Weeknight Chicken and Stuffing Sheet Pan Dinner
Courtesy of 200 Best Sheet Pan Recipes by Camilla Saulsbury 2016 www.robertrose.ca Reprinted with publisher permission.
The hardest part about cooking dinner is the time it takes to get everything to come together. Thankfully, with Weeknight Chicken and Stuffing Sheet Pan Dinner, all your ingredients cook together on one vessel. Not only does this make prep and clean up a breeze, it also makes your chicken and stuffing cook evenly and infuses so much flavor and moisture into both. Delicious elements like apples, onions, celery and dried cranberries make this stuffing come alive, and the chicken is a great way to get some protein on the plate. This easy chicken dinner is perfect for fall because it's flavors and ingredients are similar to those found on a Thanksgiving table. So get ready for an elegant and totally simple weeknight meal you'll turn to again and again.
Serves6
Cooking Vessel Size18x13-inch rimmed sheet pan, lined with foil and sprayed with nonstick cooking spray
Ingredients
- 1 large tart-sweet apple (such as Gala, Braeburn or Golden Delicious), peeled and very coarsely chopped
- 1 onion, coarsely chopped
- 1 1/4 coarsely chopped celery
- 5 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted, divided
- 6 cup plain dry cornbread stuffing
- 1 1/4 cup ready-to-use chicken broth
- 1 (4-pound) whole chicken, rinsed, patted dry and cut into 10 pieces
- Salt and freshly cracked black pepper
- Suggested Stir-Ins:
- 1/2 dried cranberries, chopped
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf (Italian) parsley
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
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On prepared pan, toss together apple, onion, celery, 3 tbsp butter and thyme. Spread in a single layer. Roast in preheated oven for 10 minutes.
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Remove pan from oven and stir apple mixture. Stir in cornbread stuffing. Pour broth over top, stirring until absorbed. Spread out evenly over pan.
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Brush chicken with the remaining butter. Moving stuffing mixture aside to make room, add chicken to pan, spacing evenly. Season stuffing and chicken with salt and pepper.
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Roast for 25 to 35 minutes or until stuffing is golden brown and an instant-read thermometer inserted in the center of the thickest chicken piece registers 165°F (74°C). If desired, stir cranberries and/or parsley into stuffing.
Tips
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Look for packages (14-16 ounces) of cornbread stuffing in the bread section of the supermarket.
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An equal amount of torn crusty, rustic-style bread or dry crumbled cornbread can be used in place of the cornbread stuffing.
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If the stuffing is browned before the chicken is done, loosely cover the entire sheet pan with foil.