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 1x
- Category: main, chicken, tofu, low-carb
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: French
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)
- 4–5 medium chicken breasts (boneless, skinless) about 1- 1 1/2 lbs or sub tofu, or chicken thighs- see notes
Serve with (all optional):
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425F
- In a small bowl make the marinade. Place the zest of one lemon, and its juice ( about 3 tablespoons) in a small bowl. Add oil, garlic, dijon, salt and pepper, and mix well until salt dissolves. Add ½ of the fresh tarragon, saving the rest for garnish.
- Place trimmed asparagus in a bowl and spoon some of the marinade over the top. Toss to combine and place on a parchment-lined sheet pan. Add leeks to the same bowl, toss with a little marinade, and spread out on the sheet pan. If using tofu, season it with salt, then place in the bowl, adding a little more marinade, toss to coat, and add to sheet pan. Lastly, add the chicken breasts with the remaining marinade, coating well. Nestle the chicken amongst the asparagus.
- Zest the second lemon over the whole sheet pan and slice the lemons into rounds, layering them over the asparagus. Place in the hot oven. If using tofu, either nestle it into one side of the pan or place it on a separate sheet pan – up to you.
- Bake 15-20 minutes and check chicken- internal temp should read 160-165 F – thicker pieces will take longer. 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 thickness of 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- asparagus may need to come of the oven out sooner – so either place 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.
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
Forgot to rate this. It is obviously five stars given my review!
Thanks so much, very appreciated!
This is by far my favorite recipe on this site!!! I even started growing tarragon so I could have it for this recipe. I sub different green veggies but always keep the leeks. I love the slightly caramelized lemons. This is super easy, has fantastic flavors yet it light and refreshing. It is the recipe that made this my go-to site for healthy cooking.
thanks Mert- I’m so glad you liked this one!
Always on our rotation!
Great to hear Kellie!
Perfect, easy, delicious. Love the bright lemon with the roasted leeks and the simplicity of using the same marinade for everything. Definitely being added to our spring and summer rotation.
Thanks Glenna!
This is one of my absolute go to recipes on your blog. I’m struggling with health issues and your sheet pan recipes are a life saver. I can still eat healthy while not struggling to do a lot of dishes.
Sorry, you haven’t been feeling well, and glad these have been helpful to you Michie.
Delicious!
Your recipes are life changing! I lived as a vegetarian for 8 years, but I didn’t have recipes like these or any knowledge about nutrition whatsoever. I didn’t have access to medical care during most of that time, and when I finally got a physical, my cholesterol was 285! The reason? Too many simple carbs. That experience was, frankly, scary, and I started eating meat again and internalized a message that carbs were “bad.”
I recently wore a continuous glucose monitor for two weeks as part of a nutritional study with Zoe, and do you know what? Your recipes almost always kept my blood glucose levels relatively stable and steady, and for the indulgence recipes like risotto, eating greens with vinaigrette first allows me to enjoy white rice or crusty bread occasionally with far less effect on blood sugar. (Ascetic acid has been shown to improve insulin sensitivity, as does 10 minutes of movement after eating a meal high in simple carbs. My rock steady blood sugar response to polenta in particular surprised me, and I had literally never cooked it before reading about it here, even though I’m a Southern transplant who loves grits.
Plant based living is now easy and a joy, and focusing on whole grains, fiber, and plant foods is completely transforming my life. I still eat meat, but I eat far less. In just a month, my energy is way up, I’m sleeping better, my skin is starting to glow, and my mental focus has improved. I have enough energy to hit the gym before work.And for someone who has PCOS and struggles with weight? That’s hugely impactful.
So, thank you. Your work has touched so many lives, and the ripple effect of sharing delicious, plant-based foods with the world might continue to travel outward in unexpected ways.This food is deeply soulful, and it brought to mind Kahlil Gibran.
Then an old man, a keeper of an inn, said, Speak to us of Eating and Drinking.
And he said:
Would that you could live on the fragrance of the earth, and like an air plant be sustained by the light.
But since you must kill to eat, and rob the newly born of its mother’s milk to quench your thirst, let it then be an act of worship.
And let your board stand an altar on which the pure and the innocent of forest and plain are sacrificed for that which is purer and still more innocent in man.
When you kill a beast say to him in your heart,
“By the same power that slays you, I too am slain; and I too shall be consumed.
For the law that delivered you into my hand shall deliver me into a mightier hand.
