Picture this: a recipe that tastes good, has all the nutrients you need to optimize your recovery and performance, is quick and easy, with minimal cooking experience required?
That's this dish my friends. An easy-peasy, sheet pan chicken and veggies meal!
This recipe is...
SO EASY! The perfect option for those that aren't super comfortable in the kitchen.
Takes less than 30 minutes to prepare and cook.
Contains all necessary aspects of an athlete's performance plate to optimize recovery from training.
Uses minimal ingredients and cooking supplies to save time, your budget and makes for easy clean up with minimal dishes.
A lot of sheet pan chicken and veggie recipes I found on the internet is missing an essential ingredient for athletes to make it a performance-minded meal: a grain/complex carbohydrate, such as a potato. This ingredient is necessary to keep glycogen (energy) stores high for optimal performance. That's why a diced potato is a key ingredient in this recipe, alongside other veggies of choice.
Don't like potatoes? That's OK! You can swap out the potatoes for more vegetables, just make sure you also prepare or have on the side some sort of grain. For example, you could put the baked chicken and veggies over rice, over pasta, or in a tortilla.
That's the beauty of this recipe. You can turn this into a couple different meal options if you wanted to and shake up your leftovers!
Athlete's Sheet Pan Chicken and Veggies
Servings: Makes ~8 servings
Cook/Prep Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
2 cups chopped vegetables (such as asparagus, brussels sprouts, broccoli, green beans)
2 cups diced potato into about 1" pieces (such as white or sweet potatoes)
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, diced into about 1-2" pieces
~3 TBSP high-heat oil (such as canola, avocado, or grapeseed)
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
Directions:
Preheat oven to 420 degrees.
Line a sheet pan with aluminum foil for easier clean up.
Place all chopped chicken and vegetables into a large mixing bowl, top with oil and seasonings, then mix it all with your hands or large spoon until everything is evenly coated.
Spread seasoned chicken and vegetables evenly onto the baking sheet.
Bake for ~20-30 minutes, or until chicken reaches internal temperature of 165 degrees.
Notes
I like to choose vegetables on sale for this recipe to help make this budget friendly!
You could also use chicken thighs for this recipe.
I like to top mine with parmesan for extra fat and flavor! You could also add avocado, or a savory sauce to add flavor!