Sheet-Pan Italian Chicken with Fennel, Tomato, Lemon & Thyme

Serves 4-6 in ~1 hour

This sheet-pan roasted chicken and veggies could be your new go-to weeknight dinner! Ready in less than an hour, it’s elegant enough for a party but easy to pop in the oven after a long day’s work (while you’re winding down). This dish has the classic Italian flavors of tomato, fennel and thyme with citrusy tang that blends perfectly with the crisp roast chicken. Mangia, mangia! (Eat, eat)!

  • 6-8 organic chicken thighs

  • 1 fennel bulb, base and core removed, then sliced 1/8 inch thick

  • 1 red onion, diced

  • 1-2 carrots, cut like a thick French fry

  • 6-8 small Yukon gold potatoes, quartered

  • 1 lemon, ends and seeds removed, then cut into 1/8 inch slices

  • 6-8 ripe red tomatoes, the stem end slice off and a tiny x-shaped cut on the bottom

  • 2 cloves garlic, chopped

  • ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

  • 1 teaspoon sea salt

  • ½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

  • 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves or ½ teaspoon dried thyme

Gather and prep the ingredients. Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees (if you have a convection oven, set it to 350). In a large bowl, drizzle most of the olive oil over the fennel, onion, carrots, potatoes, garlic, salt and pepper and thyme. Toss well to coat with oil and spices then scatter the veggies onto a sheet pan.

Put the chicken thighs into the bowl and toss well to coat evenly with the remaining olive oil and spices in the bowl. Clear a little spot to place each piece of chicken and tuck a lemon slice under each piece. Now place the tomatoes evenly around the pan, x-cut side up and pour a little drizzle of olive oil, a pinch of salt and little thyme into the tomatoes.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until the chicken and potatoes are starting to turn golden brown.