Sheet pans dinners are my all time favorite meals for a busy week night dinner. Chicken is so easy to cook because it easily absorbs the flavors you’re in the mood for. The best part is that this dish comes together in a jiffy and has the sweet flavors of honey mixed in with the citrus blast of orange.
NUTRITION TIPS
Raw Honey
Use raw honey when possible. It bypasses commercial processing methods and is much more nutritious. Raw honey contains a higher number of antioxidants which are known to reduce inflammation.
Thyme
This herb is a great anti-inflammatory and can help those with autoimmune diseases. In addition it is known to destroy harmful organisms, such as infectious bacteria. If that’s not enough, the smell and flavor really make this dish so wonderful.
SIDE SUGGESTIONS
This goes really well with just about any vegetable. Brussel sprouts, kale, green beans, asparagus, broccoli. Whatever you have on hand could work. I always like to include a starch and for this dish I particularly enjoy air fryer sweet potato fries.
The chicken also goes really well with my sunchoke dip.
PARENT HACK
Just about every kid I know loves anything sweet. The honey in this dish makes it so easy to eat. If your child isn’t a fan of asparagus (mine is not) you can easily use broccoli or any other veggie your child enjoys.
PRO TIP
The easiest way to cut the tough ends on the asparagus is to snap it. Just grab the end and snap in two, it will break right where it’s too tough to eat.
You can switch up the flavor of this dish by replacing the thyme with parsley and the orange with lemon.
Chicken taste best when cooked at 165F, if it’s overcooked it easily becomes dry and looses it’s juiciness. I highly recommenced getting a meat thermometer. I honestly used it every single time I cook meat or fish. The thermapen is my all time favorite albeit a bit pricy. I also heard good things about this one and it comes in fun colors.
SHEET PAN HONEY ORANGE CHICKEN ASPARAGUS
Ingredients
- 1 lb chicken breast
- 1/4 cup orange juice fresh squeezed is the best, about 1 orange
- 2 tbsp raw honey
- 1 tbsp coconut aminos
- 1/2 tbsp garlic finely chopped
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme or 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 bunch asparagus
- 1 tbsp olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven 200°C | 400°F. Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper.
- Arrange chicken on the sheet and season with salt. Drizzle 1/2 tbsp of olive oil on the chicken. Set aside.
- Combine the orange juice, honey, coconut aminos garlic, thyme, and salt. Pour three quarters of the honey lemon mixture over the chicken.
- Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through.
- Uncover, arrange the asparagus around the chicken. Pour the remaining honey lemon mixture over the asparagus. Top with the remaining olive oil.
- Cook for another 10 minutes. If you would like it more golden, put under the broil for 3-5 minutes. Garnish with some thyme.
We made this tonight and it was great! The sauce came together by the time my oven pre-heated. The chicken slurped up the citrus flavor. Julian said it was delicious. And Ollie claimed to not like it but had two helpings 😉 I served it with buttered sprouted bread as our starch, so it was an EXTRA easy dinner. I’m referring to it as Honey OJ Chicken, and the kids are all over it.
Thanks, girl!
I’m so glad you liked it!! It’s the best when it’s easy AND the kids like it! I need to feature those awesome veggies you made, can you send me the recipe?