Sheet Pan Roast Chicken & Cabbage
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In this chicken and cabbage sheet pan supper, chicken thighs and drumsticks are tossed in a sesame-soy dressing. First, they roast alone, which allows the hot air, unimpeded by vegetables, to circulate freely and encourages the browning process to being. After 10 minutes, on goes the cabbage, tossed in the same dressing. It’s nestled around and underneath the chicken to fit. About 20 minutes later, when the chicken finishes cooking, off it goes to rest, while the cabbage continues on alone. With its surfaces fully exposed to the heat, the cabbage’s edges crisp and caramelize while any juices pooling nearby reduce and concentrate.
In about 40 minutes, dinner is ready. The result: juicy, crispy-skinned chicken and sweet, tender cabbage, flavored by not only the spicy dressing, but also the flavorful drippings of the chicken. It’s an unexpected and unsung boon of this one-pan wonder of a supper.
Sheet Pan Roast Chicken & Cabbage
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 4 to 6
Description
Inspired by the flavors in this baked tofu and coconut kale, this sheet pan supper comes together quickly. Staggering the entry and exit of the chicken and cabbage allows each to cook fully and brown nicely.
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon neutral oil, for greasing
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1/4 cup melted coconut oil or olive oil
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar (or other)
- 1 tablespoon Sriracha, optional
- 8 pieces bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs or drumsticks
- 1 pinch kosher salt and pepper to taste
- 1 head cabbage, 2 to 3 lbs.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425ºF. Pour a teaspoon of neutral oil over a rimmed sheet pan. Rub to coat.
- In a small bowl, stir together the sesame oil, coconut oil, soy sauce, rice vinegar, and sriracha, if using. Place chicken in a large bowl. Season all over with salt and pepper. Pour 1/4 cup of the prepared mixture over the chicken and let marinate while the oven preheats. (Chicken can marinate longer, too, but try, if time permits, to bring it to room temperature before cooking—the coconut oil will solidify in the fridge and look clumpy, which is fine.)
- Cut the cabbage in half through the core. Cut again through each core and repeat this process until you are left with many wedges, no greater than 1-inch wide. Place the wedges in a large bowl, season all over with salt and pepper, and toss with the remaining dressing.
- Place chicken on prepared sheet pan spreading it out evenly. Roast for 10 minutes. Remove pan from oven, and nestle cabbage wedges all around the pieces, tucking it under if necessary—it will feel like a lot of cabbage. Roast for 20 to 25 minutes more or until chicken is golden and cooked through. Remove pan from oven, transfer chicken to a platter to rest. Return cabbage to the oven to roast for 10 to 15 minutes more, or until juices have reduced and edges of cabbage wedges are caramelized.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Sheet Pan, Oven
- Cuisine: American
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
44 Comments on “Sheet Pan Roast Chicken & Cabbage”
This was a hit for a quick weeknight dinner! I had 10 pieces of chicken, not 8, and it took about 30 minutes additional in our oven after the first 10 minutes, to ensure full roasting. The flavor combination of the oils, vinegar, soy sauce and sriracha is terrific and perfectly balanced. Thanks so much another wonderful and manageable recipe!
So happy to hear this, Hina!
Trying this for the first time, very excited as to how it will turn out. Looks very tasty and healthy…. will keep in touch on this one…
Hope you love it RJ!
My husband and I are totally obsessed with this recipe! Just wondering if you think there’s a way to do it in a dutch oven (potentially stove-top only or maybe we’d need to transfer to oven?).
My husband and I are totally obsessed with this recipe! Just wondering if you think there’s a way to do it in a dutch oven (potentially stove-top only or maybe we’d need to transfer to oven?).
Hi Kat! I worry you won’t get the crispiness and caramelization if you use a Dutch oven stove top — I think this one needs the hot circulating air of the oven as well as the wide, shallow surface area of the sheet pan.
great combination for the cabbage. took longer to bake for my liking, maybe slice thinner next time
Dear, dear Ali —
I’ve come to depend on many of your recipes, which have often been eye-opening examples of thinking outside the box.
Decided to try your spatchcocked sumac and za’atar chicken and that was already a winner. Then I decided to try this recipe.
The first time, I did as you said and used chicken legs, but didn’t have cabbage. I did, though, have aubergines that needed to be eaten, so sliced those up “no greater than one inch” thick. Added some previously steamed potatoes that were hanging around. I must say, that worked a treat! The marinade on the eggplant was too yum.
The second time around, I’d come home from the market with a whole chicken — and a half-head of Savoy cabbage. I’m still working up the courage to actually break down a bird as you so skillfully show in your video, but I’m an absolute fan of spatchcocking. I love that it gives a nice, uniform thickness of bird to cook. And carving is so much easier! There was absolutely heaps of cabbage, as well as some par-steamed spuds. Once again, absolutely tasty and easy!
Tonight was the third shot at this, with — chicken wings! Since even the half-cabbage was too much for the two of us, and because both of us came home with endives, guess what went into the pan? With small, unpeeled potatoes that I didn’t even bother to pre-steam. Just brushed them with some marinade and popped them into the oven as it was preheating. I gotta tell ya — you’ve come up with some kinda genius recipe here!
The wings did render quite a bit of fat, so when I saw that happening, I shredded some lovely lettuce onto the serving dish and drizzled a little lime juice over it. Then the veg came out of the oven and got plopped down onto the lettuce, then the wings over that. A drizzle of the rendered fat, snipped scallions and parsley. I can’t wait to come up with another spin on this.
