This sheet pan tandoori chicken recipe is made with a quick trick for the crispiest, most tender chicken! Served over a bed of roasted winter squash, cauliflower and red onion with raita and green chutney!

Sheet Pan Tandoori Chicken and Vegetables with Raita and Green Chutney

Happy Monday! I'm back at work after a lazy weekend at home. If this post was going out last Monday, I would have called it a Netflix and chill kinda weekend, but my husband recently informed me that is a euphemism and not actually watching Netflix while chilling. Felt pretty awkward when I remembered all the times I invited friends over for Netflix and chill....and very grateful they didn't take me up on the offer! (Don't know what I'm talking about? You're not alone. This article will catch you up to speed. 😬)

Speaking of lazy nights at home, sheet pan recipes have been my favorite lazy cooking. Just throw some protein and veggies on a pan, bake, and serve with some yummy sauces. Sometimes food trends are annoying (especially when they’re tied up in a diet trend). Other times they are inspiring, and sheet pan cooking is the latter!

Now, in full disclosure while I call sheet pan cooking lazy cooking, I wouldn’t call this sheet pan tandoori chicken recipe lazy. There is a homemade raita (cucumber yogurt sauce) involved, and chopping and peeling a winter squash which is always heavy duty prep work. However, there’s lots of ways you can make this even more time saving! Let’s call it one step up from lazy weeknight cooking :)

While this sheet pan tandoori chicken recipe is a little more involved sheet pan cooking, it is one of my favorite sheet pan recipes. I’ve come back to it again and again over the years, and it’s even better with this update where I learned to make this chicken with the crispiest skin! While I’ve made this recipe with lots of different veggies, the mix of cauliflower, winter squash and red onion is still my favorite. The veggies take on tons of flavor from the chicken roasting on top, and also get nice and caramelized in the oven. And since y’all know I looooove sauces, this recipe has not just one but two: a creamy, refreshing cucumber raita, and a bright, herbaceous green chutney you can either make yourself, or purchase jarred.

What is Tandoori?

Tandoori chicken is a popular Indian dish that originated in the Punjab region during the period of British colonialism. It’s typically made by marinating chicken in a mixture of yogurt and tandoori seasoning, which is a spice blend that contains cayenne or Kashmiri red chili powder, garam masala, ginger and garlic. The chicken is then cooked in a tandoor oven, which is a big, cylindrical oven typically made of clay and heated by charcoal. If you get a chance to enjoy traditionally made tandoori chicken, please do! While this sheet pan tandoori chicken recipe is a fun way to enjoy tandoori spices at home, it’s by no means the same as the smoky, spicy chicken you get from a tandoor oven! If you’re in Boston, check out the tandoori chicken at Shanti, which is amazing.

While there are many recipes for tandoori seasoning online, I highly recommend picking up a tin of tandoori seasoning from Spicewalla, an Asheville, NC based brand that was launched by the James Beard winning chef of Chai Pani, and incredible Indian restaurant that specializes in street food. Many of the recipes for their seasonings were literally created by his grandma! I’m also a huge fan of their chai, cajun, and black pepper coriander (which makes the best potato hash).

How to Make Sheet Pan Tandoori Chicken

This sheet pan tandoori chicken recipe really is simple to make, and get the crispiest, most delicious skin using a simple trick you’ll want to use in all your sheet pan chicken recipes. To start, chop up the vegetables and toss them in a bit of oil and melted ghee, which adds to the rich flavor of the veggies after roasting. I coat them lightly since they’ll get additional fat from the chicken skin, and we want them to roast rather than confit.

To make the chicken, toss bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs with tandoori seasoning and the secret ingredient here - baking powder. Yup! I learned this trick from the blog Craving Tasty, which helps dry out the skin so it can get super crispy. It also helps in breaking down some of the proteins and with browning, so the chicken meat is super flavorful and tender.

The other trick I use in this recipe is roasting the chicken over the vegetables on a baking rack. Actually, instead of a baking rack I sort of rigged up this random grill pan over the top of the veggies, since I don’t actually have a roasting rack, but same thing! It gives the veggies more room to breathe so they can get caramelized, and helps the chicken get crispy on both sides.

Sheet Pan Tandoori Chicken with Raita and Green Chutney

Raita and Green Chutney for This Sheet Pan Tandoori Chicken Recipe

I like to serve this sheet pan tandoori chicken with a couple different sauces. First is a cucumber yogurt raita sauce, which is a blend of yogurt, grated cucumber, fresh herbs, and some spices. It’s perfect for tamping down some of the heat and spice of the recipe, and it’s a way to work in yogurt, part of the traditional marinade for tandoori chicken, since I left it out in order to get the chicken nice and crispy.

The other sauce I serve with this sheet pan tandoori chicken recipe is a green chutney, either mint or cilantro based. It' adds lots of bright, herbaceous flavor the the dish. Sometimes I make my own with this recipe, or I save time with jarred green chutney, which you can find in the Indian food aisle.

Sheet Pan Tandoori Chicken with Cauliflower and Winter Squash

Sheet Pan Tandoori Chicken Recipe Adaptions

As I mentioned earlier, sometimes I’ll make this recipe with different vegetables. I’ve tried it with sweet potatoes in lieu of winter squash, and with zucchini, brussels sprouts and okra instead of the cauliflower.

To save time making this recipe, feel free to use prechopped vegetables. If you get chopped winter squash and cauliflower, you can prep this dish in just over five minutes. Save even more time with a prepared raita sauce, or just swap plain yougurt. You could even use tzatziki in a pinch, as from what I understand, the only difference is tzatziki is usually made with a thicker yogurt.

If you like this sheet pan tandoori chicken recipe, follow my Indian food Pinterest board for more cooking inspiration.

This sheet pan tandoori chicken recipe was originally posted Jan 2017. Recipe, images and text have been updated to give you the best possible content.

Sheet Pan Tandoori Chicken and Vegetables with Raita and Green Chutney

Serves 4ish

Ingredients

Chicken and Vegetables:

1 medium butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 1-inch cubes
1 head cauliflower, trimmed and cut into florets
1 red onion, cut into 1-inch chunks
1 tablespoon neutral flavored oil, like canola or avocado
1 tablespoon melted ghee or butter
1 1/2 lb bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon tandoori spice

Raita:

3/4 cup plain whole milk yogurt
1/2 cup grated seeded cucumber
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
2 teaspoons lemon or lime juice
1/8 teaspoon cumin
1/8 teaspoon coriander

For Serving:

Jarred mint or cilantro chutney, or my recipe for green chutney
Raita
Chopped fresh cilantro

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
In a large bowl, toss together butternut squash, cauliflower and red onion with oil and ghee. Season with salt and black pepper. Spread evenly across a large baking sheet. If it looks overcrowded, you can divide the vegetables between two baking sheets, as overcrowding causes them to steam rather than caramelize.
Pat the chicken dry with paper towels. Toss with baking powder and tandoori seasoning, pressing the seasoning in to help it adhere.
Arrange a wire baking rack over the vegetables and place the chicken on top. Place in the oven and bake 40-45 minutes until chicken is golden and crispy and the vegetables are caramelized, tossing the vegetables halfway. If using two baking sheets, also switch positions of the vegetables (i.e. put the bottom rack on top and visa versa), putting the rack with the chicken thighs over the tray of veggies that’s now on top. This will keep the chicken in the same spot in the oven, and season all the vegetables with chicken juices.
While the chicken and vegetables are roasting, mix together the ingredients for the raita.
Serve chicken and vegetables garnished with cilantro with raita and chutney.