I love to bake and cook, but under the weeknight time constraints…. I dread making dinner. After a busy day of work, pick-up/drop-off, activities, the last thing I want to do is make dinner. Even more so, I don’t want to clean up the kitchen! You feel me?

That is why I love sheet-pan dinners. If you are not familiar, a sheet-pan dinner is similar to a one pot meal except we put everything on a sheet-pan and bake in the oven. They are a huge time saver, make for easy clean up, and do not require expensive equipment.

The basic idea is to choose some veggies and a protein, add your favorite sauces, herbs, and spices and bake. To make clean-up easy, line your baking sheet with parchment paper and simply remove and discard once everything is baked.

Sheet-pan dinners are flexible and can even be made vegan or vegetarian. It is also a great way to use vegetables that are in season making it very budget friendly.

A few pointers for successful sheet-pan dinners: Give starchy veggies like sweet potatoes, carrots, parsnip, etc. a head start. Add a generous amount of olive oil or coconut oil and let these veggies begin roasting for at least 20-30 minutes before adding non-starchy veggies and protein. Also, fish will need less roasting time than poultry or meat, and can be added towards the end of baking time.

One of my favorite weeknight sheet-pan dinners is chicken thighs and roast broccoli. No extra roasting time is needed and everything can be prepared and baked at once. Using boneless skinless chicken thighs, I coat with Dijon mustard and breadcrumbs, generously coat my broccoli with olive and bake for about 30-35 minutes. Talk about super simple weeknight dinner! My two year old even loves this dinner and requests “more chicken.”

Some other great ideas to try are:

• Salmon, asparagus, mini potatoes

• Chickpeas, butternut squash, brussel sprouts

• Shrimp, roasted peppers, onion (think fajitas!)

• Rainbow trout, green beans, acorn squash

What sheet-pan dinner combo are you going to try tonight?

You can also try this recipe with Trader Joe's Sri Lankan Organic Mango Chutney

Dijon mustard chicken thighs and broccoli

Recipe & Instructions:

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 6-8 boneless skinless chicken thighs

• 1 head broccoli

• 1/3 cup Dijon mustard

• 1/8-1/4 cup Italian-style breadcrumbs (can use gluten-free)

• Olive oil

• Herbs like salt, pepper, basil, etc. to taste

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375°

2. Line 18X13 baking sheet with parchment paper.

3. Add Dijon mustard, breadcrumbs, herbs to a bowl

4. Cut broccoli into florets.

5. Dip chicken thighs in Dijon mustard mixture and place on parchment lined baking sheet. Leave large gaps between chicken pieces to add broccoli.

6. Scatter broccoli florets between the chicken and generously coat with olive oil. Sprinkle on herbs and spices.

7. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until chicken is golden brown and broccoli florets are lightly crisp.

Need help with meal planning?