Description
This Sheet Pan Roast Chicken and Cabbage features bone-in chicken pieces and cabbage wedges roasted to perfection with an Asian-inspired sesame-soy glaze. The staggered cooking method ensures crispy-skinned chicken and beautifully caramelized cabbage with minimal effort and just one pan to clean!
Ingredients
For Greasing:
- 1 teaspoon neutral oil (for the sheet pan)
For the Sesame-Soy Dressing:
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1/4 cup melted coconut oil or olive oil
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar (or any vinegar you have)
- 1 tablespoon Sriracha (optional, but I love the kick!)
Main Ingredients:
- 8 pieces bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs or drumsticks
- Kosher salt and pepper to taste
- 1 head cabbage (2 to 3 lbs)
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 425°F. While it’s heating, pour a teaspoon of neutral oil over your rimmed sheet pan and rub it all over the surface with your hands or a paper towel. This prevents sticking and helps with cleanup!
In a small bowl, stir together the sesame oil, melted coconut oil, soy sauce, rice vinegar, and Sriracha if you’re using it. Give it a good whisk until everything’s combined. It’ll look a bit separated—that’s totally normal!
Place your chicken pieces in a large bowl and season generously with salt and pepper—both sides! Pour 1/4 cup of that beautiful dressing over the chicken and use your hands to massage it in (this is my favorite part). Let it marinate while the oven finishes preheating. If you have extra time, you can let it sit for up to an hour at room temperature, or even marinate it covered in the fridge for a few hours. Just remember to bring it back to room temperature before cooking for the best results.
Note: If you refrigerate the chicken, the coconut oil will solidify and look clumpy—don’t panic! This is completely normal and it’ll melt again when it hits the hot oven.
Cut your cabbage in half right through the core (keep that core intact—it holds everything together!). Cut each half in half again through the core, and keep going until you have lots of wedges that are no wider than 1 inch. Place all those wedges in a large bowl, season with salt and pepper, and toss with the remaining dressing. Get your hands in there and make sure every piece gets coated!
Arrange your marinated chicken pieces on the prepared sheet pan, spreading them out so they’re not touching. Give them room to breathe! Slide the pan into your preheated oven and roast for 10 minutes. This gives the chicken a head start and helps the skin begin to crisp up.
Remove the pan from the oven (careful, it’s hot!) and start nestling those cabbage wedges all around the chicken pieces. Tuck them under and between the chicken—it’s going to feel like WAY too much cabbage, but trust the process! It’ll cook down beautifully. Return the pan to the oven and roast for 20 to 25 minutes more, or until the chicken is golden brown and cooked through (internal temperature should hit 165°F).
Pull that gorgeous pan from the oven and transfer just the chicken to a platter to rest. This is important—it lets the juices redistribute so every bite is juicy!
Send that cabbage back into the oven solo for another 10 to 15 minutes. This is when the magic happens—the juices on the pan reduce and get syrupy, and the edges of the cabbage wedges turn golden and caramelized. Keep an eye on it during these last few minutes!
Transfer your gorgeous caramelized cabbage to the platter with the chicken, drizzle any pan juices over everything, and serve immediately.
Notes
- Cut the cabbage wedges evenly. Uneven pieces mean uneven cooking. Keep them all around 1 inch wide for the best results.
- Don’t throw away those pan drippings! They’re liquid gold. Drizzle them over rice or quinoa served alongside this dish.
- Making more chicken? If you’re using 10 pieces instead of 8, add about 30 minutes to the total cooking time after that initial 10 minutes.
- Common mistake to avoid: Don’t use boneless, skinless chicken breasts. They’ll dry out with this cooking method. The bone-in, skin-on pieces are essential here!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Roasting
- Cuisine: Asian-Inspired