This Tarragon Chicken recipe is easy and delicious! Baked in the oven with asparagus, lemon, garlic & leeks, it’s a fresh, healthy weeknight dinner. Vegan-adaptable. Watch the Video!
Whether we are happy or not depends on our awareness. ~Thich That Hanh
This Tarragon Chicken with asparagus is so fresh and flavorful- the perfect meal for spring! You’ve been telling me you want to cook more “lean and green” recipes featuring fresh seasonal veggies and lean proteins. Here’s a simple sheet pan dinner that fits the bill and highlights fresh spring asparagus. We’ve paired it with chicken, but this also works with tofu if you are plant-based.
Why You’ll Love This!
- Vegan-adaptable. This can easily be made vegan by substituting tofu – or use both chicken and tofu (for mixed households where both vegans and meat-eaters cohabitate).
- Easy to make (and clean up!). A one-pan dinner where you simply toss the parchment paper and be done. Great for busy weeknights!
- Utilizes fresh, seasonal produce. Made with spring produce, asparagus, leeks, and herbs.
- A lightened-up version. This is often served as a creamy tarragon chicken recipe with a creamy tarragon sauce. There is no butter or heavy cream sauce here!
Make It with Chicken Or Tofu!
On the left is my dinner (made with tofu) and the chicken dinner is on the right. One meal two ways. That’s what I love about sheet pan dinners….they are so adaptable!
Ingredients in Tarragon Chicken
- Chicken breasts: Medium, boneless, skinless. Or sub tofu or chicken thighs. See notes.
- Fresh tarragon leaves – offer up classic French flavor here.
- Asparagus: Extra large bunch, trimmed.
- Leeks: Large, cleaned (see notes), sliced into rounds.
- Lemons or Meyer Lemons
- Olive oil
- Garlic cloves: Finely minced or use a garlic press.
- Dijon Mustard
How to make Tarragon Chicken (or Tofu)
Preheat oven to 425F.
Step 1: Make Lemon Tarragon marinade. Add lemon zest and lemon juice to small bowl. Add oil, garlic, dijon mustard, kosher salt, black pepper, and mix well. Add 1/2 of the fresh French tarragon.
Step 2: Add marinade to vegetables and protein. Toss asparagus in a bowl with a little marinade over the top. Transfer to a parchment-lined sheet pan.
Add leeks to the same bowl, stir with a little marinade, then spread out onto the sheet pan.
If using tofu, season with salt, then add to the bowl, mixing with a little marinade. Add to pan (or bake on a separate pan).
Finally, add the chicken the same bowl and pour the remaining marinade into the bowl. Coat well. Nestle chicken amongst the asparagus.
Chef’s Tip: Tossing in this order allows you to use one bowl, without getting chicken all over your veggies and tofu. Get it? 😉
Chef’s Tip #2: Create a little “barricade” with the asparagus between the tofu and chicken. Or if you need total separation, of course, baking on a separate little pan is just fine. But then you’ll have two pans to clean up – so I just do the one because it’s just Brian and me. Up to you.
Step 3: Add lemon slices to the pan. Zest the second lemon over the sheet pan, then slice into rounds and layer over the asparagus.
Step 4: Roast. Bake 15-20 minutes. Check internal temp of chicken. It should read 160-165F. For golden color, broil just a couple of minutes. (Tofu may need a little longer.)
*** If using very thin asparagus, check after 12 mins and perhaps remove it early.
Step 5: Serve. Remove the sheet pan from the oven. Toss the contents of the pan, turning the chicken over to coat with flavorful juices. Garnish with fresh tarragon and serve. Parsley makes another lovely garnish.
What to Serve with Tarragon Chicken
Serve over your favorite starch! Mashed potatoes or creamy polenta make delicious bases for this dish, or even risotto, rice, or pasta. Serve with bread to soak up any remaining accumulated juices and liquid from the pan.
- Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes
- Garlic Mashed Potatoes
- Instant Pot Polenta
- Creamy Polenta
- Instant Pot Risotto
- Crispy Herby Smashed Potatoes
- Cacio e Pepe
Storage
Leftovers will keep up to 4 days in an airtight container in the fridge and have be reheated in a microwave, on the stovetop or in the oven.
FAQs
Fresh tarragon has a bright, elegant herbal flavor with a slight hint of anise (licorice). It is the perfect match for poultry. The dish is vibrant with lemony flavor!
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. Reheat on the stovetop over low heat.
Of course! Green beans would make a nice addition, as well as onion or shallots.
Sprinkle with fresh herbs …..serve over your favorite starch if you like, or keep it low carb. Enjoy this Tarragon Chicken (or Tofu)!
xoxo
More Recipes you may like
Tarragon Chicken & AsparAgus Video
Tarragon Chicken with Asparagus
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 20
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 4
- Category: healthy dinner, weeknight dinner, chicken recipes, tofu, low-carb
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: French
- Diet: Diabetic
Description
A healthy delicious sheet-pan dinner, that features the best of spring produce! Make it in 30 minutes with minimal clean up. Vegan adaptable, GF and paleo!
Ingredients
- 2 lemons
- 1/ 4 cup olive oil
- 4-6 garlic cloves, finely minced ( or use a garlic press)
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1-ounce package of fresh tarragon leaves, rough chopped, about 1/4-1/3 cup
- 1 extra-large bunch asparagus, trimmed (about 1 1/2 pounds)
- 1-2 large leeks, sliced into 1/2 inch thick rounds ( if dirty, rinse, see notes)
- 1 1/2–2 lbs chicken breasts (boneless, skinless), cut in half, or sub tofu, or chicken thighs, see notes
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F
- In a small bowl, make the marinade. Add the zest of one lemon, and its juice (about 3 tablespoons) in a small bowl. Add olive oil, garlic, dijon mustard, salt, and pepper, and mix well until salt dissolves. Add ½ of the fresh tarragon, saving the rest for garnish.
- In a medium bowl, place the trimmed asparagus, and spoon a little of the marinade over the top. Toss to coat and place them on a large parchment-lined sheet pan. Add the leeks to the same bowl, toss them with a little marinade, and spread them out on the sheet pan. If using tofu, season it with salt, then place it in the bowl, adding a little more marinade, tossing to coat, and adding to a sheet pan.
- Lastly, add the halved chicken breasts with the remaining marinade, coating well. Nestle the chicken amongst the asparagus. (Cutting the chicken in half will help it cook faster, more in line with the asparagus.)
- Zest the second lemon over the whole pan and slice the lemons into rounds, layering them over the asparagus. Place in the hot oven. Note: If using tofu, either nestle it into one side of the pan or place it on a separate sheet pan – up to you.
- Bake 15 minutes and check the asparagus and chicken. Continue cooking until the chicken’s internal temperature reads 160-165°F , keeping in mind that thicker pieces will take longer. You may need to remove the asparagus. To get a more golden color, broil for just a couple of minutes.
- Remove from the oven. Give everything a little toss, turning the chicken over to coat the top with the flavorful juices. Sprinkle with remaining fresh tarragon and serve.
Notes
TOFU: Use extra firm tofu. Pat dry. Slice into ¾-1 inch thick slabs, season with a little salt and coat on all sides with marinade. For mixed households, serve both tofu and chicken! (Marinade is enough for 1.5 lbs chicken + 8 ounces tofu and the veggies.)
ASPARAGUS: The thickness of the asparagus and the chicken may affect cooking time. Here I’m using pencil-thick asparagus and 6-ounce chicken breasts (relatively thin and small). If your sizing differs greatly, you could use two separate baking sheets. Very thin asparagus cooks in 12-15 minutes- so check it.
CHICKEN: You can also use skin-on, bone-in thighs. Sear the skin side first in a skillet, then nestle in the sheet pan. This will most likely require a longer cooking time, as asparagus may need to come out of the oven sooner. Therefore, either place it to one side or on a separate pan.
