Next Post
Valentine’s Day Double Chocolate Chex Mix.
This post may contain affiliate links, please see our privacy policy for details.
This colorful Sheet Pan Korean Chicken Bowl with Sweet Potatoes and Yum Yum Sauce is the perfect weeknight dinner. Chicken tossed in an addicting sweet and spicy Korean inspired BBQ sauce, roasted with sweet potatoes, and served up bowl style with steamed rice, homemade yum yum sauce, and vegetables. This quick-cooking, easy sheet pan dinner comes together in just about an hour. It’s colorful, healthy, and beyond good. Incorporate this into your monthly dinner rotation or prep ahead of time and enjoy for lunch throughout the week.
They’re colorful, flavorful, and so full of everything I love. I’ve been holding onto this recipe for a couple weeks now and could not be more excited to share it. These bowls are GOOD…and simple…and pretty healthy too. Do you see all that color? Perfect for these very white, snowy winter days.
It’s definitely that time of year when I really start to crave color when it comes to cooking. I hit a little bit of a “slump” with the cozy, not so colorful, winter recipes. So I switched gears and decided to bring back all the color. Enter this bowl. Everything from the chicken to the sweet potatoes, to all the “optional” toppings, are colorful. And most importantly, this dish is so delicious.
The added bonus is that this recipe is made entirely on one sheet pan and in just about an hour’s time. Great for busy weeknights, but delicious enough for the weekend too. The flavors are, of course, inspired by my family’s trip to South Korea for the 2018 winter Olympics. Which is crazy to think was just about two years ago, almost to the day (Red took gold February 11th)! I love being able to bring back all those amazing memories through food. It takes me back to a really special time.
First things first, if you’ll be cooking rice, get that started now so it can cook while the chicken cooks.
Next, start in on the sweet potatoes as they take the most time to cook. Get them on a sheet pan and start roasting them up simply with sesame oil, salt, and pepper.
While the potatoes are roasting, make the Gochujang sauce. This is a pretty simple mix of Gochujang (Korean chili paste), soy sauce, and sesame seeds. The Gochujang adds all the flavor, so you really don’t need much else. Gochujang makes everything good, it’s sweet, tangy, spicy, and salty.
Toss about half of this sauce with cubed chicken, then add the chicken to the pan with the sweet potatoes. Roast the chicken and potatoes together until the chicken is cooked through. Now, here is the KEY. During the last few minutes of cooking you’ll want to switch the oven to broil to help give the chicken just a little bit of a char and make the sauce really stick to the chicken.
While everything is roasting in the oven, start prepping the rest of the bowls. Make the yum yum sauce with the remaining Gochujang sauce by mixing it with your choice of yogurt, sour cream, or mayo. Personally, I like to use yogurt, but use what you and your family love most. Either way, this sauce is beyond good and slightly addicting. It’s my recommendation to double it.
For my vegetables, I toss a bunch of kale with fresh lime juice and cilantro. My other toppings include avocado, kimchi, carrots, cucumbers, and green onions. You can use all of these or take your pick of favorites.
At this point, it’s time to put it all together. Add the rice to bowls, then spoon the chicken, potatoes, kale, and yum yum sauce over top. Finish with any and all toppings you’d like. There is A LOT going on here, but it’s all so very very good!
What is Gochujang? If you’re not familiar, Gochujang it’s Korean chili paste. It’s spicy with a little sweetness, and it’s extremely flavorful. It’s traditional in a lot of Korean based sauces and is often used in Korean fried chicken or simply as a dipping sauce. Over here, we LOVE Gochujang and I use it for so much more than just Korean food. It’s good paired with pretty much anything that you’d enjoy with a touch of hot sauce.
You can buy Gochujang in most grocery stores. I know Whole Foods and Trader Joes carry it. I highly recommend this brand Gochujang. It certainly makes for the best, truly Korean food. Tip? If you love a lot of sauce (we do!), then I would recommend doubling the Gochujang sauce so that you can have extra for serving…yes, in addition to the creamy yum yum sauce. Never enough sauce, you know?
Now, let’s talk about the broiler. When using the broiler you must watch the food closely. And I really, really do mean that. Things can go from perfect to completely burnt in a matter of seconds. Trust me, I know from experience. And all broilers are different, so cooking times will vary from oven to oven.
Bonus? This is such a wonderful meal for meal prepping. Just package everything up in your favorite glass containers and enjoy it as an easy lunch or dinner.
