One pan. Crispy chicken. Zero complaints.
There are two kinds of weeknight dinners: the ones that leave your kitchen looking like a crime scene… and the ones that save your sanity. This one falls firmly into the second category.
Everything cooks together on one sheet pan, which means the potatoes get all those glorious chicken drippings while the pesto works its magic on the chicken, creating crispy skin and big flavor with very little effort. It’s one of those dinners that tastes like you fussed, even though the oven did most of the heavy lifting.
And here’s my favorite hosting trick: you can toss the chicken in the pesto mixture the night before. The next evening, throw everything onto a sheet pan, pour yourself a glass of wine, and let dinner figure itself out. We love a recipe that multitasks.
Finish everything with a big squeeze of fresh lemon, scatter some basil over the top if you’re feeling fancy, and call it a day. It’s cozy, wildly flavorful, and exactly the kind of dinner you’ll find yourself making on repeat when life gets busy.
Ingredients
- 8 bone-in skin-on chicken thighs (about 2 ¾ pounds)
- 1/2 cup pesto (store bought is totally fine)
- 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
- 2 tsp kosher salt, plus more for seasoning
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- coarsely ground pepper
- 2 lbs Yukon Gold Potatoes (about 10), scrubbed and cut into 1-inch wedges
- 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 lemon, cut into wedges
- fresh basil, to serve, chopped
Method
- Preheat the oven to 425° with a rack in the center position. In a large bowl, combine the pesto, Italian seasoning, salt, garlic powder, crushed red pepper flakes, and a few grinds of black pepper.
- Pat the chicken thighs dry with a paper towel. Transfer to the bowl with pesto mixture and toss to coat.
- Transfer the potatoes to a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle potatoes with the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Add the chicken to the same baking sheet, skin-side up.
- Bake on the center rack of the oven until the potatoes are tender and the chicken has an internal temperature of 165°F, and the chicken skin is starting to get crispy, about 45 minutes. (For extra crispy skin, preheat the broiler on high. Broil on the top rack until the skin is crispy, 2 to 3 minutes.)
- Squeeze lemon wedges over top, then garnish with fresh basil, if using.
- Pro tip! Chicken thighs can be tossed with the pesto mixture and then refrigerated overnight. Place chicken thighs on top of the potatoes and roast as directed.
Enjoy!
Cortney
Cortney LaCorte
Cortney LaCorte is the creator of CheeseGal, a food and entertaining blog born in her Nashville kitchen that celebrates cheese, charcuterie and joyful gatherings
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