Sheet Pan Cajun Chicken Chop & Veggies

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This sheet pan Cajun chicken chop & veggies (squash, tomato & mushroom) is a continuation of making meals without the stove due to ongoing house renovations. Before I made this meal, the question I asked myself was, “how can I roast everything in a pan in 20 minutes flat when chicken is involved?” The answer lies in the cut of chicken. I’m using the chicken chop cut, which is a flattened piece of boneless chicken leg. Being flat, the chicken chop cooks in about half the time of a whole chicken leg. The shortened roasting time synchronizes with the rest of the vegetables in the baking tray, namely 20 minutes!

See Also:

• Sheet Pan Cajun Shrimp Recipe
• Sheet Pan Sausage & Veggies Recipe
• Easy Sheet Pan Recipes

The roasted chicken skin looks burnt due to the colour, but rest assured that it is not! In fact, the blackened chicken skin is a result of using Cajun spices, a variant of blackened seasoning. The blackened skin is crisp to perfection and a burst of flavour. It turns out to be my favourite component in the pan.

STEP-BY-STEP PHOTOS

This is my dry chicken spice rub. The base is made up of Cajun seasoning. To the base, I added garlic powder, cayenne or paprika pepper and all-purpose seasoning. Some people prefer to make their Cajun seasoning from scratch, but I always start with a premade bottle for convenience.  As every brand differs in taste (especially in the heat & salt level), do adjust to taste the amount of pepper & salt accordingly.

This is raw chicken chop from the supermarket. After cleaning the chicken, pat it dry with paper towel, then place it skin side down on a plate. Lightly sprinkle garlic salt on the flesh. If you use normal salt without the garlic, sprinkle about half of the amount seen in the picture above.

Prepare sheet pan. Place the chicken skin side up on the sheet pan. Rub olive oil all over the skin, followed by the dry spice rub prepared earlier. Coat the veggies (squash, cherry tomato & button mushroom) with olive oil and arrange them around the chicken in a sheet pan. I deliberately did not cut the mushroom so that the roasting time will be the same as the other ingredients. Scatter some seasonings over the veggies.

After roasting in the oven for only 20 minutes, the chicken is cooked and the skin became perfectly crisp. Enjoy this sheet pan of chicken & veggies as a filling low (complex) carb meal for one, or share it as a side dish among 2 or more people.