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Sheet-Pan Szechuan Chicken (or Tofu) with Brussel Sprouts takes only 20 minutes of hands-on time before baking in the oven. A full-flavored weeknight dinner your whole family will love! Vegan and gluten-free adaptable!
This is for those of you whole are getting sick of all the Indian recipes I’ve been posting lately! I’m obsessed after my trip there, but thought I’d give you a little break this week and change it up a bit! So here you have it – Szechuan Chicken (or Tofu) baked on a sheet-pan along with healthy Brussel sprouts. Super easy and super flavorful! Keep the flavorful Szechuan Marinade spicy or temper it down it for a milder taste. Serve it over rice, cauliflower rice, or just on its own ( like we do here). So yummy!
It starts with the simple Szechuan marinade, made with ingredients you already have in your pantry.
For a boost of authentic Szechuan flavor, try adding Szechuan peppercorns, or keep it simple with regular pepper.
Marinate the chicken while you are cutting the brussel sprouts, or feel free to marinate it overnight for even more flavor.
Cut the brussel sprouts in half.
Pour the Szechuan marinade over the brussel sprouts and give it a good toss.
Add a few dried hot chilies if you like – mainly just for looks!
Spread out the brussel sprouts onto a parchment-lined or foil-lined sheet pan.
Nestle in the chicken ( or tofu), pouring the remaining marinade over the chicken.
TIP: FOR EXTRA CRISPY SKIN, pan-sear the chicken skin in a skillet before nestling on the sheet pan.
***Sprinkle each chicken thigh (or tofu) with a little salt.
And then bake in a 425 F oven!
After 20 minutes, rotate the sheet pan if need be, and spoon little of the pan sauce over the chicken, and bake 10 more mins.
Make sure the Szechuan chicken thighs are cooked to 170 F. To give a little more color to the skin, broil for a few minutes.
Dish it up and enjoy!
Szechuan Chicken and Brussel Sprouts
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: main, vegan main, chicken , sheet pan dinner
- Method: baked
- Cuisine: Chinese
Description
Sheet-Pan Szechuan Chicken (or Tofu) with Brussel Sprouts takes only 15-20 minutes of hands on time before baking in the oven. A full-flavored weeknight dinner your whole family will love!
Ingredients
- 2 lbs chicken thighs ( bone-in, skin on) or tofu – see notes for more options!
- 1 – 1 1/2 lbs medium brussel sprouts, halved ( see notes)
Szechuan Marinade:
- 1/4 cup honey or agave or maple syrup ( honey tastes best)
- 1/4 cup soy sauce (or use GF soy sauce like Braggs)
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar (or use black vinegar)
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 2–3 teaspoons Garlic Chili Paste (more for more spicy, or sub sriracha)
- 4 fat garlic cloves, finely minced ( use a garlic press)
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, finely minced or ginger paste
- 1 teaspoon salt, more for sprinkling
- 1/2 –1 teaspoon Szechuan peppercorns, toasted, crushed (or substitute black pepper, see notes)
- 1/2 teaspoon five-spice (optional, but elevates)
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch (optional, but thickens the sauce)
- a few dried red chilies- just for “looks” – optional
Garnish with scallions, serve on its own, over rice, cauliflower rice, or with a whole grain.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425F ( If you don’t have a broiler, see notes)
- Make the Szechuan marinade by stirring all ingredients together in a medium bowl. Pour half of the marinade over the chicken, either in a bowl or zip lock bag. Let chicken marinate while you prep the brussel sprouts, or marinate overnight (for even more flavor!)
- Cut the brussels sprouts in half. The brussels sprouts pictured here are ping-pong ball sized, so depending on size, you may need to quarter, or leave them whole. If using very very small Brussels sprouts, leave them whole. If extra- large, like a golf ball, then quarter.
