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.
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Notes
Nutrition
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!
I would like to try this with turkey breast tenders. It would be like having thanksgiving dinner anytime
Really solid recipe! I was a bit worried that the inside of the chicken would not be flavorful enough, but the butter coating and the cranberry sauce worked well to prevent that from happening. Plus, it was pretty simple and only took about an hour to make. Highly recommend for weeknight dinners.
That cranberry balsamic sauce – oh my! The chicken with the butter herb mix by itself was delicious so if you’re meal prepping this is a awesome go-to base chicken recipe. But the sauce is a game-changer and it’s such an easy recipe to double and triple for inexpensive entertaining. Our favorite side instead of sweet potatoes and Brussels sprouts is the recipe from this page for nature’s candy with sweet potatoes and apples – same roasting time and temp. It’s like everything fall in one place. Thanks for another great meal idea!
I was skeptical about the cranberry glaze and almost skipped it, but went ahead since I had some homemade cranberries on hand. Wow! It elevated the entire dish! What an excellent surprise!
Oh my god this was so good. Followed this recipe exactly except I also added chopped carrots to the sweet potato side. I will definitely be making this again and again.
Hello Beth! This recipe looks so interesting and I want to try it. What’s the ideal finished texture/firmness of the sweet potatoes? I have bad luck with this veggie, always feeling undercooked and too firm. But, I’m used to standard roasted potatoes or smooth sweet potato pie. Thanks!
I wouldn’t say they are firm at all, but they’re not exactly super creamy like a mashed sweet potato because they’re cooked in a dry environment rather than being boiled. I’m not sure what your “standard” roasted potatoes are like, but I would consider these just standard roasted sweet potatoes. :)
A sheet pan, that’s an enameled baking sheet?
Does it make a big difference if a regular old Bakers Secret baking sheet is used?
Any type of baking sheet should work fine for this. With darker surfaces, you may find that everything browns a bit faster, so just keep an eye on it! :)
This was a hit! I used thin sliced chicken breasts and the herb butter kept them from drying out. I just did Brussels Sprouts and they were the best I’ve ever had- highly recommend fresh instead of frozen – they charred better but also got softer – I’m weird about textures, especially with veggies, and these were perfect. The cranberry glaze gave it a punch of bright flavor that elevated a really easy, simple dinner to something special. Thanks ! I think this will go in our regular rotation 😀
This was such a delicious meal! The chicken makes me think of thanksgiving (the herbs, butter, and cranberry, yum) and I couldn’t wait until the next bite. I think I’ll serve it over a little rice next time so i can soak up all of the cranberry balsamic.
Loved this Cranberry Chicken dish, very easy, healthy and delicious! Sent the recipe to several friends, the cranberry mixed with the balsamic was the best adddition. Thank you
I am new to sheet pan cooking, and unfortunately Brussel Sprouts is literally the only vegetable I can’t eat. I was wondering what might be a good substitute for them for cooking time. Carrots, Broccoli, Cauliflower are what is coming to my mind, and I am wondering if I’m right that one of those would work. I normally would never bother you with a substitution question, they must be frustrating. I just have 0 reference for this type of cooking to fall back on and it looks like it’s going to be a great meal!
I have two balsamic vinegars, the normal cheap store stuff and the aged in barrel thick syrupy stuff from Italy. Am I right that I should use the cheap store stuff for this reduction. I have a feeling that the already syrupy vinegar would be too sweet.
Hi Karen! I think broccoli would be my second choice in place of Brussels sprouts so you still get some green color, plus broccoli is really delicious when roasted. :) And you are correct, use the “cheap” non-syrupy balsamic because it’s going to reduce in the sauce.
Oh wow. I’ve been making recipes from this website for a while now, and have loved them all, however this one really was delicious and I had to comment! Very very tasty. I wouldn’t consider myself
the most experienced cook, but after cooking this I surprised myself! Felt like a cozy and filling dish. Thank you!
This looks amazing! Do you think it could work with frozen Brussels sprouts, maybe if thawed first? Fresh ones are way more expensive here than frozen.
I’ve had several people tell me before that they enjoy roasting frozen Brussels sprouts, but you just have to be aware that they don’t get as crispy as fresh Brussels sprouts because they are a lot more wet. I’m also not sure if they’d need more time, so you might have to play with it a little. :)
I was skeptical at first about the cranberry glaze but am so glad we made it. It elevated the entire meal! We used homemade cranberry sauce and it was perfect.
I was skeptical about the cranberry glaze and almost skipped it, but went ahead since I had some homemade cranberries on hand. Wow! It elevated the entire dish! What an excellent surprise!
Shopping online these days, and purchased frozen brussel sprouts thinking I was buying fresh. Are there adaptations to this recipe that I could make to use frozen brussel sprouts – or is it good to go as is ?
Thanks for your help !
Unfortunately I haven’t tested the cooking time for frozen Brussels sprouts. I have heard from several people in the past that they like to roast frozen Brussels sprouts, you just have to keep in mind that they won’t get as browned or crispy like fresh Brussels sprouts because the frozen kind are a lot more wet.