Need a Mediterranean Vacation? This Sheet-Pan Greek Chicken Dinner Is the Next Best Thing

There are sheet-pan dinners, and then there are sheet-pan dinners that make you feel like you’ve just pulled off a culinary magic trick. This chicken dinner, developed by my colleague Craig Ruff in our Birmingham, Alabama, test kitchen, lands firmly in the latter camp. At first glance, it appears to be a straightforward tray of roasted chicken and vegetables. But with a few smart steps—layering vegetables in stages, harnessing the power of one lemon vinaigrette in multiple ways, and finishing with a creamy homemade tzatziki—you end up with an impressive Greek-inspired chicken with roasted vegetables dish that’s both weeknight-friendly and dinner-party impressive.

Craig’s recipe borrows a page from a common restaurant playbook that Daniel has praised before: the “two-sauce trick.” On paper, multiple sauces can sound like chef-y overkill, but in practice, they’re often incredibly simple to pull off at home, and they instantly add depth, contrast, and a sense of polish to even the most straightforward meal. Here, the zippy lemon vinaigrette appears in every layer of the cooking process, while the cooling tzatziki is presented on the plate as the creamy foil. It’s a clever way to get maximum flavor impact with just a little extra effort.

The flavor foundation starts with a simple whisked-together lemon vinaigrette. Lemon juice, red wine vinegar, garlic, thyme, oregano, coriander, and olive oil combine to create a sauce that serves triple duty. Part of it goes toward marinating the chicken thighs, where it tenderizes the meat and ensures every bite is tangy and aromatic. Another portion gets tossed with each batch of vegetables before they hit the oven, so the onions, broccolini, and tomatoes all roast with their own bright, herb-laced seasoning. The last splash gets whisked together with the pan drippings at the very end to form a golden, chickeny finishing sauce that you drizzle over everything. This one quick vinaigrette, applied with intention, builds layers of flavor from start to finish.

The second sauce is just as essential, though it comes together with almost no effort. While the chicken marinates, you grate a cucumber, squeeze out its liquid, and stir it into Greek yogurt with garlic, herbs, and olive oil. This simple tzatziki is the creamy, cooling counterpoint to the roasted chicken and vegetables. Spoon it onto each plate before piling the sheet-pan mixture on top, and it acts like a canvas for everything else to shine against. 

Beyond the two sauces, Craig’s recipe also uses a thoughtful timing technique to make this dinner both successful and mostly hands-off. Instead of crowding everything onto the pan at once, each element gets its own moment. Onions are roasted first, scattered around the chicken, where they soften and caramelize in the rendered fat. Broccolini comes next, just long enough to turn tender-crisp and a little charred. Finally, cherry tomatoes, olives, and feta join the party, collapsing and browning in the oven’s final minutes. By staggering their time in the oven, each vegetable cooks to its best texture instead of sacrificing flavor to uneven roasting.

The result is a colorful, Greek-inspired platter full of fresh flavors—herbs, lemon, and vegetables—balanced with the richness of skin-on chicken thighs, briny olives, and creamy feta. And because the oven does most of the heavy lifting, you’re free to set the table, pour a glass of wine, or just hang out while dinner finishes in the oven.

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