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This simple Sheet Pan Hot Honey Garlic Chicken and Zucchini is about to become your new go-to meal. Easy homemade, crispy chicken, tossed in a spicy-sweet hot honey garlic sauce. Serve with summer zucchini cooked up right alongside the chicken and top with your favorite creamy dressing. The easiest sheet panย dinner. Add a side of rice or homemade french fries and youโve got all you need! This fun restaurant-style dinner is great any night of the week!
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This is the perfect effortless summer dinner. I know we all try to avoid using the oven in the summer, especially in August. But if you ask me, an effortless delicious sheet pan dinner is worth the heat.
Whenever Iโm creating recipes, I always try to think of the best way to make the recipe that will be simplest for you all at home. Iโve learned some tips on condensing and simplifying the cooking process that I think we can all appreciate. So here we go!
Ingredients
- Chicken breasts or thighsย
- Smoked paprikaย
- Onion powderย
- Garlic powderย
- Kosher salt and black pepperย
- All-purpose flour or gluten-free flourย
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Zucchini/ yellow squashย
- Hot sauceย
- Salted butterย
- Garlic, choppedย
- Chipotle chili powderย
- Cayenne pepperย
- Honeyย
- Blue cheese or ranch dressingย
- Avocadoย
- Green onionsย
This recipe was created in a matter of minutes. Creighton sent me a text message that I should make a garlic buffalo chicken. The simple idea of adding garlic to already delicious buffalo sauce interested me.
Sometimes simple additions can make a big impact on a dish.
I already knew that the family loves my buffalo sauce. So I decided that garlic and honey could be really delicious additions. I wanted to keep the recipe quick and to make sure it required minimal effort. Baking everything all together on a sheet pan helps to achieve that.
The details
Step 1: the chicken
You want to start with the chicken. Cubed raw chicken, breasts, or thighs, or use a mix of the two as I do. Then toss the cubed chicken with a mix of seasonings: smoked paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Next, add flour, then toss again.
The flour allows the chicken to crisp up in the oven. Not a fully breaded chicken, but breaded just enough so that the sauce can nicely stick to the chicken. Itโs a small amount, so a very light coating, but just perfect.
Bake the chicken up with a side of fresh garden/market zucchini. It takes maybe 20 minutes to cook.
Step 2: the sauce
Now the sauce, hot sauce, Franks is my favorite. Add some salted butter and then chopped-up garlic, chipotle chili powder, onion powder, and garlic powder. Melt this all together on the stove until just combined and the garlic turns golden. Then, turn the heat off, mix in the honey, and season with salt and pepper.
The addition of garlic, sizzled in butter makes such a difference. Adding garlic creates even more flavor. Then mixing in honey makes things even more special. The lightest bit of sweetness to balance the garlic and spice. Pour the sauce over the baked, crispy chicken and cook the chicken in the sauce. What happens is that the coating soaks up all the sauce โ wow, so delish.
Step 3: the ranch โ if youโd like
The next step is optional, I make a creamy, cooling cilantro ranch dressing, Itโs easy to do, just blend everything up until creamy!
I use cilantro and basil, then all the usual ranch dressing ingredients. But my secret? I also mix in some crumbled blue cheese, so delicious.
Step 4: serve
I serve the chicken and zucchini over rice. Then add chunks of avocado and always some herbs โ basil, cilantro, and or/green onions are great.
The chicken, zucchini, and sauce are also yummy with a side of homemade fries. Your choice though, rice or fries โ both are delish!
Looking for other quick dinner recipes? Here are a few.
One Skillet Saucy Chicken Tortilla Enchilada Rice Bake
Crockpot Crispy Chicken Tinga Tacos with Avocado Jalapeรฑo Crema
Sheet Pan Honey Mustard Salmon with Caesar Roasted Potatoes
One Skillet Cheesy Green Chile Chicken
20 Minute Garlic Oil Schezwan Peanut Noodles
Sheet Pan Chipotle Salmon Tacos with Pineapple Jalapeรฑo Salsa
Parchment Baked Roasted Red Pepper Salmon
Coconut Curry Salmon with Garlic Butter
Sheet Pan Buffalo Chicken Pizza
Spinach and Artichoke Stuffed Soft Pretzels
Baked Buffalo Chicken Egg Rolls with Cilantro Lime Ranch
Buffalo Cauliflower with Spicy Tahini Ranch
Lastly, if you make this Sheet Pan Hot Honey Garlic Chicken and Zucchini, 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, donโt forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Sheet Pan Hot Honey Garlic Chicken and Zucchini
Ingredientsย
- 2 pounds chicken breasts or thighs, cut into cubes
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1 1/2 teaspoons onion powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
- kosher salt and black pepper
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour or use gluten-free
- 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 zucchini/yellow summer squash, sliced
- 1/2 cup hot sauce
- 6 tablespoons salted butter
- 4-6 cloves garlic, chopped
- 3/4 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
- 1-2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
- 1/4 cup honey
- blue cheese or ranch dressing, for serving
- avocado, basil, sliced green onions, for serving
Instructionsย
- 1. Preheat the oven to 450ยฐ F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or rub with oil.2. On the sheet pan, toss together the chicken, paprika, 1 teaspoon onion powder, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Add the flour and toss again. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil, tossing to coat. Arrange the chicken to one side of the baking sheet. Add the zucchini to the other side. Toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Bake 15-20 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.3. Meanwhile, make the sauce. In a saucepan set over medium heat, melt together the hot sauce, butter, garlic, chipotle chili powder and cayenne. Stir until melted and combined. Remove from the heat and mix in the honey and a season with salt.4. Pour the buffalo sauce over the chicken, toss the chicken up in the sauce. Bake another 5 minutes, until the hot honey sauce is baked onto the chicken.5. Serve the chicken, zucchini, and hot honey with chunks of avocado, basil, green onions and blue cheese or ranch dressing. I love this over rice, but it's also great with french fries too!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
Excellent and very easy to prepare
Hey Katie,
I love to hear this recipe turned out well for you, thanks a bunch for making it!
