Sheet-Pan Chicken With Chickpeas, Cumin and Turmeric

Sheet-Pan Chicken With Chickpeas, Cumin and Turmeric
Romulo Yanes for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Vivian Lui.
Total Time
1 hour, plus marinating
Rating
5(5,592)
Notes
Read community notes

The yogurt marinade does two very important jobs in this sheet-pan chicken recipe. One, the acidity in the marinade helps tenderize the meat, and two, the sugars in the yogurt help brown and caramelize the skin of the chicken as it roasts. Be sure to toss the chickpeas occasionally as they roast to encourage them to get coated in the chicken fat as it renders.

Learn: How to Make a Sheet-Pan Dinner

  • or to save this recipe.

  • Subscriber benefit: give recipes to anyone
    As a subscriber, you have 10 gift recipes to give each month. Anyone can view them - even nonsubscribers. Learn more.
  • Print Options


Advertisement


Ingredients

Yield:4 servings
  • 1(3½ to 4 pound) chicken, cut into parts (alternatively, 3 to 3½ pounds of bone-in, skin-on chicken parts, such as breasts, thighs and legs)
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
  • cups full-fat Greek yogurt, divided
  • 5tablespoons fresh lemon juice, divided
  • 2teaspoons ground turmeric, divided
  • 2(15-ounce) cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
  • 1tablespoon fennel seed
  • 1teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1large red onion, thinly sliced, divided
  • 2tablespoons olive oil
  • ½cup mint or cilantro leaves, torn
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

1108 calories; 63 grams fat; 18 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 24 grams monounsaturated fat; 12 grams polyunsaturated fat; 60 grams carbohydrates; 16 grams dietary fiber; 14 grams sugars; 78 grams protein; 1900 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

Powered by

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Season chicken parts with salt and pepper.

  2. Step 2

    Combine ¾ cup yogurt, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 1 teaspoon turmeric and 2 tablespoons water in a large bowl. Season well with salt and pepper. (It should be on the salty side, as this is a marinade.) Add chicken and toss to coat evenly. Let sit at least 30 minutes at room temperature, and up to overnight in the refrigerator.

  3. Step 3

    Place oven rack on the top third of the oven and heat to 425 degrees.

  4. Step 4

    Combine chickpeas, fennel seed, cumin, remaining teaspoon of turmeric and half the red onion slices on a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper and toss to coat.

  5. Step 5

    Move chickpeas to the outer edges of the baking sheet. Scrape any excess marinade off the chicken, and place the chicken parts in the center. Place baking sheet in oven and bake, tossing chickpeas occasionally, until the skin of the chicken is evenly browned and the chickpeas are golden and starting to crisp, 45 to 50 minutes.

  6. Step 6

    Meanwhile, toss remaining onion slices with 2 tablespoons lemon juice and season with salt and pepper; set aside.

  7. Step 7

    Combine remaining yogurt with remaining 1 tablespoon lemon juice and season with salt and pepper; set aside.

  8. Step 8

    Once chicken is ready, scatter with lemony onions and mint or cilantro. Serve with seasoned yogurt alongside as a sauce.

Ratings

5 out of 5
5,592 user ratings
Your rating

or to rate this recipe.

Have you cooked this?

or to mark this recipe as cooked.

Private Notes

Leave a Private Note on this recipe and see it here.

Cooking Notes

I am a good and confident cook, but this was for a dinner party and I did not have time to try it ahead of time so I decided to follow the recipe EXACTLY as written. It was absolutely delicious. I'll make it again and the only change I'll probably make is that next time I will add some cumin to the marinade. I think this recipe could be adapted for any flavor profile - French with herbs de Provence, Thai with soy, lime and ginger, etc.

Big hit with my family who admittedly love Indian and Persian flavors. Modifications to have more leftovers : Used 4 and1/4 lb chicken thighs, 3 cans rinsed garbanzos, 2 red onions, 1 head of broken cauliflower and divided it between 2 sheet pans on middle and upper rack. Changed position partway through. Used more cumin (3 tsp) also some cayenne (1/4 tsp), garam masala on the veggies (1 tsp), and more lemon juice on veggies too (1 lemons worth).Don’t skimp on salt.

Loved it! Here’s how I’ll do it next time. HEAVY on the S&P and onion. Leave a good bit of marinade on chicken. Add another can of chickpeas. Use the lemon onion, yogurt and cilantro as a topping on sliced cucumber as a second side.

Great, will make again. Don't skimp on salt. (For HALF the recipe, I used 1-1/2 tsp kosher salt in the yogurt marinade, perfect for my palate.) Boneless skinless thighs go really fast, 35 min. Added cubed potatoes to the chickpea mix and served it with rice. (Yes, we like white carbs.) My teens usually thank me after a meal, but they only pat their stomachs when it's REALLY good. This was a stomach-patter.

