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!
“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
Step 1: Make the marinade. Whisk together the lemon zest, lemon juice, orange zest, orange juice, olive oil, mustard, honey, red pepper flakes, garlic, thyme, and salt.
Step 2: Marinate everything. 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.
Step 3: Roast. 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.
Step 4: Finish under the broiler. Turn on broiler (leaving the 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!
Step 5: Serve. 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. Enjoy!
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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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I’ve made this dish for myself and husband and we really enjoyed it. Now I’m having company and planning on serving this chicken. 2 questions for you: what could I substitute for the couscous side dish you suggested for pairing? Also, a guest is bringing a salad to serve before the main meal. What would you suggest for the salad? Thanks so much for your wonderful recipes!!
Hi Bev, glad you hear you like the recipe! If you want to swap out the couscous for something else, I’d suggest just a simple grain or roasted potato; the chicken has so much flavor, that whatever starch you use should be simple. In terms of a salad, this arugula salad would be nice. Hope you have an enjoyable dinner!
Fabulous & beautiful recipe! I used all chicken thighs 12 pieces, about 5 pounds to serve 6 people . I marinated all adding extra ½ marinade and veggies of recipe a full day ahead. I took the advice of others and lined my sheet pan with non stick foil and it worked perfectly. Got RAVE reviews from all on the taste and presentation! Will definitely make again!
We loved this! Thank you Jenn for another winner. It was beautifully browned after 45 minutes do we didn’t broil. Made as written and will do so many more times.
Does this really have 1000 calories and 62g of fat per serving? How is that possible?!?
Hi Nancy, Yes, but remember it’s a main course and side dish all in one.
I made this recipe last night for Hanukkah and for a dinner party with friends. It was amazing! I made it as directed. The flavors were incredible, and I was so happy. My friends all said it was 5 stars. My wife loved it and said it was the best chicken I’ve ever made (and I’ve made a lot of chicken recipes – including the Peruvian chicken from this website). Plus, even with four of us – we still have leftovers. Needless to say, we’re adding this to the regular rotation of dishes we make. Great dish!
Yum, I made with just lemon juice and zest because I didn’t have oranges in the house. It was just fine with out it. Yum
I love how the chicken browned up.i didn’t need the broiler. I will repeat this recipe again…
I made this spicy chicken recipe and absolutely loved it. The flavors played on my tongue. The chicken was delightfully infused with the sweet and savory blend due to the marinade process, which in my case was lengthened for an extra 15 hours due to a family emergency. I had altered it just a bit by adding 1/2C of sautéed leeks leftover from a different preparation.
The next time I had the opportunity to use this marinade was when I made a double portion, kept in the freezer in several small packets. I had made a large salmon topped with mayonnaise and almond meal for Break the Fast. There was about a pound and a quarter left over. The next day I smashed up the salmon, added the veggie-date mix and then served it as cold salmon salad (with whole wheat everything flats) to my book club members, who loved it.
Next I used it with brisket, and then chicken tenders for the kids. Does it look l fell in love with this recipe?
I was going to be cooking in my daughter in law’s new kitchen for Rosh Hashanah. My son is a Rabbi in Seattle. I was looking for a dish to feed a crowd as they entertain 20+ regularly. I used Cornish hens, there was a huge bag of them in the freezer! I multiplied the recipe to make 24 portions. This recipe has everything you would want in a New Year’s dish. It was greeted with oohs and ahs! We were only 18 for that meal but there was nothing left over! This recipe is a keeper!
This was outstanding! Every person at my dinner loved it and went back for seconds. I used skinless bone-in chicken breasts and boneless thighs and they all came out great. I skipped the step to crisp the skin, and made sure the white meat was kept moist the whole time. I ended up warming it for about 2 hours because of a delayed start to our dinner, but it was surprisingly moist. Definitely a keeper!
This is the absolute best! made it just as written..!! I wasn’t sure if the family would like the dates but they did!!!