Next Post
The 50 Most Popular Easter Recipes.
This post may contain affiliate links, please see our privacy policy for details.
Baked Honey Balsamic Chicken served with charred lemon feta cheese. Marinated chicken baked until glazed in a deliciously tangy, sweet balsamic sauce. Arrange lemon wedges and asparagus around the chicken and bake everything together on the same sheet pan. The balsamic sauce reduces around the chicken, and the asparagus cooks up perfectly with butter melted over top. Serve this chicken and asparagus together over steamy rice or pasta with plenty of charred lemon feta cheese! YUM!
Lately, I’ve been sharing so many recipes that I know my Nonnie would have loved. I can’t help but think about her this time of year. Spring break is approaching, and Easter will soon be here. This is the time of year that we would always spend with my grandparents in South Florida. I have some of the best memories from those times.
Nonnie always made every visit with them so special. Looking back, she must have put in so much work to host our family, but she made it seem effortless.
To maximize our time together, Nonnie would either take everyone out for dinner or make something so simple that it required almost no effort.
On the nights that we ate in, it was either carryout or her “guest” chicken and asparagus dinner. She’d bake the chicken in a store-bought Russian dressing, with roasted asparagus on the side.
Oh, and microwaved rice and fresh crusty bread were always on the menu too!
So you see, this would have been her kind of meal. I know she’d just love the honey balsamic sauce too!
Details to Share
Step 1: season the chicken
Working on a sheet pan, mix the chicken breasts or thighs with balsamic vinegar, honey, shallots, garlic, dried thyme, and dried oregano. Then season with salt, pepper, and chili flakes.
Arrange the chicken in an even layer across the sheet pan. Then add lemon wedges around the chicken.
Step 2: the asparagus
Now, take a bunch of asparagus and trim away the woody ends. Place the asparagus over the chicken – again, in an even layer, with pats of butter on top.
The butter will melt down over the asparagus and chicken.
Step 3: bake everything
Bake everything until the chicken and asparagus are cooked. Pull the asparagus off the pan and set aside.
Broil the chicken and lemon until the sauce begins to bubble and caramelize around the chicken. Please watch this closely, as the sauce can burn quickly.
Step 4: the charred lemon feta
Take the charred lemon wedges from the sheet pan and finely chop them. Toss the chopped lemon with feta cheese, fresh herbs and toasted nuts/seeds. I love to use cilantro and dill, plus toasted pine nuts.
This mix is so yummy!
Step 5: serve it
Serve the chicken over rice or pasta. Plate the asparagus on the side, then sprinkle the feta cheese over everything.
So delicious you guys! Serve this with buttered bread on the side, just as Nonnie would! It’s perfect for scooping and soaking up all the yummy sauce and flavors on the pan.
Looking for other easy dinners? Here are some favorites:
Easy Greek Sheet Pan Chicken and Potatoes
30 Minute Spicy Indian Butter Chicken
Sheet Pan Sticky Sweet and Sour Chicken
Sheet Pan Chicken Gyros with Feta Tzatziki
Creamy White Bean Lemon Pesto Orzo Soup
Sheet Pan Honey Garlic Chicken and Feta Potatoes
Lastly, if you make this Baked Honey Balsamic Chicken, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And, of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Baked Honey Balsamic Chicken with Charred Lemon Feta
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 329 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
- 3-4 tablespoons honey
- 2 teaspoons worcestershire
- 2 shallots, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 teaspoons dried thyme
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- salt and black pepper
- chili flakes
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs
- 2 tablespoons salted butter
- 1 bunch asparagus, ends trimmed
- 1 lemon, quartered
- 1/2 cup crumbled feta
- 2 tablespoons toasted nuts/seeds
- 1/2 cup chopped mixed herbs, I use dill and cilantro
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 450° F.2. On a baking sheet, mix the chicken with the balsamic vinegar, honey, worcestershire, shallots, garlic, thyme, and oregano. Season with salt, pepper, and chili flakes. Arrange the chicken in an even layer. Arrange the asparagus over the chicken, add slices of butter on top, and season with salt and pepper. Bake 15-20 minutes, until the asparagus is cooked. 3. Switch the oven to broil. Remove the asparagus from the pan. Broil the chicken and lemons until the chicken caramelizes, 1-2 minutes. Watch closely, the sauce can burn quickly. 4. Remove the lemons from the sheet pan and finely chop 2 or 3 of the wedges. In a bowl, toss the chopped lemon with the feta, pine nuts, and herbs. 5. Serve the chicken and asparagus over bowls of rice or pasta. Top with lots of feta.
Do lemon wedges go on pan with chicken for bake time? Not mentioned until time to broil.
