Sweet & Spicy Roast Chicken with Carrots, Dates & Pistachios
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This sheet-pan roast chicken dinner is the perfect no-fuss dish for company. Everything can be prepared and assembled a day in advance, so all that’s left to do at dinnertime is pop it in the oven.
Don’t you just love discovering new “keeper” recipes? The first time I made Melissa Clark’s fabulous sweet and spicy roast chicken recipe from The New York Times, I knew it’d be a family favorite for years to come. The chicken is immersed in a honey, citrus, and chili-infused marinade, and then roasted on a sheet pan with carrots and dates.
Before serving, herbs, scallions, and pistachios are added for freshness, color, and crunch. Not only is it delicious, but it’s also the perfect no-fuss dish for company. Everything can be prepared and assembled a day in advance, so all that’s left to do at dinnertime is pop it in the oven. Serve with couscous and a green vegetable and dinner is done!
Table of Contents
“I told the family I would clear up after dinner so I could have a quiet moment alone with the leftovers. Such a delicious dish!”
What You’ll Need To Make Sweet & Spicy Roast Chicken
The original recipe is wonderful as printed but, as with any recipe, each time I’ve made it, I’ve tweaked it to suit my style and my family’s taste. What follows is the version I make today.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Begin by making the marinade: whisk together the lemon zest, lemon juice, orange zest, orange juice, olive oil, mustard, honey, red pepper flakes, garlic, thyme, and salt.
Place the chicken, carrots, onions, and dates in a large sealable plastic bag. Add the marinade and seal shut. Massage to make sure everything is evenly coated with the marinade, then marinate in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours or overnight.
Transfer all ingredients from the bag, including the marinade, to a rimmed sheet pan. Turn the chicken skin side up.
Roast until chicken is lightly browned and cooked through, 40 to 45 minutes. Turn on broiler (leave pan on middle rack), and cook a few minutes more, or until the skin is golden brown and crispy. Watch very carefully: the honey in the marinade can cause the skin to burn quickly!
Transfer the chicken, carrots, onions and dates onto a platter, along with the sauce in the pan. Sprinkle the parsley, scallions and pistachio nuts over top and serve.
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Sweet & Spicy Roast Chicken with Carrots, Dates & Pistachios
This sheet-pan roast chicken dinner is the perfect no-fuss dish for company. Everything can be prepared and assembled a day in advance, so all that’s left to do at dinnertime is pop it in the oven.
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice, from 1 large lemon
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
- 6 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice, from 2 oranges
- 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons whole grain mustard
- 6 tablespoons honey
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves (or 1 teaspoon dried)
- 2½ teaspoons salt
- 4 pounds bone-in chicken pieces (thighs, drumsticks and breasts)
- 3 cups ¼-inch sliced carrots
- 1 medium yellow onion, halved and thinly sliced
- 1 cup thinly sliced dried dates
- 2 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley, for garnish
- 2 scallions, light and dark green parts, thinly sliced, for garnish
- ¼ cup chopped salted pistachios, for garnish
Instructions
- Make the marinade: In a medium bowl whisk together the lemon zest, lemon juice, orange zest, orange juice, olive oil, mustard, honey, red pepper flakes, garlic, thyme, and salt.
- Place the chicken, carrots, onions, and dates in a large sealable plastic bag. Add the marinade and seal shut. Massage to make sure everything is evenly coated with the marinade. Place the bag on a rimmed sheet pan to protect against leakage and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours or overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 425°F and set an oven rack in the middle position.
- Transfer all ingredients from the bag, including the marinade, to a rimmed sheet pan (do not line the pan with foil). Turn the chicken skin side up. Roast until chicken is lightly browned and cooked through, 40 to 45 minutes. About halfway through cooking, stir the carrots so that they don’t burn around the edges of the pan.
- Turn on broiler (leave pan on middle rack), and cook 1 to 3 minutes more, or until skin is golden brown and crispy. Watch carefully: the honey in the marinade can cause the skin to burn quickly.
- Transfer the chicken, carrots, onions and dates onto a platter, along with the sauce in the pan. Sprinkle the parsley, scallions and pistachio nuts over top and serve.
Pair with
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (6 servings)
- Calories: 1,022
- Fat: 62g
- Saturated fat: 15g
- Carbohydrates: 59g
- Sugar: 49g
- Fiber: 6g
- Protein: 60g
- Sodium: 1306mg
- Cholesterol: 227mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Gluten-Free Adaptable Note
To the best of my knowledge, all of the ingredients used in this recipe are gluten-free or widely available in gluten-free versions. There is hidden gluten in many foods; if you're following a gluten-free diet or cooking for someone with gluten allergies, always read the labels of your ingredients to verify that they are gluten-free.
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Made this over the weekend. Another winner. Paired it with your green beans and couscous.
Just made this for Rosh Hashanah and it was awesome!!! I used baby carrots to be lazy and not all of them got soft, so beware of taking that shortcut. Loved the mix of flavors and softness and crunch – and so did my guests!
Glad you enjoyed it, Rachel! And thank you for the heads up on the baby carrots — the carrots do need to be sliced thin in order to cook through :).
This is a great Rosh Hashanah recipe. We loved it.
Haven’t tried this yet, but to the person worried about cleaning the pan, I use non stick tin foil for this type of recipe, I even use it on my grill. It’s fantastic and I am never without it. The duller side has a non stick coating on it, we get it in Canada, it’s by Alcan and called Slide. I would try this.
Jenn, I made this for Rosh Hashanah dinner last night with the suggested sides (awesome new feature btw!) and my family loved it. That it could all be made ahead was a bonus. Thank you for sharing all your recipes!
I guess I am in the minority here, but my family did not enjoy this one. The end result was beautiful, but too sweet for our tastes. Also, the sauce was very oily which was a turn-off. I might try it again with less honey and oil and more chili flakes. I would probably also omit the dates. I love having dinner recipes that can be prepared the day before and cooked the night of, so that part was great!
Jenn
I’m not a fan of dates. Would dried plums work as a sub?
Yes Chris, I think that would work. Enjoy!
can I use a roasting pan instead of a baking sheet?
Sure Bridget, just make sure it’s large enough so there’s a little space between the chicken pieces.
what do you marinate skinless chicken breast with and how do you cook them. I need a foolproof recipe for that tnx
Hi C.B., you may enjoy this easy marinade for these boneless, skinless chicken breasts.
Hi.
This recipe sounds great! Can you please explain why chicken breasts won’t work? It’s odd, but my family won’t eat chicken on a bone.
Thanks!
Lisa
Hi Lisa, Sure, there are several reasons. First, as a rule, I never marinate boneless skinless chicken breasts in acidic ingredients — I find it changes their texture and makes them a bit leathery (because they are so lean). Second, boneless breasts would cook in a third of the time, so you’d need to take them out and let the vegetables continue cooking. And finally, the skin on the chicken releases a lot of fat and flavor, which bastes the chicken and vegetables and makes them extra delicious. You certainly could make the dish with boneless skinless breasts (provided you take them out of the oven early)…I just don’t think the finished dish would be nearly as good. Another option would be to cook the breasts on the bone, let them cool, then pull the meat off the bone, discard the skin, and reheat. That’s actually how I serve it to my kids. Hope that helps!
Thanks so much! I’m going to try it as you suggested!