One of my favorite simple dinner “formulas” is two roasted vegetables and a meat. It’s just so simple and when I can cook them all on one sheet pan, it’s even better. For this Sheet Pan Cranberry Chicken Dinner I also added a balsamic cranberry sauce that cooks on the stovetop, but it’s only three ingredients and takes only about 10 minutes, so it really couldn’t be easier. I hope you get plenty of use out of this super easy, fall/winter-inspired sheet pan meal!
What’s That Sauce?
As I mentioned above, I made a super simple balsamic cranberry sauce to drench the chicken with flavor. The sauce is simple: whole berry cranberry sauce (canned), balsamic vinegar, and butter. It makes the most deliciously sweet, tangy, and rich sauce that you’ll want to spoon over everything!
Can I Use Bone-In Chicken?
The cooking times and temperatures below are for boneless, skinless chicken breasts that have been pounded to a ¾ to 1-inch thickness. This allows them to cook quickly and evenly. Bone-in chicken takes much longer to cook and it would be best if they are roasted separately. For example purposes, here is a recipe for roasted bone-in chicken breasts.
Meal Prep It!
Sheet pan meals like this are perfect for meal prep! Just portion everything up into individual containers after baking and keep refrigerated for 3-4 days for quick lunches (reheat in the microwave).
Sheet Pan Cranberry Chicken Dinner
Servings 4Ingredients
Roasted Vegetables
- 1 lb. Brussels sprouts ($1.99)
- 1.5 lbs. sweet potatoes ($1.79)
- 2 Tbsp olive oil ($0.32)
- 1/4 tsp salt ($0.02)
- 1/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper ($0.03)
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder ($0.03)
Herb Baked Chicken Breasts
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (1.33 lbs. total) ($7.70*)
- 2 Tbsp butter, room temperature ($0.28)
- 1/2 tsp dried sage ($0.05)
- 1/4 tsp dried thyme ($0.03)
- 1/8 tsp garlic powder ($0.01)
- 1/4 tsp salt ($0.02)
Cranberry Balsamic Glaze
- 1/2 cup whole berry cranberry sauce (canned) ($0.30)
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar ($0.55)
- 1 Tbsp butter ($0.14)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Rinse the Brussels sprouts and then cut them in half. Peel and dice the sweet potatoes into ½ to ¾-inch pieces.
- Place the Brussels sprouts on one half of a large baking sheet and the sweet potatoes on the other half. Drizzle 1 Tbsp olive oil over each side. Sprinkle ¼ tsp salt and ¼ tsp pepper over the vegetables, then add ¼ tsp garlic powder just to the Brussels sprouts. Toss the vegetables, keeping each on its own side, until they're coated in oil and seasoning. Spread the seasoned vegetables out so they are in an even layer. Transfer the baking sheet with the vegetable to the preheated oven and roast for 15 minutes.
- While the vegetables are roasting, prepare the herb baked chicken. In a small bowl, combine the room temperature butter, sage, thyme, garlic powder, and salt. Stir together until it forms an herb-butter paste.
- Place the chicken breast on a cutting board and cover with a piece of plastic wrap. Use a mallet or rolling pin to gently pound the chicken breasts out to an even ¾-inch thickeness. Cut each pounded chicken breast in half to make two pieces. Pat the chicken dry, then spread the herb butter over the surface of each piece of chicken.
- Once the vegetables have been roasting for 15 minutes, remove the baking sheet from the oven and give the vegetables a stir, keeping each on their own side. Push the vegetables to the side a bit (it's okay if they pile up a little) to make room for the chicken breast. Place the four butter and herb coated pieces of chicken down the center of the baking sheet. Return the baking sheet to the oven and bake for an additional 20 minutes.
- While the chicken and vegetables finish cooking, prepare the cranberry balsamic sauce. Add the cranberry sauce and balsamic vinegar to a sauce pot. Stir and cook the two together over medium heat, allowing the mixture to come up to a simmer. Once simmering, lower the heat slightly and allow it to simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. After ten minutes, remove the sauce from the heat and stir in the butter. Set the cranberry balsamic sauce aside.
