Maple-Dijon Sheet Pan Chicken with Cranberry Apple Relish

These colorful sheet pan chicken thighs are a tasty swap if you don’t feel like cooking a whole turkey this holiday season. Served over root vegetables, it turns out to be quite the festive combination.

Bring on all the fall flavors! Autumn is absolutely my favorite time of year; I simply heart everything about it. Busting out the cozy sweaters for the cool breeze, the smell of leaves falling from the trees, watching football, late nights next to the fire pit, and of course… all the comfort foods! Some other favorites include my Yellow Squash Casserole, Grandma June’s Home-Style Chicken Meatloaf, and this Mind-Blowing Southern Baked Mac & Cheese.

WATCH OUR VIDEO ON THE GRAM!

INGREDIENTS FOR THIS FALL-INSPIRED SHEET PAN CHICKEN:

There are a few preparations to make this entire dish, but honestly you can make all of them up to a day in advance and set them in your fridge. That way when you’re ready to be the hostess with the mostest, you can focus on your guests instead of hiding away in your kitchen! Here’s what you’ll need:

FOR THE CHICKEN:

Springer Mountain Farms Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs
Garlic Cloves
Dijon Mustard
Maple Syrup

ROASTED ROOT VEGGIES:

Olive Oil
Sweet Potatoes
Brussels Sprouts
Red Onion
Salt + Pepper

CRANBERRY APPLE RELISH:

Cranberries
Granny Smith Apple
Orange
Granulated Sugar

To Prep Ahead: I place the first two items in resealable plastic bags and let them marinate at a minimum of 1 hour or up to overnight. The relish I whip together in the food processor and place it in a sealable bowl in the refrigerator overnight. The relish tastes better the longer it sits, just an FYI. 🙂

Scroll down below for exact measurements in this recipe!

FEEDING A LARGE CROWD?

If you’re hosting friends and family over for a big holiday feast, here are some side dish ideas that would go well with this!

Foolproof Homemade Garlic Bread

Sweet ‘n Salty Brown Sugar Glazed Carrots

The Absolute Best Cream of Celery Soup

Mini Bacon Onion Quiche in Phyllo Shells

Grandma June’s Cheesy Potatoes Recipe

Cheddar and Chive Sausage Biscuits

The Ultimate Yukon Gold Mashed Potatoes

Yellow Squash Casserole with Shredded Chicken

Super Comforting Potato and Leek Soup

Super Quick Focaccia Bread with Herbs

Air Fryer Potato Wedges

Chicken Cobb Salad with Dill-Dijon Vinaigrette

VIEW ALL RECIPES BY CLICKING HERE!

Maple-Dijon Sheet Pan Chicken with Cranberry Apple Relish

Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

40 mins

Total time

55 mins

These colorful sheet pan chicken thighs are a tasty swap if you don't feel like cooking a whole turkey this holiday season.

Serves: 6

Ingredients

FOR THE CHICKEN:

2 lbs. Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs
3 Garlic Cloves, minced
2 tbsp. Dijon Mustard
2 tbsp. Maple Syrup

ROASTED ROOT VEGGIES;

2 tbsp. Olive Oil
2 Sweet Potatoes, skinned and cut into 1-inch pieces
16 oz. Brussels Sprouts, cut in half
1 Small Red Onion, thickly sliced
Salt + Pepper, to taste

CRANBERRY APPLE RELISH:

2 cups Cranberries, thawed from frozen
1 Granny Smith Apple, chopped
1 Orange, zested and juiced
2 tbsp. Granulated Sugar

Instructions

Set the chicken inside a large ziplock bag. Whisk together the minced garlic, Dijon mustard, and maple syrup to make a marinade. Pour the marinade over the chicken, seal the bag, and massage together until all the chicken pieces are coated. Set in the refrigerator or one hour or overnight.
Cut the sweet potatoes, Brussels sprouts, red onion and set inside a second large ziplock bag. Pour over the olive oil and season with salt + pepper. Either set this in the fridge with the chicken or assemble just before you’re going to bake the chicken.
Add the cranberries to a food processor and pulse until chunky. Remove, and place the apple in the same processor and pulse until chunky. Place the cranberries and apple in a large mixing bowl and top with orange zest and freshly squeezed orange juice. Mix together with sugar until well combined. Set aside, covered, in the refrigerator until you’re ready to use.
When you’re ready to cook, preheat the oven to 425F. Make sure you have two racks set up and then set out two baking sheets, one for the chicken and a second for the vegetables (see notes below on why to cook on separate sheets).
Pour out the vegetables on one sheet and arrange the chicken on the second sheet. Place the sheet with the veggies on the top rack, then slide the chicken onto the bottom rack. Roast for 35 minutes.
Remove the veggies and move the chicken to the top rack. Broil for 3 - 5 minutes, or until the edges are crispy and browned. Plate with vegetables on bottom, then chicken, and top with cranberry apple relish.

NOTES ON THIS RECIPE:

I prefer the darker meat of the chicken thighs in this recipe, as it has more of a holiday feel. However, if you want to swap them out for chicken breasts, that works too! You’ll need to adjust the cooking time though. Just make sure that the internal temperature of the breasts are 165F before consuming.
Why should you cook the chicken and vegetables on separate baking sheets? Chicken tends to release juices as it cooks, so if you cooked them on top of the vegetables… you’d most likely end up with soggy veggies. No one likes that, especially when it comes to Brussels sprouts.
Keep leftovers in sealable containers, refrigerated, and consume within 1 – 2 days.

This post is sponsored in partnership with Springer Mountain Farms. Per the usual, all opinions here are mine alone and I would never recommend a product or ingredient that I did not immensely enjoy myself. Thank you for supporting the brands that support SliceOfJess.com!