- Place brussel sprouts in a bowl and pour the remaining marinade over brussel sprouts and toss. Add a few dried chilies if you like ( just for looks) and spread them out on a large, parchment or foil-lined sheet pan. Nestle the chicken thighs (or tofu) in between, and spoon any remaining marinade over the chicken. ***Season the chicken or tofu with a little salt (especially if not marinating overnight!).
- Bake it in the hot oven, for 30 minutes, checking at 20 minutes, rotating if need be, and spooning a little of the pan juices over the chicken or tofu. After 30 minutes, double-check for doneness ( either use a thermometer, should read 170 F) or cut into one.
- Broil for a few minutes to get the chicken skin deeply golden and crispy.
- If using a different cut of chicken see notes.
- Serve by dividing the brussel sprouts and top with the chicken. Sprinkle with scallions and serve with more chili paste for extra spicy.
Notes
If you don’t have a broiler and are using skin on chicken thighs, pan-sear the skin side over medium-high heat for 4-5 minutes (or until golden) before nestling in the sheet pan.
If using tofu, either cut into “filets” ( a square or rectangular slab) about a ¾ inch thick, strips or cubes. Marinate the tofu, in a bowl for 10 minutes, or in a bag overnight. Season with extra salt.
You can use skinless boneless thighs, or even chicken breast (reducing calories significantly) but cooking times will shorten. Check after 15- 20 minutes, and if chicken is done but brussels sprouts need longer, just remove the chicken (and foil) letting brussels sprouts cook until tender, probably the full 30 mins.
I also really like this recipe with Black Cod, baking the cod for only 10-15 minutes, letting the brussel sprouts continue cooking until done.
You can cook both chicken and tofu for mixed households, keeping the chicken on one side of the pan and the tofu on the other side of the pan.
****To ensure good flavor -it is important to give the chicken and tofu extra sprinkling of salt.
Szechuan Peppercorns add a unique flavor, but using to much will overpower. If unfamiliar, start with ½ teaspoon. If you’ve never tired one, just plop one in in your mouth and taste it. It has a very perfumy flavor and numbing effect on the tongue, adding interesting complexity! This may be very pleasant, or very unpleasant to you. This, for me was an acquired taste. You can absolutely leave these out and sub black peppercorns.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: - Using Chicken Thighs with Skin
- Calories: 650
- Sugar: 24.5 g
- Sodium: 722.2 mg
- Fat: 36.3 g
- Saturated Fat: 9.4 g
- Carbohydrates: 44.1 g
- Fiber: 9.9 g
- Protein: 41.9 g
- Cholesterol: 189.1 mg
Keywords: Szechuan sauce, Szechuan marinade, sheet pan chicken, szechuan chicken, roasted brussel sprouts, baked chicken and brussel sprouts, szechuan marinade, szechuan sauce, sheet pan chicken, szechwan peppercorns, szechwan sauce, roasted chicken and brussel sprouts, weeknight dinner
Is there anything you’d recommend to substitute for the chili paste or sriracha for kids that don’t do spice? Thanks!
I would just leave it out!
10/10. Full disclosure: I made changes to this recipe based on what I had. Instead of the garlic chili paste, I used chili crisp. I also used only 1/4 tsp of Szechuan peppercorns because they can be intense for me. When I opened my oven it smelled like char siu heaven. I served with brown rice, edamame, and a salad of cucumber, cherry tomatoes, onion, mint, serrano, and nuoc cham. Def a mix of cultures on my plate, but so, so delish. Thank you for this recipe – it will be a new mainstay for me.
★★★★★
Yum- glad you enjoyed this!
Delicious and flavorful. Fairly foolproof and easy. Healthy. An excellent recipe I have made time and again. My husband loves this. We serve with white rice. We do use the thighs with skin on but appreciate the healthier option of breast and that works well too. Has a bit of sweetness to it.
★★★★★
Great to hear Del!
Can you sub anything for sesame oil. My husband is allergic to sesame
Peanut oil would taste good here!
Great. Is peanut oil a good substitute as a rule of thumb
It really depends on the recipe- in Szechuan food it’s usually good.
Excellent marinade! I had 1.5lb boneless skinless thighs that I cut in thick strips, along with cabbage and broccoli. My pan was pretty full, so I ended up cooking ~36 min, stirring halfway through. My husband looooved it and he doesn’t usually like recipes with sweeteners. Will definitely make again. After toasting, and running Szechuan peppercorns through a spice grinder, I sifted them through a sieve to remove gritty-like pieces, then stored in fridge. Sounds like a lot of steps buts its quick and your pepper is ready to use for months!
★★★★★
Great idea May! So glad you enjoyed.
Amazing sauce/marinade. I added turnips bc I love them. Wonderful compliment. Next time I am trying duck that will be complimented by that marinade.
This was really good. I used ground black pepper in place of the Szechuan peppercorns, and 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Baked with the Brussels sprouts at 425 for 30 minutes… perfectly done at the same time.
★★★★★
Awesome Trish! Great to hear!
So good! Need to make extra marinade next time to drizzle over some rice noodles, too! Made
With frozen green beans and frozen stir fry veggies & it all turned out great! I love Brussels so can’t wait to try it with them when I can get my hands on some!
★★★★★
So happy you liked this!
One of my favorites!
★★★★★
Oh goody! Great to hear Maria!
I just made this recipe for the 50th/100th time. It is in my faves folder. When your “sheet pan dinner” recipes came out, I asked my husband to pick a few of his favorites, (simple for him to do on his own), he was retired, cooking for himself, and I was trying to stick with my vegan ways, off to work with my other favorites from you. He now begs for brussel sprouts, thanks to you. I use this marinade even when doing brussel sprouts solo, no other brussel sprout recipe seems to compare. Thank you again for a very special, simple recipe. The longer the thighs sit in the marinade the better. I added quite a few arbols to the marinade and I think they enhanced the flavor even more.
Awesome Dana- thanks!
Please, what are arbols? I tried to lookit up, but all I found was ‘trees’!
I believe she means arbol chilies?
Dang. This was FANTASTIC. It was my first sheet pan dish. So glad I ordered the Szechuan pepper. I got the tingly mouth towards the end of the meal! Anyway, I used fresh ginger, garlic, brussel sprouts. I did use the sriracha as a sub as my grocery store was out of the garlic paste. Served it over rice. This will go in to my regular rotation.
★★★★★
Another wonderful dish, Sylvia. I turned it after 20 minutes and my chicken thigh skin was still quite rubbery, but after another 15 minutes the skin was beautifully crispy and reddish from the marinade. My two year old twins loved the chicken and ate several brussel sprouts (which is a win for us). Your recipes are wonderful for introducing little ones to various flavors, textures, and spices. Will definitely make this again. Did I mention it was so easy?!
★★★★★
Awesome Heather!
Hi, I have not tried this recipe but it looks delish and with four kids I am looking for more sheet pan meals. However, in the past, my sheet pan dishes never look like the pictures. The chicken or veggies are never caramelized and there is always excess liquid in my pan. So it seems like everything is steamed instead of roasted. I’ve always used tinfoil to line my pan, do you think that may be the problem? I’d love to try your recipe but not sure if I should skip the parent/tin foil. Thanks!
I would either use foil or parchament. Try broiling the chicken a few mintues after cooked through to give the skin good color and cook up some of the juices.
This was excellent. My chicken marinated for about 2 hrs and I did not salt it as it was a little salty already due to the soy sauce. I used dark soy sauce and black vinegar. I served it with a miso-ginger salad and it was really lovely.
★★★★★
Made this tonight; great flavor and my chicken thighs were so tender! I got great color on the chicken skin, but it was not crispy overall. I did make my 4 thighs in a glass dish vs. a baking sheet, as there was not enough room for the chicken and sprouts (I added baby carrots too) on my baking sheet, so I did them separately. Very good and I will make this again!
★★★★