Dinner last night was so delicious! Cooking vegetables on a sheet pan is literally my go-to when time is short and the family is hangry. Yes, hangry is used as a verb in our house quite often and by the end of dinner, we had only a few potatoes left and ZERO broccoli leftover. Good thing tomorrow is Saturday and Tyler will not need a lunch packed because the pickings were slim! This recipe for Lemon Pepper Chicken is so easy and delicious.
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Published December 11, 2021
Updated March 29, 2022
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Whole or Parts
When at the grocery store, I often change up recipes and swap out food if there is a deal on the shelf. This past Monday, at ALDI, there was not a huge selection of chicken breasts available. However, the next best thing was a whole chicken. There was literally one on the shelf, and that lucky bird was mine.
At ALDI, their whole chickens are fresh, big, and super reasonably priced. For typically under $7.00, you can buy an entire chicken at a cost of $0.97 per pound. Comparing that to pre-packaged chicken breasts at a cost of $1.99-$3.19 per pound. The price difference there depends on if you buy the super awesome Family Pack Chicken breasts at $1.99 or the Fresh Chicken Breasts at $3.19 per pound. As we are a family of six, I always go for the Family Pack. Go big or go home, am I right?!
Roast a whole chicken
The bonus to buying a whole chicken as opposed to just breasts, is that you can mix up a dinner and bring in a whole new experience if you have kids. They see how the bones are connected and see that it actually used to be a chicken instead of just a lump of breast meat in a package.
Showing our kids how to split the breasts apart with a knife and fileting it out is very interesting to them. You can then show them how the skin can be separated and seasoning packed underneath. Additionally, those bones can be saved from the carcass to make stock! By keeping the bones and making your own stock, it teaches resourcefulness and skills that can last a lifetime.
Homemade Stock
To make your own stock, place the bones from the chicken carcass into a 6-Quart pot with onion, carrot, celery, bay leaf, salt and pepper. Let the stock simmer for 4-6 hours, stirring occasionally, and then strain it through a strainer so all of the lumps and particles get removed.
This stock is super delicious, homemade, from scratch, and practically free! Homemade stock can then be used to make gravy, soup base, or used to make chicken noodle soup. The options are actually endless on how you can use homemade stock! Click the link below for my recipe on how to make Homemade Stock.
What you need for this recipe
Other than the chicken, potatoes and broccoli, there are a few things you do need for this recipe. For example, having a good sink colander and cutting board are highly useful for washing and cutting the vegetables.
Sink colander
Non-stick spray
9 X 13-inch baking dish
Large Sheet-Pan
Chef Knife
Cutting board
Lemon Pepper Chicken with Sheet-Pan Potatoes and Broccoli Recipe
Ingredients for Lemon Pepper Chicken
1 whole Chicken
Lemon Pepper seasoning
Red Skin potatoes
Broccoli
Salt
Pepper
Directions for Lemon Pepper Chicken
1. Preheat the oven to 425, then spray a 9 X 13-inch baking dish with non-stick spray and set aside.
2. Lay the chicken on a cutting board, and using a chef knife, cut between the chicken breasts and through the bones to separate them. Flip the chicken over so the bones are facing down. Using the palm of your hand, you can smash the bones, so it lays flatter. Sorry, I do not have pictures of this as I had no camera helper and did not want to contaminate my phone with raw chicken juices. I am hoping to do an entire blog about how to cut a whole chicken up.
3. Using your fingers, lift the skin off of the meat where it was cut (without removing it completely) and then spread Lemon Pepper seasoning under the skin. Sprinkle seasoning on the skin of the chicken also. Place the chicken skin-side up to cook at 425 degrees until the temperature reaches 165 degrees. Depending on your oven, this could take anywhere between 20-25 minutes per pound for a bone-in chicken at 425 degrees. Depending on weight, this could take upwards to 1 1/2 hours.
4. Rinse the potatoes in a sink colander and use a cutting board to cut the potatoes in half and then quarter them. When cut, lay the cut potatoes on a large baking sheet.
5. Next rinse the broccoli in a sink colander. On a cutting board, cut the stems off of the broccoli crowns and then cut them into smaller pieces. Arrange the broccoli pieces around the potatoes on the sheet-pan. This sink colander is fantastic as it stretches over any size sink and keeps your food off the base of the sink.
6. Drizzle oil over the potatoes and broccoli and then season with salt, pepper and garlic powder. For extra flavor, carefully spoon out chicken drippings from the baking dish onto the vegetables while they are still baking.
7. Bake the vegetables on the sheet-pan for 15-25 minutes. When done, remove the sheet-pan from the oven.
8. When the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees on the chicken, remove it from the oven and let it rest 5-7 minutes. Make sure to temp check the thighs and breasts separately so you have an accurate reading on the chicken being done as a whole. Thighs often take longer to cook than breasts as they are dark meat.
Finally, slice the Lemon Pepper Chicken and serve with potatoes and broccoli! I legit did not get a picture of the broccoli as our kids ate it all up before I actually remembered to take a picture. I did get one of the potatoes and broccoli when it was finished. Seriously, the vegetables were perfectly cooked and seasoned! Adding a few spoons of the chicken drippings on top of the vegetables while it is still cooking helps to add more flavor.
~Monica
Recipe for Lemon Pepper Chicken with Sheet-Pan Potatoes and Broccoli
Lemon Pepper Chicken with Sheet-Pan Potatoes and Broccoli
Equipment
- 9 X 13-inch bake dish
- Cutting board
- Rimmed baking sheet
- Non-stick spray
Ingredients
- 1 whole Whole Chicken
- Lemon Pepper Seasoning
- 2 Tbsp Oil
- Potatoes
- Broccoli
- Salt & Pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425, then spray a 9 X 13-inch baking dish with non-stick spray and set aside.
- Lay the chicken on a cutting board, and using a chef knife, cut between the chicken breasts and through the bones to separate them. This allows the chicken to be laid flat to cook quicker.
- Using your fingers, lift the skin off of the meat and then spread the seasoning under the skin.
- Sprinkle seasoning on the skin of the chicken also.
- Cook at 425 degrees until the temperature reaches 165 degrees, this can be between 30-60 minutes. Check the temperature with a thermometer until it has reached 165 degrees.
- Then rinse the potatoes in a sink colander and using a cutting board, cut the potatoes in half and then quarter them.
- Lay the cut potatoes on a large baking sheet that has been sprayed with non-stick spray.
- Rinse the broccoli in a sink colander and cut the stems off of the broccoli crowns and then cut them into smaller pieces.
- Arrange the broccoli pieces around the potatoes on the sheet-pan.
- Drizzle oil over the potatoes and broccoli and then season with salt, pepper and garlic powder.
- For extra flavor, carefully spoon out chicken drippings from the baking dish onto the vegetables while they are still baking.
- Bake the vegetables on the sheet-pan until a knife can be inserted into the potatoes easily.
- When done, remove the sheet-pan from the oven.
- When the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees on the chicken, remove it from the oven and let it rest 5-7 minutes.
- Finally, slice the chicken and serve with potatoes and broccoli!
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