Much as I generally have a positive attitude about the job of feeding my people, there are definitely days when dinner feels like drudgery. “Can’t children just eat a bowl of popcorn and be done with it?” I think sometimes. These feelings usually pass, particularly once muscle memory kicks in and I get to slicing vegetables and sautéing garlic.
But on days when supper feels like a slog, the answer is often to find something supremely easy to make.
Sheet pan supper is a perfect fix for such occasions.
The idea is to gather up enough variety of ingredients to qualify as a meal, checking the protein, carbohydrate, and vegetable boxes. Then pile it onto a sheet pan and get it into the oven. It’s one pan to cook, one pan to clean up, and time in between to take a breather (or let’s be honest, unload the dishwasher, help kids with homework, prevent toddlers from sticking fingers into sockets).
The trick is finding a combination that all cooks at about the same speed and packing in enough flavor so that you’re excited to sit down to dinner.
This Wild Blueberry Balsamic Sheet Pan Chicken fills the bill.
It also happens to be undeniably nutritious. Let’s start with the wild blueberries, which serve double duty in this sheet pan supper. Firstly, a heaping cup contributes the kind of brain-healthy nutrition I wrote about recently here, along with fiber, and loads of flavor that balances beautifully with balsamic vinegar. The fruit adds bright sweetness to the pan juices that get spooned over the chicken as it cooks. If you’re skeptical about pairing berries with chicken, consider how accustomed we’ve come to seeing pork with figs, chicken with apples, or lamb with preserved lemons.
The chicken provides the protein, of course. The sweet potatoes are both a vegetable and a complex carbohydrate with a vitamin pill worth of nutrients. Onions are often an afterthought, nutritionally speaking, but they have powerful disease protective benefits.
It all comes together on a sheet pan and cooks in about an hour. Get the kids to help set the table and consider having this be the night to volunteer for dishes. Or should I say, dish. Just one little sheet pan.
Bon appetit!
Wild Blueberry Balsamic Sheet Pan Chicken
One of the simplest ways to bang out supper: sheet pan chicken. Everything gets piled onto a single pan and baked until tender and juicy. The combination of wild blueberries and balsamic vinegar makes a sweet/tart glaze that pairs deliciously with chicken and sweet potatoes.
Ingredients
- 1 pound sweet potatoes
- 1 medium red onion
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, divided
- 1 heaping cup frozen wild blueberries (no need to defrost)
- 3 tablespoons whole-grain Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- One 3 1/2 to 4 pound chicken, cut into 8 pieces
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
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Cut the sweet potatoes into ½ to ¾-inch cubes. Peel and slice the onion into ¾-inch wedges. Scatter over a large baking sheet. Drizzle the olive oil and 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar over the vegetables and use your hands to toss together. Scatter the blueberries evenly over everything.
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In a small bowl, use a fork to whisk together the mustard, honey, and remaining tablespoon of vinegar.
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Nestle the chicken pieces amongst the vegetables and wild blueberries on the sheet pan. Sprinkle the salt and several generous grinds of black pepper over the everything. Spoon the mustard mixture onto the chicken pieces, dividing it evenly among them.
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Put the sheet pan into the oven and roast for 30 minutes. Remove the pan and use a pastry brush to baste the chicken with the pan juices. Continue to roast until the chicken is cooked through and browned and the sweet potatoes are tender, another 30 minutes or so.
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Serve straight from the sheet pan, spooning the pan juices and wild blueberries over the top.
