Chicken Sheet Pan Dinners Belong In Your Weekly Lineup

It's always useful to have a few go-to methods for when the schedule's full, but there's still cooking to be done. But for the most fuss-free (and easy to clean up) technique, you can't beat sheet pan dinners. Throw your ingredients into the oven, let the flavors mingle, and many portions of delicious food will ultimately result.

From crispy sheet pan gnocchi to seafood and veggies, a diverse range of foods work well for this technique. Of course, chicken is always an especially tasty option. You can bread the bird, choose your favorite cuts, cook it pre-sliced, or pair it with vegetables and let it soak in a marinade. The malleability is unparalleled.

What may be most critical is employing the right kind of pan. You'll want to go with stainless steel or aluminum. High conductivity — which enables the pan to get extra hot — crisps up the chicken skin and melts away fatty connective tissue. For this reason, you'll want to avoid nonstick pans, as they won't reach a hot enough state to brown your meat. Remember to start with spotless baking sheets (you can always clean your dingy baking sheets), since every flavor will impact the bake. With these considerations in mind, you'll be ready to assemble your ingredients and get dinner on the table.

Upon the foundation of chicken and pan, there exists an expansive range of possibilities. But in order to really nail the all-in-one aim, you'll want to complement the chicken with hearty vegetables. Potatoes are a natural starting point, which you can chop into large pieces and marinate alongside the chicken with oil and seasonings. Oven-roasted at a high temperature, marinated chicken and potatoes will both will crisp up and brown in unison.

If you're keen on making it all à la minute, then you'll want to consider ingredient thickness. Slice your potatoes (or other root vegetables) relatively thin to let them absorb the oil rendered on the pan. Don't forget that other components — like broccoli florets — can be tossed into the mix later in the cooking process. In less than an hour of cooking time, you'll have crispy chicken and vegetables, with a pan juice that can be deglazed into a delicious sauce.

If an hour of cooking isn't feasible, you can speed it up by chopping the ingredients in advance. Translate a one-pan chicken fajitas recipe from the stove to the oven by using sliced, marinated chicken and vegetables. With the help of a broiler, you can brown the peppers, onions, and chicken in 30 minutes. Just don't forget to warm some tortillas to serve on the side.