This meal-in-one recipe is a winter variation on my recipe for Crispy Sheet Pan Chicken with Honeynut Squash and Hot Honey Drizzle. Conveniently, slim sweet potato halves (like halved honeynuts) cook in about the same amount of time as chicken thighs do in a 425°F oven. In this recipe, wedges of cabbage sneak on to the sheet tray, too, along with a few grape tomatoes. The cabbage cooks perfectly – tender all the way through but browned and crispy on the edges. A good squeeze of lime and a generous drizzle of hot honey is all the finishing “sauce” you need. Garnish with a few peas.
You can make your own hot honey (heat honey with chili flakes or a small amout of chili crisp) or buy your favorite brand. We like Mike’s Hot Honey Original. You could also substitute balsamic glaze or apple cider syrup for the hot honey. Serve everything on fresh greens if you like.
Serves 2 (two chicken thighs each) or 4 (one chicken thigh each)
- Extra-virgin olive oil or grapeseed oil
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons smoked paprika
- 2 to 3 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves (more for garnish if you like), lightly chopped
- 4 skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs (about 1 3/4 pounds)
- Kosher salt
- Pepper
- Olive or vegetable oil
- 2 slim sweet potatoes (about 8 ounces each), cut in half lengthwise (do not peel)
- ½ small green cabbage, cut into 4 wedges (cut in a radial style, so that each piece is held together by a bit of stem)
- 12 to 14 large grape tomatoes, cut in half
- 1/3 cup frozen peas, thawed (optional)
- 4 large lime wedges
- 2 to 3 ounces hot honey
1. Heat the oven to 425°F.
2. Cover a heavy-duty rimmed sheet pan (13” x 18”) with parchment paper. (For easiest clean-up, cover pan with foil first.) Rub the parchment with a little olive oil.
3. Combine the flour, 1 teaspoon of the smoked paprika, and 1 teaspoon of the thyme leaves in a mixing bowl.
4. Season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper on both sides and dredge each one thoroughly in the flour mixture, shaking off excess. Arrange the chicken thighs, evenly spaced apart, in one area or at one end of the sheet pan.
5. Rub or brush a small amount of oil on both sides of the sweet potatoes. Season the flesh side with salt, ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika, and 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon thyme. Arrange, cut-side-down, in one area or at one end of the sheet pan.
6. Arrange the cabbage wedges in the remaining free area on the sheet pan. Drizzle or brush them thoroughly with oil. Season with salt and remaining ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika. Sprinkle a few thyme leaves over them.
7. Toss the tomatoes in a small amount of oil and salt and arrange, cut side-up, anywhere you can find a spot for them.
8. Roast for 45 to 50 minutes, or until the chicken is crisp and cooked through (at least 165 degrees), the sweet potatoes are tender and lightly caramelized on the cut side, and the cabbage is tender with browned edges.
9. If including peas, microwave them for a few seconds in a small amount of water. Warm the hot honey gently in a saucepan.
10. Arrange the chicken, sweet potatoes and cabbage on a serving platter or individual plates (with or without greens). Add lime wedges. Spoon the roasted tomatoes and the peas overall and drizzle with hot honey.
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