This Sheet Pan Lemon Chicken With Artichokes Is the Perfect 30-Minute Meal

The sheet pan meal is the savior of every busy home cook. Instead of tending to different pots on various burners, you can prepare your protein and sides on the same piece of cookware. In addition to coming together quickly with minimal active cooking time, a sheet pan meal also makes for fast and easy clean-up. This recipe for sheet pan chicken with lemon and artichokes checks all those boxes, and it's ready in just 30 minutes.

This vibrant chicken dish from the Institute of Culinary Education is the perfect meal to ring in spring. It consists of just a handful of ingredients, the most important of which are chicken, lemon juice, onion, and artichokes. Artichokes are just starting to come in season, but if you want to keep the recipe convenient, recipe developer Gill Boyd recommends using a canned product. Fresh artichokes would need to be cleaned and parboiled in order to work in the recipe as is.

”Because this is done on a sheet tray, I believe the chicken’s going to cook before the (unboiled) artichoke roasts all the way through,“ Boyd, a culinary arts chef-instructor at ICE, tells Mental Floss. ”So the advantage of the canned artichoke is that it’s definitely a time-saver.“ Canned artichokes also pack a ton of flavor, and they come fully cleaned and cooked. Frozen artichoke hearts are a good option as well, though they may be more difficult to find.

To prepare the dish, start by spreading the boneless chicken thighs or breasts on an oiled sheet pan. Scatter with sliced onions and add salt, pepper, and lemon juice before roasting the poultry in a 375°F oven. After 15 minutes, add the quartered artichokes to the pan, then return to the oven to roast for 15 minutes more. Use a meat thermometer to check that the chicken is fully cooked (165°F is the safe minimum internal temperature for poultry). Garnish with chopped parsley and enjoy your 30-minute meal.

ICE offers courses in the culinary arts, pastry and baking arts, and hospitality and hotel management. With campuses on both coasts, it’s one of the largest schools of its kind. If you’re interested in furthering your culinary education, you can view their curricula online.

Lemon and Artichoke Sheet Pan Chicken 

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

6 boneless chicken thighs or breasts
2 lemons, juiced
½ cup olive oil
½ medium onion, sliced
½ cup chopped parsley
2 14 oz. cans artichoke quarters

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F
   
2. Spread half of the oil onto a sheet pan, then add the chicken, making sure to space evenly across the pan. Spread the onion slices over chicken and season everything with salt and pepper. Pour the lemon juice over the chicken and put in the oven to bake for 15 minutes.
   
3. Remove the pan from the oven and add the artichokes. Continue baking for another 15 minutes.
   
4. Check the internal temperature of the chicken to determine doneness. When the temperature reaches 165°F, remove from the oven.
   
5. Garnish with parsley, then plate chicken and vegetables with some of the cooking juices from the pan.

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