- After roasting for 20 minutes, check the internal temperature of the chicken breasts. It should be 165ºF. If it's not, bake for an additional 5-10 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 165ºF.
- To serve, spoon the cranberry balsamic sauce over the chicken. Divide the roasted Brussels sprouts and sweet potatoes between four plates and add one piece of chicken to each.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!How to Make Sheet Pan Cranberry Chicken Dinner – Step by Step Photos
Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Wash 1 lb. Brussels sprouts and slice them in half. Peel and dice 1.5 lbs. sweet potatoes into ½ to ¾-inch cubes. Place them on a large baking sheet, keeping each on its own side. Drizzle with 2 Tbsp olive oil and season with ¼ tsp each of salt and pepper. Add ¼ tsp garlic powder to just the Brussels sprouts. Toss the vegetables, keeping them separate, until they’re coated in oil and seasoning. Transfer to the preheated oven and roast for 15 minutes.
While the vegetables are roasting, prepare the herb butter baked chicken. In a small bowl, combine 2 Tbsp room temperature butter, ½ tsp dried sage, ¼ tsp dried thyme, ⅛ tsp garlic powder, and ¼ tsp salt. Stir them together until it forms an herb-butter paste.
Place two boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1.3 lbs. total) on a cutting board and cover with plastic wrap. Use a mallet or rolling pin to pound the chicken into an even ¾-inch thickness. This helps it cook quickly and evenly.
Cut each chicken breast into two pieces. Pat them dry, then spread the herb butter over the surface of each piece.
After the vegetables have roasted for 15 minutes, remove the baking sheet and give them a good stir. Push them to the sides (it’s okay if they pile up now) to make room for the chicken. Place the herb-butter coated chicken in the center of the baking sheet. Return the baking sheet to the oven and bake for an additional 20 minutes.
While the chicken and vegetables finish cooking, prepare the cranberry balsamic sauce. Add ½ cup whole berry cranberry sauce and ¼ cup balsamic vinegar to a small sauce pot. Cook and stir over medium heat until it comes up to a simmer. Then, reduce the heat slightly and allow the sauce to simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
After the sauce has simmered for about 10 minutes, remove it from the heat and stir in 1 Tbsp butter until melted. Set the sauce aside.
After baking 20 minutes, the internal temperature of the chicken breast pieces should be 165ºF. If it’s not, simply bake for an additional 5-10 minutes, or until it does reach 165ºF.
Finally, spoon the cranberry balsamic sauce over the baked chicken. To serve, divide the Brussels sprouts and sweet potatoes between four plates, then add one piece of chicken to each.
Delish!
Made this tonight and my husband loved it! Thank you so much for this. Yum!!!
I’ve had this question – is there a reason to keep vegetables separate vs mixing them when you roast them? The obvious is to make it easier to serve different amounts of each. You have a note to keep them separate; is there another reason?
Nope, that’s the only reason. :) You can definitely mix them up if you’d like!
Hi,
I have pinned this to make later – looks amazing. I am wondering how your sauce would pair with turkey meatballs. I have left over cranberry sauce and want to use it up somehow.
Thanks in advance,
Cheryl
That would be AMAZING. :)
Hi, Beth. I’ve loved every single one of your recipes, so I’m sure this one will be grand as well. A bit off topic I just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate the functionality of your website. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve pinned a recipe, then, when I’m ready to cook, the ads are so intrusive, and slow and clutter the experience, that I often just give up. With you the “jump to the recipe” really works, and everything is clean and streamlined. Thank you so very, very much. I’m sure it’s not easy to do this and possibly even less profitable, but it does make a loyal and happy follower! Happy Holidays!
I couldn’t agree more!
