Sheet Pan Maple Chicken and Sweet Potatoes

With its beautifully burnished skin, this Smoky Maple Chicken and Sweet Potatoes is a dish best served ANYTIME! Savory, Sweet, Smoky, Salty, Tangy! It’s all there! Marinate first, then an hour is more than you need, fridge to table!

I love a quick and flavorful Sheet Pan meal, don’t you? And when it’s good enough to serve to company? And has everything I love? All the better! Smoky Maple Chicken and Sweet Potatoes is my new favorite sheet pan dinner. It has everything I crave these days: it’s smoky, sweet, tangy with hint of spicy flavor; an array of textures from the tender, juicy chicken, to the slight crisp of the skin; and lovely pillowy sweet potatoes, then sauce drizzled over everything. And, seriously – listen up – just spritz a healthy squeeze of fresh lemon over it all, and, I swear: Magic. Happens. Here! That lemon adds so much YUM! to the party! It’s THAT GOOD!

Did I mention that this all happens in under an hour? 

Of course, you’ll need to marinade the chicken beforehand. 2 hours, 4 hours, 12 hours. Whatever time you have. I marinated mine in the morning, so maybe 8 hours. Just mix and shake up a few ingredients and marinate the chicken thighs in a zip-top bag or shallow dish.

So, make this Maple Chicken Thighs and Sweet Potatoes Sheet Pan dinner! And, let me know if you love it like we did! And, are there any dinners you cook on a sheet pan you especially love?

Enjoy! 

Looking for other Chicken Recipes? Don’t miss these:

Oh-so good, Comforting Creamy Tuscan Skillet Chicken

Chicken Salad Bowl with Creamy Buttermilk Green Goddess Dressing

Super-Simple Soy-Honey Glazed Chicken Thighs

Sweet and Spicy Sheet Pan Hot Honey Chicken

Super-Quick Skillet Chicken Puttanesca

 

PIN Smoky Maple Chicken ->

• 

• 

• 

How to Make Sheet Pan Chicken and Sweet Potatoes ->

This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Affiliate, I may earn a small commission, at absolutely no cost to you, for purchases you may make of items linked from this site.

Here are some things you will need to make this recipe:

Sheet Pan- like my favorite USAPan Half-Sheet Pan

Mixing Bowl – this OXO Bowl is a favorite!

A good set of tongs

Small Saucepan – a 2-Qt. size is perfect for many sauces

Kitchen thermometer – To test doneness of anything, I love love love my Instant-Read Thermapen (#notanaffiliate)

Easy Maple Chicken Thighs and Sweet Potatoes!

This recipe is so easy. I often like to cook with Chicken Thighs, for so many reasons. Among them:

• The dark meat stays juicy in the oven. 
• They have more flavor than the chicken breast.
• The skin is a bit thicker, so it’s less prone to burning. In this recipe, it can get slightly crispy, which is also nice, and
• They are often less expensive than chicken breasts.

So you’ll start by mixing up the easy marinade in a jar, shake it up, and pour it over the thighs in a zip-top bag. Let it marinate, anywhere from one hour to overnight — of course, overnight is more flavorful than 1 hour, but whatever time you have will work!

Then, when you’re ready to cook, just remove the thighs from the marinade and pour all the marinade into a small saucepan. Preheat the oven 400F/200C for Conventional or 375F/190C for Convection. Place the thighs on a sheetpan. Using paper towels, dry the tops of the thighs as well as you can. This will help them crisp a bit.

Then peel and chop sweet potatoes into 1.5-2″ (4-5cm) cubes. Drizzle them with a little olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and pour them onto the sheetpan, along with the chicken. Into the oven for a good 35 minutes. During the bake, you’ll want to reduce the marinade into a nice sauce, to drizzle over the chicken and the potatoes. I brushed a little on my potatoes when I rotated my pan half-way through the baking.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Once the chicken and potatoes are done, this is where the magic happens: Spoon some of the sauce over the chicken thighs and potatoes at the table, and squeeze some fresh lemon juice over everything! So so good. Taste with a little lemon, you may want more. Because that’s where the magic is.

What to Serve with Maple Chicken and Sweet Potatoes?

• Something green, like braised greens. I served Braised Broccoli Greens with mine. They were awesome, but, alas, they weren’t too pretty (hence the lovely cilantro on the plate😉). Another good idea would be my Super-Tasty Easy Smoky Kale.
• Steamed Green Veggies, like broccoli or green beans.
• A simple, Cool and Crisp Green Salad.

Can I use Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts or Thighs?

I like to use the skin-on thighs because I love the contrast of the slightly crispy skin with the juicy, tender meat. If you wish to use boneless and skinless chicken thighs or breasts instead, you can, but the cooking time would be closer to 18-20 minutes. They would be lacking some significant flavor and texture that comes from the skin. 

If you are using boneless and skinless chicken and will be adding potatoes, you’d also need to start the potatoes by themselves and then add the chicken to the sheet pan after 15-20 minutes.

Print