, nutritional review by Franziska Spritzler, RD, CDE
in Recipes, Dinner, Lunch, Meal Sheet pan sesame chicken with cauliflower rice
Ingredients
- 2 lbs 900 g skinless boneless chicken thighs, cut into 0.5" (1.5 cm) pieces
- 12 oz. (3¾ cups) 350 g (900 ml) broccoli, cut into florets
- 1 (4 oz.) 1 (120 g) medium red bell pepper, cut into stripsmedium red bell peppers, cut into strips
- 4 tbsp 4 tbsp sesame oil or olive oil, divided
- salt and pepper
- 2½ lbs 1.1 kg cauliflower
- 4 oz. 110 g butter or coconut oil
- ¾ tsp ¾ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp 2 tbsp tamari soy sauce or coconut aminos
- 1 tsp 1 tsp sriracha sauce or hot sauce
- 1 1 garlic clove, mincedgarlic cloves, minced
- ½ tsp ½ tsp ground ginger
- 1 tbsp 1 tbsp sesame seeds, for sprinkling
Instructions
Sheet pan sesame chicken
- Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
- Place the chicken, broccoli and pepper on a large rimmed baking sheet.
- Drizzle with half of the sesame oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Use a rubber spatula to toss together and then spread out in a single layer.
- Bake for 20 minutes, until the veggies are beginning to brown and the chicken is cooked through. In the meantime, prepare the cauliflower rice.
- Shred the cauliflower using a grater or the grater attachment on a food processor.
- Melt butter or coconut oil in a skillet. Add the cauliflower and cook over medium heat for 5-10 minutes or until the riced cauliflower has softened a bit. Add salt while frying.
- You can also cook the grated cauliflower in the microwave. Put it in a glass bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and microwave it for 5-6 minutes. Mix in the butter or coconut oil and let it melt.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining sesame oil, the coconut aminos, hot sauce, garlic, and ginger. Drizzle over the chicken and veggies and toss to combine.
- Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve over cauliflower rice.
Cauliflower rice
To serve
Carolyn's notes
Sheet pan dinners are all the rage right now and it’s easy to see why. They incorporate the full meal on a single pan and it all gets cooked together in the oven. There’s no need to cook your protein and your vegetables separately and dirty multiple dishes.
I’ve found that cooking the food directly on the pan, rather than covering it with parchment or aluminum foil, allows the meat and the veggies to cook through a bit faster and to brown nicely. As long as you use plenty of oil, the food won’t stick.
Asian recipes do really well as sheet pan meals. The meat and veggies are cut up in small chunks, similar to the way they would be in a stir fry, so they cook quite quickly. And a little sesame oil brings out the flavor. Once the meal is cooked, you simply toss it with a spicy sugar-free sauce and dinner is served. I recommend serving it over a little cauliflower rice.
Thank you for sharing your feedback on this one! It might be dinner here tonight!
Chicken breast may work well but may end up drier due to a lower fat content. You can try cooking for less time and checking internal temperature with a thermometer. Frozen vegetables frequently have a lot of water content in them and they may need to be drained well before using them.
Frozen vegetables frequently have a lot of water content in them and they may need to be drained well before using them.