Greek Sheet Pan Chicken Thighs And Vegetables

This greek sheet pan chicken thighs and vegetables recipe is a quick, healthy and delicious dinner option for people who want to enjoy mediterranean flavors at home. The chicken thighs and vegetables are marinated in an olive oil, thyme, lemon and garlic marinade before being baked in the oven. Tangy feta cheese gets crumbled over the top for a super tasty and easy dinner that will have you begging for more!

Why Serve Greek Sheet Pan Chicken thighs?

Well if ‘quick, healthy and delicious‘ didn’t convince you, how about the fact that you can use whatever vegetables that you have on hand? Or that you can serve a large family or group all on one sheet pan? Sheet pan greek chicken is a very versatile recipe, and can be easily adapted for any home cook.

I personally love this recipe because it takes minimal effort while yielding spectacular results! I mean, who doesn’t love a zesty mediterranean diet chicken recipe?!

What Makes This Healthy?

This is an easy mediterranean diet dinner recipe, that can also be enjoyed by anyone who wants to eat healthy without sacrificing flavor! Check out the benefits of these ingredients!

Extra-Virgin Olive Oil	Extra-virgin olive oil is rich in the monounsaturated fat ‘oleic acid’ which may reduce inflammation in the body and may even have beneficial effects on genes linked to cancer. It also contains many antioxidants which fight inflammation in the body and may decrease the risk of heart disease.
Lemon Juice	Lemon juice contains a fair amount of vitamin C, which is important for immune health. Vitamin C  improves the absorption of non-heme iron, the type of iron found in plant foods.
Vinegar	Vinegar allows the body to be able to absorb more calcium, potassium and vitamins from food. It also contains a good amount of acetic acid, which boots digestive health. It also may help lower blood sugar levels.
Chicken Thighs	Iron and zinc are present in much higher volumes in dark meat than in white meat, and are both important for a healthy immune system. One typical sized chicken thigh without the skin will have around 28 grams of protein.
Thyme	Thyme has been studied for it’s anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and antioxidant effects on the human body. Thyme contains thymol (a plant-based phenol) that is known to neutralize certain bacterial, viral, and fungal infections.
Garlic	Garlic is part of the allium family, along with onions. Similarly to onions, garlic contains antioxidants that improve oxidative damage from free radicals and may help reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.

What Are Some Ingredient Substitutions For This Recipe?

I’m glad you asked! You all know me, I love giving you the freedom to use what you’ve got on hand. My recipes are merely the ‘muse‘ to your creative kitchen endeavors, so use what you’ve got and let me know in the comments how it turned out!

Ingredient Substitutions

• Chicken Thighs – You can use chicken breasts. I will mention, though, that chicken thighs are less likely to dry out, so you don’t have to worry too much about overcooking them. Which can be beneficial if you are cooking veggies that take longer to cook.

• Celery & Zucchini – Any vegetables that do well when roasted in the oven, such as yellow squash, broccoli, cherry tomatoes, cubed eggplant, cauliflower, parsnips, carrots, bell pepper.

• Potatoes – You can use sweet potatoes, or cubed butternut squash, though butternut squash will take longer to cook, so toss that in the oven 10 minutes before the rest of the ingredients.

• Feta Cheese – Swap it out for goat cheese, parmesan, or fresh mozzarella.

• Onion – A simple swap would be red onion or shallots.

Searing The Chicken Before Baking

In this recipe, there is an added step of searing the chicken prior to adding it to the baking sheet and finishing it in the oven. The reason why we do this is to briefly expose the chicken thighs to high heat in order to brown their surface, creating a tasty crust on the outside.  Once that flavor is developed and we have transferred the chicken to the baking sheet, we deglaze the pan with some chicken broth.

All of that rich flavor that is held in the brown bits that are stuck to the pan releases, and you are left with a SUPER flavorful broth/sauce that tastes delicious when poured over the finished recipe.

Trust me, you DO NOT want to skip this part. (But if you HAVE to, you can technically just add the chicken to the baking sheet. I won’t tell. Just make sure to adjust the cooking time accordingly.)

Make sure you don’t use a non-stick pan when searing the chicken! I recommend using a stainless steel pan or a cast iron dutch oven to do the trick. This is the one I use!

All-Clad D3 Stainless Cookware, 12-Inch Fry Pan with Lid, Tri-Ply Stainless Steel, Professional Grade

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