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One Pan Chicken with Broccoli Rabe and Sweet Potatoes

By January 10, 2017November 21st, 2023Chicken & Turkey, Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Main Dish, Paleo

Get ready for an easy dinner tonight with this One Pan Roasted Chicken with Broccoli Rabe and Sweet Potatoes recipe.

This dish is more than a chicken recipe. It is a whole dinner roasted together at the same time in one pan. The chicken comes out crunchy-skinned and juicy, the sweet potatoes soft and succulent and the broccoli rabe tender-crisp perfection.

Broccoli rabe is a nutrition powerhouse. When roasted in the rimmed baking sheet with the sweet potatoes, the contrasting bitter from the broccoli rabe and sweetness from the potatoes are balanced to perfection.

Broccoli rabe in addition to being SUPER HEALTHY is perfect for this dish.   The fantastic texture is a cross between broccoli and spinach.   There are the leaves of the broccoli rabe which cook up similar to spinach and then you have the beautiful, baby florets that and are small enough to cook quickly and stay a little crunchy.

Chicken Broccoli Rabe & Sweet Potatoes pan

I love the colors. We need bright contrasting colors in our recipe life.   How our food looks is as important as the taste.   When we notice the beauty of what we eat our brain experiences more pleasure. Why do you think they make dishes in high end restaurants so pretty?

Start the roasting with the chicken and sweet potatoes. Be sure to spread everything out in one layer. I keep the potatoes in the middle and the chicken on the ends. Roast for 15 minutes.

Then toss the potatoes with the leeks and continue to roast for 10 minutes more.

As we get to the end of the roasting time, add the coarsely chopped broccoli rabe and mix it all together. I recommend rubbing a little oil and salt into the broccoli rabe before adding it to the pan. It breaks the leaves down a little making them fit into the pan better. Don’t worry if it is overflowing, it will cook down very quickly.

Roasted Chicken Broccoli Rabe Sweet Potatoes

The absolute best part of this dish is the cleanup, it’s a snap, only one pan that goes right into the dishwasher.

If you like this recipe, try these other delicious one pan meals:

Glazed Sheet Pan Chicken with Butternut Squash, Apples and Kale

One Pan Spiced Salmon with Asparagus 

Sheet Pan Asian Chicken with Crispy Cabbage

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Roasted Chicken Broccoli Rabe Sweet Potatoes

One Pan Chicken with Broccoli Rabe and Sweet Potatoes


5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

5 from 2 reviews

  • Author: Ingrid DeHart - EatWellEnjoyLife.com
  • Total Time: 55 mins
  • Yield: 3-4 1x

Description

A whole dinner of chicken and vegetables, which comes together easily and without fuss by roasting everything in one pan.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 1/2 pounds bone-in chicken thighs, fat and extra skin trimmed
  • 2 pounds organic sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into ¾” cubes (about 5 cups)
  •  Celtic sea salt
  • black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
  • ½ teaspoon ground cumin
  • 2 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
  • 2 leeks, white and light green parts only, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced, (about 2 cups)
  • ½ teaspoon lemon zest, from an organic lemon
  • 1 pound broccoli rabe, trimmed, coarsely chopped into a few sections (about 5 cups)
  • pinch red pepper flakes
  • 2 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped

Instructions

  1. Combine chicken and potatoes in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper.
  2. In a small bowl, whisk together smoked paprika, cumin and 1 1/2 tablespoons oil. Pour over chicken and potatoes and toss to combine.
  3. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes, or up to 8 hours in the refrigerator.
  4. Heat oven to 425 degrees. Arrange chicken and potatoes on a large rimmed baking sheet in a single layer. Chicken on the edges, potatoes in the middle. Roast 20 minutes.
  5. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine leeks, lemon zest, a pinch of salt and 1/2 tablespoon of oil.
  6. Add leeks to the pan and toss lightly with the potatoes. Roast another 15 minutes, until chicken and potatoes are beginning to brown.
  7. As the chicken cooks, prepare the broccoli rabe: In a medium bowl, toss rabe with remaining 1/2 tablespoon olive oil, 1/4 teaspoon salt, red pepper flakes and garlic. Mix with your hands to rub the oil into the broccoli rabe.
  8. Add to pan with potatoes and chicken. Stir everything to distribute the broccoli rabe evenly.
  9. Roast until the chicken is cooked through, potatoes are soft and slightly crisped, and broccoli rabe stems are tender, about10 minutes longer.
  10. Remove from the oven and serve.

Notes

To make your chicken crispy, pat them dry and let them sit UNCOVERED in the fridge overnight. This allows the skin to get nice and dry so that it crisps up in the oven!

  • Prep Time: 20 mins
  • Cook Time: 35 mins
  • Category: Main Dish, Chicken
  • Cuisine: Paleo, Healthy, Gluten Free, Diary Free

Enjoy the recipe.  If you like one pan meals, check out some of my other simple chicken and vegetable dishes.

Chicken with Lemon Zucchini and Carrots

Chicken with Broccoli and Capers

Chicken Breasts with Kale and Onions

Much love, please leave a comment below and let me know how this dish comes out for you.

4 Comments

  • Karen Lendvay says:

    Okay, I read and reread the recipe several times. Didn’t see Harissa in the list of ingredients, nor did I find when to add the smoked paprika. HOWEVER, I cooked from the step by step directions, and used Harissa, and this dish was fabulous!! Very easy and loaded with flavor! I WILL be making it again!






    • Ingrid says:

      Hi Karen, Thank you for pointing out the mistake in the recipe instructions. I originally made the recipe with Harissa that someone gave to me as a gift. But then when I ran out of Harissa I found it very hard to find. I try and make my recipes with ingredients that are readily available for most people either in a supermarket or health food store. So I changed the recipe using smoked paprika instead of Harissa and it came out great. I missed changing the directions. I made the change now, thank you again. I’m thrilled you like the recipe and plan to make it again. It’s one of my favorites.

  • Prim says:

    Made this tonight! It turned out perfect 🙂 we used boneless chicken thighs instead of bone in so I modified the time. Love the sewer potato and broccoli rabe combo!






    • Ingrid says:

      Hi Prim,
      Thanks for your appreciation of this recipe. I love how you adjusted it to your own tastes, brilliant. Thanks for sharing. Happy Cooking!

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