Sheet Pan Lemon Pepper Chicken

A healthy Sheet Pan Lemon Pepper Chicken complete with green beans that is cooked on one sheet pan and ready in just twenty minutes!

One of the most common requests I recieve is for easy chicken recipes that are family friendly. Today I am sharing one of those recipes. I mean who doesn't love crispy, cheesy, lemony chicken? It's packed with flavor and other than a little work breading the chicken, it's an easy meal that you can make on a busy weeknight.

The real magic of this recipe comes in the crunchy, lemony breading. It's made with a combination of Panko breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, and lemon pepper seasoning. If you haven't used lemon pepper seasoning before, it's basically a combination of granulated lemon zest and black pepper. One note, it's important to buy a lemon pepper seasoning that uses real lemons and not lemon extract, which can end up tasting a little artificial. Usually, I buy this one and love that I can see the actual lemon. You can also make your own by adding lemon zest and black pepper to the breading mixture.

The other critical element of the breading is the Parmesan cheese. It adds a nutty and salty element that pairs perfectly with the lemon and pepper. And in my opinion, everything tastes better with a little cheese. This breading is only used on one side of the chicken. Not only does this reduce the amount of breading, it also ensures that we don't end up with soggy breading on half the chicken.

What is lemon pepper seasoning?

Lemon pepper seasoning is traditionally made with lemon zest, black pepper, and salt. Generally, there are two different types available in the grocery store- ones that use real lemon zest and ones that use lemon extract or "fake" lemon flavor. You want to look for one that uses real lemon zest otherwise, it can have a fake lemon flavor. Trader Joe's makes a good one that comes in a grinder.

If you want to make your own lemon pepper seasoning at home, just combine 2 tablespoons of lemon zest with 1 tablespoon of black pepper and one tablespoon of kosher salt.

Side dish Ideas for Lemon Pepper Chicken

Although this recipe comes in with a built-in side dish with the green beans, you may want to add another side dish as well. Here are some to consider:

• Easy roasted potatoes
• Baked sweet potatoes
• Honey Balsamic Roasted Carrots
• Brown rice, quinoa, farro, or cauliflower rice

Tips for Making this Lemon Pepper Chicken and Green Beans

• Make your own lemon pepper seasoning for the chicken using fresh lemon zest and black pepper. You can also marinate the chicken in some lemon juice and garlic before breading it to add some extra flavor.
• For a low carb version, skip the Panko breadcrumbs and double up on the Parmesan cheese.
• Looking for the crispiest chicken? One trick is to mix a small amount of olive oil or melted butter into the breading. Using just a small amount, a tablespoon or so for the entire recipe, will create a really crunchy texture and ensure you get the crispiness you are looking for.
• You can use almost any quick cooking vegetable for this recipe - green beans, broccoli, asparagus, zucchini, cauliflower, etc. Season it simply with salt and pepper or add your own spice blend. You can also make some extra panko and Parmesan breading for the vegetables if your family doesn't love plain veggies. It will give them some crunch and can make them more appealing for non-veggie lovers.

Looking for more healthy chicken recipes?

• Sheet Pan Healthy Chicken Parm
• Buffalo Chicken Quesadillas
• Sheet Pan Asian Chicken Stir Fry
• Grilled Pineapple Barbecue Chicken

Here are some of the products and tools I used to create this recipe.

• Lemon pepper seasoning: This is my favorite one since it freshly grinds the pepper and lemon peel resulting in a natural and really flavorful seasoning. 
• Baking sheet: There are so many options out there but I have been using this brand for years and find they hold up really well.