Your blood and my blood is naught but the sap that feeds the tree of heaven.”
And when you crush an apple with your teeth, say to it in your heart,
“Your seeds shall live in my body,
And the buds of your tomorrow shall blossom in my heart,
And your fragrance shall be my breath,
And together we shall rejoice through all the seasons.”
And in the autumn, when you gather the grapes of your vineyards for the winepress, say in your heart,
“I too am a vineyard, and my fruit shall be gathered for the winepress,
And like new wine I shall be kept in eternal vessels.”
And in winter, when you draw the wine, let there be in your heart a song for each cup;
And let there be in the song a remembrance for the autumn days, and for the vineyard, and for the winepress.
All the best to you, and thank you for your work!
Love this Christy- thanks so much for sharing your health journey. I’m so glad you were able to find a way of eating that was more nutritious for your body. I’m a huge fan of Zoe- I learned a lot from it too! Thanks for the beautiful Gibran quote.
Love, love, love this recipe. It’s so tasty, it’s so easy. I’ll add more leeks next time because they’re delicious roasted. This recipe would be great served over mashed potatoes, if your eating plan allows. Leftovers are yum. Definitely a keeper.
Great to hear Carla!
This is a wonderful meal. So tasty, healthy and beautiful looking as well. I used tofu and added four sliced portabella mushrooms which I cooked on a separate sheet pan. I made farro with garlic and lemon peel to accompany it.
Yum! Sounds perfect karen!
This is the first recipe I ever made from Sylvia’s blog and it was so delicious I was hooked! I couldn’t stop trying all of the incredible recipes. I especially love the tangy lemon with the sweetness of the tarragon. It’s also such a great option when I’m in the mood for tofu and my partner wants to stick with chicken. Thanks for the amazing recipe!
I am so happy you gave this a go! Thanks Joanna!
This was easy to make and delicious! Adding it to our dinner rotation.
Wonderful Molly!
Hi Conrad- sorry, I see the confusion, the recipe is intentionally a little flexible. Here I’m using 5 smaller, 5-ounces breasts. You can use what ever breast size you want, within that 1 to 1 1/2 lb range ( for the amount fo marinade). I’m using a large 20 x14 inch sheet pan- but of course you can use two. The suggestion to double the veggies and half the chicken is just something we do at home, for the two of us, to intake more veggies.
Would like to try it tonight. I don’t have tarragon. which other fresh herb would you recommend ?
Tarragon really makes this one Nahla! I guess you could try basil ribbons ( maybe add at the tail end of baking), or thyme?
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this recipe. It is healthy, easy, and delicious. A perfect Spring dish. Thank you Sylvia!
So flavorful–beyond amazing
This was perfect on a bright evening in early spring. Great flavor and we sopped up the extra garlic with focaccia.
Great recipe! My husband and I both loved it! I cut my chicken pieces fairly small to make sure they cooked thoroughly. It looks like I ended up with more food in my pan, so everything was closer and steaming vs. baking & roasting, thus needed about an additional 10 minutes to finish cooking. I sprinkled a little smoked paprika on the chicken to give it that golden grilled look. 🙂
We are LOVING a your food recipes!!! Thank you for the Oaxacan Bowl and portobello mushrooms. It’s hard to keep up with you, but I’ve got next week’s menus printed ready to go!
thanks Ann!
Can you please confirm the sodium content. It seems very high per serving.
Is this a typp? Please advise
I think it is just high. Generally, you need 1 teaspoon salt per pound of meat. Here we have 1 1/2 teaspoons (1 1/2 pounds chicke), and then 1/2 teaspoon for the asparagus and leeks. Of course, you can always cut back. 😉
This was delicious!
Looks great and easy…
I’m planning on doubling the recipe using chicken and wonder whether to serve crusty bread or brown rice. I guess my question is if there are lots of juices with this dish for sopping up every last drop?
Not a lot of juices- some, but not too much extra if I remember correctly.
Hi Sylvia.
Could Quorn Naked Cutlets be used in place of the chicken or tofu?
I have not used these before- so not sure. My guess is yes??
SO delicious! I didn’t have any asparagus, but Brussels sprouts worked beautifully. High recommend!
I made this tonight for dinner, it was DELICIOUS!!!
We loved this dish!!! It is definitely restaurant quality and makes a beautiful presentation. Will make this for our friends soon. Thanks