Oven Baked Chicken and Cauliflower

Get dinner on the table quick and easy with this Oven Baked Chicken and Cauliflower recipe. Seasoned with bold spices like cumin, cardamom, and paprika, these crispy chicken thighs are baked in one pan with tender cauliflower for an easy and healthy dinner.

Marinated in olive oil seasoned with coriander, paprika, cumin, cardamom, red pepper flakes, minced garlic, and orange juice, these crispy oven baked chicken thighs are surrounded by a bed of seasoned and flavorful cauliflower for a healthy weeknight dinner.

Serve up your baked chicken with buttered pasta, fresh burrata, zucchini noodles, Air Fryer Baked Sweet Potato, or Green Beans With Bacon!

Baked Chicken and Cauliflower Recipe

Putting dinner on the table has never looked or tasted so good … and been so easy! This chicken sheet pan dinner recipe is easy to make, uses limited dishes, and involves no fuss or fancy ingredients.

This baked chicken recipe is an absolute favorite in my house on a busy weeknight, but it’s also a wonderful meal to share. If you are looking to for something to bring to a pot-luck dinner or to share with friends and family, this is a great meal share that is easy to transport.

BONUS: this is a great low carb recipe if you are looking to keep your lunch or dinner on the light side and make a healthy chicken recipe.

Baked Chicken and Cauliflower Ingredients

Ingredients

Chicken: for this recipe, I used 4 bone-in, skin on chicken thighs. You can use boneless skinless chicken breast if you’d like, however, I find that the dark meat and juices from the chicken thighs add a ton of great flavor.

Fresh vegetables: toss some fresh veggies in the pan with garlic cloves, shallots, and cauliflower florets.

Herbs and spices: season with coriander, paprika, cumin, cardamom, red pepper flakes, kosher salt, and black pepper.

For cooking: orange juice and olive oil. The orange juice brings a lovely citrus flavor to the dish that nicely compliments the blend of coriander, cumin, and cardamom.

Herbed Yogurt Sauce

This mild herbed yogurt sauce compliments the bold flavors of the spiced chicken and cauliflower.

Yogurt: the homemade herbed yogurt sauce comes together quickly with Greek yogurt being the base ingredient.

Herbs and spices: for full bold flavor, you’ll want to use fresh herbs like chopped fresh mint, chopped cilantro, minced garlic, paprika, black pepper, and kosher salt.

Wet Ingredients: orange juice and lemon juice.

How to Make Baked Chicken and Cauliflower

1. Marinate chicken and cauliflower. In a small mixing bowl, combine the coriander, paprika, cumin, cardamom, red pepper flakes, minced garlic, orange juice, and olive oil. Add the marinade to a large Ziplock bag with the chicken thighs and cauliflower florets. Shake to coat and marinate for 1-4 hours.

2. Bake the chicken and cauliflower. Preheat a sheet pan in the oven at 400° F. Once preheated, arrange the chicken thighs (skin up), cauliflower, and shallots in a single layer on the preheated sheet pan.

Place the chicken and cauliflower in the oven on the middle rack and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the chicken has reached 165° F and the cauliflower is brown around the edges. If the cauliflower and shallots finish cooking before the chicken, remove them from the pan and set them aside.

3. Prepare the herbed yogurt sauce. While the chicken is baking, combine the Greek yogurt, orange juice, mint, cilantro, lemon juice, minced garlic, paprika, salt, and pepper in a small bowl.

4. Serve. To serve, divide the chicken thighs and cauliflower between plates with a dollop of herbed yogurt sauce.

Recipe Tips

Orange juice: I recommend using fresh orange juice if you can. It has the freshest and sweetest flavor. However, if you have some orange juice in the fridge, you can use that too. Just remember to strain the pulp.

Excess liquid: Make sure to check for excess juices and liquids on the pan when baking. If you feel like it is too much, grab a paper towel and blot the juices or, if you have one, remove the juices by using a turkey baster. Too much liquid on the pan will cause everything to steam instead of crisp.

Optional toppings: Try serving with feta cheese crumbles or parmesan cheese; it is absolutely delicious and adds great texture to the dish.

Is it better to bake chicken at 350 or 400?

When baking chicken, the oven temperature is very important to the cooking process. It’s important that the oven is hot enough to cook the chicken, keep it tender and juicy, but not overcook the chicken and dry it out.

For chicken thighs, I recommend keeping the oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Is it better to cook chicken slow or fast?

Rule of thumb, the slower you cook chicken, the better. This is a general cooking rule for meat, not just in the oven. The slower you cook the chicken, the more tender and juicy it will be.

Should you bake chicken covered or uncovered?

I like to roast my chicken uncovered so the skin on the chicken thigh gets crispy. When cooking chicken breasts, I like to leave them covered and then uncover it right before they’re done baking at the end.

There is no right or wrong way here; just personal preference.

Always remember, no matter how you cook your chicken to check the internal temperature with a meat thermometer to ensure the chicken is completely cooked and safe to serve and eat.

Can I Use Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs?

Absolutely! When making this recipe, there is no limitation on which type of chicken you can use.

However, I do recommend using skin-on chicken thighs and the reason for that is the skin gets crispy and adds perfect texture and flavor to the dish.

If you are set on not using thighs with the skin-on, I recommend cooking them in the air fryer, I find that skinless thighs cook better that way.

What Type of Pan do you use for a Sheet Pan Dinner

Any sheet pan or baking sheet will do! I like using this baking sheet. It’s affordable, distributes heat evenly, and holds up well.

If you are looking to get a darker roast or if you are cooking for a larger crowd, I recommend grabbing a large baking sheet and using sizes 10×15 or 13×18.

Helpful Kitchen Tools to Use when making a one pan dinner

Bowls: when prepping a recipe, I love having a variety of bowls around whether it’s a large bowl for leftovers or a small bowl for prepping, I find these to be a kitchen must-have!

Food processor: the best way to make a homemade sauce, is to have something else make it for you so your hands are free. Grab a food processor and let your little kitchen helper save you some time.

Cooking spray: I like to always keep cooking spray handy when I’m in the kitchen. This is great for spraying down things like baking sheets or a large skillet or deep skillet before cooking.

Airtight containers: store your leftovers in a quality container to ensure they stay good in the fridge.

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