This Orange Chicken Sheet Pan Dinner is great for when you want to make something delicious or you're in a hurry, you want to cut your cleaning time and cut your time in the kitchen.
It's also versatile in that you can swap out the brussel sprouts for any vegetable you like. A great substitute for brussel sprouts is yellow potatoes.
Did I mention that this sheet pan dinner is Whole30 approved?
And, if you keep reading, I'll tell you my little secret on making this Orange Chicken Sheet Pan Dinner especially tasty. This recipe for Orange Chicken is very simple. All you need to do is remember to take out the chicken legs from the freezer the night before and thaw them out in the fridge overnight. Or, you can stop by the grocery store on the way home and buy fresh chicken legs.
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This recipe for Orange Sheet Pan Chicken can be made at any time of the year. Ingredients are easily available at your local grocer at any time of the year.
This recipe was developed in an effort to cook a meal in one pan, with easy clean-up afterwards and is part of a collection of 10 Whole30 sheet pan dinners.
Ingredients
You can use pretty much any combination of chicken and a vegetable that roasts well in the oven. For this recipe, I used the following ingredients:
- Chicken pieces (leg and thigh are best)
- Oranges
- Salt, Pepper, Rosemary
- Garlic
- Olive Oil
- Apple Cider Vinegar (or dry white wine if not on Whole30)
- Brussel Sprouts, Potatoes or other roasting vegetables
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Get Your Stuff Ready
If your not in a hurry, then you can get everything ready at the same time before roasting the chicken. Cut your orange, prepare your herbs, cut your onions., brussel sprouts or potatoes
You can also prepare your vegetables the night before and store them in an airtight container in preparation for the sheet pan dinner the next day.
Place the onions in a roasting pan and drizzle olive oil all over them. Sprinkle salt and pepper over them as well.
Place the chicken in a medium bowl with oranges, apple cider vinegar and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Toss the chicken in the bowl with the orange slices.
Use your hands (clean hands) to massage the herbs, oil and cider into the chicken. Transfer the chicken to a roasting pan and place the chicken on top of the onions as you place it into the roasting dish.
Season your brussel sprouts or potatoes and place them into the roasting pan with the chicken and then place roasting pan in oven.
Place a sprig or two of Rosemary on top of the chicken and roast in oven for about 1 hour.
For specific directions, go to recipe card.
This page contains affiliate links, which means I may receive commissions if you choose to purchase through links I provide (at no extra cost to you). Thank you for supporting the work I put into this site! As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Hint: If you and your family aren't particularly into brussel sprouts, replace the brussel sprouts with yellow potatoes or any vegetable you like. You can get a little creative here, just choose a vegetable that will take about 40 minutes to cook in the oven, like carrots, potatoes, brussel sprouts, etc.
Top Tips
Onions and Some Secrets - Shhh!
My all time favorite type of onion is the red onion. Red onions are like no other onion in that as they cook or the more they cook the sweeter they get. There - that's my secret. I'll let you in on another secret as a bonus. To prevent my eyes from tearing, I cut onions with the inside facing down whenever possible. This prevents the onion fumes from rising into my eyes and making my eyes tear up. Next time you cut an onion - try it! For this recipe, I used red onions. But, if you don't have red onions, then use any onions.
Using Fresh Herbs
Whenever possible, use fresh herbs if they are readily available to you. There are some herbs like Rosemary that absolutely are divine when used fresh. However, if you don't have access to fresh herbs, frozen is second best. Dried is my least preferred when it comes to Rosemary.
Every summer I try to grow some herbs like Rosemary, Oregano, Thyme, and Basil. But, I don't end up using all of it because our summers are show here in Canada. So, when the fall rolls around, I'll take my herbs and freeze them straight from the clippings. I don't dry them, except for the Basil.
For some reason, I love dried Basil if I don't have access to fresh Basil leaves. I guess it's all preference.
Substitutions and Variations
This is a very simple sheet pan dinner that could be transformed by using different ingredients. Here are some ideas:
- Chicken - instead of using chicken, use salmon, pork chops, hamburgers or another protein.
- Potatoes - instead of cubed potatoes, cut them match stick stile (french fries). Eliminate if you don't want potatoes at all.
- Vegetables - you can pair sheet pan dinners with any vegetable. If you don't like brussel sprouts, you can use bell peppers, hot peppers, broccoli, cauliflower or your preferred vegetable.
If you are vegan or pescatarian, this sheet pan dinner can be transformed easily by substituting the chicken with tofu or fish.
If you are looking for more ideas on sheet pan dinners, look at this collection of 10 Family Friendly Whole30 Sheet Pan Dinners.
Equipment
Equipment can have a big impact on how a recipe turns out. Stone bakeware takes longer to heat up than metal pans, and also retain heat for longer, which could make the recipe more watery, or burnt on the outsides.
This orange chicken sheet pan dinner is best made with a roasting pan or a baking sheet. I used a Heritage roasting pan like this one here. But you don't have to, you can use a pyrex dish or even an actual sheet pan/cookie tray.
My all time favorite cookie tray is from Wilton's, looks like this one here.
This page contains affiliate links, which means I may receive commissions if you choose to purchase through links I provide (at no extra cost to you). Thank you for supporting the work I put into this site! As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Storage
Store leftovers in an airtight container for a maximum of three days. You can also freeze for later.
Note that the storage guidelines provided on this page and site are estimates from personal experiences. We are all adults and as an adult you are responsible to ensure that the food you eat is safe to eat. Since, I'm not a food safety expert, you are responsible to review your local guidelines on food storage prior to storing any food left-overs.
For Canadian Guidelines check Government of Canada's Food and Safety Guidelines for further information and resources.
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Recipe Details
Orange Chicken Sheet Pan Dinner
Ingredients
- 4 chicken legs drumstick and thigh attached
- ½ cups olive oil
- 2 red onions
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 tbsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper
- 3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 3 rosemary sprigs or 2 tbsp dried rosemary
- 1 seedless orange sliced
- 3 cups brussel sprouts
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Cut the onions, orange and garlic. Place the onions in a roasting pan and drizzle ¼ cup of the olive oil on them with half of the salt and half of the pepper.
- Place the chicken in a medium bowl with oranges, apple cider vinegar and remaining olive oil. Season with remaining salt and pepper. Toss the chicken in the bowl with the orange slices and seasoning so that the chicken is covered well with the juice of the orange Transfer to the roasting pan and set on top of the red onion. Keep the leftover juices in the bowl - do not discard.
- Toss the brussels sprouts in the medium bowl that contains the leftover juice, seasoning and olive oil. Toss to combine, then transfer to the roasting pan and spread evenly around the chicken. Roast uncovered for about 1 hour. Let rest for 10 minutes before serving.
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