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Sheet Pan Jerk Chicken & Root Vegetable Dinner

Sheet Pan Jerk Chicken & Root Vegetable Dinner
Home » Recipes by Ingredients » Vegetables » Includes DIY jerk seasoning

A Jamaican jerk seasoning blend can give an easy sheet pan dinner a Caribbean flavor. Chicken, fish and vegetables are popular ingredients that allow the spicy jerk seasoning to shine, and it couldn’t be easier when used as a sheet pan recipe.

White tray of chicken and root vegetables made as a sheet pan dinner.
Sheet pan dinner with jerk seasoning on chicken and root vegetables

Jump to: RECIPE | Keys to Any Sheet Pan Dinner | More Sheet Pan Dinners

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Is This Dinner Low Carb?

Many, if not most, of the popular sheet pan dinners, feature potatoes along with the protein and vegetables. But if you are following a low-carb lifestyle, there is no loss of flavor to simply removing the potatoes (or sweet potatoes) and reveling in the caramelized veggies.

Tip: The spice blend you choose to work with can enhance flavors to the point you will never miss the carbs. Jerk seasoning is on the spicy side!

There is a reason sheet pan dinners became the rage a few years ago and have remained popular. They are easy to make, easy to clean up, and easy to modify to your tastes and diet restrictions.

The Jerk Chicken Sheet Pan Dinner (recipe below) was one of my favorites, but I did make it with sweet potatoes which are not low carb but very healthy.

Ingredients for Winter vegetable sheet pan dinner with jerk seasoning rub.
Ingredients for Winter root vegetable traybake with jerk seasoning

5 Keys to making any Sheet Pan Dinner

Honestly, sheet pan dinners are so forgiving that there are very few “rules” or recipes that you need to follow. There are, however, a few basic principles that will help alleviate the pain of decision-making or fear of failure.

Here are my top five, that will work with jerk chicken but also any other sheet pan dinner:

  1. The preferred pan: Use a half-sheet pan (aka cookie sheet) made of heavy-gauge metal. It just needs to be strong enough to take high oven heat, as the temperature is usually around 400 degrees F. You also want the largest sheet pan that will fit in your oven, so that you don’t need to crowd the vegetables (crowded veggies can get mushy). I usually end up making two batches on two different half-sheet pans.
  2. Easy clean-up: If you want to make clean-up super easy, line the sheet pan with foil before adding the ingredients and simply toss the foil when the dish is done.
  3. Coating with oil and spices: You can toss everything into a large bowl, coat the ingredients with the oil and spices you are using, and then place them on the sheet pan. That does, however, give you another dish to clean. I tend to lay everything out on the foiled sheet pan, drizzle with oil, sprinkle with my spice mix, and then use my hands to massage it all in. Either way works….you either clean the bowl or clean your hands!
  4. Cooking time: Denser vegetables will take longer to cook than softer, more delicate veggies. I usually cook things like carrots or root vegetables along with the chicken and add the softer vegetables like peppers, tomatoes, or onions halfway through the cooking process. Soft veggies like zucchini or eggplant can go in for the last 15 minutes. A rule of thumb here could be to roast the denser vegetables with the meat for 30 minutes or more before adding the softer vegetables to the pan.
  5. Breading or making full use of juices: If you are breading your protein (probably not if you are low carb), or if you are using roast beef or pork and want the veggies to soak up the juices, place your protein on a wire rack that sits above the vegetables in the sheet pan and don’t use parchment paper. When finished cooking you can remove the proteins and veggies and deglaze the pan with some wine, water, or broth for a great sauce.
Traybake or sheetpan low carb dinner with chicken legs
Traybake or sheet pan low-carb dinner with chicken legs

DIY Blend for Jerk Seasoning

You can purchase the Jerk spice or you can make your own. The DIY blend below is from a website called Myrecipes.com and it is a good one.

  • 1 tablespoon garlic powder
  • 2 to 3 teaspoons cayenne pepper
  • 2 teaspoons onion powder
  • 2 teaspoons dried thyme
  • 2 teaspoons dried parsley
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 1 teaspoon ground allspice
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

4 More Recipes for Sheet Pan Dinners

Here is another one of my favorite sheet pan dinners using tomato-based rubs

Chicken sheet pan dinner with vegetables and tomato mustard rub.
Chicken sheet pan dinner with vegetables and tomato mustard rub.

Another favorite for those who like Middle Eastern flavors is the chicken shawarma sheet pan dinner.

Low carb chicken shawarma dinner
Low-carb chicken shawarma dinner

And for fish lovers, try this delicious fish sheet pan dinner.

Fish and vegetables arranged on a sheet pan for roasting.
Sheet pan dinner of fish and vegetables

For those who love pork, this is an easy and tasty sheet pan dinner with roasted root veggies and pork chops.

Medley of roasted root vegetables on a plate from a sheet pan method of cooking.
Sheet pan roasted root vegetables

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Sheet Pan Chicken with Jerk Seasonings

White tray of chicken and root vegetables made as a sheet pan dinner.
A sheetpan dinner of root vegetables and chicken seasoned with a jerk seasoning blend and roasted for 40 minutes.
5 from 4 votes
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Servings 4
Calories 392

Ingredients

  • 1 large red onion
  • 3 large carrots can use 1 large sweet potato if not low carb
  • ½ large fennel bulb can also use daikon radishes
  • 1 lime sliced
  • 4 cloves garlic peeled but not chopped
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2-4 tablespoons jerk seasoning spice blend see notes for DIY version
  • 4 chicken thighs alternatively can use 8 chicken legs

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.  Line a half-sheet pan (aka cookie sheet) with parchment paper or foil.
  • Place coarsely cut vegetables in a large bowl and add some olive oil (about 2 Tbsp but doesn't have to be perfect)l.   Add 2 Tbsp jerk spice to the bowl.  Using your hands massage everything in the bowl with oil and spice.  
    1 large red onion, 3 large carrots, 1/2 large fennel bulb, 1 lime, 4 cloves garlic, 3 tablespoons olive oil, 2-4 tablespoons jerk seasoning spice blend
  • Spread vegetables out on the prepared sheet pan. Add the chicken legs on top of vegetables. Drizzle oil over the chicken legs and over any vegetables that might still look dry. Sprinkle remaining 2 Tbsp over the chicken legs.
    4 chicken thighs
  • Place sheet pan in oven and cook for 30 minutes. If desired you can turn the chicken legs over at the 15-minute interval.  
  • After the chicken has cooked 30 minutes you can add more delicate vegetables to the pan if desired (like tomatoes, mushrooms, zucchini, etc.). Place the sheet pan back in the oven and cook for an additional 10-15 minutes.  Serve and enjoy!

Video

Notes

Homemade DIY Jerk Seasoning Blend
    • 1 tablespoon garlic powder
    • 2 to 3 teaspoons cayenne pepper
    • 2 teaspoons onion powder
    • 2 teaspoons dried thyme
    • 2 teaspoons dried parsley
    • 2 teaspoons sugar
    • 2 teaspoons salt
    • 1 teaspoon paprika
    • 1 teaspoon ground allspice
    • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
    • 1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
    • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
    • 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
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Nutrition

Serving: 1gCalories: 392kcalCarbohydrates: 13gProtein: 20gFat: 30gSaturated Fat: 7gPolyunsaturated Fat: 5gMonounsaturated Fat: 15gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 111mgSodium: 142mgPotassium: 595mgFiber: 3gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 9158IUVitamin C: 15mgCalcium: 59mgIron: 1mg
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