This recipe is based off the flavors of my husband’s favorite meal – Lemon Chicken Penne Pasta. He loves this dish so much in fact it was on the menu for our wedding. The only problem with it, is the several cups of heavy cream, although I promise I’ll get the recipe to you someday because it’s fantastic! I tried photographing it twice already, and both times ended in complete failure, it’s delicious but kind of ugly so I’m definitely working on it.
Since neither one of use feels too great when we eat heavy dishes too often, we like to keep Lemon Chicken Penne to an occasional treat. However the flavors are just too good, so I came up with this much lighter version in the form of an easy sheet pan dinner. And I can tell you it was a huge success with Tyler, which is really saying something considering it’s his favorite meal I’ve been messing around with.
Most of the flavor in this dish comes from Herbs de Provence which is a blend of spices that pairs really well with chicken, and of course lemon. It’s one of those spices that’s worth adding to your spice cabinet because even if you only make this dish with it, you’re going to want to keep making it week after week. It’s pretty hard to get tired of these flavors, and we both enjoyed the leftovers cold the next day as lunch, so that’s another bonus.
For this recipe, you start by washing the asparagus and snapping off the woody ends.
Tip: Store bought asparagus has been cut which means the bottom ends will be too hard and woody to eat. By snapping off the ends, you end up with just tender spears. I bought 2 pounds of asparagus, and ended up with just 1 1/2 pounds after removing the ends.
When I buy asparagus from the Farmer’s Market, they’ve harvested the asparagus by snapping the stalks at the natural breaking point. This means that the whole bunch is useable without any of it going to waste, which also equals a better deal price wise than store bought – pound for pound.
The sauce/marinade comes together easily in a small bowl, you just whisk a few ingredients together. To get more flavor from the Herbs de Provence, I like to crush is in my hand as I add it to the bowl.
Next some of the sauce is poured over the chicken, and you bake the chicken until it’s almost done. Then the asparagus is added towards the end because it cooks quickly.
For a nice browned top, I broiled the chicken for about 10 minutes after adding the asparagus to the pan.
I hope you’ll enjoy this super easy spring inspired dinner as much as we have!
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Lemon Chicken and Asparagus Sheet Pan Dinner
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Prep Time: 15 mins -
Cook Time: 30 mins
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Total Time: 45 mins
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Yield: 4 - 6 servings
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeIngredients
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, about 2 pounds
- 2 Teaspoons Herbs de Provence
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 Tablespoon honey or maple syrup
- 1 Tablespoon lemon zest
- 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice, from 1 lemon
- 2 Teaspoons sea salt, or to taste
- 1/2 Teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 bunch of asparagus, 1 1/2 pounds, washed and woody stems removed
- 1 lemon, cut into thin slices
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Place the chicken breasts evenly on the baking sheet, and set aside.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the Herb de Provence, minced garlic, olive oil, honey or maple syrup, lemon zest, lemon juice, sea salt, and pepper until combined. Pour half of the mixture over the chicken breasts. Place the pan in the oven and cook until the chicken is almost done, about 20 minutes.
- Toss the remaining Herbs de Provence mixture with the asparagus, and set it aside.
- When the chicken is almost done, remove it from the oven, and set the oven to the broil setting. Place the asparagus around the edges. Pour any of the remaining sauce from the asparagus over the pan. Place a few lemon slices in and around the chicken and asparagus.
- Broil, (on the low setting) the chicken and asparagus until the asparagus is crisp tender and the chicken golden brown and no longer pink in the center, about 10 minutes.
- Serve immediately.
36 Comments on “Lemon Chicken and Asparagus Sheet Pan Dinner”
So. Good. The chicken turned out super moist and the asparagus were not over cooked. Will definitely be making this again very soon!
★★★★★
I’m so glad you enjoyed it and to hear you’ll be making it again, what a great compliment! 🙂
Quick question. I see garlic in the photos but I did not see any mention in the recipe. How much was added? Thanks This looks heavenly cannot wait to make it.
