Roasting Chicken over Vegetables

November 19, 2025
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Have you ever roasted chicken and looked at all of the beautiful drippings at the bottom of the pan and wondered what you could do with all that goodness? Of course, theres always a good pan sauce or gravy, but honestly, sometimes you just want everything to come together at once and this is why I love this simple meal so much…

Roasting chicken over vegetables allows all of the beautiful chicken fat and juices to work their way into the tender veggies below creating a complete meal that is absolutely delicious. Not one dripping wasted and each bite is more delicious than the last.

Let’s get started…

This recipe is pretty loose – you can use bone-in or boneless chicken, skin-on or skinless and you can use individual pieces, quarters or even a whole chicken… whatever you prefer and when it comes to the vegetables, you can use whatever you love here too. I prefer to use vegetables that take about the same time to cook, but you can always add the vegetables in stages if you want to combine some heartier root vegetables with something that cooks quickly like green beans or asparagus.

While your oven is preheating to 400 degrees, prep your vegetables and cut them into bite sized pieces.

Today, I am using beets, parsnips, potatoes and calabacitas, which are a tender squash native to Mexico. Living in southern Arizona, you can find calabacita squash everywhere, so I have been adding them to so many recipes. If you can find them, try them out!

Drizzle the vegetables with olive oil and season everything generously with your favorite seasonings. I use garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, paprika, chili powder and sea salt.

Toss the vegetables around to they are all coated in the oil and seasonings and then layer your chicken over top.

Season the chicken just like you did the vegetables – olive oil and seasonings.

Roast in a 400 degree oven until the chicken is golden brown and the veggies are tender.

There are 2 ways to tell if your chicken is done…when the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees and there is no pink inside. I prefer the temperature method, especially when using red seasonings like paprika or chili powder or cooking the chicken with beets, since you will have some pink coloring from those other sources and if you see that, you may end up over cooking your chicken and drying it out. Nobody likes dry chicken, so pick up a meat thermometer so you can know exactly when your chicken is done!

When the chicken and vegetables are getting close to be finished, I am going to whip up a quick garlic butter and brush it over the chicken to send this simple meal right over the top.

In a small dish, melt 4 tablespoons of butter and stir in 2 cloves of finely minced garlic, 2 teaspoons of fresh lemon juice, 1 teaspoon of paprika, 1 teaspoon of finely chopped or dried parsley and a pinch of salt.

Brush this over the chicken and pour any leftovers over the vegetables and let everything finish cooking drenched in garlic butter.

So, the chicken is good, of course… but those vegetables are so fabulous. There is something really special about what the chicken drippings do to them as they roast. They soak up so much flavor and then when you add the garlic butter… just be sure to add a little more vegetables than you think you’ll want because once you taste them, you’ll want more… you definitely will.

If you are looking for a simple sheet pan meal that requires no baby sitting and can do its thing in your oven while you are taking care of the house and getting your comfy dinner clothes on after a long day at work then I would love for you to roast some chicken over vegetables. You are going to be so glad that you did…

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