Sheet pan lemon ricotta chicken and roasted broccoli is your new favorite dinner, full of bright flavors in a light creamy sauce!
We're a big fan of sheet pan dinners, and you probably are, too, amiright? They make it a whole lot easier to cook and prep when everything is consolidated on one sheet. This sheet pan lemon ricotta chicken recipe, however, is a little different insofar as it also incorporates pasta with a lemon ricotta sauce, and that does not come together in a sheet pan. And anytime we can find another way to prepare chicken that doesn't take a lot of time, we're down with that.
Sheet Pan Lemon Ricotta Chicken and Roasted Broccoli Ingredients
For the sheet pan chicken and broccoli:
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, pounded thin
- 2 ½ cups broccoli florets
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 2 teaspoon paprika
- 2 tablespoon grated Parmesan
- 2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- Lemon slices, optional
For the lemon ricotta pasta:
- 8 ounces preferred pasta
- 1 cup whole-milk ricotta
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan
- ¼ cup finely chopped parsley
- 1 lemon, juice and zest
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Salt and pepper, to taste
How to Make Lemon Ricotta Chicken and Roasted Broccoli
This dish has two components: the sheet pan part and the pasta part. The first part involves baking the chicken and broccoli in the oven on a rimmed baking sheet (a.k.a., sheet pan), seasoned and brushed with olive oil, and of course, the lemon! The second part of the dish involves the pasta. You can put that together while the chicken and broccoli bake in the oven. The sauce consists of ricotta, lemon juice, salt, pepper, parsley, olive oil, and a bit of Parmesan cheese. Combine all of that in a bowl and then toss the pasta and cooked broccoli in the sauce. Serve the chicken, sliced, over the top.
How to Store and Serve Lemon Ricotta Chicken
This one meal preps really easily. Portion everything evenly into airtight containers and store in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat in the oven, covered (we don't want anything to dry out, right?), at 350 F for 15 minutes or so. You can also microwave this dish to reheat it at your discretion; microwaves vary widely in strength.
As it stands, this dish is complete, which is awesome. But to round it out, some homemade garlic bread would be so tasty, and a Caesar salad feels like a good fit, too, to serve with.
How to Customize and Make Substitutions
You can make this dish with boneless chicken thighs if desired. Make with your favorite type of pasta; tagliatelle, pappardelle, spaghetti, penne—all of it works. If need be, make the pasta gluten-free.
Use fresh or frozen broccoli, but if you opt for the latter, just be aware that it's going to give off more water. Brussels sprouts would work in this dish and complement both the chicken, the pasta, and the lemons.
MORE CHICKEN MEAL PREPS YOU WILL LOVE
- Lemon Herb Chicken and Potato Sheet Pan
- Slow Cooker Lemon Garlic Chicken Meal Prep
- Lemon Chicken and Pasta
Ingredients
For the sheet pan chicken
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts pounded thin (4 breasts)
- 2 ½ cups broccoli florets
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- Salt to taste
- Pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 2 teaspoon paprika
- 2 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
For the lemon ricotta pasta
- 8 ounces pasta your preference
- 1 cup whole-milk ricotta cheese
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- ¼ cup parsley finely chopped
- 1 lemon juice and zest
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Salt to taste
- Pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat oven to 425 F. Arrange thinly pounded chicken breasts and broccoli florets on a sheet pan. Brush the chicken with olive oil on both sides. Drizzle olive oil over broccoli to coat.
- Season chicken and broccoli with salt, pepper, garlic powder and paprika. Sprinkle over parmesan cheese. Drizzle over lemon juice. Place lemon wedges under and on top of chicken breasts and broccoli florets, if using. Bake for 20 minutes.
- While chicken and broccoli are baking cook pasta according to package directions and combine all lemon ricotta ingredients in a bowl.
- Drain and return pasta to the same pot; add the ricotta sauce and roasted broccoli. Stir well to evenly coat the pasta in the sauce.
- Cut the chicken into bite size pieces and divide the ricotta and broccoli pasta into 4 meal prep containers; serve with chicken on top.