Perhaps a weird question: what do you suppose would happen if a teaspoon (or less) of flour was added to the quarter-cup of marinade that goes on the chicken? Would it help the skin crisp up by forming a crust, or is that just a bad idea?
In any case, just wanted to let you know that you’ve created a monster!
Thanks so much for all your hard — and beautifully delicious — work.
Hi Carole! So sorry I’m just seeing this! What fun to read. I’m so happy you’ve had success with so many variations of this recipe, and thank you for sharing all of them. It’s so helpful for people to read what else works and how they can improvise with what they have on hand. Thank you for the kind words, too … means the world 🙂
Regarding flour: give it a shot! A teaspoon certainly wouldn’t ruin it, and perhaps you’ll like the texture of the sauce better as well as the texture of the skin. Report back if you give it a go. Thank you, Carole!
Made this dish for my family and they loved it. It has lots of flavor and is a great change from the regular humdrum meals. It is on the menu as a regular meal now.
Wonderful to hear this!
This was simply delicious! I have yet to be disappointed with a single one of your recipes. You are always my go-to for new dishes. Thanks, again for a wonderful meal!
So nice to hear this, Kim 🙂 🙂 🙂 Truly means so much. Thanks for writing 💕
I am married to a picky eater. His mother taught him her dislike of veggies..boo hiss. Not only does he love the perfect combination of flavors of the marinade/sauce but he also chows down the cabbage! Last time I made ithis I added fennel to the sheet pan and he loved that too? The chicken is scrumptious! So glad I discovered this recipe!
So nice to hear this, Jan! There’s nothing more satisfying than satisfying a picky eater 🙂 🙂 🙂 Thanks so much for writing!
I made this for my family and they LOVED it. I did add the chicken back onto the sheet at the very end and baked for another 10 minutes at 450 just to crisp up the skin. It was soooo good.
So nice to hear this, Carmella! Thanks for writing 🙂
Delicious! I made this tonight with head #1 of my CSA cabbage (1 down, 1 more to go!) and my husband and I really enjoyed it! The chicken was perfectly crisped and juicy and the cabbage caramelized and was full of flavor. Thanks for the cabbage inspiration!
Wonderful to hear this, Susanna! Thanks for writing. Can’t have too many cabbage recipes during CSA season. I love this roasted cabbage wedge recipe, too.
Very tasty! I also added sliced carrots to roast with the chicken and cabbage. Delish! It was a little smoky while I first cooked the chicken for 10 minutes but subsided once I added the veggies. I served with grainy rice mixture and we loved it.
Wonderful to hear this, Kimmy! Thanks so much for writing and sharing your notes. Grainy rice sounds delicious!
Another favorite! Thank you for all your amazing recipes…. This will be added to the rotation of MANY of your recipes! Grateful for your cooking inspiration!
So nice to hear this, Cathi! Thanks so much for writing, and thank you for your kind words 🙂 🙂 🙂
Would it be okay to do another sheet pan of extra veggies on the lower rack? I would like to do the cabbage, carrots and baby potatoes. I’m making this next week and will come back to rate it (in sure it’s delicious).
Hi Kandice, I think you could, but I worry they won’t brown as well and might take longer to cook because the air circulation will be blocked from above. That said, it’s worth a shot! You don’t know if you don’t try.
Made this last night with 5 small bone-in thighs and with sriracha . It was really good. My husband can be a bit picky about bone-in cuts but he had seconds. We polished off the entire sheet pan. My munchkin even add the chicken and didn’t notice any spice which was subtle. We’ll be doing this again for sure.
Great to hear Annie! Thanks so much for writing and sharing all of this 🙂 🙂 🙂
Everything of Alexandra’s that I have made has been 5 star. My husband turned his nose up when I told him we were having cabbage but of course he loved it! Like another review I added whole carrots and they too were excellent!
I cannot recommend the recipe enough!
So nice to read all of this, Lorilei 🙂 🙂 🙂 Thanks so much for taking the time to write. I will try the carrots next time around too!
Our family loves ALL your recipes Ali and this one is on regular rotation! I usually make it with a side of rice and spoon over the pan juices for one of my littles who has yet to fall in love with cabbage, the rest of the family gobbles it all up! Thank you for sharing, you are always an inspiration for me in the kitchen
So nice to read all of this, Seta! I love your rice idea and I will try that… none of my kids is into cabbage, but they LOVE rice.
So delicious – thank you! I made this yesterday and am enjoying another plate of it today. I did add a few carrots and baby potatoes to the mix but the cabbage is the star. I’m already thinking of when I’ll make it again. Yummy!
Great to hear, Sandra! Thanks for writing 🙂 🙂 🙂
I had a sad cabbage and some carrots in the fridge with chicken thighs melting in the sink, so I Googled cabbage and chicken thighs and your recipe had the best ratings. I made this in the bbq…
Loads of liquids came out, cabbage was under done… but I’m not complaining! Flavor was outstanding and chicken browned up beautifully after I pulled out all extra juice… (hoping to add coconut cream to make into a soup!!!)
Glad to hear it all worked out in the end!
Delicious, easy and fast! Thank you
This was delicious! We all loved it!!!
Great to hear Emily! Thanks for writing 🙂 🙂 🙂
I made this tonight and was shocked by how delicious roast cabbage is! Never again will half a head leftover from taco night go to waste.
So nice to hear this, Martha! And so nice to head from you. xo