This Baked Curry Chicken Thighs Sheet Pan Dinner features chicken thighs and carrots seasoned with curry powder and lime juice for a simple and flavorful meal with less dirty dishes!
Table of Contents
- This recipe is…
- Why You’ll Love This Sheet Pan Dinner Recipe
- Curry Chicken Thighs Recipe Ingredients
- Recipe Variations and Modifications
- How to Make Curried Chicken Thighs
- Recipe Tips
- How to Serve
- How to Store and Reheat
- Frequently Asked Questions
- More of Our Best Sheet Pan Recipes
- Sheet Pan Curried Chicken Thighs Recipe
This recipe is…
Our latest spin on the sheet pan meal is this easy curried chicken thighs sheet pan dinner based on this DELISH curried roasted cauliflower. After tasting that recipe, we knew that the mixture we used to coat the cauliflower would be just as amazing on chicken.
To make this curry chicken thighs dinner, you’ll quickly marinate some boneless, skinless chicken thighs in a flavorful mixture of coconut cream, lime juice, and curry powder. This marinade will give the chicken a ton of flavor and lock in its moisture.
Next, you’ll toss some halved carrots with lime and cumin, then bake them for a few minutes ahead of the chicken, just to make sure we don’t end up with under-cooked carrots or overcooked chicken. Once the carrots have cooked a bit, you’ll add the chicken to the sheet pan, and bake for 30 minutes until everything just begins to brown. Finally, you’ll garnish with cilantro and chopped peanuts for a bit of extra crunch!
This sheet pan dinner is excellent (and filling) as is, but if you want to add another side, simple white rice is a great option. If you’re looking for a green veggie side, this simple arugula salad, roasted green beans, or 3-Greens Salad are all great pairings too.
If you’re looking for another delicious chicken thigh recipe, these jalapeno popper chicken thighs are a true winner!
Why You’ll Love This Sheet Pan Dinner Recipe
- Everything gets cooked together on one sheet pan, meaning less dirty dishes!
- Only 10 minutes of prep
- A marinade of coconut cream, curry, and garlic powder gives these juicy chicken thighs big flavor!
Curry Chicken Thighs Recipe Ingredients
Here’s everything you’ll need to pull together this easy sheet pan dinner. Find ingredient notes (including substitutions and swaps) below.
- 1½ pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 1 can’s worth of coconut cream from one can of coconut milk
- 2 tablespoons lime juice about one lime
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 tablespoon curry powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 5 medium carrots
- ½ tablespoon ghee melted, or extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
A full ingredient list with exact amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
Recipe Variations and Modifications
Here are some easy ways to customize this recipe to your liking:
- Chicken – we used boneless chicken thighs for this recipe because their higher fat content helps prevent them from drying out. But you could swap in chicken breasts instead: just use a meat thermometer to cook them to the proper doneness.
- Veggies – if carrots aren’t your favorite veg, cauliflower and/or broccoli would both be delicious options!
How to Make Curried Chicken Thighs
This is a super simple recipe (as are most sheet pan dinners!). Here’s the full how-to.
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Make the marinade: whisk together the ingredients for the chicken marinade, then place the chicken thighs in the marinade.
Step 2: Peel the carrots, and then cut them in half lengthwise. Place the carrots on a rimmed baking sheet and toss them with ghee, lime juice, sea salt, cumin, and pepper. Bake for 10 minutes.
Step 3: Bake the chicken thighs – remove the carrots from the oven and place the chicken thighs on the baking sheet. Then return to the oven and bake for 30 minutes.
Step 4: Garnish and serve – remove the chicken and carrots from the oven, garnish with fresh cilantro, serve, and enjoy!
Recipe Tips
- Simplify cleanup – make cleanup even easier by lining your sheet pan with parchment paper before adding your ingredients.
- Check your spices – if you don’t remember the last time you reached for that curry powder or cumin sitting on your spice shelf, it may have lost some of its potency (especially if it’s been stored in a hot spot, like near your oven). Check your spices by giving the canister a sniff. If it’s not very fragrant, you may want to use about one and a half as much of the spices as called for in the recipe (or double if your spices are really old), and replace them the next chance you get.
How to Serve
This curried chicken sheet pan dinner is great as is, but if you’d like to stretch it a little further, you could easily add more veggies to this meal (think cauliflower, broccoli, potatoes, or even bell peppers) and bake them at the same time you put in the carrots. For a little extra starch, you could also serve this alongside some white rice.
How to Store and Reheat
Store your leftover curried chicken thighs and carrots in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. To reheat, simply microwave an individual serving until warmed through.
Frequently Asked Questions
Curry is a warm and fragrant spice blend that varies by brand. But most standard curry powders usually consist of turmeric, cumin, ginger, and black pepper. Some may also contain other ingredients like cinnamon, garlic powder, cardamom, or fenugreek.
