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This delicious Sheet Pan Italian Chicken is an easy, balanced one-pan meal. Perfectly cooked, juicy chicken thighs with crispy skin help flavor a medley of Mediterranean-inspired veggies including eggplant, tomatoes, and peppers.
I love sheet pan meals as long as they are simply executed and properly flavored. Anyone can throw protein and veggies on a pan and call it dinner, but it takes some technique and effort to have a meal that really delivers on the promise of a proper Sheet Pan Dinner.
To maximize flavors, marinate the chicken and salt the eggplant. These extra steps are mostly hands-off but really elevate the final dish. To keep things festive, I chose red (tomatoes), white (onions and eggplant), and green (bell peppers), just like the flag of Italy.
If you’re looking for carb-forward sides, toss the roasted veggies with cooked pasta (it’s so good, it could be a stand-alone meal) or serve with chunks of crusty bread. And feel free to garnish the whole meal with parmesan cheese.
Table of Contents
Recipe ingredients
At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.
Ingredient notes
- Marinade: For the best flavor, marinade the chicken at room temperature for 30 minutes or up to 12 hours in the refrigerator. If you forgot to marinade your chicken, make the marinade, reserving 2-3 tablespoons. Toss chicken in the remaining marinade and continue as directed. Drizzle reserved marinade on the chicken after it has cooked (sort of like a post-roast vinaigrette).
- Chicken thighs: Substitute bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts (not skinless chicken breasts) if desired (aim for 2 pounds total). You may have to adjust your baking time and the chicken won’t be as juicy.
Step-by-step instructions
To marinate the chicken:
- In a large bowl or zipper-top plastic bag, add extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, garlic, Italian, 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper. Add chicken and toss to coat. Marinate at least 30 minutes at room temperature or up to 12 hours, covered in the refrigerator.
To salt the eggplant:
- Add eggplant (cut into bite-size pieces) to a colander and sprinkle with salt. Toss well to coat, then let sit to drain for at least 40 minutes. You can let the eggplant drain as long as you let the chicken marinate (if salting the eggplant for more than 1 hour, transfer the colander to the refrigerator).
- After draining, rinse the eggplant well, then spread it on a clean kitchen towel. Press down hard with a second kitchen towel to push out any excess liquid, as if you were pushing down on and squeezing a sponge.
To roast the chicken and vegetables:
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a large bowl, add eggplant, onion, tomatoes, bell peppers, olive oil, and Italian seasoning and toss to coat. Arrange on half of a rimmed baking sheet and sprinkle with salt and pepper (I like ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper).
- Remove chicken from the marinade and pat dry. Place chicken skin-side down on the other side of the sheet pan. Drizzle any remaining marinade over the vegetables (be sure to get as many slices of garlic as possible; you want that!).
- Bake for 20 minutes, then remove the baking sheet from the oven. Stir vegetables and turn chicken. Continue roasting until chicken reaches 180 degrees, about 20 to 25 minutes longer.
- Transfer the chicken to a plate or rimmed baking sheet and tent with foil. Stir the vegetables and roast until tender and browned, about 10 minutes longer. Season the vegetables to taste with salt and pepper.
- Transfer chicken and vegetables to a serving platter or bowl and garnish with fresh basil. Serve with crusty bread if desired.
Recipe tips and variations
- Yield: This recipe makes 4 generous servings, enough for 1 large chicken thigh and 2 cups of vegetables per person.
- Storage: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Make ahead: Marinade the chicken (covered in the refrigerator) up to 12 hours in advance. The eggplant can be cubed and salted up to 12 hours in advance (just let it keep draining until you’re ready to make the chicken). The other vegetables can be prepped a day in advance as well; store separately in the refrigerator.
- Parchment-free: I’m a big believer in (and user of) parchment paper, but for this recipe, keep it in the cupboard. You want the chicken skin directly on the metal sheet pan for optimal brown, crispy chicken skin.
