Sheet Pan Chicken Thighs and Asparagus

This recipe for Sheet Pan Chicken Thighs and Asparagus is a wonderful idea for a spring dinner that cooks on one sheet pan! And chicken thighs can be a bargain when they go on sale, and lemon juice and lemon zest give the chicken and asparagus amazing flavor in this recipe!

PIN Sheet Pan Chicken Thighs and Asparagus to try it later!

This new recipe for easy Sheet Pan Chicken Thighs and Asparagus is a great one-pan meal any time you don’t mind using the oven. And it’s especially a great dinner idea right now while asparagus is inexpensive in the stores!

I worked on this recipe a few times with Kara, and the version we liked best had three steps in the baking method to be sure to cook the thighs well without getting the asparagus overcooked! I hope that doesn’t seem too fussy, but trust me when I say the method outlined below really did give great results for this chicken thighs and asparagus meal.

And please don’t skip the lemon zest that’s added to the reserved part of the marinade before it’s brushed on the chicken and asparagus for the final cooking; that added so much flavor. If you like these ingredients, I hope you’ll try this dinner soon!

What ingredients do you need?

(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe with ingredient amounts.)

What adds flavor to the sheet pan chicken thighs?

Marinating the chicken thighs in a mixture of olive oil, fresh-squeezed lemon juice, Spike Seasoning, Italian Herb Seasoning, Onion Powder, and Garlic Powder adds so much flavor to this chicken, and then finishing the chicken and asparagus by brushing on the reserved marinade that has lemon zest stirred in bumps the flavor up even more.

What if the chicken thighs release liquid when they’re baked?

I’ve mentioned in a couple of my baked chicken recipes about the chicken releasing water as it cooks. Much of the chicken sold in the U.S. is injected with water to keep it moist. Sometimes that water will cook off on a hot pan, but when we tested this recipe the chicken released a bit of water. Pre-heating the baking sheet for a few minutes before you add the chicken can help that liquid evaporate. Or if needed, just use a wadded-up paper towel to blot of water after the initial cooking of the chicken (before you add the asparagus.)

How low in carbs is the sheet pan chicken and asparagus?

This tasty one-pan meal with chicken and asparagus has only 5.3 net carbs per serving and 11 grams of protein!

What other diets is this recipe good for?

This meal with chicken thighs and asparagus is also gluten-free and dairy-free.

What thickness of asparagus is best for this recipe?

This recipe was tested with relatively thick spears of asparagus, and those are better for oven cooking than the really thin asparagus pieces you sometimes see. But if your store only has thin asparagus, just adjust the cooking time slightly at the end.

How to make Sheet Pan Chicken Thighs and Asparagus:

(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

1. We did love the extra-large chicken thighs from Costco for this recipe. (If you only find small thighs, the baking time will be shorter.)
2. Trim chicken well, removing excess skin and pockets of fat; I use Kitchen Shears (affiliate link). I like to make small slits in the skin.
3. Mix together olive oil, lemon juice, Spike, Italian Herb Seasoning, Onion Powder, and Garlic Powder for the marinade.
4. Put trimmed chicken into Ziploc bag and pour in about 2/3 of the marinade. Seal bag and let chicken marinate in the fridge for 2-3 hours (or longer.)
5. When you’re ready to cook, preheat oven (and sheet pan) to 350F/176C while you drain chicken in a colander. (Catch excess marinade and discard.)
6. Arrange chicken on hot sheet pan and bake 25 minutes.
7. While chicken cooks, trim woody ends of asparagus, then cut each piece in half, cutting on the diagonal.
8. Zest a lemon and then whisk one tablespoon of zest into reserved marinade. (Squeeze the lemon and freeze the juice and the extra zest if you like.)
9. Remove sheet pan from oven and increase temperature to 450F/232C.
10. Check to see if liquid has released from chicken; use paper towel to blot away excess liquid if needed.
11. Then tuck asparagus pieces around the chicken, in a single layer as much as possible. Brush reserved marinade on chicken and asparagus.
12. Put sheet pan back in the oven and bake 4-6 minutes longer (depending on how thick asparagus is and how crisp you prefer it.
13. Then turn oven to broil and broil chicken and asparagus about 3 minutes, or until top of the chicken is nicely browned and asparagus is getting slightly charred. (Watch it carefully!)
14. Season chicken and asparagus with salt and fresh-ground black pepper as desired and serve hot.

Make it a Low-Carb Meal:

Chicken thighs and asparagus might be a complete meal for some people, but if you wanted something more, here are some side dishes that will taste great with this meal:

Want more ideas for One-Pan Dinners?

You can use the category for Sheet Pan Meals to find lots more dinners that cook on one sheet pan!

Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
This sheet pan meal with chicken thighs and asparagus would be great for low-carb or Keto diets. If you trim the chicken thighs well and remove most of the skin, I would eat this for the Original South Beach Diet, but technically South Beach doesn’t recommend chicken thighs because of the fat content.

Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Sheet Pan Meals to find more recipes like this one. Use the Diet Type Index to find recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.

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