Sheet Pan Chicken and Vegetables with Butter and Parmesan

This sheet pan chicken and vegetables recipe makes for the best dinner. Why? Because I just throw everything onto a pan and call it day. That’s a win in my book.

Can you Cook Chicken and Vegetables Together?

It’s totally safe to cook chicken and vegetables together like you do in this sheet pan chicken and vegetables recipe. Just make sure the chicken and vegetables are cooked to the proper internal temperature (165F). This will ensure any bacteria from the chicken has been cooked off and can no longer contaminate the food on the sheet pan.

Learn more about cross-contamination and cross-contact here.

Are Sheet Pan Dinners Safe?

Sheet pan dinners are no dangerous than any other meal you might prepare. As long as you take general food safety precautions, you sheet pan dinner will be safe.

Generally food safe precautions include:

Washing any raw produce used to remove bacteria that may be present
Cut the vegetables before the raw chicken (or use separate cutting boards)
Cook the chicken and vegetables to the right temperature (165F).
Don’t let the food sit out for too long. As soon as your done serving, begin the cooling process to prevent pathogens from growing in the leftovers.

The Key to Amazing Sheet Pan Dinners

The key to amazing sheet pan dinners is to know the ingredients your cooking with and add them to the sheet pan at the appropriate time. That and be sure to be generous with cooking fats and seasonings.

For example, in this recipe we know we have potatoes, carrots, broccoli, and chicken. Potatoes take much longer to fully cook than broccoli, carrots, and chicken and thus, we start with baking the potatoes first.

You can apply this process to any other sheet pan meal as well. However, I’ll also say, on my most burnt out days, I throw everything on the pan at once and call it a day and no one complained… do with that what you will.

Print Recipe