Sheet pan
Romaine Sheet Pan Dinner, roasted
This chicken sheet pan dinner boasts roasted romaine, whole cloves of garlic, and grape tomatoes, along with crispy breaded chicken. This straightforward dinner is all baked on one pan!
At a glance
What stands out: This chicken sheet pan dinner boasts roasted romaine, whole cloves of garlic, and grape tomatoes, along with crispy breaded chicken. This straightforward dinner is all baked on one pan!
How long it takes: 20 minutes to prep, 40 minutes to bake
Equipment you’ll need: large rimmed sheet pan (approximately 18 x 13-inches)
Servings: 4
Roasted Romaine Salad
Half salad, half sheet pan dinner, 100% rich. This recipe is a twist on grilled romaine, which if you haven’t had it, is so good! Grilling lettuce might sound strange if it’s new to you, but ithe romaine gets charred and softened on the outside but it’s still crisp on the inside. Grilled romaine is so tasty but we found that you can achieve the same textural contrast by roasting it in the oven.
A one pan meal. This sheet pan dinner is an entire meal because we also include chicken, roasted garlic, and tomatoes which are baked on the sheet pan along with the romaine. We make crispy chicken pieces (we don’t want to call them nuggets exactly, but if all your kids will eat are chicken nuggets, let’s just say this meal will kill two birds with one stone.)
Two ways to serve it. When the romaine sheet pan dinner comes out of the oven, you have two choices. You can eat it all separately (that’s our husband’s preference), or you can eat combined as a rich warm salad. We love to drizzle the romaine salad with balsamic reduction. That’s all it needs to tie it all together into a pretty memorable meal. If you like Caesar salads, this from-scratch Caesar dressing is good, too.
How it comes together
Use two sheet pans. Although we photographed this dinner on one sheet pan, it’s better to spread it out a little and put it on two sheet pans to roast. We totally understand if you want to stick to one pan, but we'll just say that it’s better if it’s not crowded on the pan. The chicken gets crispier, and the veggies roast instead of steam.
Cook it in stages. Unlike some sheet pan dinners where you can throw everything on all at the same time and practically forget about it (like herb roasted chicken drumsticks and potatoes), this one needs a little more attention. Each element requires a slightly different cooking time, so you’ll put them on the sheet pan gradually, similar to our steak sheet pan dinner.
Start with the longer-cooking veggies. We pu the tomatoes and garlic on first to give them a head start, about 10 minutes. This lets their natural sweetness develop. It’s the reliable opportunity to quickly prep the chicken.
Add the chicken, and then the romaine. After you add the chicken, you have another 10 minutes to prep the romaine. Add the romaine to the sheet pan for the last 8 to 10 minutes. The total cooking time is 35 to 40 minutes start to finish.
- Yield: 4
- Prep: 20 minutes
- Cook: 40 minutes
- Total: 1 hour
Ingredients
For tomatoes and garlic
- 1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes (cut in half if large)
- 1 head garlic (about 12 to 15 cloves, peeled)
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper
For chicken
- ¾ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- ¾ cup panko bread crumbs
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1.5 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts (cut into 1-inch pieces)
For lettuce
- 2 romaine hearts
- 2 teaspoons olive oil (or olive oil spray)
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
For Finishing
- balsamic glaze (as desired)
Method
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Spray a large rimmed sheet pan with nonstick or olive oil spray.
- In a small bowl, stir together grape tomatoes, peeled garlic cloves, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper. Spread onto a large rimmed sheet pan.
- Bake tomatoes and garlic for 10 minutes, or until starting to soften slightly.
- Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, stir together cheese, panko bread crumbs, oregano, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Add chicken to this mixture and toss to coat chicken in breadcrumbs and seasonings.
- Stir the tomatoes and garlic, and add the chicken to the sheet pan in an even layer to sheet pan. Bake for another 10 minutes.
- While the chicken is baking, prep the romaine. Cut each heart in half vertically from the stem end to the top. Brush or spray the cut sides with olive oil. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper.
- After the chicken has been in the oven for 10 minutes, flip over chicken pieces and give the tomatoes another stir. Add romaine hearts to sheet pan, cut sides up.
- Return to oven and continue to cook for 5 to 8 minutes or until lettuce is golden brown on top and chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F.
- Serve immediately. Place roasted romaine on 4 plates and add chicken, tomatoes, and garlic on top or alongside. Finish with a drizzle of balsamic glaze.
Notes
Garlic: If you’re not such a fan of garlic, you can use less or omit it. Keep in mind that roasted garlic becomes mellow and creamy when roasted, and doesn’t pack a punch like raw garlic.
Pro tip: If you happen to have 2 large sheet pans, this recipe works best if you can spread it out more. We usually put the tomatoes, garlic, and chicken on one pan, and the romaine on another to roast.
Storage and reheating: The roasted romaine is best served immediately. It doesn’t do well reheated. The chicken, tomatoes, and garlic are fine leftover. We reheat them in our air fryer for a few minutes and the chicken got nice and crispy. You could also reheat at 350°F in your oven.
