By Melissa Clark
- Total Time
- 1 hour, plus marinating
- Rating
- 5(9,794)
- Notes
- Read community notes
Your typical sheet-pan chicken recipe roasts everything together on a pan at once. This version pairs potatoes with the poultry, and tops everything off with fresh herbs and arugula, making it a true one-pan meal, salad included. A savory yogurt sauce adds a creamy touch, but it’s optional if you’re not a yogurt sauce fan. Feel free to double the recipe if you’re feeding a crowd, though make sure to use two sheet pans so that everything is spread out in one layer, which is critical for browning.
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Ingredients
Yield:4 servings
- 1½pounds chicken thighs and drumsticks
- 1¼pounds small Yukon Gold potatoes, halved and cut into ½-inch slices
- 2½teaspoons kosher salt, more as needed
- ½teaspoon black pepper, more as needed
- 2tablespoons harissa (or use another thick hot sauce, such as sriracha)
- ½teaspoon ground cumin
- 4½tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, more as needed
- 2leeks, white and light green parts only, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
- ½teaspoon lemon zest (from ½ lemon)
- ⅓cup plain yogurt (do not use Greek yogurt)
- 1small garlic clove
- 2ounces baby arugula
- Chopped fresh dill, as needed
- Lemon juice, as needed
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Preparation
Step
1
Combine chicken and potatoes in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper. In a small bowl, whisk together harissa, cumin and 3 tablespoons oil. Pour over chicken and potatoes and toss to combine. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes, or up to 8 hours in the refrigerator.
Step
2
Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine leeks, lemon zest, a pinch of salt and the remaining 1½ tablespoons oil.
Step
3
Heat oven to 425 degrees. Arrange chicken and potatoes on a large rimmed baking sheet in a single layer. Roast 15 minutes. Toss potatoes lightly. Scatter leeks over pan. Roast until chicken and potatoes are cooked through and everything is golden and slightly crisped, 25 to 30 minutes longer.
Step
4
While chicken cooks, place yogurt in a small bowl. Grate garlic over yogurt and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Step
5
To serve, spoon yogurt over chicken and vegetables in the pan. Scatter arugula and dill over mixture. Drizzle with oil and lemon juice and serve.
Ratings
5
out of 5
9,794
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Cooking Notes
AlisonK
Very good. Had to substitute spinach for arugula and am eager to try when I have arugula. Otherwise all worked well according to the recipe. I have a tip for the dill: you can freeze fresh dill. Just snip it as you would for a recipe and spread on a sheet of plastic wrap, with wide margins. Roll the plastic up like a jelly roll and close the ends with twist ties. It's easy to remove just what you need for a dish. It's almost as good as fresh and certainly better than dried.
LeslieMac
Fantastic! I double up on the chicken, using skinless/boneless breasts, so I have leftovers to throw into pasta, salads, tacos throughout the week. I also use baby spinach in place of arugula. Throw it UNDER the chicken & potatoes after you take the pan out of the oven and it just wilts and absorbs the marinade and chicken juices. Mmm.
Alexandra Lightning
Have made this wonderful recipe many times. I always seem to find another little tweak for it every time I make it. One thing that's good is to mix about a tablespoon of chopped dill into the garlic yogurt sauce and add a good squeeze of lemon juice. I always use Greek yogurt because there is no reason not to that I can discern, and it's the only kind of yogurt I have at hand. I serve this yogurt/garlic/dill sauce on the side rather than spoon it over the crispy chicken skin.
Kathy
Would only marinate chicken overnight, not the potatoes. They turned brown when exposed to air.
Started potatoes 10 mins before chicken and they were nice and crispy. Put the leeks on top for last 20 mins and they didn't burn like some others reported.
Dish on whole was highly praised and delicious
Jane
I have made this dish twice, with excellent results both times. However, on the second occasion I made some adjustments: I used a combination of skinless, boneless breasts and thighs. I used medium potatoes, and cut them into wedges (eighths), which made it easy to arrange the potatoes around the chicken. (The wedges also crisped and browned nicely, which was harder to achieve with potato slices.) And I added the dill and lemon juice to the garlicky yogurt. Easy, delicious, impressive--a winner!
Sally
Why not Greek yogurt, Melissa?
Brian Abelson
Sublime! I substituted a baking sheet for a sheet pan. The lack of a ridge on the sheet meant that oil dripped to the bottom of the oven, causing a grease fire which I extinguished with 2.5 to 3 cups of water (this amount may vary based on the size of your oven and the intensity of the fire). I found that the fire added a delightful smokiness to the potatoes while the water used to extinguish it created steam in the oven, resulting in deliciously moist chicken. Would recommend!
Kevin Osinski
Loved it, but proportions were strange. 1 1/2 lb bone-in chicken for 4 servings? I used 4 leg-thighs, which came to something over 3 lb. I used 12 oz of arugula and spread it as a serving bed for the potatoes, leeks and chicken. The pan drippings made a nice dressing for the greens.
