Spiced Chicken With Sweet Potatoes

By Yasmin Fahr

Published March 6, 2024

Spiced Chicken With Sweet Potatoes
Nico Schinco for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne.
Total Time
1¼ hours
Prep Time
15 minutes
Cook Time
1 hour
Rating
4(278)
Notes
Read community notes

This sheet-pan recipe cooks chicken thighs much like roast chicken, setting the thighs in the center of a pan to cook slowly, seasoning the surrounding vegetables with their drippings as they turn golden. The chicken thus cooks in the oven, undisturbed — ideal for multitasking needs and tired nights — until the skin is impossibly crisp. It’s not necessary to push the vegetables around halfway, as the exposed parts might look crisped, but inside they are soft and full of delicious flavor as they cook in a light, mustard-flavored broth that ensures sauciness. Substitute other hearty vegetables like potatoes, brussels sprouts or mix and match with what you have lingering in the fridge.

Learn: How to Roast Chicken

Learn: How to Make a Sheet-Pan Dinner

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings
  • 1¼ to 1½pounds sweet potatoes (2 small/medium), unpeeled and cut into 1- to 2-inch chunks
  • 1small red onion, halved then cut into ½-inch wedges
  • 4 to 6garlic cloves, smashed
  • 2tablespoons olive oil, plus more for drizzling
  • Salt
  • ½cup low-sodium chicken broth or water
  • 2teaspoons Dijon mustard
  • 2½ to 3 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
  • 1tablespoon dried oregano
  • 1teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1lime, halved
  • ¼cup cilantro or parsley leaves and tender stems, gently torn or chopped
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

911 calories; 59 grams fat; 15 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 27 grams monounsaturated fat; 12 grams polyunsaturated fat; 38 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams dietary fiber; 8 grams sugars; 55 grams protein; 1273 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 the oven to 425 degrees. On a sheet pan, toss the sweet potatoes, onion and garlic with the olive oil and season lightly with salt.

  2. Step 2

    In a measuring cup, whisk the broth and mustard together until mostly smooth. Add to the pan, mixing everything together so nothing looks dry.

  3. Step 3

    Pat the chicken really, really dry, especially the skin. Nestle the chicken skin-side up between the vegetables so it has contact with the pan. (It’s OK if it’s crowded.) Season the skin with the oregano, paprika and some salt, patting them to adhere to the skin. Drizzle the chicken with olive oil.

  4. Step 4

    Cook until the chicken skin is very crispy and the vegetables fork-tender, 50 minutes to 1 hour, depending on the size of the thighs. Rotate the pan halfway if some parts of the pan look dry.

  5. Step 5

    Squeeze half a lime over everything, and cut the remaining lime half into wedges for serving. Garnish with the cilantro and serve, stirring and scraping up anything on the bottom of the pan to spoon over the chicken and vegetables.

Ratings

4 out of 5
278 user ratings
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Cooking Notes

pap_o_lee

This was beyond easy and a good option for sweet potato lovers. I followed pretty closely —just added a bit more of everything for the big eaters I have…and didn’t do cilantro/lime only fresh parsley. The chicken was perfectly cooked and moist and the skin was delicious. I will add more onion and dial up the Dijon even more next time — my Dijon got lost and without the bright herb/lime, I needed it. Still yummers tho.

sarah

Easy and very tasty. I used yellow onion since I didn’t have red. Was out of Dijon but I had some Boars Head dijonaise and it tasted great. My paprika was the Hungarian hot paprika so there was a little kick to it. Served with an arugula salad and crusty bread. Nice change of tastes and so nice to only have one pan to wash. The potato and onions were starting to burn so I lowered the temperature for the last 15 minutes. But the little bit of burn gave a nice caramelized taste.

Charlie J

Not at all pleased with this recipe. a lower temp or different pan may have made a difference.

MBinBrooklyn

Halfway through the cooking time, I found that the sweet potatoes already were soft and starting to stick, so I removed all the vegetables before the thighs were done. My real problem was that when the skin on the chicken thighs turned crispy, it was hard to saw through when served. The skin, which had all the flavorings, became so tough that we ended up removing and discarding it. I’ll try to lower the temperature next time. Or I’ll use this recipe only for the vegetables.

Nancy

This was so easy and excellent! I used 1 sweet potato and 4 golf ball sized gold potatoes. Bit of extra garlic, large red onion. Excellent. Overcooked it a bit so had some sticking on the pan, but chicken thighs were perfect, juicy. Loved the lime juice and would have used more if I’d had extra limes. Will look forward to another try.

Jacky

This was great. I took some advice from the comments - more onions, Dijon and cooked at 400. A keeper!

JH

My hubby loved this

Janice Rosenberg

I made this as instructed. I have no idea what the thin water/mustard sauce added to this dish. The chicken was bland. The sweet potatoes tasted delicious, but they are hard to ruin. Overall it was a big nothing. Don't waste your time or money.

Scott Pactor

I used foil (without looking at the community notes) and it was a good choice. Used yellow onion instead of red. It turned out delicious, my boo loved it. The mustard/broth mixture seems too little for it's purpose. Seems like a cup of broth and more mustard would be better.

chase

I would lay down aluminum foil, add more oil, and place the onions in halfway through the baking timer (50 minutes, not 1 hour). This recipe blackened my pan and onions.

Robin

This was a hit! Next time, I will increase the amount of oregano/paprika mixture and put some on the underside of the thighs (along with salt) before adding them to the pan. I also used a little cayenne to spice it up just a touch. Agree that the lime and cilantro are essential, and don't skimp on the mustard.

Heather

Really easy and delicious -- I added some chopped cabbage that I happened to have on hand and I could have added more vegetables. Didn't add cilantro because I forgot to buy it, but I didn't miss it at all.

changes

Use more red onion, it so good

Chloe

some of the potatoes stuck but it was delicious!

capcloud

Chicken breasts work just as well... next time I will brine the chicken so make it a little less dry on the inside.

Cate

This was sooo tasty. I used potatoes, cauli, butternut squash, yellow onion, carrot. Added a little English mustard powder and the dregs of a garlic hot sauce to my salty hambone broth and Dijon. Maybe should have added a bit more broth during cooking as it stuck a lot to the sheet pan, however as I shoveled the crispy bits into my mouth with the fish slice at clean up I thought better of it… Chicken flavors on the veg were divine overall with the lime/lemon amp. Served with peppery arugula.

Marguerite

Didn’t have sweets so I used small mixed - just as well. Easy to put together with what’s on hand. Real comfort food.

Sue

Delicious! I made it exactly as the recipe and it was excellent!

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