I really can’t tell you enough how much I love this Korean inspired bowl. It’s so delicious, healthy, and a recipe that truly everyone will love. Plus it’s pretty easy too!
I’ll be turning to this one time and time again. Sheet pan dinners are always my go-to, but this Korean bowl is hands down a favorite. It’s all about that sticky Korean sauce. It truly makes everything that much better. Can’t wait to make this one again!
Looking for other Korean inspired recipes? Here are some of my favorites:
Oven Fried Korean Popcorn Chicken
Instant Pot Sticky Korean Chicken
Instant Pot Korean Bulgogi BBQ Tacos
If you make this sheet pan Korean chicken bowl with sweet potatoes and yum yum sauce, 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!
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
This was so delicious! I could eat it every night. I thought my sweet potatoes would be over done, but the texture contrast and sweetness was perfect! Thanks!
Hey Kim,
I am so glad you enjoyed the recipe, thanks so much for making it! xTieghan
This is so good. I could drink that yum yum sauce with a straw!
Hey Jennifer,
Thanks so much for trying the recipe. I am so glad you enjoyed! xTieghan
Made this tonight and my husband and I both loved it! I really liked the ginger in the sauce so might add a little extra next time. Will definitely be adding this to my recipe box to make again, hopefully next time our toddler will be willing to at least taste it!
Hey Ruby,
I am so glad you enjoyed the recipe, thank you so much for giving it a try! Happy Holidays! xTieghan
I just made this for dinner and it was delicious! My boyfriend’s exact words were “fantastic” and “this should be on a menu somewhere” lol! I’ll definitely make this again. Thanks for a great recipe!
Hey Chloe,
Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try, I am thrilled that it worked out for you! Happy Holidays! xTieghan
Could you please recommend a substitute for the rice?
Hey Lisa,
You can skip the rice or use any other base that you enjoy for your bowl. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other question. Happy Holidays! xTieghan
My family went gaga over this recipe! It was so incredibly delicious, I’m making it again tonight and doubling the recipe so we have enough for tomorrow night, too – or to save for later in the week! I’ve made about 10 recipes of yours and have enjoyed them all but this one was the ultimate in deliciousness! I can’t wait to invite guests over for this delectable meal! Thank you for all your beautiful and hard work.
Hi Kathy! I am so happy this recipe turned out so well for you! Thank you so much for trying this recipe! xTieghan
Loved this recipe. Well done. Best chicken I have had in a long time. The avo was a must. I used sesame oil and did a mix of baby kale and spinach. Thank you!!
Thank you Freddy!! xTieghan
Delicious! Whole family devoured it and it came together quickly, which is always crucial for a weekday meal.
That is really great to hear, Caitlin! Thank you for trying this recipe! xTieghan
Made this for lunch today for my fiancé and I, and it was fresh, easy, and delicious! Loved it. It was spicy, but I felt like the rice and veggies helped balance everything nicely. I’ve been doing a lot of cooking at home since we’ve been social distancing, and your recipes are some of my favorites!
I am so glad this turned out so well for you Jessie! Thank you so much for trying it! xTieghan
This was SO tasty! I made this a few months ago but wanted to make sure to leave a comment because i really enjoyed it and will make it again and again. The baked portion of the recipe was more spicy than I anticipated, when I sampled before compiling everything together. But (for my taste buds) it evened out once I added in the extra vegetables and included the rice. Well balanced flavors, as usual! I’ve been recommending Half Baked Harvest recipes to friends/family ever since I stumbled upon your instagram page. Thank you for all your wonderful recipes!!
I am so glad this turned out so well for you, Beth! Thank you so much for trying it!! xTieghan
Great flavor and easy for meal prep! We skipped the avocado and used sugar snap peas instead of kale, but otherwise stayed true to the recipe. Thanks as always Tieghan!
Thank you so much Erin!! I am really glad this turned out so well for you! xTieghan
Love this recipe!
Thank you Meg! xTieghan
Hands down my favorite HBH recipe (so far, LOL.). We have it once a week! When I add the chicken, I also put a bag of frozen broccoli in the oven and drizzle it with the gochujang sauce. Sooooo yummy!
Love that!! Thank you so much Emma! I am really glad this recipe turned out so amazing for you! xTieghan
Ridiculously good!
Love that! Thank you Kim! xTieghan
This was delicious!! The yum yum sauce is perfect on top and amazed how tasty the kale was with the lime and cilantro. The addition on radishes was a great suggestion! Thanks Tieghan for another great recipe!
Thank you so much Kristen! So glad you enjoyed this one! xTieghan