LEEKS: If the leeks are dirty when you slice them into rounds, not to worry. Just place the cut rounds into a bowl of water, gently swish and soak them for a few minutes. The dirt will fall to the bottom. Fish them out, pat dry. (They don’t need to be perfectly dry.)
If cooking for two – you could easily half the chicken and double/ or triple the asparagus. (We do this a lot at home.) You could also marinate the chicken/tofu ahead, overnight if you like.
Serve with (all optional):
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 326
- Sugar: 2.7 g
- Sodium: 939.5 mg
- Fat: 17.9 g
- Saturated Fat: 2.9 g
- Carbohydrates: 7.5 g
- Fiber: 3.4 g
- Protein: 35.2 g
- Cholesterol: 103.4 mg
I love sheet pan dinners and this one doe not disappoint. This dish is easy and the flavors are great. This has become one of my regulars!
Great to hear! Thanks so much for taking time to review. 🙂
Improvised due to not having leeks, so used yellow onions. Seeing all the comments about the asparagus being done before the chicken, I cut the chicken into small pieces, and baked all at about 400F for about 20 minutes. Yes, I’ve had the heavy tarragon chicken with butter and/or cream, and having the sauce be so much lighter was wonderful!!! Definitely will try to make with leeks next time, as we love leeks. I just discovered your site and so excited to explore! I am not a chef or a caterer, but I LOVE to cook, and I LOVE recipes with solid background. Looking forward to exploring the site – thank you, Sylvia!
So glad you found us Beata! Love that you improvised to make it work.
Love this recipe- very flavorful.
Great to hear Suzanne, thanks for taking time to review!
Tarragon and lemon is my favorite with asparagus. How great to have a complete dinner with little work or cleanup. My leeks were quite fat so I would cut them thinner in that case.
Glad you liked this Carol! Really appreciate you taking the time to let us know!
So easy, healthy, and absolutely delicious! The flavors were perfect and the chicken was very tender!
So glad you gave it a try Raegen!
This was a miss for me. I like chicken, tarragon, asparagus, leeks, mustard, lemon, so it should have been great, but this combination was highly disappointing. Chicken tough and undercooked, and overall was too lemony. F at H normally very solid but not this one.
Sorry this didn’t work for you David. Can you think of what would have made it better?
I made this last week for dinner and it was delish! Even better for the next day’s lunch as the chicken had really absorbed all that yummy marinade plus I went ahead and squeezed the rest of the lemon juice from the remaining half of lemon over the leftovers before I put them in the fridge. Lemon is my favorite flavor so this was perfect. The only difference was I could not find fresh tarragon anywhere, so I ended up using thyme, but it still turned out great.
Great to hear Lisa!
This was a hit for a small dinner party. I used red onion and parsley that were already in my frig. What a great meal – I will definitely try again with the leeks and tarragon. Thanks!
Awesome to hear Kathleen!
Made a few swaps, using sage instead of tarragon, one lemon and one lime and shallots instead of leeks. Still delicious!
Oh good Ashley!
WOW! so flavorful. It didn’t look like your picture 🙂 but the flavor was incredible. My leeks fell apart and the asparagus were too thin so they over cooked…oh well. hopefully next time I can find thick ones. All the recipes I have tried from your site, have been a success :). Thank you!
Great to hear! Yes, if asparagus is too thin, or you are using bigger pieces of chicken, you may need to remove the asparagus before the chicken is done.
Gorgeous flavor! I used thighs and swapped zucchini for asparagus. So delicious! The leeks definitely elevate.
Sounds perfect Maria!
I love the brightness of this recipe! I missed the first use of tarragon, so landed up adding it to the chicken marinade step only, but was fine. The only bummer is that the asparagus gets overcooked in the process. I can’t think of a solution for that. Still delicious though! Thanks, Sylvia!
Thanks so much. If the asparagus is thin, you could add it to the sheet pan, a little later in the baking process?
Oh, good idea! Thanks, Sylvia!
Delicious sheet pan recipe and so simple to prepare. The tarragon flavor took center stage. Yum!
Thanks Lynne!