Recipe: One-Pan Roasted Chicken and Broccoli {Bobby Deen}

Looking for a quick and easy dinner that is no muss, no fuss? This one-pan dish from celebrity chef Bobby Deen might be just the thing.

Last week, Nick and I were having a healthy debate about vegetables. Namely which ones he would and wouldn’t eat. I was complaining that there were so few vegetables the kids like, but, really, as we began listing what they would eat (tomatoes, cucumbers, artichokes, broccoli, and sometimes carrots), it’s not terrible. I just can’t.eat.broccoli.every.day.

Ya feel me?

So they both promised to be a little more willing to try more things, and I promised to not complain as much.

Compromise.

And then, as luck would have it, I found another broccoli recipe.

Of course.

But really, there is no way you can skip this one.

I mean, it’s SO simple. Chop the broccoli and toss it in a roasting pan for ten minutes with a few ingredients. Chop the chicken and mix it with a few ingredients and toss it in aforementioned roasting pan.

Dinner is done in twenty minutes.

Thank you, Bobby Deen.

I plated Nick’s dinner after Madeline and I ate, because he was finishing up a school project. He hoover’d the entire plate and then, spying the leftover chicken and broccoli on the baking pan, asked if that was being saved for anything special.

And then it was no holding him back.

He declared the chicken “the best ever,” praise I found slightly surprisingly because, while the chicken is good, I wouldn’t have thought it was earth-shattering.

But if you think I’m going to complain about a clean plate…

Both kids ate all their dinner. Madeline eating just enough to secure a few Thin Mints for dessert. Enough dinner leftover for two kid meals.

No, not those kid meals.

All better now.

All broccoli. All the time.

Make it and join the Clean Plate Club.

Although I got this recipe from an issue of People magazine, it comes from Bobby’s new cookbook, Everyday Eats. A compilation of recipes, all 350 calories or under (this one is 272 calories per serving), and under 30 minutes. I might need to add this one to the list.

One-Pan Roasted Chicken and Broccoli
Recipe courtesy of Bobby Deen

2 pounds broccoli, cut into bite-size florets
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon low-sodium chicken broth or water
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon hot chili powder
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 1/4 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest (from 1 large lemon)
Lemon wedges for serving

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. On a large rimmed baking sheet, combine the broccoli with 1 tablespoon of the oil, the broth or water, half of the garlic, the cumin, 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, 1/2 teaspoon of the pepper, and the chili powder. Toss to coat, and then spread the broccoli out into a single layer. Roast for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the chicken, remaining 1 tablespoon oil, remaining garlic, the lemon zest, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Toss to coat.

Remove the baking sheet from the oven, add the chicken and toss together with the broccoli. Return the sheet to the oven and roast, tossing once halfway through the cooking time, until the chicken is cooked through and the broccoli is tender and golden around the edges, 8 to 10 minutes. Serve with the lemon wedges, or squeeze the lemon juice all over the chicken and the broccoli just before serving. Makes 4 servings.