Baked Ranch Chicken with Carrots and Potatoes is a 30 minute, easy, weeknight sheet pan dinner. Roasted potatoes and carrots make up a flavorful dinner that’s simple for busy nights and clean up’s a breeze.
Got 10 minutes, Make Chicken & Potatoes for Dinner
Regardless of your cooking skills, we all have busy nights when we don’t want to spend time in the kitchen. A chicken sheet pan dinner is just what you need when you don’t know what to fix for dinner. This only took me 8 minutes to prepare with just 6 ingredients.
Natalie was home and wanted me to come up with some dinner recipes that she could prepare in 10 minutes. Not mediocre recipes, but something she would love and could also make for friends like queso chicken or taco spaghetti.
This 30 minute Baked chicken with potatoes and carrots is a recipe that checks all those boxes.
The chicken has just a hint of sweetness from a little brown sugar and is savory due to the herbs in the dried ranch dressing sprinkled over the top. It gives both the chicken and the veggies a great flavor. Both the roasted chicken and potatoes get nice and crispy while they bake, but you still have juicy chicken.
Everyone has 10 minutes to make a delicious dinner and there’s hardly any clean up – winner winner chicken dinner! 🍗 You’ll want to add this no fuss chicken recipe to your rotation. If you want a simple dish with chicken breasts, we all love chicken in puff pastry and it looks fancy!
Don’t Forget the Carrots
Carrots add a natural sweetness and so much flavor to this one pan dinner like they do in skillet chicken couscous with roasted carrots. Carrots are one of those vegetables that can push a simple dish to a fabulous one.
Who Doesn’t Love 10 Minutes of Prep Time
- Ranch chicken is so easy to put together but still has a great flavor and is not your everyday oven roasted chicken.
- Sprinkling a small amount of brown sugar on the chicken pieces and then adding the powdered ranch dressing, gives it just a slightly sweet and savory flavor.
- The carrots and potatoes take on the sweet ranch flavor that even your pickiest eater will love.
- Prep in 10 minutes.
- Almost no clean up needed.
Just 6 Ingredients
- Chicken thighs – for the best flavor I use skin-on chicken thighs. You can use skinless chicken breasts but the cooking time will vary so use an instant-read thermometer and remove them when they are about 165º.
- Baby red potatoes – any potato will work but new potatoes and yukon gold are my favorite. For a time saver, buy the mini potatoes and just cut in half, otherwise, cut into 1 inch pieces.
- Carrots – you can use baby carrots or regular, just cut into pieces that are about the same thickness.
- Dry ranch dressing mix – you need a 1 ounce package
- Pantry items – brown sugar, garlic and olive oil.
How to Make a Sheet Pan Chicken Dinner
Step 1 – prepare the chicken
Rub a little brown sugar over the chicken and place on a rimmed baking sheet.
Step 2 – prepare the veggies
Add chopped carrots and potatoes around the chicken and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with ranch dressing and bake.
Pro tip: If you are in a time crunch you could do this in the morning, cover it and just take it out when you’re ready to bake.
I realize that not everyone likes chicken thighs so I experimented and used a mixture of chicken breasts and thighs. The breasts didn’t have skin so I took them out a little earlier than the thighs and covered them in foil while the thighs finished cooking. Just use a meat thermometer.
All my taste testers love this chicken thigh sheet pan dinner and Natalie said she would definitely be making this in the fall when she will be in her first apartment.
Another benefit to this recipe is that you can prep it in advance. I wasn’t sure when everyone was going to be here for dinner, so I put it together and placed it in the refrigerator. It only needs to bake for about 30 minutes.
Love ranch dressing but feeling like a casserole? Then try a chicken ranch pasta bake.
You can adapt this to what you have on hand, leave out the carrots and have roasted chicken thighs and potatoes for dinner. What’s nice is that the chicken, potatoes and carrots all cook in about the same amount of time.
MORE chicken dinners
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HIdden Valley Ranch Chicken and Potatoes
Ingredients
- 8 chicken thighs with bone and skin
- 1 to 2 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 lb baby red potatoes
- 1 lb baby carrots
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 oz ranch seasoning and salad dressing mix 1 package
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400º. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil or spray with cooking spray.
- Pat chicken dry and salt and pepper. Rub a little brown sugar on both side of each piece of chicken, working it under the skin. Place on rimmed baking sheet.
- Scrub carrots and potatoes. Cut potatoes into quarters and place on rimmed baking sheet along with carrots in a single layer.
- Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with ranch dressing and minced garlic. Season with salt and pepper.
- Place in oven and cook until internal temperature is about 165º, about 30 minutes.
- If you want to use breasts and thighs, you may need to remove the breasts earlier and cover with foil while the thicker pieces cook.
Video
Barbara’s Tips + Notes
- You can leave out the brown sugar all together and still have delicious chicken.
- If you want to use a mixture of chicken pieces, just adjust the cooking time.
- This is great for leftovers, and freezes well.
Nutrition
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Heidi Brown says
The Brown boys and I cannot wait to try this one! I love the 10 minute Tuesday’s – the best keep the recipes coming!!!