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Remove from oven and sprinkle with lemon pepper, salt, and additional marinade if you have any left.
Recipe Notes
*The potatoes will be cooked in 25 minutes, but will have a soft baked-potato-like texture. It’s important that they are cut into small chunks, or else they won’t cook properly. If you prefer a crispier potato, you can remove chicken and asparagus from the oven and continue to cook potatoes for an additional 10 minutes. Potatoes can also be swapped out or brussel sprouts or zucchini.
I LOVE sheet pan dinners, and all the flavors here sound amazing! Pinning to try ASAP.
HI!
I live in Kitty Hawk, NC and have been following you for about a year maybe. I LOVE what you put out, the weekly meal plans and ideas! thank you for all your sharing! Excited about your new book (I’m a photographer so can’t wait to see the pics too) Tonight I made this chicken and I promise you its the best, most moist chicken I have cooked in my 7 years of marriage!!!
I love to hear this, Meredith! Thanks so much for visiting my site, it means a lot!
I made this for my picky eaters at five and seven year olds and they loved it. I did the extra ten minutes for the potatoes and my husband’s only complaint is that there weren’t enough potatoes.
This may be a dumb question, but is the chicken already cooked when you put it on the sheet pan? Are you marinating cooked or raw chicken?
It’s raw. Sorry for the confusion!
Since the marinade has been used for raw chicken, it should not be poured over the dish right before serving unless you have cooked it separately to kill any bacteria that might be in the chicken. Otherwise, this looks very good and I will be trying it this evening.
Hi Barb! You won’t be using any of the marinade that was in raw chicken. You make the marinade, use only 1/3 cup for the raw chicken, and then save the rest of the marinade to pour over once the fish is finished. Hope that clears up the confusion.
My chicken ended up pretty dry and my potatoes needed more time so I think if I was going to make it again I would leave the chicken breast whole and cook it (and the potatoes) longer and cook veggies separately. The marinade was great!
My husband loved the lemon basil chicken. I substituted carrots for the potatoes since he is not a potato fan and the carrots were delicious! I don’t enjoy cooking but this was so easy and really good!