Sheet Pan Parmesan Chicken Drumsticks with Carrots & Potatoes

A one pan comfort food meal, Sheet Pan Parmesan Chicken Drumsticks with Carrots & Potatoes is also nicely affordable!

How about another easy sheet pan dinner recipe today: Sheet Pan Parmesan Chicken Drumsticks with Carrots & Potatoes! Why carrots and potatoes, in particular? Because: 1) I had them in the house, and 2) Both go (almost) as wonderfully with the salty goodness of Parmesan as does chicken.

The best thing about this recipe is that the person who makes it *cough*thatwasme* gets to eat some of the crispy bits of Parmesan off the pan while plating everyone’s dinner. Not, of course, that I’d ever do such a — oh, who I am kidding. Those are the best parts, guys. 😉

Why chicken drumsticks, in particular? Well, last night we splurged on sushi, so today I wanted to reign it in with a more frugal all-in-one dinner. Sometimes we save so that we can have the occasional guilt-free splurge, right?

Looking at what I had on hand, I found this cheap pack of chicken drumsticks from my local produce store (although drumsticks are generally affordable even when not on sale), the end of a $.99 bag of potatoes (also on sale at my local produce store), half a bag of better-use-them-soon baby carrots from a previous $.49 sale at ALDI — and of course I always have shredded Parmesan in the fridge. You know. In case of emergency.

Since I picked up all of these ingredients on sale at one time or another and used a cheap cut of chicken, tonight’s sheet pan Parmesan chicken drumsticks dinner stands in stark contrast to last night’s sushi splurge — clocking in at under $5.00 for the whole meal.

(Here I was originally inspired by this Genius Kitchen recipe for Parmesan drumsticks, except that I wanted to add veggies to make it a complete meal, didn’t have grated Parmesan, don’t care for the mess of dredging things unless I have to, and thought that it needed to be kicked up a notch with some garlic & extra spices. So, all of these thoughts led up to the final kicked up one pan dinner recipe…)

Sheet Pan Parmesan Chicken Drumsticks with Carrots & Potatoes

Ingredients

1/4 cup butter
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp parsley
1 Tbsp oregano
1/2 Tbsp paprika
1/2 Tbsp powdered garlic
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
Sea salt, to taste
Black pepper, to taste
2.5-3 lbs chicken drumsticks, excess skin trimmed
8 oz baby carrots (slice lengthwise if particularly thick)
3/4 lb yellow potatoes, diced

Directions

Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and spray it with cooking spray, then preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Melt butter in a large bowl and stir in olive oil, Parmesan, and spices. Place carrots and potatoes on one half of your prepared baking pan. Dollop 3 Tbsp of the butter-Parmesan mixture onto the carrots and potatoes, toss to coat, and arrange them in a single layer on one end of the baking sheet.

Add the chicken to the bowl with the rest of the butter-Parmesan mixture and toss it with your hands to coat, then arrange coated drumsticks on the other end of the baking sheet. (If there’s still Parmesan left in the bottom of the bowl when you’re done, just glop it right on top of any of the drumsticks that look sparse.)

Roast at 400 degrees for 45 minutes or until chicken is cooked to temperature and potatoes are soft, flipping drumsticks over with tongs and stirring vegetables halfway through. Serve your Parmesan chicken, potatoes, and carrots topped with chopped fresh parsley for contrast if desired, scraping up the browned bits of Parmesan from the pan to add to your veggies.

Note — Next time I might cut back on the butter by just a bit. Whether you do or not, though, don’t skip lining the pan with foil: No one wants to scrub off burned-on Parmesan. 

See, now that’s a flavorful sheet pan dinner

My finished drumsticks here look somewhat less shake-and-bakey than those in the recipe that originally inspired me, mostly since I used shredded rather than grated Parmesan. Different doesn’t always mean bad, though: Especially when combined with the carrots and potatoes, however, they’re still quite lovely in a fall colors sort of way!

And speaking of different doesn’t necessarily mean bad: Tonight’s sheet pan Parmesan chicken drumsticks dinner is no sushi, but it’s still quite tasty and satisfying on a chilly autumn evening. A naturally gluten free one pan meal, these drumsticks are juicy, full of flavor, and just cheesy enough! Serve with fruit or a simple green salad on the side to balance out all of the warm Parmesan flavor.

Sheet Pan Parmesan Chicken Drumsticks with Carrots & Potatoes, printable recipe

Recipes in the real world

Be sure not to miss the free ALDI meal plans, which show you how to use these easy family recipes to meal plan affordably and realistically for your family. Or, find more recipe ideas with the Recipe Search!