Ok talk about super simple weeknight dinners! This is our family’s go-to chicken dinner. It’s super simple, so good and comes together in about 45 minutes. This gives me enough time to throw the chicken in the oven, get everyone showered, pick up a bit and make a couple of sides to go with it. I usually order a whole chicken at the butcher cut into 8 pieces and keep the back and extras for chicken soup. It’s the best bang for my buck and makes for 2 delicious family friendly meals.
As far as spices, this is where you can let your spice rack shine. I love the combination of fresh and dried herbs but you can add your favorites to create your own dry rub. Now the star here is the garlic and the croutons. Everyone fights for them at my house. When roasted, the garlic turns into a sweet morsel of goodness and the bread soaks up all of the juices that have been released by the chicken. It’s so good!
Here’s my Sheet pan roasted garlic chicken!
Ingredients
- 1 whole 3 1/2 pound chicken cut into 8 pieces
- 6 large garlic cloves, unpeeled, smashed with the back of a knife
- 1 teaspoon of very finely chopped fresh rosemary
- 1 teaspoon of very finely chopped fresh thyme
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 lemon, zested, and cut in half
- 4 tablespoons of olive oil
- 1/2 baguette, torn into roughly 1-2 inch pieces
- 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar
- 1/4 cup of water
- 4 large handfuls of arugula or green of your choice
- lemon wedges for serving
- fresh parsley for serving
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Farenheight. Arrange the chicken pieces sink side up on a large sheet pan and scatter the garlic pieces around them.
- In a small bowl, combine the rosemary, thyme, salt, pepper, zest, and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Mix together and rub all over the chicken being sure to get some under the skin.
- Place the baking sheet in the oven and roast the chicken, undisturbed for 40 minutes.
- After 40 minutes, remove from the oven and arrange the bread and zested lemon halves in between the chicken pieces, tossing them in any juice the chicken has released. Drizzle everything with another glug of olive oil (about 2 tablespoons and return the pan to the oven to roast for another 10 minutes more.
- Meanwhile, combine the vinegar, and 1/2 cup of water in a small bowl and set aside. Place the arugula in a large shallow serving bowl.
- Remove the chicken from the oven and immediately add the vinegar mixture – this will help deglaze the pan so you don’t lose all those nice crispy bits.
- Use tongs to pluck out the croutons and add them to the serving bowl with the arugula; toss with the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and a pinch of salt. Top with the chicken pieces and lightly tent the bowl with aluminum foil.
- Next, take the garlic cloves and squeeze them out of their skins back into the baking sheet and squeeze the roasted lemon halves love the baking sheet to release all their juices.
- Use a wooden spoon or spatula to crush the softened garlic cloves and scrape up as much of the crusty bits on the bottom of the pan as possible.
- Pour about half the garlicky pan sauce over the chicken and bread salad and serve with the remaining sauce on the side and lemon wedges to finish and top with fresh parsley.
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