Easy to assemble and quick to clean up, this healthy Paleo & Keto Mexican Sheet Pan Chicken Tacos recipe will become your family’s new favorite.
Sheet pan meals in general and this healthy paleo chicken sheet pan dinner, in particular, are my latest obsession. Now that my boys are both super mobile – they’re 3 and 18 months, I don’t have the same time frame to make elaborate roast chicken dinners.
When I had one kid or even when the baby was still a baby, I had time to sautee the peppers and onions or lovingly toss the chicken in a skillet. That time is now usually spent at a park trying to prevent toddlers from running into traffic. That’s not even an exaggeration. My youngest thinks this is a fun game to play.
Reasons to cook more sheet pan dinners:
Trust me, having a couple of easy recipes like these sheet pan chicken tacos in your back pocket is a big step towards making healthy eating doable even on the busiest day.
Sheet pan meals save so much time.
The other night we got home from the park at 4:45 pm. My kids were starting to get hungry and I wasn’t about to give them a snack at this hour and derail their dinner. Enter sheet pan.
I quickly chopped up some bell peppers, some onion and laid some chicken out on a pan. I added salt, spices and olive oil – then baked. Out came dinner 35 minutes later. It was all ready in 35 minutes! I spent maybe 10 minutes chopping and getting this into the oven.
Sheet pan meals save money.
We live in a downtown area, and while we were at the park I strongly considered stopping by Chipotle to pick up dinner on the walk home. To be honest, I love Chipotle and am always happy to stop there and pick up food. But we’re trying to save money by eating out less.
As an added bonus, this organic chicken was on sale at Whole Foods. Now that Amazon acquired Whole Foods, they have really excellent sales.
Check your local grocery store for sales on high-quality proteins. Then get some veggies to pair with said protein. Make yourself a quick, easy and cheap sheet pan meal!
Sheet pan dinners are incredibly healthy.
This Mexican sheet pan chicken dinner is gluten-free, paleo, low carb, keto, dairy-free and all around crazy healthy.
Don’t get me wrong, if you lay out chicken nuggets, french fries and onion rings on a sheet pan – it ain’t health food. But if you stick to the formula of one protein and two veggies – you’re good to go!
Sheet pan meals are versatile.
The glory of sheet pan dinners really lies in their versatility. Your options are truly endless. I’ve roasted chicken thighs or turkey with broccoli and cherry tomatoes and olives. Or go for herbed salmon and asparagus, or pork tenderloin with roasted cabbage, sweet potato or potato wedges.
Make Mexican Sheet Pan Chicken Tacos for a fun family dinner!
This actually made a ton of food. To serve this chicken sheet pan dinner Mexican style, I quickly whipped up some pico de gallo, guacamole and heated up some gluten-free Siete Almond Flour tortillas and we had a taco night!
My boys love tacos. And to be frank, I love tacos. I make them about 37 times a week.
We had a ton of leftovers, so I turned these sheet pan chicken tacos into lunch the next day!
You could make a Mexican style omelet or even tortilla chicken soup with the leftovers! The possibilities are endless.
Can you cook chicken and veggies on the same pan?
Yes, you can! You can cook veggies and chicken together simultaneously but never start with the vegetables first since they will cook much quicker than the meat.
The only disadvantage of baking chicken and veggies together like this is that there can be a little liquid gathering at the bottom of the sheet pan. But honestly, I don’t mind. You can always scoop up the juices and just drizzle it again on top of the chicken.
What is not safe is to start the vegetables with the raw chicken, then remove the veg before the chicken has cooked to a safe temperature. In that case, the vegetables would be covered in the party raw “juices” from the chicken.
Tips for making healthy Sheet Pan Chicken Tacos:
- Any color of bell peppers will do here. Choose vibrantly colored, unblemished peppers that feel firm and heavy in your hand.
- You can use chicken thighs instead of breasts. I recommend bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs if you want to go thighs because the chicken stays nice and moist and the skin becomes crispy in the oven.
- Want a bit of charr on your veggies? For getting rid of the juices that gather while baking, you can remove the chicken once cooked and place the sheet pan with veggies back into the oven on the top rack. Now, turn on the broiler or the top element and let them veggies broil for 3-4 minutes. This will evaporate all the juices in the sheet pan and give them nice crispy edges.
For more healthy chicken recipes, check out:
DID YOU MAKE AND LOVE THIS SHEET PAN CHICKEN DINNER RECIPE? GIVE IT YOUR REVIEW BELOW!? AND MAKE SURE TO SHARE YOUR CREATIONS BY TAGGING ME ON INSTAGRAM!
Sheet Pan Chicken Tacos
Ingredients
- 3 large chicken breasts, sliced open so they're thinner
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 bell peppers, sliced
- 1 large onion, sliced
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375.
- Lay out some wax paper on your baking sheet.
- Slice the bell peppers and add 1-2 tbsp of olive oil and toss.
- Lay out bell peppers on sheet.
- Slice the onion, add 1 tbsp of olive oil and toss.
- Lay the onion on the baking sheet.
- Slice the three chicken breasts down the center so that they are thinner
- Add them to the bowl with olive oil, smoked paprika and garlic.
- Lay the chicken onto the sheet pan.
- Bake on 375 for about 35 minutes.
Notes
- Any color of bell peppers will do here. Choose vibrantly colored, unblemished peppers that feel firm and heavy in your hand.
- You can use chicken thighs instead of breasts. I recommend bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs if you want to go thighs because the chicken stays nice and moist and the skin becomes crispy in the oven.
- Want a bit of charr on your veggies? For getting rid of the juices that gather while baking, you can remove the chicken once cooked and place the sheet pan with veggies back into the oven on the top rack. Now, turn on the broiler or the top element and let them veggies broil for 3-4 minutes. This will evaporate all the juices in the sheet pan and give them nice crispy edges.
Nutrition
