Sheet pan meals are meant to be simple, delicious, & easy to make. This recipe for sheet pan spicy buffalo chicken and broccoli is exactly that. Juicy bites of seasoned boneless skinless chicken breast with tender broccoli florets is a quick, no-fuss weekday dinner - ready in just 30 minutes!
If you love buffalo-style recipes or spicy chicken, this is for you. The nuggets come out crispy. The honey buffalo sauce clings to every morsel for amazing flavor in every bite. All done on a single sheet pan making it one of my favorite Easy One Pan Dinners.
This was inspired by my recipes for making Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken Wings & Hot Honey Lemon Pepper Wings on this site. This is the perfect mash-up of both hot honey & buffalo hot sauce in one. All go well with one of my favorite side dishes, sweet potato fries.
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Ingredients for Sheet Pan Buffalo Chicken & Broccoli
The main ingredients in this recipe are 2 pounds of boneless skinless chicken breasts & a lot of fresh broccoli florets. That along with a few pantry staples and couldn't be more simple.
This recipe kicks it up to a sweet, spicy, & sticky level thanks to some hot honey. You can buy Mike's at the store or at Trader Joe's. But when I have the time, I make homemade hot honey so I can make it as spicy as I want.
- Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts - you can also use boneless skinless thighs or breast tenders.
- Broccoli Florets - fresh, not frozen.
- All-Purpose Flour - for dusting the chicken for a slightly crispy texture.
- Seasoned Salt - adds a ton of flavor with this spice blend.
- Paprika - add color & compliments the spicy sauce.
- Black Pepper - for more heat.
- Olive Oil - to drizzle on the ingredients for oven cooking on the sheet pan.
- Garlic Cloves - a must-have for bold flavors.
- Hot Honey - the ultimate sweet, spicy, & sticky combination that sets this over the top.
- Frank's Red Hot Sauce - the original buffalo sauce.
See the recipe card for quantities & full instructions
How to Make Sheet Pan Chicken & Broccoli
Prepping this one-pan chicken & broccoli recipe is so quick & easy, it will become part of your regular meal rotation. I have no doubt it will be a family favorite go-to dinner in your home.
Here is how crazy fast the simple steps are to make sheet pan buffalo chicken and broccoli.
- Prep the Chicken & Broccoli
- Oven-Bake the Chicken & Broccoli
- Make the Spicy Honey Buffalo Sauce
- Add the Buffalo Sauce to the Chicken Bites
1 - Prep the Chicken & Broccoli
While prepping the ingredients, preheat the oven to 425°. Spray a sheet pan with nonstick spray.
Begin by cutting the boneless skinless chicken breasts into chunks. Make sure they are uniform in size so they will cook evenly in the oven. Cut them so they are 1.5" square cubes.
Cut and trim the broccoli so they are in florets. Remove large sections of stems. Make sure the broccoli is roughly 2" pieces. Buy prewashed & cut broccoli to save time.
TIP: The broccoli will cook faster than the chicken so making it larger than the chicken is key to all this cooking at the same time and temperature.
Combine all spices in a small bowl. In a medium bowl, add half the spice blend & flour. Toss the chicken pieces in the seasoned flour blend so all sides are coated.
On a greased sheet pan add the chicken to one side in a single layer. Add the broccoli florets to the other side. Season broccoli with the remaining spice blend.
Drizzle the olive oil over the chicken and broccoli pieces. Toss with tongs or your hands to coat most sides.
2 - Oven Bake the Chicken & Broccoli
Once the oven is preheated to 425°, place the sheet pan in the oven on a rack in the middle. The chicken chunks and cut broccoli spears take 20 minutes to cook.
Halfway through cooking, use a spatula to flip the chicken and broccoli pieces. This helps get both sides brown & evenly cooked.
Hint: Make sure you start making the sauce once you flip the chicken & broccoli. This allows 10 minutes to make the buttery garlic hot sauce on the stove. This way it is ready to add to the chicken while it is hot, fresh, & crispy.
3 - Make the Spicy Honey Buffalo Sauce
Twice the spice is so nice in this sauce. It is sweet, sticky, & spicy. While the chicken & broccoli is cooking in the oven, mix up a batch of this irresistible sauce.
Begin by melting butter in a small saucepan or pot on medium-low heat on the stove. Next, using a garlic press, squeeze two cloves of garlic through the press and add to the pot.
Stir & cook for 2 minutes so the garlic cooks & gets golden brown. Raw garlic in this sauce would be too strong and offputting. Cooking it a bit mellows out the intense flavor so it is nutty, bold, & slightly sweet instead.
Once the garlic & butter has cooked, add the remaining sauce ingredients. Stir to combine. Cook over medium-low heat for 5 minutes.
The sauce will be thin and buttery. Once it is ready, leave it on your lowest setting on the stove until the chicken is ready. As it slightly cools it does tend to thicken up a bit as the honey sets.
4 - Add the Buffalo Sauce to the Chicken Bites
The chicken will be ready when the internal temperature of the meat reaches 165°. The chunks will be golden brown and the broccoli will be fork-tender. Remove the pan from the oven.
Drizzle the homemade buffalo sauce over the chicken pieces. Toss to coat. Add additional salt & pepper to taste if desired.
Serve immediately and enjoy while hot and fresh. The chicken will be juicy and sticky. Plus the broccoli will be tender with slightly crispy edges.
If you love the flavor of oven cooked broccoli, also try my recipe for Roasted Potatoes & Broccoli. This one side dish is combination of two great things.
Sides & Serving Suggestions for Sheet Pan Chicken
Serve immediately and enjoy as is. This recipe is a complete meal in itself. It is also great served over rice noodles, pasta, zoodles, gluten-free pasta, polenta, or salad greens. We love turning it into a buffalo chicken rice bowl with veggies by topping some Chicken Broth Rice.
If you want to add a side, here are some great ideas for what to serve with chicken & broccoli. These potato recipes pair well with this dinner.
Substitutions & Variations
Here are some great recipe variations & ingredient substitutions that can be made. Add, omit, or use one of these alternatives for other delicious recipe ideas. These may help you enjoy this recipe even with dietary, health, or personal nutritional preferences.
Substitutions
- Chicken Breasts - use boneless skinless chicken thighs instead.
- Chicken Chunks - instead of bite-sized chicken, use thinly sliced cutlets (cooking time may vary, cook until 165° internal temperature)
- Hot Honey - use regular honey instead, it will be less spicy, or omit if allergic & use maple syrup instead.
- Broccoli - use cauliflower or a combination of both instead.
You can easily make this gluten-free by using your favorite gluten-free flour instead of all-purpose flour. Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free 1:1 Baking Flour is my favorite.
For a low-carb or keto version omit the flour & honey. The chicken sheet pan recipe will then be only 4 net carbs per serving.
Variations
- Extra Spicy - double the amount of hot sauce or add ½ teaspoon of red chili flakes to the sauce.
- Mild - use only half the hot sauce.
- Kid-friendly- instead of hot sauce use your favorite bbq sauce.
For a chicken wing recipe that is not spicy, try some garlic butter wings. Or try my Sheet Pan Sausage & Veggies for mild recipe the kids will approve.
Top Tips
All of these great tips are shared in the post. But these are so good and important they are worth mentioning again so you don't miss them.
- Make sure the chicken chunks are uniform in size.
- Make sure the broccoli spears are cut into large chunks that are similar in size.
- Start making the sauce once the chicken is halfway done cooking.
Equipment
The right ingredients, supplies, & equipment help recipes taste amazing & turn out well. Here are recommendations for products that are needed for making this recipe. Shop this recipe & buy these top-rated items today.
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Storage
Leftovers store well in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Place in an air-tight container and store. It can also be frozen for up to 30 days.
FAQ
If you prefer boneless skinless tenders versus breasts, go for it. You can easily substitute chicken breasts that are cut up into nugget pieces for bigger tenders. NOTE: tenders will take longer to cook than the small pieces in this recipe. I suggest cooking the tenders for 5 minutes before adding the broccoli to the sheet pan. Otherwise, the chicken will not be done when the broccoli is.
I find it best to cook this recipe at 425°. Some recipes may call for 400 or 450°. I find it best to oven-roast this between these two temperatures. It's ideal for a crunchy exterior while still having moist chicken inside.
No, do not cover the pan with foil while baking in the oven. If you cover it, the chicken & veggies will steam instead of bake. That will make it soggy versus the yummy crisp texture you want.
Sheet Pan Buffalo Chicken & Broccoli
Equipment
- sheet pan
Ingredients
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast cut into 1.5" chunks
- ½ cup all-purpose flour or gluten-free flour
- 1 tablespoon seasoned salt
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 4 cups broccoli florets cut into 2" pieces
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 4 tablespoons salted butter
- 2 cloves garlic
- ½ cup Frank's Red Buffalo Hot Sauce or your favorite hot sauce
- ⅓ cup hot honey
- salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- While prepping the ingredients, preheat the oven to 425°. Spray a sheet pan with nonstick spray.
- Cut the chicken into chunks that are 1.5" in size. Also cut the broccoli spears into 2" pieces. Make sure to make them uniform in size so they cook evenly while baking.
- Combine all spices in a small bowl. Add half the spice blend to flour in another medium bowl. Toss the chicken pieces in the seasoned flour blend so all sides are coated.
- On a greased sheet pan add the chicken to one side in a single layer. Add the broccoli florets to the other side. Season broccoli with the remaining spice blend.
- Drizzle the olive oil over the chicken and broccoli pieces. Toss with tongs or your hands to coat most sides.
- Place the sheet pan in the oven on a rack in the middle of the preheated oven. Set the timer for 20 minutes.
- After 10 minutes, use a spatula to flip the chicken and broccoli pieces. This helps get both sides brown & evenly cooked. Begin making the sauce now.
- Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat on the stove.
- Next, using a garlic press, squeeze two cloves of garlic through the press and add to the pot.Stir & cook for 2 minutes so the garlic cooks & gets golden brown.
- Add the hot sauce & hot honey to the saucepan and stir. Cook over medium-low heat for 5 minutes. Leave it on your lowest setting to stay warm while the chicken & broccoli finish cooking.
- The chicken will be ready when the internal temperature reaches 165° (about 20 minutes total). the broccoli should be fork-tender. Both will have crispy brown edges.
- Remove the pan from the oven.Drizzle the homemade buffalo sauce over the chicken pieces. Toss to coat. Add additional salt & pepper to taste if desired.
- Serve immediately - also great over rice, pasta, potatoes, & more.
Nutrition
Food safety
Here is a list of safety & food-handling tips for this recipe.
- Cook the chicken to a minimum temperature of 165 °F (74 °C).
- Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat.
- Wash hands after touching raw meat.
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods.
See more guidelines at USDA.gov.
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