Sheet Pan Chicken and Potatoes with Parmesan Herb Sauce

This is one seriously awesome chicken dinner! There are two elements - chicken and potatoes - but this clearly isn't the same old (boring) "chicken and potatoes"! The chicken is pan seared and then smothered with a creamy, herbal, parmesan cheese sauce. The potatoes are tossed with similar seasonings (so flavors compliment each other) and roasted alongside. Now your main dish and side dish come together on ONE sheet pan, in just 25 minutes.

Notice that I start the chicken in a skillet and then transfer the golden brown, seared bird to a sheet pan with the potatoes. That's an intentional step - not an EXTRA step. I do that for two reasons - to create a beautiful crust on the chicken before coating it with sauce (otherwise the chicken would be pale after roasting, not browned) and to get little brown bits of chicken on the bottom of the pan that I can incorporate into the cheese sauce. Since we're making a cheese sauce anyway, you might as well get a good sear on that chicken!

I know you're going to go crazy for this dish. We did and I'll be making it again and again. I'm not sure why I didn't think of it before - most dishes with cream sauce seem to avoid the oven altogether. But I like taking advantage of the oven so I can cook multiple things at once, without tending to them on the stove!

For the potatoes, I used a bag of petite gold potatoes and halved them. I like the little potatoes because they're adorable, AND I just need to halve them for this recipe. That said, any potato variety works - both petite and regular size. If you're using larger potatoes, simply cut them into 2- to 3-inch pieces or chunks. Oh, and we like to eat the ENTIRE potato with skin, but you can peel the larger spuds if you want.

Sheet Pan Chicken and Potatoes with Parmesan Herb Sauce 

4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts halves, about 5 ounces each (I used three because they were enormous, like 6-8 ounces each)
Salt and ground black pepper
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano, divided
1 teaspoon dried thyme, divided
1 teaspoon garlic powder, divided
1 teaspoon onion powder, divided
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 1/2 pounds petite white or gold potatoes, halved
Fresh parsley leaves for serving, optional

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Brush 1 tablespoon of the olive oil all over the bottom of a large baking sheet (if you have one with short sides, use that - you might not need it, but just in case, it will prevent anything from dripping into the oven).
Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook until golden brown on both sides. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Transfer the chicken to the prepared baking sheet and return the skillet to medium-high heat. Add the butter to the pan. When the butter is bubbly, whisk in the flour. