Sheet-Pan Paprika Chicken With Tomatoes and Parmesan

Sheet-Pan Paprika Chicken With Tomatoes and Parmesan
Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Eugene Jho.
Total Time
45 minutes
Rating
4(2,096)
Notes
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This deeply savory, weeknight-friendly sheet-pan chicken is worth buying a new jar of sweet paprika for, especially if you can’t remember when you got the one in your spice drawer (for those Fourth of July deviled eggs several summers ago?).The fresher the spices, the more intensely flavorful the dish. This one is as pretty as it is complex, with a mix of colorful cherry tomatoes and peppers that soften and absorb all the chicken juices as they roast. Serve it with something to catch the saucy tomatoes: Crusty bread, polenta or couscous all work well.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings
  • 3pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken parts (breasts, drumsticks, thighs or a mix)
  • Kosher salt
  • 2tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
  • tablespoons apple cider vinegar, plus more for serving
  • 2garlic cloves, finely grated
  • 1tablespoon sweet paprika
  • 1teaspoon Espelette pepper or smoked hot paprika (pimentón)
  • 1teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1pint cherry tomatoes (preferably different colors), halved
  • 1poblano chile or 1 small green bell pepper, thinly sliced
  • 1cup thinly sliced sweet bell peppers (red, yellow or orange)
  • cup grated Parmesan
  • ¼cup chopped fresh parsley, for serving
  • Freshly ground black pepper
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

905 calories; 67 grams fat; 18 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 30 grams monounsaturated fat; 13 grams polyunsaturated fat; 11 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams dietary fiber; 5 grams sugars; 63 grams protein; 1203 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat oven to 425 degrees. Season chicken all over with salt, and place it on a rimmed baking sheet.

  2. Step 2

    In a small bowl, stir together olive oil, vinegar, garlic, paprika, Espelette and oregano. Pour over chicken, tossing to coat.

  3. Step 3

    Add tomatoes, poblano and sweet peppers to baking sheet, spread vegetables around the chicken. Season vegetables lightly with salt and drizzle with a little more olive oil. Sprinkle Parmesan all over chicken and vegetables.

  4. Step 4

    Roast until chicken is golden, crisp and cooked through, 25 to 35 minutes. Stir the vegetables halfway through cooking but don’t disturb the chicken. If white meat is done before dark meat, remove it as it finishes cooking.

  5. Step 5

    Transfer chicken to plates. Stir vegetables around in pan, scraping up all the delicious browned bits from the bottom and sides of pan, and stir in the parsley and black pepper to taste. Taste and add salt if needed, and a drizzle of vinegar if you like. Spoon vegetables over the chicken to serve.

Ratings

4 out of 5
2,096 user ratings
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Cooking Notes

I miss the times when Melissa Clark was doing cooking videos. I find it easier to follow the recipes from videos, not so much from reading. Are you going to bring the videos back anytime soon?

Great recipe. I would suggest that instead of just pouring the olive oil, vinegar and spices over the chicken, that you marinate it. I marinated the chicken for a couple of hours and will try overnight next time. Poured the remaining marinating liquid over the chicken before cooking. We also added more peppers and tomatoes than suggested. Delicious!

Variation. If you don’t feel like grating the garlic, smash two or three cloves with the flat of a heavy knife, remove the papery skin, cut each in half, and scatter round the chicken. Another option is to add four or more unpeeled cloves, let them roast in the oil, and let diners who like them squeeze the roasted pulp onto their serving. (Especially good, if you are serving this dish with crusty bread.)

I love Melissa's recipes but is a bone in leg/thigh as pictured really going to be done in 25-35 minutes? Anyone cooked this?

Two other things: 1) Next time I will mix the marinade in a LARGE bowl, add the chicken, and toss to coat it much more easily. Tossing stuff on a sheet pan is difficult. I found that pouring the marinade over each piece, rubbing it on, turning the pieces over, pouring and rubbing on more worked but was too fiddly. And washing a big bowl is no harder than washing as small one (or a glass measuring cup, which is what I used to mix the marinade). 2) And do not skip the extra drizzle of vinegar!

Aleppo pepper is a good substitute for Espelette which is both expensive and not readily available except online.

Delicious, but needs a little tweaking. Takes 40-45 minutes to get the chicken cooked when you live at a mile high. Next time I will use more vegetables, and put them in halfway through the cooking process. They reduced down to a slightly burned sludge cooked this long at this temperature. More parsley. And served with couscous, really delicious.

Notes from Readers: I would suggest that instead of just pouring the olive oil, vinegar and spices over the chicken, that you marinate it. I marinated the chicken for a couple of hours and will try overnight next time. Poured the remaining marinating liquid over the chicken before cooking.

could you do this with boneless breast? I'm not so crazy about fighting with a bone to eat my dinner!

