Easy Baked Chicken Thighs With Vegetables

This easy baked chicken thighs with vegetables is super juicy and you oven roast it all on one pan for a delicious dinner. You can easily customize this baked chicken and peppers, mushrooms and squash to have your family’s favorite vegetables.

 

Why We Love Baked Chicken Thighs With Vegetables

• One Pan Only- Everything on one pan makes for a super easy cleanup.
• Easy Prep Ahead– Prep for this meal is simple. Chicken can marinate ahead of time and vegetables can be chopped ahead of time. Then when it’s time for dinner you the ingredients to the pan and bake!
• Flexible Vegetables- We’ve used yellow squash, peppers and mushrooms as the vegetables in this dish but you can totally swap out some other ideas depending on what is in your fridge. Check the Variation Ideas section for more ideas.

I love this chicken thigh recipe for the convenience of having the veggies on the pan. My favorite way to make baked chicken thighs when I have a little more time to make sides too is to make this chicken thigh recipe with extra crispy skin, yum! Or try the savory baked honey garlic chicken thighs, delicious!

Ingredients For Chicken Thighs With Vegetables

Ingredients For The Chicken

• 6 chicken thighs bone in

Ingredients For The Marinade

• 5 tablespoons olive oil divided
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 1 lemon About 3-4 tablespoons of lemon juice.
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt divided
• 3/4 teaspoon pepper divided
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder

Ingredients For The Vegetables

• 2 medium yellow squash Or use zucchini, about 3 cups sliced total.
• 3 bell peppers I used a mix of red, yellow and green.
• 2 cups mushrooms sliced
• 1 red onion chopped in large pieces
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme optional, you can also add 1 tablespoon fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme to the marinade.

How To Make Baked Chicken Thighs With Squash And Peppers

Prep The Chicken In The Marinade

1. Place raw chicken thighs in a gallon size zip-top bag.
2. In a medium bowl mix 4 tablespoons olive oil, garlic, thyme, juice from one lemon, thyme onion powder, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Whisk together to make the marinade.

3. Pour the marinade over the chicken in the bag. Make sure the bag is securely closed. With your hands mix the marinade and chicken in the bag to evenly coat the chicken.
4. Refrigerate the chicken in the marinade for at least 30 minutes. See notes for marinating longer.

Prepare the Vegetables

1. Chop the yellow squash, peppers, onions and mushrooms in bite sized chunks then place in a large bowl. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Toss the vegetables in the oil to coat evenly with clean hands.

Baking Chicken And Peppers, Squash and Mushrooms

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly oil the baking sheet with cooking spray. Place the marinated chicken thighs on the pan. Bake chicken thighs in the oven for 20 minutes.

2. Add the vegetables around the chicken on the baking sheet. Cook the chicken for 25 minutes more, or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 when checked with a meat thermometer. Chicken will be golden brown and vegetables will be tender.

3. Serve hot, garnishing with chopped fresh thyme or parsley if desired. Enjoy!

How Do I Know When The Chicken Thighs Are Fully Cooked?

Chicken thighs are fully cooked when the inside of the chicken registers at 165 degrees with a meat thermometer. To check your chicken carefully insert the meat thermometer into a thick part of the chicken. Be careful not to hit the bone or the hot pan as this will affect your reading.

Chicken when it is fully cooked will also have juices that run clear, won’t have pink in the middle. This can sometimes be trickier to tell as chicken does have a different color closer to the bone. The chicken pieces on the outside will be golden brown.

My Chicken Is Done Cooking But Isn’t Brown Enough, What Can I Do?

If you have a broiler you can place the chicken under the broiler for just a few minutes to help the tops brown even more. Watch carefully as anything under the broiler will brown quickly.

If you don’t have a broiler you can turn the temperature of the oven up to 450. Place the pan in the oven for a few minutes until the chicken browns.

Sometimes I also like to brush a little extra juice from the pan or a little extra oil on top of the chicken to encourage juiciness and browning.

Can’t I Just Cook The Chicken And Vegetables Together The Whole Time?

Sure you can do this, but the trouble is that the chicken takes a lot longer to cook then most of the vegetables. Sturdier vegetables such as potatoes, carrots, onions and bell peppers tend to hold up really well to being in the oven longer.

Watery vegetables like yellow squash and zucchini tend to be a little too mushy. If you throw all the vegetables onto the same pan the whole time the chicken cooks some vegetables may become mushier.

Can I Use Boneless Chicken Thighs?

Yes, you can use boneless chicken thighs in this recipe. I like boneless chicken thighs for how quickly they cook. Boneless chicken thighs usually will cook much quicker. I recommend checking the chicken with a meat thermometer starting to check if they have reached a temperature of 165 degrees after about 25 minutes total of cook time.

I suggest cooking the chicken and the vegetables on separate pans the first time you try this recipe with boneless chicken thighs as the timing can get trickier.

The downside of cooking with boneless chicken thighs is most of the time they don’t have the skin. If you like a crispier skin on your chicken you will likely need chicken thighs with the bone in.

What Other Vegetables Can I Use?

If you don’t like one of the vegetables in this recipe you can swap it easily out with another! Here are a few ideas of vegetables that easily swap in and out of this recipe.

I recommend starting with a cup to a cup and a half of any vegetable you swap into the recipe. Dice the vegetables to a bite size piece so they all cook evenly.

• Potatoes– Red skin potatoes, new potatoes or fingerling potatoes all work really well in this recipe as they hold their shape but don’t need to be presoaked to be tender. Other root vegetables are especially delicious in this sheet pan recipe.
• Sweet Potatoes– Cubed sweet potatoes roast up well in this recipe!
• Carrots– Cut carrots or baby carrots into smaller pieces
• Parsnips- Parsnips are a root vegetable similar to carrots and potatoes. They are often used in soup, and are delicious in this chicken dish.
• Green Beans– I usually cut green beans in half before adding them to the pan.
• Zucchini– Zucchini can easily subsitute in and out for yellow squash with no issue.
• Cherry Tomatoes– Cherry tomatoes not only are delicious roasted, they add a little extra flavor to the pan juices which can be spooned over the chicken.
• Asparagus– Asparagus is delicious when roasted, and in this dish too. Choose thicker asparagus that’s at minimum about the thickness to a pencil for this dish. Break off the woody end. I usually cut asparagus stalks in 3-4 inch pieces before adding.
• Brussel Sprouts– I recommend cutting brussel sprouts at least in half, but I usually quarter them before adding to the pan.
• Olives– Olives are super delicious and give and extra saltiness to the finished dish. I recommend trying kalamata olives or black olives.

You can also make a similar sheet pan meal with Chicken Drumsticks And Vegetables. Not only is it quick to prep too, many kids like the built-in handle with chicken drumsticks.

What Should I Serve This Baked Chicken Recipe With?

I recommend serving this chicken recipe with rice, potatoes or even sweet potatoes. A piece of crusty bread, cornbread or a fluffy dinner roll also goes well with this dish.

How Do I Store These Baked Chicken Thighs?

Store baked chicken thighs in an airtight container with vegetables for up to 3 days.

To reheat place on a pan and bake for 10-15 minutes or until warm all the way through.