Add chickpeas halfway through They will dry up and burn if cooked for full amount required for the chicken

First of all, this was fantastic. Just made this for six ppl and the only problem was here were no leftovers. I had questions about what chicken to use. Ended up using thighs with skin on and bone on. Came out fantastic. Scrape off the extra marinade and the skin will come out crispy. Cook a little longer than 50 minutes - bone will keep the meat moist and the chickpeas will be even better. Highly recommend!

Superb, easy, delicious combination of flavors, textures. I followed recipe pretty much as written using chicken thighs and drumsticks. The deceptively simple yoghurt sauce really transforms the dish. For a carnivore like me, the slightly crunchy garbanzos, with these spices, tasted like a whole new food group. Note: simply stirring/tossing the garbanzos while the dish is baking (as directed) makes a big difference.

Love this recipe for a small dinner gatherings. I served on a big platter with whole wheat couscous. Both times have added sweet potato and topped with mint from the garden before serving.

Always a huge hit in our house. These days I up the chickpeas (and their accompanying spices etc) by 50%. Yeah, the calorie count looks high but I don't much mind calories from fiber and good fats (even chicken skin). Prefer that to calories from sugar. Even our picky younger kid clamors for this. You can toss the leftover marinade on the chickpeas before cooking (it does add more salt, which not everyone including me likes, so just lower the rest of the added salt accordingly if so.)

450 oven, turn after 20 min, turn again after 20 more and broil do not salt chicken before putting in marinade. add more cumin to marinade plus 1.5-2 tsp salt plus pepper cook chick peas, onions, and sweet potatoes on separate tray add garam masala, more fennel, more cumin, more turmeric, plus 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper to veggies.

I loved the thinly sliced onions which were crunchy after baking. Next time I will add a lot more. They were especially good with the yogurt & lemon sauce.

I was intrigued by spice combo and use of garbanzos but not a fan of all the fat content. Also wanted more veggies. (1100 calories/serving was way too high for my family’s health plan). So - I used nonfat yogurt and removed skin from all but 2 pieces of chicken. I also used 1 can garbanzos, 1 red pepper, 1 sweet potato. Didn’t have fennel so used extra cumin and some dill. Spectacular results. Will definitely make again. I may experiment with excluding chicken skin entirely.

Other than halving the recipe, I made exactly as written and it was excellent! Great flavors in perfect balance. One of the best chicken dishes I’ve had in quite a while, and by lining the sheet pan with heavy duty foil, clean-up was a breeze. I wish I had more recipes with the same high results-to-effort ratio.

Very tasty spice mix. Don't overcook the chicken or the garbanzos. Added cauliflower, red pepper strips, some jalapeno and hot pepper to mix. Vegetables are delicious on their own.

This was crazy delicious. I used boneless, skinless chicken thighs. I left a little of the yogurt marinade on the chicken. Served over rice. We loved it.

Don’t be afraid to overcrowd the sheet pan, don’t slice the onions too thin.

Leave the red onion thicker than specified. You don’t want them to burn after 45 minutes in the oven

Alison Roman does it again!

Very delicious - will absolutely make again! I also cooked the chicken for about 45 minutes and chickpeas for a little less. Served with a purple and orange carrot slaw salad!

Did not change a thing. Loved by all.

I used a whole package of thighs. Add another can of chickpeas

Chickpeas mixture and red onions really good on their own—would be good for work lunch

My husband used the word 'gourmet' when describing this dish. I made it exactly as per the recipe, served it with the yogurt, onions and mint and it was gone in minutes! I will make this again, maybe even for a dinner party! Absolutely delicious!

Not sure what happened but my chicken emitted a lot of juice / moisture which made everything kinda steam. I did wipe off excess marinade but was thinking maybe don’t need to water in the marinade? I was at least able to get crispy skin though. 40 mins at 415 and my thighs were at about 175-180. Maybe 35 mins at 425 would be good. Flavors lacked depth - needs more spices.

Using suggestions from others, I added a third can of chickpeas, a bag of little potatoes and a head of cauliflower. Split it across 2 pans and switched racks half way through. Delicious and NOW it feeds my family of 4 that includes of two 18 year old sons.

I made this just as written and it was delicious. A huge success with our company and I’ll definitely make it again.

This turned out delicious! I made it as written, using skinless chicken thighs. 25 minutes in the oven was perfect and the chickpeas were not dried out. Delicious flavors- next time I'll serve with couscous or pita!

Decent recipe, lacked depth/complexity of flavor. Probably wouldn't make again.

I hate people who change recipes then comment but I had to sub stitute half nonfat yogurt and sour cream for full fat yogurt. But it it came out great! Added fried corn tortillas and oh la la. Can't wait to make as written. Delicious!

Made this without the onions (sensitive stomach) and it was an absolute hit. Will be adding to the rotation moving forward! Went with chicken thighs and 55 minutes was the perfect amount of time for moist, not dryed-out chicken

Private notes are only visible to you.

Advertisement

or to save this recipe.