Enjoy your weekend!
Sooo good. Iโve made it three times already. Easy peasy!
Hey Robin,
Happy Sunday! Iโm thrilled to hear this recipe was a hit, thanks for making it and your comment!
This was PHENOMENAL.
Beautiful presentation, very delicious, very quick and easy. Can’t wait to make it again!
Hey Christina,
I appreciate you making this recipe and taking the time to comment, so glad it was a winner!
Have a great weekend!
Definitely a keeper recipe. It was so good. Zucchini was a little soggy, but the chicken was awesome!
Hey Robin,
Thrilled to hear this recipe was a hit, thanks a bunch for making it and your comment!
Have a great Sunday!
This recipe was good! Definitely spicy but thatโs what you get when you have that much hot sauce and spices. I didnโt make the ranch but next time I definitely will to cut the heat. I loved it!
Hey Christina,
Thrilled to hear this recipe was a hit, thanks a bunch for making it and your comment!
Have a great weekend!
This recipe was so tasty I was bouncing in my seat the whole time I was eating it. I cooked mine on 2 separate pans and served over rice with all the recommended topping and the flavor combo was TO DIE FOR! Thank you again for another killer recipe!
Hey Reilly,
Happy Friday!! Thrilled to hear this recipe was a hit, thanks a bunch for making it and your comment!
Was way to spicy.
Hi Angelique,
Thanks for trying this recipe and sharing your feedback, very sorry to hear it was so spicy!
I absolutely love the flavor and texture of the chicken! I’ve made this twice and both times though the zucchini has gotten pretty soft. The second time I roasted it separately; next time I think I’ll shorten the cooking time. I love all of your recipes – thanks for another winner!
Hi Kelly,
Fantastic! I appreciate you making this recipe and your notes, love to hear it was enjoyed!
Have a great holiday week!๐๐
I loved the flavor of the chicken in this recipe, but if I did it over again, I would cook the vegetables on a separate cookie sheet to keep the sauce from running into the squash. I was also curious, the ingredients called for 1 1/2 tsp garlic and onion powder, but the text of the recipe instructions only mentioned using 1 tsp. Did I miss something?
Thank you so so much for trying out this recipe Becky! I appreciate the input! xT
Same question and it looks like a bot responded to you, lol.
Hi Katie,
So sorry about that! You can ignore the 1/2 part of the measurement. Please let me know if I can help in any other way!
Delicious!! The Creamy Cilantro-Basil Ranch is to die for. I wish the chicken has a bit more crisp to it but otherwise it was great! I added avocado, fresh chopped herbs, and crumbled feta!
Thanks so much, Elise!! So glad to hear this recipe turned out well for you, thanks a bunch for making it!
The ranch dressing recipe made with Greek yogurt is beyond amazing! I think I would skip the buffalo sauce next time since the spice rub was tasty in itself. I did bake my chicken & veggies on separate sheet pans. Added carrots, mushroom & onions to the zucchini.
Hi Karla,
Awesome! Love to hear you enjoyed this recipe, thanks a bunch for giving it a try! xx
This is one of our favorite meals! We keep it in the rotation. I donโt mess with perfection – this recipe is delicious as-is!!!
Love to hear this, Stacia! Thanks so much for making this recipe so often! Have a great day! xT
This was amazing! I made it without garlic powder, onion powder, or garlic, which I know completely cancels out the garlic in the title of the recipe, lol! But garlic bothers my stomach sometimes so it had to be done. Anyway, it was still so good. Very flavorful. My husband and 12 year old daughter loved it too! We will definitely be adding this to our regular rotation. Thanks for the great recipe!
Hi Jasmine,
Happy Friday! Thanks a bunch for making this dish and sharing your feedback, love to hear it was enjoyed! XxT
When I say we will have chicken tonight – my family asks for that one from half baked harvest with the zucchini and blue cheese please. I rarely make changes – I love this dish as is – but have been adding blue cheese crumbles on the chicken as I plate it up.
Hey Teresa,
Awesome! Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, so glad to hear it was a hit!๐๐โ๏ธ xxT