- Customize your veggies: Trade the grape tomatoes for cherry tomatoes, swap potatoes for the eggplant, or add other vegetables like green beans, mushrooms, asparagus, and cauliflower.
- Spice your sheet pan chicken: Tweak your spice blend to include onion powder, garlic powder, lemon juice, or balsamic vinegar.
Frequently Asked Questions
Serve sheet pan Italian chicken with buttered pasta, cooked rice, or crusty bread. For extra credit, toss your roasted veggies with cooked pasta for a roasted vegetable pasta side dish. It’s divine!
While chicken is safe to eat at 165 degrees (for breasts) or 170 degrees (for thighs), I prefer to roast chicken to 180 degrees. This is the temperature when the meat is so tender, it just falls off the bone. And isn’t that what we want for our roast chicken?
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Sheet Pan Italian Chicken
Ingredients
For the chicken marinade (see note 1):
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 4 cloves garlic thinly sliced
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (4 to 6 small thighs, see note 2)
For salting the eggplant:
- 1 large eggplant cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes (about 1 pound)
- 1 teaspoon Salt
For the vegetables:
- 1/2 onion cut into 1-inch pieces, layers not separated
- 1 pint grape tomatoes
- 1 large green bell pepper stemmed, seeded, and chopped
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh basil for serving
- Crusty bread for serving, optional
Instructions
To marinate the chicken:
- In a large bowl or zipper-top plastic bag, add olive oil, red wine vinegar, garlic, Italian, 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper. Add chicken and toss to coat. Marinate at least 30 minutes at room temperature or up to 12 hours, covered in the refrigerator.
To salt the eggplant:
- Add the cubed eggplant to a colander and sprinkle with salt. Toss well to coat, then let sit to drain for at least 40 minutes. You can let the eggplant drain as long as you let the chicken marinate (if salting the eggplant more than 1 hour, transfer the colander to the refrigerator).
- After draining, rinse the eggplant well, then spread on a clean kitchen towel. Press down hard with a second kitchen towel to push out any excess liquid, as if you were pushing down on and squeezing a sponge.
To roast the chicken and vegetables:
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a large bowl, add eggplant, onion, tomatoes, bell peppers, olive oil, and Italian seasoning and toss to coat. Arrange on half of a rimmed baking sheet and sprinkle with salt and pepper (I like ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper).
- Remove chicken from marinade and pat dry. Place skin-side down on the other side of the sheet pan. Drizzle any remaining marinade over the vegetables (be sure to get as many slices of garlic as possible; you want that!).
- Roast for 20 minutes, then remove baking sheet from oven. Stir vegetables and turn chicken. Continue roasting until chicken reaches 180 degrees, about 20 to 25 minutes longer.
- Transfer the chicken to a plate or rimmed baking sheet and tent with foil. Stir the vegetables and roast until tender and browned, about 10 minutes longer. Season the vegetables to taste with salt and pepper.
- Transfer chicken and vegetables to a serving platter or bowl and garnish with fresh basil. Serve with crusty bread if desired.
Notes
- Marinade: For the best flavor, marinade the chicken at room temperature for 30 minutes or up to 12 hours in the refrigerator. If you forgot to marinade your chicken, make the marinade, reserving 2-3 tablespoons. Toss chicken in the remaining marinade and continue as directed. Drizzle reserved marinade on the chicken after it has cooked (sort of like a post-roast vinaigrette).
- Chicken thighs: Substitute bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts if desired (aim for 2 pounds total). You may have to adjust your baking time and the chicken won’t be as juicy.
- Yield: This recipe makes 4 generous servings, enough for 1 large chicken thigh and 2 cups of vegetables per person.
- Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Nutrition
Meggan Hill is a classically-trained chef and professional writer. Her meticulously-tested recipes and detailed tutorials bring confidence and success to home cooks everywhere. Meggan has been featured on NPR, HuffPost, FoxNews, LA Times, and more.