Thank you!! That really means a lot to me to hear. User experience is so important to me because I can’t stand using websites that have so many ads that I can’t find the content, either. There is so much pressure in the industry to maximize revenue that way, but it’s just not worth it to me. So thank you for showing your appreciation for that. :)
Agreed
I agree! Thank you Beth!
This is a seriously brilliant recipe! Those roasted Brussels sprouts look incredible. I haven’t tried this one yet, but plan to make it this week!
Great recipe but I wouldn’t bake raw chicken with the already roasting veggies. There may be transfer of E.coli toxin to the vegetables. Separate the chicken breast from the veggies by placing the raw meat on a piece of foil so that there is no chance of raw chicken juice mixing with the cooked veggies.
Not a concern because you are continuing to cook the veggies.
Beth, I love your sheet pan recipes–I made your Greek chicken as my meal prep for this week, and plan to make this one next week! Would it be possible to add recipes like this to your chicken meal prep section? I feel like I’m missing some good ideas as I generally start looking there first.
I think I’m going to make a sheet pan category because I finally have a decent amount of them. That way they’ll be easy to find! :)
Is it possible to use homemade cranberry sauce ?
This is a great recipe for post-Thanksgiving. I had about a half cup of cranberry sauce leftover that I put in the freezer, hoping to find a recipe to use it up in later. And now I have it! Great idea to make a chicken glaze with it.
Would like to try this recipe, but all the canned whole berry cranberry sauces available to me have high fructose corn syrup in them. Could your Simple Homemade Cranberry Sauce recipe be used as a replacement for the canned stuff?
Hi Beth,
I want to thank you for this recipe. I am so much in love with it, it looks great and I want to try it. However, I just have a little problem with the Brussels sprout. I think my son is allergic to Brussel sprout because he develops skin rash whenever he eats them. Please, do you have any idea what I could use as a substitute or alternative to the Brussel sprout? Or if I just followed your recipe without using the Brussel sprout, will it come out as great as it is here in this article?
Yep, you can either skip it or replace it with something like broccoli. :) I like to make sure my meals have a variety of colors, so I think broccoli would be the next best thing.
I wonder if kale would also work? If added nearer the end of the cooking time? But maybe Arjun’s little guy would prefer broccoli to an overtly leafy green? Haha :)
I think that’s an option! I haven’t tried roasting kale that way, but I’m sure if it’s not in there too long it won’t turn into kale chips. Haha! :D
OK, I will make sure the kale is roasted. But Beth once again, I really am grateful for all the ideas. Happy Holidays.
Thank you!! <3 Happy holidays to you as well. :)
Thanks Christina, that sounds brilliant. He does like kale. I think it will work. Thank you very much. I am so grateful.
Thank you so much, Beth. I will try broccoli instead. LOL. I have this feeling I might be missing out on something if I skip it. Thanks once again, Beth. Have a nice day.
I was going to ask this question because my husband needs a more FODMAP diet and I know brussel sprouts are on the list as is broccoli, but I think broccoli, in low amounts, is more tolerable. :)
To further answer the question about bone-in chicken breasts–I always roast them at 325 and baste a couple of times while they cook. The boneless breasts do just fine with a higher temp and shorter cook time allowing this one pan method that shares space with the veggies. They greatly benefit from the herb-butter topping that keeps them moist, so I wouldn’t skip that. This sauce is utterly brilliant! Would also be delicious with pork tenderloin, or a topper for goat cheese or a hot appetizer such as baked brie .
Love sheet pan dinners!
This looks amazing.
This sounds great. Can’t wait to try it. Btw, I love how you include step by step photos. Thank you.
Have a great week!
I agree! I was looking at some other sites this weekend and was like, “where’s the step by step pics?!?” 😂😊
Hey Beth/Budget Bytes Team,
I see another typo with your otherwise, sounding very delicious recipe :)
Just lettting you know.
Photo caption: (After **bakind** 20 minutes)
Hahaha, thank you!! 😬