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Tarragon Chicken with Asparagus

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  • Author: Sylvia Fountaine| Feasting at home
  • 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

Scale
  • 2 lemons
  • 1/ 4 cup olive oil
  • 46 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 1/41/3 cup
  • 1 extra-large bunch asparagus, trimmed (about 1 1/2 pounds)
  • 12 large leeks, sliced into 1/2 inch thick rounds ( if dirty, rinse, see notes)
  • 45 medium chicken breasts (boneless, skinless) about 1- 1 1/2 lbs or sub tofu, or chicken thighs- see notes

Serve with (all optional):


Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 425F
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. 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