Hey Shelley,
Yes, you will add the lemons with the butter:) I hope you love this recipe, let me know if you give it a try! xT
Perfection! As usual!
Thanks so much Bethany!! Love to hear this recipe was enjoyed:) xT
Heya Teigan,
Just to say I’m a huge fan of your recipes, they’re on constant rotation for my hubby and kids, we all love them, especially your enchiladas! I’m not very well travelled but your cooking has opened our eyes to new flavors, so delicious and easy! 🙂
However I couldn’t help but notice in your thumb, it looks so sore recently, I really hope you can get some help with that, especially given your dad’s recent infection which led to multiple surgeries. I hope you know from the folks that love you on here that you can take some time off to recover if you need it. Illness is not a sign of weakness and happens to the best of us – as you’ve confirmed multiple times your family eats the food you make so I’m sure you wouldn’t want them to get sick if you have an infection and are preparing them food, and speaking from experience, wounds heal so much faster if not cooking with bare hands, especially with raw meat. Wishing you all the best for your health, and thanks so much for all you do, you truly are an inspiration,
Marcey xoxo
Hi Marcey,
Thanks for your kind message and making so many recipes, I’m so glad you and your family have been enjoying them! Thanks for your concern regarding my thumb, I am keeping an eye on it and of course will get it checked out if I feel it is not healing up. Have great week! xx
Easy to make and the taste is amazing. We will make this one again.
Hey Michelle,
Wonderful!! Love to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks for trying it! Have a great Sunday! xx
Do you chop the lemon rind when making the lemon feta?
Hi Cassie,
Yes, that is correct:) Please let me know if you have any other questions, I hope you love this recipe! xT
Hi. I’m not a fan of pine nuts, any other suggestions? Ty..
Hey Lori,
Any nuts you enjoy will work here, pistachios would be nice, same with walnuts or pecans. I hope you love this recipe! xT
Made this last and it did not disappoint! The lemon feta was terrific! Thanks for sharing this with us!
Hey Bernadette,
Amazing!! I’m so glad to hear this recipe turned out well for you, thanks so much for making it! Have a great weekend! xT
Hi! I’m making my meal plan for the week and I’m definitely going to give this a go. Question about the sheet pan, what size are you using? Thanks!!
Hey Natasha,
I used a standard half sheet pan:) I hope you love this recipe, let me know how it turns out for you! xT
Thank you for always continuing to share your personal stories that tie into your recipes, like the ones of your Nonnie or the rest of your family. So many blogs that I have read for so long just feel like informational recipe-only websites now, and I miss “getting to know” the writers and reading their lovely stories that lead into why they created their recipes. Thank you for staying you.
Aww, thank you so much, Tasha! This really means a lot to me:) I know some people prefer to skip all of the stories, which is totally fine, but I am so glad that you have been enjoying reading the posts. Have a great weekend! xT
Had a good taste but suggest :
Marinate chicken in sauce for several hours to absorb flavors
Be sure to use parchment paper in sheet pan
Serve with rice ; pasta would be too dry
Thanks so much for trying this recipe and your feedback, Kate! Glad to hear you enjoyed the flavors:) xT
Same here—what about the Worcestershire? And the asparagus looks WAY overdone. Perhaps just cook it separately (maybe nuked—always successful for me)?
Hi Brooke,
You are going to use 2 teaspoons of Worcestershire in step 2. Feel free to cook the asparagus to your liking:) I hope you love this recipe! xx
I have the same question about the Worcestershire sauce
Hey Jan,
Yes, you will use 2 teaspoons of Worcestershire sauce. Please let me know if you give this recipe a try! xT
Could broccoli or another veggie be used instead of asparagus?
Hey Cassie,
Totally, broccoli would work nicely for you! Let me know if you give this recipe a try:) xT
I was reviewing the post and recipe and in the photo of the ingredients there is a bottle of Worcestershire sauce but I don’t see it in the written list of ingredients or the instructions. Do we use it and if so how much?
Hey Janice,
Thanks for pointing that out! Yes, you can use 2 teaspoons of Worcestershire. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
I made this tonight and it was great! It will be in my permanent rotation. A couple of differences I did: used only 1 shallot and my fresh herbs for the Feta mixture were Dill and thyme, I left out pine nuts but will try that next time. Thank you so much for sharing this !! The flavor was just perfection!
Hey Misty,
Happy Friday!! I am so glad to hear this recipe was a hit, thanks a lot for trying it and your comment:)
This is going to sound like a really stupid question but do you put the chicken down on the sheet pan first and then just layer everything on top of it? Or do you mix everything in a separate bowl then pour it over the chicken?
Hey Kristen,
Not stupid at all, but yes, you will layer everything over the chicken. I think the photos above should be helpful for you! Let me know if you give this recipe a try! xT