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Load up on your veggies and protein with this delicious One Sheet Pesto Chicken and Veggies recipe. It’s simple to prepare, tastes delicious, and gives your body loads of nutrients!
A simple one sheet recipe
Chicken and veggies are a classic combo, but sometimes you need to mix up the flavor a bit. Enter: pesto! This one sheet pesto chicken and veggies dish makes dinner simple, and it leaves you with only one pan to clean up! Plus it tastes great, making it a win-win.
To make this dish, we’ll be using chicken thighs along with a rainbow of veggies. Then, we’ll top it all off with a delicious homemade pesto created with garlic, green onion, basil, spinach, shallots, cashews, and more!
Ingredients in one sheet pesto chicken and veggies
This one sheet chicken recipe has two sets of ingredients: the main dish (chicken and veggies) and the pesto! Keep reading to see how you can mix and match the veggies to your liking.
Main Dish
- Chicken thighs: First up, you’ll need 5 lbs of trimmed, boneless chicken thighs.
- Veggies: Then, you’ll need some veggies! Use 1 large of each of the following, cut into cubes before adding to the pan: zucchini, yellow squash, eggplant, yellow bell pepper, red bell pepper, and red onion.
Pesto
- Garlic: First up for the pesto is 5 cloves of garlic! If using powder, use 1 and 1/4 tsp.
- Green onion: Next, add flavor with 1 bunch of chopped green onion.
- Basil: 1 packed cup of basil adds so much to the final taste!
- Spinach: Include 1 packed cup of spinach to sneak in those greens.
- Shallot: Throw in some oniony flavor with the addition of 1 shallot.
- Nutritional yeast: 1/4 cup of nutritional yeast makes a world of a difference!
- Cashews: 1/3 cup of cashews work to thicken up the pesto while subtly contributing to the flavor.
- Walnuts: Follow the cashews with 1/3 cup of walnuts, or, optionally use all cashews.
- Lemon juice: Next, you need a bit of liquid to achieve the right consistency. For flavor, use the juice of 2 lemons.
- Olive oil: Last but not least, include 2/3 cup of olive oil.
Tools needed to make this pesto chicken recipe
You’ll need five main kitchen tools to make this chicken and veggies recipe. Before starting, gather a baking sheet, parchment paper, cutting board, chopping knife, and a high-speed blender.
To measure out the ingredients, you will need 1/3 cup, 2/3 cup, and 1 cup sized measuring cups.
How to make one sheet pesto chicken and veggies
This recipe is simple! Essentially, it involves cutting the veggies, mixing the pesto ingredients, and then assembling everything on a pan!
To begin, preheat the oven to 425ยฐF and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Prepare the chicken and veggies by trimming and chopping as needed. Lay the veggies on the parchment paper and then place the chicken thighs on top.
In a high-speed blender, blend the pesto ingredients. Stop to scrape down the sides as needed. If the mixture is too thick, add a few tablespoons of water until the blending continues.
Pour the pesto on top of the chicken and veggies, and then use your hands to toss everything. Make sure each piece is fully coated, and then make sure all of the chicken pieces are on top of the veggies. Transfer to the oven.
Bake for 32-35 minutes, or until the chicken thighs reach an internal temperature of 165ยฐF.
Additional vegetable options
When it comes to veggie-heavy dishes like this, the ingredient lists are pretty flexible. In fact, this makes the perfect meal for clearing out your fridge, as you can pretty much throw in any type of veggie! In addition to those listed in the ingredients above, feel free to use or substitute with any of the following:
- Tomatoes
- White Onion
- Yellow onion
- Green bell pepper
- Carrots
- Potatoes
If you liked this recipe, you’ll want to try these!
Do you love one-pan dinners? They make cooking and cleaning up such a breeze! Here are some more meals you can make in one dish.
- Easy One-Pan Salmon Dinner
- One-Pan Baked Chicken Fajitas
- Cabbage and Potato One-Pan Skillet
- One-Pan Honey Mustard Chicken Dinner
Photos by Moriah Sawtelle and recipe by Erin Antoniak.
One Sheet Pesto Chicken and Veggies
Load up on your veggies and protein with this delicious One Sheet Pesto Chicken and Veggies recipe. It’s simple to prepare, tastes delicious, and gives your body loads of nutrients!
Ingredients
- 5lb trimmed boneless chicken thighs
- 1 large zucchini, cubed
- 1 large yellow squash, cubed
- 1 large eggplant, cubed
- 1 yellow pepper, cubed
- 1 red pepper, cubed
- 1 red onion, cubed
Pesto
- 5 cloves garlic
- 1 bunch green onion, chopped
- 1 packed cup basil
- 1 packed cup spinach
- 1 shallot
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- 1/3 cup cashews
- 1/3 cup walnuts (or all cashews)
- juice of 2 lemons
- 2/3 cup olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425F and line baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Prepare chicken and veggies by trimming and chopping. Lay veggies out on parchment paper and then place chicken thighs on top.
- In a high speed blender, blend all pesto ingredients, stopping to scrape down sides as needed. If mixture is too thick, add in a few tablespoons of water until blending continues.
- Pour pesto over top of chicken and veggies and use your hands to toss everything, making sure that everything is fully coated. Once fully coated, make sure chicken is on top of veggies before baking in the oven.
- Bake for 32-35 minutes or until chicken thighs read internal temperature of 165F.
- Enjoy!
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MaryRose says
I love this recipe!! It’s super easy and delicious. Do you have any recs on what carb to pair it with?
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi MaryRose, so happy you loved it and yes, you could make my https://www.erinliveswhole.com/garlic-parmesan-smashed-potatoes/ or https://www.erinliveswhole.com/lightened-scalloped-potatoes/ to go with it!
Kaila says
So easy to make and such good flavor! love to make this for lunches for work!
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Kaila, so happy you loved it so much!!
caroline says
SO delicious and easy! Perfect weeknight staple meal.
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Caroline, so glad you enjoyed it!!
Kelly says
This dish was so easy and tasted Like i slaved for hours. My kids loved it and they are picky!
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Kelly, so happy it was a hit! ๐
Christina says
Canโt wait to make this. Any recommendations for using chicken breast instead of thighs?
Thank you!
Erin says
Hi Christina, yay and chicken breasts will work great with about 20 minutes of cooking. Let me know how it comes out!
Hannah says
This is so good and fresh! We loved it and will definitely make again. Used our favorite store-bought pesto, served with angel hair pasta. Delicious quick and easy dinner!
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Hannah, so happy you loved it!! ๐