Easy Sheet-Pan Dinner Ideas

Hopefully, we can make dinner it a little bit easier with these two easy sheet pan dinner ideas. They are healthy, whole-food, simple recipes. Active time is only around 15-20 minutes, then 40-60 minutes to bake and dinner is on the table (with enough food for leftovers for lunch the next day). Sheet pan ideas are a big win for a busy family! Some benefits:

• Straightforward and easy to make
• Simple, whole food ingredients
• ONE pan to clean up
• Served directly from the sheet pan — no fuss

Sheet-Pan Dinner #1: Roasted Cauliflower & Chickpeas with Mustard & Parsley

Modified from It’s All Good, Goop

Perfect for Meatless Mondays. It’s crunchy. It’s seasonal. It’s delicious. It’s easy. Couple it with brown rice to make a complete protein or serve it with simple grilled animal protein (chicken, steak, fish) as a substantial side. This recipe is vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free and family-friendly!

ingredients:

instructions:

Preheat oven to 400° F and set the rack in the middle. Toss the chickpeas and cauliflower together on a large sheet pan with 3 tablespoons of avocado oil and a big pinch of salt. Roast, stirring now and then until everything is a nice and brown and the cauliflower is quite soft, about 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, whisk together the mustards, vinegars and ¼ cup of oil with a big pinch of salt and a few healthy grinds of black pepper. While the chickpeas and cauliflower are still warm, toss them with the mustard dressing and parsley. Serve warm, room temp or cold.

Optional: Top 1 cup of brown rice or use as a side dish. Makes a great leftover lunch.

Sheet-Pan Dinner #2: Easy Jerk Chicken with Peppers & Pineapple

Melissa Gilbert, One Pan & Done

1 tbsp. dried thyme
2 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. ground allspice
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. salt
¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
¼ tsp. ground black pepper
2 bell peppers, thinly sliced
½ fresh pineapple, cored and cut into ½ in. pieces
2 tbsp. avocado oil
4-6 thin cut boneless chicken breast (~1-1½ pounds total)

Preheat oven to high broil and line sheet pan with parchment paper.

Toss the peppers, pineapple and onion with a bit of the spices and oil and place on sheet pan. Rub chicken pieces with remaining jerk seasoning. Place pieces of chicken among the veggies. Broil until cooked through, about 10-12 minutes. Flip chicken at about 5 minutes. If you prefer the veggies a little more done, start with the veggies, let them soften, and then add the chicken for the last 10-12 minutes of cooking.

NOTE: You could use a “jerk” spice blend here, if you don’t want to fool with measuring the spices.

For our busy families, we recommend meal planning and grocery shopping on the weekend and then just one other time during the week. If you have the ingredients for these sheet pan dinners in the fridge, dinner is easy!

Need more help meeting your family’s nutrition and meal-planning needs? Learn more about our Family Nutrition Makeover! We offer a free 20-minute phone consultation with a nutritionist to determine if our program is right for your family. Schedule instantly online! 

Robin

Hi! I’m Robin, the founder of Healthy Nest Nutrition. I am a board-certified holistic nutritionist in Denver, Colorado. My passion is helping people find the right diet for their bodies and then showing them how to make healthy nutrition doable and delicious!