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!
More Chicken Recipes You’ll Love
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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Hi Jen! I can’t tell you how much I love all your recipes and your cookbook!! You have saved countless times and I don’t stress because I can rely on you😊. Can I marinade this on Monday to serve on Friday? I’m out of town the whole week and back the evening before we have company on Friday.
So glad you like the recipes, Vicky! 🙂 I think you could get away with making the marinade on Monday but it’s definitely pushing it a bit. You won’t be marinating the chicken in it that whole time, correct? While I’ve never done this, you could also make the marinade, add the chicken, and freeze it while you’re away. Whichever route you decide to go, I hope you enjoy it!
I am planning to make this in a few weeks for six adults. I’m nervous that if I use assorted chicken pieces that chicken breasts will be too big….wouldn’t they take longer to cook than the thighs do? Will they look too big on the platter? Would it be weird to only have two breasts and the rest thighs? I’m debating whether I should just do all thighs, 1/2 thighs and 1/2 drumsticks. or…..6 chicken breasts. I know it will be delicious, I’m just trying to guess what the guests would prefer and what will make the prettiest presentation. Thanks Jenn. Your recipes are always delicious!
Hi Roberta, although the chicken breasts are much larger than other chicken pieces because they are white meat, they don’t need as much time as you would think. Bottom line is they all bake in the same amount of time. I don’t think the breasts will look too big on the platter but if you are concerned about that, feel free to stick with smaller chicken parts. Hope that helps and everyone enjoys!
Thanks Jen! It was delicious, easy and our guests seemed to love it. Next time I will probably not use chicken breasts. They were too large for one person, so it was awkward when guests were serving themselves. The thighs were perfectLy sized. Thanks for a great recipe and for all the tips. I can always count on your recipes to be crowd pleasers. You’re the best.
So glad it was a hit! 🙂
I often cut the breasts in half, swirl the halves around in whatever sauce it cooked in, and serve them up on the platter with the other parts. I find that works well and it still looks appealing.
I made this for Rosh Hashanah dinner. It was super easy and convenient to make ahead and just pop in the oven for dinner before the service. It came out beautiful and everyone loved it! This is my new favorite Jewish Holiday chicken!
Hi Jenn,
Is it possible to make this same recipe with bone in chicken breast only?
Thanks so much!
Sure, Zara, that’s perfectly fine. Hope you enjoy!
Hi Jenn
What sort of salad would pair nicely with this chicken recipe? I’m making it for the first time this weekend. Thank you!
Hi Del, If you’re open to a grain salad, this would pair nicely with this Warm Couscous Salad. If you’d prefer a green salad, you could consider this one. Hope that helps and that you enjoy whatever you make!
Hi Jenn! Thank you for your quick reply and perfect recommendation! I did make the couscous salad and it paired very well with the roast chicken. I’m so glad I had asked for your opinion because I was initially planning to make your Perfect Couscous (not quite as fancy for our CanadianThanksgiving!). The chicken was moist and flavorful. I followed your recipe closely as I rely on your expertise and experience in every one of your recipes (I am a huge fan!). I also made your roasted Brussels sprouts, so tasty. I have to admit though that I always have to chuckle at myself because I take SO much longer to make your recipes than shown in your “Prep Time” 😂
I was wondering if this recipe can be made in a crock pot, once all ingredients are put together and marinated? I’ve assembed everything and put into a plastic covererd bowl instead of the gallon zip bag (since it wouldn’t all fit). I’m sure the results would be different, but do you think it would work?
Hi Debbie, I don’t have experience with a slow cooker but I suspect it would work — these tips may help you convert the recipe. That said, it won’t get the nice crispy skin that it would get in the oven which makes it very appealing. Please LMK how it turns out if you try it!
I made the chicken and it was delicious, but I have several questions. I am unclear about how to handle the sauce. Do you serve it in a separate bowl to be used like gravy or put it on the platter with the chicken and have guests spoon the sauce from the platter onto the chicken on their plate. Also, what size ziploc bag do you use to marinate 4 pounds of chicken and what size rimmed sheet pan do you use to bake? Finally, the skin started to burn on some of the pieces (especially breasts) with about 10 minutes left in the cooking time. Should I try cooking it at 400 instead of 425?
Thanks very much!
Hi Lyn, tackling your questions one by one: I serve the chicken and the sauce together on the same platter but feel free to separate the two if you’d prefer. And I use 1-gallon ziploc bags for marinating. If you can’t fit all of the chicken pieces in one, just divide the ingredients and marinade into 2 bags. The baking sheet is 13×18 inches. And yes, feel free to turn the oven down to 400 degrees if you’re finding the skin is burning before the chicken is cooked through. (Or you can keep the temp at 425 and just lay a piece of foil loosely on top of the chicken if the skin is browning more than you’d like. Hope that helps!
I’m planning on using cornish hens, each about 2.3 lbs. Do you suggest I halve them and then marinate them following the recipe?
Sure, Sara, that should work. Please LMK how they turn out!
I threw everything together on Sunday night. After a tough day at work on Monday, I came home put this in the oven, then my Monday night was transformed into what felt like I was dining in a fine restaurant. It was that special. I also made your perfect couscous to go with it. Your recipes never fail to make my day better.
💗
I love the sound of this recipe. Is it possible to make it using boneless chicken breasts? How would you adjust the cooking time. Thank you.
Hi Orit, Unfortunately, this isn’t the best recipe for boneless breasts – sorry!
One of my guests is bringing her “famous” sautéed carrots and onions. Is there a vegetable I can substitute for the carrots in this recipe? I said YES to her offer before deciding this would be my entree! Thanks.
Hi Judy, I think sweet potatoes would work really well.