Sheet-Pan Crispy Chicken with Squash & Mushrooms

Slightyly more work but still very weeknight friendly, this crispy chicken option uses the heat of your oven to roast veggies and crisp up chicken to make a beautiful meal. Sure, you'll need 2 sheetpans but no other fancy equipment, and certainly no fancy ingredients. My kiddo described this as one of the best things I've made in a long time, so ... hope you try it!

Don't have Zahtar seasoning on hand? It is a super versatile seasoning, and great on chicken, as you can see here, but also tasty on veggies, fish and sprinkled on hummus and other dips. Certainly, it is available in grocery stores in the seasoning aisle or you can make your own and keep on hand by combining 1 tablespoon of each cumin, ground dried thyme, sumac, toasted sesame seeds, 2 tsp marjoram and 1 tsp each of salt and freshly ground pepper. This will make about 1/2 cup of seasoning.

Sheet-Pan Crispy Chicken with Squash & Mushrooms

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

Cooking spray

2 large yellow squash (or zucchini), trimmed, halved lengthwise, sliced into ½-inch half moons (about 4 cups)

8 - 12 ounces mushrooms, rinsed and large ones cut in half

1 large red pepper, cut into strips

1 Tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1 cup panko breadcrumbs (whole wheat or white)

¼ cup whole-wheat flour

2 large egg, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon Zahtar seasoning

2 teaspoon paprika, divided

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

4 (4-ounce) chicken breasts

Instructions

Preheat oven to 475°F. Coat two baking sheets with baking spray (or line with foil).

Roast veggies:

On one of the prepared sheet pans, toss squash and mushrooms with 1 T olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Slide pan into the oven on the bottom rack to roast while you coat the chicken.

Place 1 cup panko, ¼ cup flour and the beaten eggs in 3 separate wide, shallow bowls. Season all three with salt and pepper. To the panko crumbs, add oregano, garlic powder, Zahtar, and 1 tsp paprika. Stir to combine. Add 2 T olive oil to the crumb mixture, and toss to mix everything well.

Put the containers in order from left to right: flour first, egg second, panko mixture third. Your second prepared baking sheet can come right after the panko mixture bowl.

Season both side of each chicken breast with the remaining teaspoon of paprika and salt and pepper.

Working with 1 cutlet at a time, dredge chicken in the flour and shake off excess. Dip in the egg; let excess drip off. Dredge in the panko mixture to coat, pressing to adhere; place on prepared baking sheet with fattest ends of breasts to the outside of the pan. Repeat with the remaining chicken cutlets, flour, egg and panko mixture. (Discard any remaining flour, egg and/or panko mixture.)

Once all of the chicken is breaded, coat the breaded chicken with light coating of cooking spray. Check your veggies, and give them a good stir. Slide the pan with the chicken into the oven on the top rack and roast until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the chicken registers 165°F, 8 to 10 minutes.

Once your chicken hits the correct temp, and your veggies and roasted to your liking, remove pan from oven and allow to sit for 5 minutes. Serve!

Enjoy!