You’re completely right, I forgot to list it in the recipe. I’ve just fixed it, and I’m so sorry for the mistake, but thank you so much for writing to tell me I appreciate it! I hope you’ll let me know if you have any more questions and how it goes with the recipe!
As far as I know, lemon is good for us, but I never think that it can be used for a recipe. This is amazing for me, I will buy some new lemon today.
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I hope you enjoy it, we love using lemon in all sorts of sweet and savory recipes!
YES! totally getting some asparagus, in season now and making this! What a great weeknight dinner.
I hope you enjoy it, it’s such an easy weeknight or even weekend dinner!
Love that asparagus are in season right now – and what a partnership right there with the chicken. Great recipe!
Me too, I’m always a little sad when their short season is over!
I LOVE a good sheet pan dinner, and this one is so vibrant and pretty!
Me too, you just can’t beat how easy they are!
I’ve been soo into sheet pans lately too! This combo is so perfect for spring, especially with the herbes de provence!!
My husband would LOVE this dish – chicken and asparagus – two of his favorite everyday homemade meal !
★★★★★
There’s so much asparagus in the shops around here at the moment and I’m enjoying it while it’s in season. This looks like a fantastic dish to use it – I’m pinning it! Great recipe and drool-worthy pics!
We’ve been enjoying the abundance of asparagus too! 🙂
What a gorgeous sheet pan meal! I love asparagus paired with chicken, and such a time saver to bake them together in one pan.
★★★★★
It is such a time saver! I made it again yesterday and I’m always surprised at how easy it is to make!
My kind of sheet pan meal! That marinade looks divine. I love how it caramelized on the chicken. Yum!
It does caramelized it bit and it’s got a little sweet savory thing going on!
Whoa, such a great tip about the asparagus! I usually buy them at the farmers market so I’m glad to know I don’t have to break off the ends. Can’t wait to try this recipe!
★★★★★
Usually not from a good farm source!
That marinade looks so wonderful! And thanks for all the info – choosing asparagus can be tough!
For sure, I should have said my best tip for asparagus is to know your farmer, then you’ll know what you’re getting!
This looks delicious as usual, and thanks for the tip about the asparagus. Had no idea that that’s why we always had to cut off so much of the store bought stuff!
The last 2 pound bag I bought from the store, I only ended up with 1 pound leftover after the tough ends were trimmed!
This meal looks amazing! That chicken marinade sounds so flavorful and I’m sure makes the chicken taste incredible! I did not know that tip about buying asparagus at the store vs the farmers market but that makes sense. Thanks!
Depending on the farmer of course, but I’ve always seen asparagus that’s been picked at our market and there’s never any waste to the bunches!
This is gorgeous! Such a beautiful sheet pan meal! I’ve got to grab some asparagus before the season is over and make this. Yum!
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I hope you get to make it before asparagus season is over, luckily our season is just starting so I’m good for a little while longer!
Thank you for the asparagus tips for picking it out – I didn’t know all that! I usually end up chopping most of it all off and I probably don’t need to! It is just starting to be asparagus season here in Michigan – can’t wait to try this!
★★★★★
By snapping off the ends, you’ll only remove exactly the part that’s too tough to eat!
Hi Kari, made this for dinner last night and we really liked it. The short prep time is a plus, love ❤️ all you recipes !!
That just makes my day, I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed it! We really rely on short prep time recipes to get through the week, plus there’s usually not very many dishes which always helps too!
I have Low and High broiler settings on my oven. Which should I use for this recipe and does the rack need to be moved higher in the oven? 🙂
I use the lower setting on my oven because the high setting browns too quickly for me. You don’t need to move the rack, just keep it in the center. I added a note to the recipe as well because I should’ve clarified that. I sure hope you enjoy the recipe, and be sure and let me know how it goes!