The yogurt sauce could also be doubled or tripled. 1/3 cup over 4 servings is only one heaping tbsp each. I added some dill to the sauce.
With 2 tbsp of harissa this was quite spicy, but we loved it.
not being dramatic
How do I say this without being dramatic...
This is the best dinner I've ever made. I cook frequently, I consider it a hobby. This meal was simple, healthy, and so incredibly tasty. I'd eat this every night of my life.
Tammy
Great recipe. First time I scattered the arugula over but that created some pretty lackluster arugula the next day when I re-heated the dish. Next time I put the hot chicken and potatoes on top of room temperature arugula and we had perfectly wilted greens, and no soggy left over greens. .
Liz
Excellent. Served it for dinner guests. I used six chicken thighs and a few more potatoes, so increased proportions of marinade and sauce accordingly. Based on all the comments, I 1) divided the recipe between two sheet pans for nice browning and crisping, 2) added the leeks when there were about 15 minutes left, 3) added some dill and lemon juice to the delicious yogurt sauce (perfect accompaniment), 4) served the chicken and potatoes on top of the arugula.
AEC
I used Greek yogurt because it's what I had on hand. However, I whisked a few tablespoons of milk into the Greek yogurt to thin it out. With the addition of the milk, the yogurt now has the right consistency of what the recipe requires.
Melissa
all I had in the refrig were boneless, skinless breasts, so covered the pan for the first 20 minutes ~ oh my were they moist and tasty. Everyone loved them. Next time will use thighs for an even tastier meal. We used much more yougurt, garlic and arugula, just because, and chopped the garlic ~ grating it was just too odd. An excellent meal!
Sarah S
I used boneless thighs and drumsticks and doubled the recipe, and used a mixture of cubed yukon golds and halved baby red potatoes. I substituted sriracha for harissa, served chicken and potatoes over a bed of arugula with lemon juice squeezed on it, and incorporated the dill into the garlic yogurt sauce. This dish was easy and amazing. My whole family declared worthy of a once a week dinner.
Sarah
I had only a harissa spice blend from the excellent World Spice here in Seattle. I tossed a couple of tablespoons of that with some kosher salt over the chicken thighs in the morning and let them dry out in the fridge all day. I think the dry spices plus the drying out in the fridge made the chicken skin extra crispy. Also aggressively spacing the ingredients in the sheet pan. I used two to ensure crisping and browning. This is a perfect recipe. We all loved it.
Double Up!
Fantastic recipe and always a crowd pleaser. I make two sheet pans to have leftovers. Sometimes add other root vegetables based on what I have handy. Worth finding arugula as it makes the dish.
AndreaK
What would be a good substitute for the harissa? There is something the harissa flavor profile that doesn't taste good to me.
pierre n
For more than 30 years I’ve been marinating the chicken overnight with a mix of shredded garlic, yogurt and olive oil (Whole or in pieces) and cooking in oven or barbecued. The sauce is used later for doing a risotto adding ras el hanout spice.I will eat that every day of my life, definitely.
Rose K.
No need to prep the yoghurt sauce - just buy tzatsiki. It is also wonderful as a dip, sando spread and salad dressing.
Tom
Delicious
siri
I have made this 3x now and highly recommend roasting the potatoes for 15-20 minutes before adding the chicken to the pan (depending on size of potatoes). Each time I’ve had to take the chicken off to prevent overcooking and let the potatoes continue. I’ve also added chunks of red onion and/or zucchini slices to this which were great additions. I have made it thrice because it is fantastic and the result greater than the sum of its parts.
Denis
We keep Greek yogurt in stock and regular is a misfit soooo…I used tahini thinned with a few drops of lemon juice. Good stuff!
Susan
Does anyone have a substitute for the cumin to suggest? I'd love to try the recipe but am allergic to cumin,coriander and cilantro.
Normajm
Give caraway seed a try.
Suzanne
We absolutely love this recipe and make it at least twice a month. If serving for a group I suggest tossing the greens with some of the chicken drippings and using that deliciousness as a base for the chicken and potatoes, topped with a drizzle of the seasoned yogurt and a little fresh dill.
Lisa
Would these flavors work well subbing in sweet potatoes? They are far healthier which is what my body needs at this time in life. Please advise.
Marc W
Is there a vegetarian alternative to the chicken?
Chandler
I will definitely make this as is. I would lie to make it with tofu for veg friends and am wondering what adjustments....I once roasted pork tenderloin w/ my own marinade and made the same thing w/ tofu and it was totally yum and appropriate for the tofu, moist, succulen, yummy. Thanks for any suggestions. CH
Marieta Warnstedt
Have you frozen other herbs besides dill and do they work as well?
tracy
I have made this many times over the years. It never fails to please. It’s easy and delicious. A great casual company dish because you can do other things while it’s in the oven.
Gordon Hamnett
We have been enjoying this recipe for a couple of years now as part of my regular recipe rotation. Although I love "heat", my wife is not a fan so I use "mild" harissa and the recipe retains all the flavor without the "heat". EXCELLENT RECIPE!
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