Quick Summary: Spicy jerk-seasoned chicken thighs roast right on top of carrots, fennel, and red onion, so dinner and the vegetables come out of the oven together with almost no cleanup. It’s slow carb friendly, and the homemade jerk blend lets you set the heat. Prep: 15 minutes. Cook: 40 minutes. Serves: 4.
Jump to: RECIPE | Keys to Great Sheet Pan Dinners | Ingredients for Root Vegetable Side | DIY Jerk Seasoning Blend | Sides to Serve with Jerk Chicken Sheetpan Dinner | More Sheet Pan Dinner Recipes | FAQ
Sheet pan dinners are beloved for their ease of cooking and flexibility of ingredients. It’s an easy way to get a great dinner on the table with minimal fuss and minimal cleanup.
Using good rubs or spice blends can take the lowly sheet pan dinner to new delicious heights while maintaining that ease that we all love.
I’ve been experimenting with spice blends from the chile peppers that I grow on the farm and this jerk seasoning mix is one that my farmers’ market customers seem to really like.
About my coaching experience: I lost 30 pounds on the slow carb diet in 2013 and have kept it off for over a decade. From 2016 to 2020, I coached more than 400 people through slow carb and low carb diets. The biggest lesson: the people who cooked for themselves were the ones who made it a sustainable lifestyle. The ones who struggled usually had one of three problems. They didn’t know how to cook, they were too busy, or they got bored with the food. My recipes are written for all three: clear directions, easy steps, and big flavor. I’m not a doctor. If you have diabetes, kidney disease, or take medication, check with your doctor before changing how you eat.
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Is Jerk Chicken Sheet Pan Dinner Slow Carb Friendly?
Yes. This version skips the potatoes and roasts the chicken with carrots, fennel, and red onion, so it fits a slow carb lifestyle. For strict slow carb, leave the sugar out of the jerk seasoning.
Many, if not most, of the popular sheet pan dinners, feature potatoes along with the protein and vegetables. But if you are following a slow-carb lifestyle, there is no loss of flavor to simply removing the potatoes (or sweet potatoes) and replacing them with lower-carb root vegetables like fennel, daikon radish, or carrots.
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!
5 Keys to making any Sheet Pan Dinner
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:
- 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.
- 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.
- 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!
- 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.
- 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.
Ingredients for Root Vegetable Traybake (Sheetpan)
The following photo shows you all the ingredients you will need for this recipe. For details on measurements, see the recipe below.
How to Make DIY Jerk Seasoning
You can purchase the Jerk spice or you can make your own. The DIY blend below is one blend that packs a lot of flavor:
- 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
What to Serve with Jerk Chicken
Serve jerk chicken with something cooling, something starchy or sweet, and a vegetable. Classic Jamaican sides are rice and peas, fried plantains, and steamed cabbage, while slaws and roasted vegetables keep the meal lighter.
Best Vegetables to Serve with Jerk Chicken
- Sheet pan roasted root vegetables, like the carrots and fennel in this dinner
- Jamaican steamed cabbage with carrots, bell pepper, and a little Scotch bonnet
- Roasted cauliflower
- Callaloo or garlic ginger bok choy
Cooling Sides for Spicy Jerk Chicken
- Tomatillo Slaw with Jicama and Apple, with its jerk aioli dressing
- Mango or pineapple salsa with red onion and lime
- Cucumber avocado salad
Traditional Jamaican Sides for Jerk Chicken
- Rice and peas: rice cooked with kidney beans and coconut milk
- Fried sweet plantains
- Festival (sweet cornmeal fritters) or coco bread
- Roasted sweet potatoes or potato salad
Healthy, Low Carb Sides for Jerk Chicken
- Cauliflower rice in place of rice and peas
- Black beans, for slow carb, in place of rice
- Root Vegetable Ragu such as turnips, radishes, and celery root
More Recipes for Sheet Pan Dinners
Here are some more of my favorite recipes with sheetpan roasted vegetables:
For fish lovers:
Roasted root vegetable ragu:
Spring sheetpan dinner of chicken, rhubarb, fennel and asparagus
Chicken Traybake with asparagus, onions and sweet peppers
FAQ
Yes, when made with root vegetables like carrots, fennel, and daikon instead of potatoes or sweet potatoes. The jerk seasoning contains a small amount of sugar, but spread across four servings it’s minimal.
Yes. Chicken legs work well and take the same cooking time. Bone-in, skin-on pieces give you the best flavor and stay juicy during roasting
Chicken thighs are done when they reach 165°F internal temperature. The skin should be golden and slightly crispy, and the juices should run clear.
Dense vegetables like carrots, fennel, parsnips, and onions roast well with chicken. Add softer vegetables like zucchini, peppers, or tomatoes during the last 15 minutes so they don’t overcook.
Since the vegetables roast right on the pan, a cooling side rounds it out: a slaw, mango salsa, or cucumber salad. See what to serve with jerk chicken above for Jamaican classics and low carb options.
Jerk chicken is roasted or grilled, not fried, and gets its flavor from spices like allspice, thyme, and hot peppers, so it fits a healthy lifestyle well. Watch store-bought jerk marinades and seasonings, which often contain added sugar.
Sheet Pan Jerk Chicken with Root Vegetables
Equipment
- measuring spoons
Ingredients
- 1 large red onion
- 3 large carrots
- ½ large fennel bulb
- 1 lime sliced
- 4 cloves garlic peeled but not chopped
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2-4 tablespoons jerk seasoning spice blend
- 4 chicken thighs
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
- Substitutions: Use 1 large sweet potato in place of the carrots if you aren’t eating low carb.
- Daikon radishes work in place of the fennel.
- Eight chicken legs can replace the four thighs.
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- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
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- 2 to 3 teaspoons cayenne pepper
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- 2 teaspoons onion powder
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- 2 teaspoons dried thyme
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- 2 teaspoons dried parsley
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- 2 teaspoons sugar
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- 2 teaspoons salt
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- 1 teaspoon paprika
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- 1 teaspoon ground allspice
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- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
-
- 1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
-
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
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- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon