Sheet Pan Citrus Soy Chicken Drumsticks & Cauliflower

Citrus soy chicken drumsticks is an easy sheet pan supper recipe — reminiscent of orange chicken, but lighter, without all the heavy breading!

A while back I saw a recipe in a magazine that used whole fennel bulbs along with clementine slices in some kind of chicken dish. (Forgive the vagueness here, but since I hate fennel — it’s a whole anti-licorice thing — I didn’t really pay attention to the details.)

Fast forward ahead to this week, where, you know how sometimes you buy a big box of clementines and then you end up sitting there just looking at those last few little mandarins that are starting to get a little soft? Well, the last few cute little clementines + the cheap pack of chicken drumsticks in my fridge made me remember the whole clementine chicken idea — but since fennel was right out, I decided to do mine up with a little soy sauce & ginger instead.

Winner winner, oh my darling sweet Sheet Pan Citrus Soy Chicken Drumsticks & Cauliflower dinner!

I also added cauliflower here, with the reasoning that, since it goes really nicely with lemon, that flavor pairing should extend to the rest of the citrus family.

Winner, winner, cauliflower in my dinner!

I’m really happy with how this sheet pan citrus soy chicken dinner came out. While the drumsticks didn’t brown as much as I had originally pictured in my head, the flavor was spot on: This marinade pairs so nicely with the flavors of both the chicken and the cauliflower. Plus, it’s super easy to make!

Let me know what you think, if you give this deliciously different chicken recipe a try. Sheet Pan Citrus Soy Chicken Drumsticks & Cauliflower stars in this week’s edition of Sunday Scratchups (your weekly recipe from scratch around grocery sales (clementines are in season) and/or affordable ingredients (chicken drumsticks).

Sheet Pan Citrus Soy Chicken Drumsticks & Cauliflower

Ingredients

– for the marinade

Juice of two clementines
2 Tbsp soy sauce
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1/4-1/2 tsp crushed red pepper (omit if you’re sensitive to spice)
1/2 tsp ginger
2 Tbsp brown sugar

– for the chicken and veggies

2 lbs chicken drumsticks
1 medium onion, cut into eighths
4 cups cauliflower florets
2 clementines, sliced

Directions

Combine the clementine juice, soy sauce, olive oil, minced garlic, crushed red pepper, ginger, and brown sugar in a small bowl, stirring until sugar dissolves.

Trim drumsticks if necessary, leaving some of the skin on. Place the chicken in a gallon size zip top bag, pour in half the marinade, close the bag, and shake it around until chicken looks nicely coated. Set the bag of chicken aside to marinate.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees, then line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray. Let the chicken continue marinating in its bag while oven is preheating.

Cut up your onion and cauliflower and toss the veggies in a large bowl with the remaining marinade until nicely coated. Arrange the chicken and veggies in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet, then add sliced clementine on top.

Roast your chicken and cauliflower at 425 degrees for 35-40 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through to 165 degrees, flipping drumsticks over and stirring veggies halfway through.

Top the finished chicken & veggies with green onion, if desired, and serve with the charred clementine slices. (Peel and eat those, too — they turn sweet like candy!)

Note: Cooking times will vary depending on the size of your drumsticks, so check for doneness with a meat thermometer and adjust as necessary. Do NOT skip lining the baking sheet with foil — this recipe is super sticky, and you don’t want to wreck your pan. (Even use heavy-duty foil, if you have it on hand.)

Let’s hear it for another easy sheet pan dinner!

An easy all-in-one sheet pan chicken dinner is simply the best kind of chicken dinner, in my book. This particular sheet pan citrus soy chicken drumsticks & cauliflower dinner is somewhat reminiscent of orange chicken, but without all the breading — and, it gains a bit of underlying sweet-tartness from the clementines. We just had ours with some fresh fruit, but: If you feel like adding a starchy side to these clementine chicken drumsticks, they’d also pair really well with rice.

Sheet Pan Citrus Soy Chicken Drumsticks & Cauliflower, printable recipe

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Sheet Pan Citrus Soy Chicken Drumsticks & Cauliflower

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This sheet pan citrus soy chicken drumsticks & cauliflower dinner is somewhat reminiscent of orange chicken, but without all the breading -- and it gains a bit of underlying sweet-tartness from the clementines.

Course dinner

Total Time 1 hour hour

Servings 4

Author Rachel Singer

Ingredients

- for the marinade

• Juice of two clementines
• 2 Tbsp soy sauce
• 3 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 Tbsp minced garlic
• 1/4-1/2 tsp crushed red pepper (omit if you're sensitive to spice)
• 1/2 tsp ginger
• 2 Tbsp brown sugar

- for the chicken and veggies

• 2 lbs chicken drumsticks
• 1 medium onion, cut into eighths
• 4 cups cauliflower florets
• 2 clementines, sliced

Instructions

• Combine the clementine juice, soy sauce, olive oil, minced garlic, crushed red pepper, ginger, and brown sugar in a small bowl, stirring until sugar dissolves.
• Trim drumsticks if necessary, leaving some of the skin on. Place the chicken in a gallon size zip top bag, pour in half the marinade, close the bag, and shake it around until chicken looks nicely coated. Set the bag of chicken aside to marinate.
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees, then line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray. Let the chicken continue marinating in its bag while oven is preheating.
• Cut up your onion and cauliflower and toss the veggies in a large bowl with the remaining marinade until nicely coated. 
• Arrange the chicken and veggies in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet, then add sliced clementine on top.
• Roast your chicken and cauliflower at 425 degrees for 35-40 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through to 165 degrees, flipping drumsticks over and stirring veggies halfway through.
• Top the finished chicken & veggies with green onion, if desired, and serve with the charred clementine slices. (Peel and eat those, too -- they turn sweet like candy!)

Notes

Cooking times will vary depending on the size of your drumsticks, so check for doneness with a meat thermometer and adjust as necessary. Do NOT skip lining the baking sheet with foil -- this recipe is super sticky, and you don't want to wreck your pan. (Even use heavy-duty foil, if you have it on hand.)

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