Bursting with lemon and spice, this Easy Sheet Pan Sumac Chicken is both healthy and fast and the perfect weeknight dinner solution.
Nearly a decade ago I was introduced to sumac spice while eating at the best ever Persian restaurant in the Silicon Valley. If you’ve never heard of sumac, or you’ve never tried it before, here’s the 411 on this must-have pantry staple.
- Found in many Middle Eastern dishes, Sumac is loved for it’s lemony, tart-like flavor.
- Often added to meats, salads, or used as a garnish for things like hummus.
- Sumac is often found in the increasingly popular za’atar spice blend.
My husband is quite literally obsessed with this spice and puts it on everything. The other night as we ate our dinner and he proceeded to dump sumac all over his food, I realized I need to make an easy family dish dedicated to this spice. The result? This fantastic, EASY, and family-friendly Sumac Chicken.
Aside from the use of this awesome spice, I love this meal because prep is easy and the cleanup is even easier. It’s also bursting with the most amazing subtle lemony flavor. If you’re into carbs (which I totally am!) I highly recommend serving this with a side a long-grain rice, hummus, aand of course, more sumac.
RECIPE CARD
Easy Sheet Pan Sumac Chicken Recipe with Roasted Vegetables
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoon olive oil - divided
- 3 tablespoon sumac spice
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 small head cauliflower - chopped into small florets
- 12 ounces petit rainbow carrots
- 1 pound chicken thighs (bone-in, skin-on if you can find them)
- 1 pound chicken drumsticks
- 1 lemon - thinly sliced
- 1 small red onion - cut into wedges
- ¼ cup fresh parsley - chopped
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro - chopped
- Juice from 1/2 a lemon
- 3 cloves garlic - minced
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with foil and set aside.
- In a medium bowl whisk together three tablespoons olive oil with the sumac, salt, brown sugar, dried basil, and paprika.
- In a large mixing bowl toss the carrots and the cauliflower with half the olive oil and spice mixture. Transfer the vegetables to the prepared baking sheets, dividing them between the two sheets.
- In the same large mixing bowl, rub the chicken with the remaining olive oil and spice mixture. Transfer chicken and lemon slices to the baking sheets and arrange among the carrots and cauliflower.
- Transfer baking sheets to the oven and bake for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes toss vegetables, add the onion to the baking sheets and rotate pans. Cook for an additional 15-20 minutes, or until internal temperature reads 165 degrees F.
- Mix together the remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil, parsley, cilantro, lemon juice and minced garlic in a small bowl. Spoon mixture over cooked chicken and vegetables and serve immediately.
Nutritional Information
(Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and specific brands of ingredients used.)
You may also enjoy these SHEET PAN dinners,
Easy Sheet Pan Chili Lime and Orange Salmon
Sheet Pan Macadamia Coconut Crusted Chicken Tenders with Peanut Sauce
When is the basil added? Does it goes in with the spices? Or did it sneak in as a typo? I don’t see it mentioned again…
Hi Sharon,
Good catch – I updated the recipe!
Thanks!
I was really worried about this meal as after the allotted time it was still underdone. cooked it 25 minutes longer and it turned out perfect. The topping really made it. will make again as was quite easy to do. Would use smaller thighs next time.
This sounds great … but like harissa spice, our local markets do not carr y sumac … any suggestions as to how I can obtain it?
Hi Rebecca,
That’s a great question! Here is the sumac I used from Amazon.
Regards,
Jessica
Thank you .. I’l try that .. sounds tooooo good to pass up not having all the ingredients you need.
Thank you .. thank you! Have a wonderful St. Patrick’s day celebration!