I love this recipe - it's my new go-to. It makes a big difference from a flavor standpoint if you marinate the chicken overnight - that makes this dish even more delish! And, you can also use boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs - you just will miss out on nice crispy skin.

Back in the day, before garlic presses, my grandmother used to peel a clove of garlic, then rub it against the tines of a fork to "grate" it. Low tech and works great.

This is awesome! Not only does it taste great, it looks beautiful. Would recommend using the poblano as it adds a bit of spice. Loved it and wouldn't change anything!

The first time, I followed the oven instructions for 425 degrees. The second and third (and there will be more), I lowered the temp to 325 degrees, and cooked for over an hour. The result was a much more tender chicken, while the vegetables were pleasantly caramelized.

Delicious! I doubled the bell and poblano peppers and cut them into thicker strips so they’d keep a little bite. The seasoning was great, chicken was done right on time & juicy. Served over rice pilaf. Took someone’s advice and lined the sheet pan with heavy foil (my husband, the dishwasher, appreciated this!). Will make again for sure.

I added quartered potatoes along with the peppers and cherry tomatoes. As other cooks have suggested, it helps to marinate the chicken for at least an hour. I doubled the garlic. This is a very tasty dish, but watch the use of oil. I found the finished dish too greasy. It is good without the grated Parmesan.

I have a question about the marinade. I have made this twice with tweaks. Like other I found marinading the chicken in a bowl easier than on the pan. But both times I made the marinade it came out more as a paste than anything I could pour. Did anyone else find that to be in their prep?

The basics of this recipe are good but it's just ok. Everyone's comments for tweeks making this leads to an amazing dish.

I made it with what I had on hand, and it's so delicious I don't know if I'll even try it as written. As recommended by others, I marinated the chicken overnight and used the boneless chicken breasts I had. I lined the pan with foil, and put the breasts in the oven for 10 minutes before I added the veggies. I had small mexican tricolor peppers and shishito peppers so I used those (no poblanos), and cherry tomatoes. It took 20 more minutes for the chicken to reach 165. Perfection! So tender.

I agree with others who stated to either marinate the chicken in a bowl for a while, but at least, mix the olive oil, vinegar and spices in a bowl with the chicken rather than on the sheet. I also would add more peppers and add the vegies 1/2 way through the baking after lightly brushing them with oil. I had way too much olive oil after adding to the vegies in the pan. I tried 1/2 the thighs with skin on and 1/2 without and frankly, liked it better with skin on.

I return to this recipe again and again. It's terrific. I do marinate the chicken for a few hours in fridge. Sometimes I use Aleppo pepper instead of smoked paprika depending what's in the pantry.

I have done this several times with bone-in thighs with excellent results

This was delicious and easy! Though, I took a peek at the nutritional info 67g of fat in one serving- where is the fat coming from?

Absolutely delicious! Made this exactly as written for a quick weeknight meal. Would definitely serve to company. Will add more peppers and tomatoes next time.

Not bad, but too hot for C1

This is sort of a Hungarian fajita dish. A tad disappointing because I couldn't taste any "Oomph" as my mother used to say. This was after I marinated the chicken for 4 hrs, doubled all the spices, garlic & veggies (a must!) & added a tsp of crushed red pepper. Am realizing I forgot to salt the chicken & the parmesan - might have something to do w/it. Will try again w/ those additions. Marinate in big bowl & pour marinade over veggies. Cook chickie 20 mins, then add veggies - both perfect!

Excellent. On the time, I'd say that by 35 min it was done, but I let it cook another 5 min for good measure. The tomatoes were cooked through and capsicum was nicely caramelized. There was also a lot of liquid at the bottom from the vegetables, but that was fine by me. Also threw in a few heads of garlic halved cross-wise - they emerged soft enough to spread on a baguette.

Loved this dish. Followed other suggestions to marinate chicken pieces for a few hours and add veggies (doubled) after 10-15 minutes of cooking. Next time would add thin sliced potatoes to the bottom or a can of white beans to make it a full one pan meal

I think the veggies are the stars of this delicious dish. Don't skimp on them; you really do need a full pint of tomatoes, and in the future I will use more than a cup of bell peppers, like a whole medium pepper. The chile and pepper did get pretty darkly caramelized, so I will add the veggies mid-way through next time. Instead of Espelette pepper, I used 1 teaspoon smoked paprika and 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes.

I’m out of pimentón, so I used some chipotles in adobo instead. (Two peppers, finely chopped.) I think this changed the flavor but I enjoyed the result. Marinating the chicken would be a huge improvement as others have noted and I would suggest doubling the veggies.

I doubled this for our Hanukkah crowd of 12 and cooked it on two foil-lined sheet pans. Used all boneless skinless thighs, but still needed the full cooking time since I was making two pans. Perfection at 35 min. Also, I did marinate the chicken for like 3-4 hours but next time I'd marinate overnight.

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