Sheet Pan Chicken and Brussels Sprouts (2024)

This post may contain affiliate links. Please see our Affiliate Policy

Sheet Pan Chicken Breasts and Brussels Sprouts is gluten free low carb chicken recipe perfect for the Fall. Chicken breasts are marinated in the most delicious balsamic sauce that is infused with flavors from thyme, lemon, garlic and paprika!

Sheet Pan Chicken Breasts with Brussels Sprouts and Bacon are cooked for 30 minutes in the oven with all the ingredients being tossed onto one baking sheet. Once this amazing dish goes into the oven – it fills your kitchen with the most incredible Fall aromas!

Perfect sheet pan chicken dinner for busy weeknights and busy weekends too. This fall recipe is gluten free and low carb.

Chicken Brussels Sprouts Ingredients

• You will need 1.5 pound of chicken breasts or boneless skinless chicken thighs.
• 1 pound of Brussels sprouts, halved.
• 1 apple. I used Granny Smith apples and sliced them very THICK.
• 5 Bacon strips, sliced into smaller pieces.

Equipment

You will need a relatively large baking sheet, such as this one with rolled edges and stainless steel oven safe cooling rack. Although it’s large, but at the same time it’s not too heavy. The rack that it comes with is really useful – you can use it to roast a whole chicken or duck too!

What kind of chicken works best

Thick chicken breasts. Make sure you get thick chicken breasts. This is VERY IMPORTANT. If you use thin chicken breasts, it WILL turn out too dry – in that case reduce cooking time.

If your chicken breasts are thin, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND to not cut it in quarters it at all – cook thin chicken breasts whole to avoid over-drying.

Use chicken with no added liquids. Nowadays we have so much choice in everything and chicken is no exception. Chicken with no added liquids work best – some chickens out there are sold infused with the chicken broth – all that liquid will get released onto the pan when cooking and we don’t want that to happen.

Use chicken with no injected liquids

Air chilled chicken is the best choice here. That’s the kind I used in this recipe. The reason for using air-chilled chicken breasts is to avoid liquids that come with conventional chicken breasts that are always water chilled.

Air chilled chickensare not processed through water chilling and will have no added liquids. I switched to air chilled chickens a couple of years ago and notice their availability more and more in the supermarkets.

Until the switch, I didn’t realize that here in America, U.S. poultry industry uses antimicrobial baths that can include chlorine to keep salmonella and other bacteria in check. In Europe, chlorine treatment was banned in the 1990s out of fear that it could cause cancer. Air-chilling chickens has been in use in Europe for decades and we are seeing this trend emerging here too.

How to prepare chicken breasts

Quarter your THICK chicken breasts by cutting each breast into 4 pieces and place the pieces them into a bowl or container with marinade. Marinate for 10-15 minutes while cutting up the veggies.

How to make balsamic marinade

You will need a medium bowl or container to prepare the balsamic sauce. Blend ¼ cup balsamic vinegar, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, ¼ teaspoon of sea salt, 1 teaspoon paprika, 2 large cloves of garlic, crushed, 4 sprigs of fresh thyme, stripped from the stem and juice of ½ fresh lemon.

Blend with a whisk until all the ingredients are well incorporated.

How long to marinate balsamic chicken

I marinated the chicken breasts only for 5-10 minutes while cutting up Brussels sprouts and apples. You can marinate longer and even prepare them ahead of time by marinating the chicken breasts overnight.

What herbs to use

I used fresh thyme here, which needs to be stripped from the stem before mixing it with chicken or veggies. You can also place whole thyme sprigs onsheet pan chicken breaststo give it a bit of thyme flavor.

What kind of apples work best

• Make sure to use the right kind of apples here – those that hold their shape very well when cooking. Look through the comments and you will see that some readers had disappointing results when using wrong kinds of apples.
• I recommend the following apple choices: Gala, Granny Smith, Michigan Russet, Golden Delicious, Baldwin, Cortland, and Idareds.
• Do not useRed Deliciousor Fuji – baking these will result into a mushy, overly-sweet mess.
• Another important thing to remember is that apple needs to be cut up in thick slices. Apple slices will cook much faster than other elements of sheet pan chicken breasts and you want them to be sizable to get a good texture and not fall apart in the oven.

See Also

Homemade Dishwasher Detergent RecipeWhat We Eat When There’s No Fresh Food - Cooking At SeaBBQ Lentils with Shredded CarrotsAir Fryer Buttermilk Fried Chicken Recipe - BEST EVER!

How to prepare veggies

It’s time to preheat oven at 375 F and start veggie prep.

Cut up 1 pound of Brussels sprouts (I quartered bigger ones and halved smaller ones). Peel and core an apple and cut it up in thick slices.

Place Brussels Sprouts and apple slices in a large bowl, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 2 sprigs of fresh thyme, stripped from the stem and mix everything well – you want the veggies to be covered in olive oil.

Place “olive oily” Brussels sprouts and apples on the baking sheet. Add marinated chicken and chopped bacon in between the veggies.

Brush any remaining marinade oversheet pan chicken breasts, sprouts, apples and bacon. It will look like A LOT of stuff on the sheet pan, but I promise it will all shrink (especially the apples), while baking.

Bake Sheet Pan Chicken Breasts with Brussels Sprouts and Bacon for 25-30 minutes at 375 F (depending on thickness of chicken), or until chicken is cooked through.

Wait, one more thing. Broil the sheet pan chicken breasts at the end of baking time to get a few caramelized edges and brown up the exterior of the chicken. This can add flavor, but is not necessary!

More delicious chicken breast recipes:

• Low Sodium Asian Style Lettuce Chicken Wraps
• Easy Chicken Stir Fry
• Chicken and Quinoa Skillet with Garlic and Mushrooms

More delicious Brussels sprouts recipes:

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Butternut Squash
Warm Quinoa and Brussels sprouts Salad in Honey Mustard
Zesty Brussels sprout Coleslaw with Horseradish
Brussels sprouts and Bacon Gratin

Follow me on PINTEREST and FACEBOOK to get more recipe ideas!