This Cajun chicken sheet pan is perfect for an easy weeknight dinner. Made on just one pan using simple ingredients like chicken, sweet potatoes and kale, and topped with incredible Cajun honey butter, the whole family will love this meal.
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When it comes to weeknight dinners, I ask three main things from my meal. I want it to be delicious. I want it to be healthy. And I want it to be easy. Enter this Cajun Chicken Sheet Pan with Sweet Potatoes and Kale!
If you can cut a sweet potato, rip kale and turn on an oven, you can have this tasty Healthy Chicken Traybake on your plate in under an hour!
And much like this Bruschetta Chicken Sheet Pan or this Lemon Herb Shrimp Rice Skillet, everything cooks in the same dish so there is minimal clean up.
The Ingredients
- Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts- Boneless, skinless chicken thighs also work and are less likely to dry out. If you would like to increase the chicken you can double the amount and use one full chicken breast per serving.
- Sweet Potatoes- Peeled or unpeeled works depending on your preference.
- Kale
- Cajun Honey Butter- If you already have some on hand, feel free to use that! You need a generous ¼ cup. I would recommend heating it in the microwave for 30 seconds to soften it.
- Olive Oil- Another neutral cooking oil can be used instead.
- Cajun Seasoning
The Method
1. Preheat the oven. Set the oven to 425 F.
2. Assemble. Place sweet potatoes and place on a sheet pan with the chicken.
Note: Depending on the thickness of the chicken breasts, they may not need as long to cook and could dry out. Particularly, if you are using chicken breasts that are less than 1 inch (2cm) thick.
To prevent this, you can bake the sweet potatoes for 10 minutes first. Then remove from the oven, add the chicken and bake for an additional 15 minutes. Resume with the remaining steps.
Alternatively, you can check the temperature of the chicken early and remove it to a plate while the sweet potatoes and kale finish cooking. You can just brush the Cajun honey butter on and put it back in the oven for the last 3 minutes of cooking. If you use chicken thighs, they are less likely to dry out.
3. Prep kale and Cajun honey butter. Rip, wash and dry the kale (a salad spinner works well) and mix together the ingredients for the Cajun honey butter.
4. Baste chicken. Remove the sheet pan from the oven and spoon out the honey butter so that it does not touch the chicken and then use a basting brush to spread it on.
The chicken may not be fully cooked when first basting so it is important that you use a separate utensil to spread the sauce around to ensure you don’t contaminate it all (and you have some leftover to serve at the end!).
5. Add kale. Bake for 5 additional minutes and then baste the other side and add kale on top.
6. Bake for 5 more minutes. The edges of the kale will be starting to look a bit crispy (almost like some Garlic Kale Chips). Ensure chicken is cooked to an internal temperature of at least 165 F.
7. Serve. Drizzle the remaining Cajun honey butter over the tray or serve it with a spoon alongside.
Leftovers and Storage
Storage: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. You can freeze leftovers if needed but it may change the texture of the sweet potatoes and kale.
To Reheat: Reheat leftovers in the microwave until warmed through. You can also reheat in the oven at 350 F for 10 minutes until heated through. Don't add the kale until the last 3 minutes.
Serving Ideas
This recipe is an easy, healthy all in one meal at its best! But if you want to add a little something more, some fresh baked Honey Oat Bread would be a tasty side! Especially if you toasted it and spread on a bit of extra Cajun Honey Butter.
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And if you liked this...
...you might also like:
- Cumin Chicken and Carrots Sheet Pan
- Cajun Shrimp and Rice Skillet
- Stuffed Barbecue Chicken Sweet Potatoes
- Baked Cajun Honey Butter Salmon
- Maple Dijon Pork Chops and Roasted Vegetables (One Pan)
Cajun Chicken Sheet Pan
Ingredients
Sheet Pan
- 2 lb sweet potatoes cut into half inch dice (about 4 cups)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil divided
- 1 and ½ tablespoon Cajun Seasoning divided
- 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut in half for 4 even pieces
- 1 bundle kale
Cajun Honey Butter (¼ cup)
- 3 tablespoon butter
- 1 and ½ tablespoon honey
- 1 and ½ teaspoon Cajun Seasoning
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 °F. Prepare a large sheet pan.
- In a large bowl, mix together the sweet potatoes with ½ tablespoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon of Cajun seasoning. Place the chicken on one side of the sheet pan and spread the sweet potatoes out on the other side. Place in the oven for 25 minutes.
- Prepare the kale. Trim the stems, wash and dry, rip into bite sized pieces and add to the bowl from earlier. Mix with remaining ½ tablespoon of olive oil and ½ tablespoon of Cajun seasoning.
- Prepare the honey butter. Place the butter and honey in a microwave safe bowl and heat in the microwave for 15-30 seconds until nearly melted. Mix 1 teaspoon of seasoning in and set aside.
- After the sheet pan has cooked for 25 minutes, remove from the oven and stir the sweet potatoes. Spoon 1 teaspoon of honey butter over each piece of chicken and use a brush or the back of another spoon to spread it evenly.
- Return the sheet pan to the oven for 5 minutes. Then remove from the oven, flip each piece of chicken and repeat spooning 1 teaspoon honey butter over each piece.
- Lay the kale over the entire sheet pan and bake for 5 more minutes until sweet potatoes are tender, kale is cooked and starting to crisp and chicken is cooked through to 165 °F.
- Serve, drizzling remaining Cajun Honey Butter over dish as desired.
Sandy
The recipe was very easy to follow. The use of healthy ingredients made me feel good while I am enjoying my dinner and it tasted delicious with a little added crunch to the kale. We loved it👍😋
Janessa
I'm glad that you enjoyed this recipe! Thank you for your kind review!
Nicole
So happy I came across this! One of my new favorite recipes! The cajun honey butter is amazing ❤️🤤
Janessa
Yay, I'm glad you liked this recipe! Thank you for your kind review, Nicole.
Jill
“I am so full but want to keep eating” was my text to my friend after making this! It was so easy to make and so delicious, I didn’t know what I was craving for supper but this dish sure satisfied it. Highly recommend
Janessa
Hahaha too funny! I'm glad you liked this recipe!
Chef Mireille
my kind of recipe where I only have to dirty one pan and since I love spicy food I increased the Cajun seasoning and OMG this is going to be my new go to recipe when I want something easy and delicious with so little work involved!
Carrie
Sheet pan dinners are the best! I just love the easy clean-up. 🙂 And this looks delicious.
Janessa
I agree! Thanks for your kind review, Carrie.
Toni
Such a delicious meal for weeknights! Quickly became a favorite!
Janessa
I'm glad you enjoyed this recipe. Thank you for your kind review, Toni!
Jacqueline Meldrum
I love a sheet pan dinner. The perfect family meal for midweek.
Kate
I just love sheetpan meals for quick and easy weeknight dinners, and this is so packed with flavour and easy to make. Delicious!
Janessa
I'm glad you liked this recipe! Thank you for your kind review, Kate.
Kelsey
Very easy to make, healthy, and so delicious! The Cajun honey butter was 10/10
Janessa
Thank you for your kind review! I'm glad you enjoyed this recipe.