When the zucchini pile up and meals need to be made quickly on long, balmy days, this hot honey chicken sheet pan dish ticks all the boxes and simplifies summer supper. Lemony, floral, sweet and with just a touch of heat, it makes simple roasted chicken dinner that much more enticing.
Hot honey has become a household pantry staple in recent years, and you’ll spot it as a popular topping for pizza, alongside charcuterie boards and as a glaze for chicken, but it does lean sweet. A hit of citrusy acidity, like the kind you get from sumac, helps round out the syrupy heat of hot honey.
Sumac is a staple in Middle Eastern cooking, and can be found in most Israeli pantries. For centuries, it has been used as a spice for its unique flavor, as a dye for its distinctive reddish hue and as medicine for its nutritional benefits. It grows on trees in red-berry-like flowery clusters; you might even spot sumac trees growing like weeds alongside highways across North America. Sumac is as tangy as a sour lemon, thanks to its high concentration of naturally occurring malic acid. You can find dried sumac at any Middle Eastern market, online and at many natural foods grocery stores.
This dish comes together in less than an hour with fewer than ten ingredients. Adding vegetables to the sheet-pan allows you to make a side alongside your chicken. Use up all the ample squash from your garden and roast them alongside the chicken, or substitute broccoli, cauliflower or bell peppers. You can swap whole legs of chicken or bone-in chicken breasts for the thighs. If you have any difficulty tracking down hot honey, you can make your own at home by adding a big pinch of chili flakes or cayenne to your honey sauce.
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Easy to make ahead, this recipe is equally Shabbat-worthy as it is weeknight friendly.
Notes:
- You can swap bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs for whole legs or for bone-in skin-on chicken breasts, cooking time will be approximately 10 minutes longer for either swap.
- You can omit either zucchini and substitute them with any combination of equal weight of broccoli florets, cauliflower florets or bell peppers.
- You can omit sumac if desired, but I recommend adding a good squeeze of lemon juice on top of the chicken once its roasted, to help balance out the sweetness from the honey
- If you can’t find hot honey premade, add ½-1 tsp chili flake or ¼ tsp cayenne pepper to plain honey.
- Chicken can be made up to 1 day in advance and reheated in a 375-400°F oven until cooked through and hot, about 15 minutes. The skin will lose crispyness, but the chicken will remain tender and juicy.
Sheet Pan Chicken Recipe with Sumac and Hot Honey
This sheet pan chicken recipe with sumac and hot honey will be your favorite dinner.
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: Serves 6
Ingredients
- 6 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (2.5-3 lb /1.1-1.4 kg)
- 1.5 lb (680 g) yellow summer squash or zucchini, about 3 large
- 1 medium (235 g) red onion
- olive oil, as needed
- salt and pepper, to taste
- freshly chopped dill or parsley, to garnish (optional)
- ¼ cup hot honey, such as Mike’s Hot Honey
- 3 Tbsp non-dairy butter, such as Miyoko’s
- 1 clove garlic, finely minced or grated
- 2 tsp sumac
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. While the oven is preheating, allow your chicken to come to room temperature. Line a sheet pan with parchment or foil (this helps to prevent sticking, but is not essential).
- Pat the chicken dry, and season generously with salt and pepper.
- Trim the ends of the zucchini, then slice into thick ¾-1-inch rounds. Toss the zucchini in 1 Tbsp oil, and season with salt and pepper.
- Place the seasoned chicken on one half of the sheet pan, leaving an inch or two of room between each piece to prevent steaming. Add the zucchini rounds on the other half in an even layer. (If you prefer firmer and crisper zucchini, roast them simultaneously on a separate sheet pan from the chicken). Place in the oven and roast for 30 minutes.
- While the chicken is roasting, make the hot honey sumac sauce. In a small saucepan, combine the hot honey, non-dairy butter, minced garlic and sumac. Taste and season with salt. Heat over low heat and simmer for 3-4 minutes, or until the non-dairy butter has fully melted and the sauce has slightly thickened. Alternatively, you can combine all of the ingredients in a microwave-safe bowl, and cook covered in a microwave until melted and saucy.
- Remove the sheet pan from the oven, and brush the tops of the chicken and the zucchini with half of the hot honey sauce.
- Continue to roast the chicken and vegetables for 15-20 minutes longer, or until the chicken is cooked through, browned, and glazed. Once fully cooked (with an internal temperature of 175°F), remove from the oven and brush the chicken and vegetables with the remaining sauce.
- Top with fresh herbs if using, and serve immediately.
Notes
- You can swap bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs for whole legs or for bone-in skin-on chicken breasts, cooking time will be approximately 10 minutes longer for either swap.
- You can omit either zucchini and substitute them with any combination of equal weight of broccoli florets, cauliflower florets or bell peppers.
- You can omit sumac if desired, but I recommend adding a good squeeze of lemon juice on top of the chicken once its roasted, to help balance out the sweetness from the honey
- If you can’t find hot honey premade, add ½-1 tsp chili flake or ¼ tsp cayenne pepper to plain honey.
- Chicken can be made up to 1 day in advance and reheated in a 375-400°F oven until cooked through and hot, about 15 minutes. The skin will lose crispyness, but the chicken will remain tender and juicy.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Roasting
- Cuisine: Israeli
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