We call for boneless, skinless chicken thighs here since they stay juicy when roasted. Bone-in chicken thighs would also be delicious, but will take longer to cook. Regardless of what cut you choose, make sure to bring it to at least 160 degrees at the thickest part. (The USDA recommends cooking until 165 degrees, but you can count on at least 5 degrees of “carryover cooking” after the meat is pulled from the oven.
While we prefer chicken thighs for this recipe since they stay juicy longer, you can absolutely swap in chicken breasts here. Just make sure to keep a closer eye on your meat thermometer to avoid drying them out with overcooking.
More of Our Best Sheet Pan Recipes
If you tried this recipe for Baked Curry Chicken Thighs Sheet Pan Dinner, or any other recipe on the Fed & Fit website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let us know how it went in the 📝 comments below!
Sheet Pan Curried Chicken Thighs
Ingredients
For the Chicken:
- 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 1 can’s worth of coconut cream from one can of coconut milk
- 2 tablespoons lime juice, about one lime
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 tablespoon curry powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
For the Carrots:
- 5 medium carrots
- 1/2 tablespoon ghee, melted, or extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 F.
- Whisk together the ingredients for the chicken marinade, then place the chicken thighs in the marinade.
- Peel the carrots and cut in half lengthwise. Place carrots on a rimmed baking sheet and toss with ghee, lime juice, sea salt, cumin, and pepper. Bake for 10 minutes.
- Remove the baking sheet from the oven and nestle the chicken thighs amongst the carrots. Return to the oven and bake for 30 minutes.
- Remove chicken and carrots from oven, garnish with fresh cilantro, and serve!
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
As soon as I saw this I knew I had to try it, and it did not disappoint! Super easy, and so flavorful. Even my picky kids liked it. Definitely going into our regular rotation! I did garnish with cilantro and peanuts, even though the peanuts aren’t mentioned in the actual recipe (only in the beginning of the post). I wouldn’t change a thing!
Awww yay! We are so happy it was enjoyed by the whole fam, Krysta! Thank you so much for taking the time to share!
Do you think using lemon juice will work? I’m thinking about trying it because it’s what I have on hand. Has anyone else tried lemons?
I made this last night and it was very tasty. I added some broccoli and cauliflower to the carrots and made more of the marinade to keep out later for serving.
My comment has to do with printing from your website. The name of the recipe and the sections are bolded and print black. On two different printers, the remainder of the text is a light gray that is hard to read. I have to copy/paste into Word to get all of the text to print black. This is using Chrome on Windows 11.
We are so happy you enjoyed it, Lynn!
Looking into the printing issue now!! Thank you so so much for letting us know!!
How would it change the cooking time if I used bone-in chicken thighs?
Hi Patty! Adding an additional 10 minutes of cook time should be perfect! If you aren’t sure, an internal temperature of 165 is just right! Just keep an eye on your carrots… might have to remove them before the chicken is done!
I see that you commented on the coconut cream from can of coconut milk already but I’m confused. Do I just strain the cream out? I have cans of coconut milk and coconut cream. Maybe when I open my can of coconut milk it will make sense. This looks amazing and I cannot wait to try it!!
Great question, Sally! You’ve totally got it! When you open your can of coconut milk, you’ll see a layer of cream on top! Scoop that out with a spoon to use!!
Ok I love y’all’s recipes but someone should fix the mobile user experience! Just in looking at this recipe and trying to leave this comment, the page has skipped around 7 times due to ads/popups such that I totally lose my place and can’t look at the recipe. Help!!
Thank you for this feedback, Mary! We will definitely look into this!
What does one can’s worth of coconut cream mean exactly? Thanks!
Hi Kylie! You’ll use the coconut cream in one 13.5-ounce can of coconut milk.
My husband can’t have coconut cream due to a genetic cholesterol issue. Do you think mayo or some other substitute would work?
We haven’t tried it so can’t say for sure, but I think mayo would work!
Greek yogurt would be a good substitute
I love that I can come here and find a quick, delicious recipe with pantry staples for the nights I didn’t plan very well. This recipe smelled delicious cooking, and even more delicious to eat! I used baby carrots because it’s what I had on hand & they worked out so well. It’s thanks to your team that I feel confident making substitutions in cooking!
Thank you so much for sharing this with us, Danielle. It means more than you know! We’re so glad you love this recipe.
This was my first time cooking with the coconut and curry combo, but it won’t be the last. Thank you for this tasty, one pan recipe!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Joni! Such a yummy combo!
Big hit at our house, super easy to get on the table and great flavors! I try new recipes all the time, but my husband specifically asked I print this one out and make it again, haha!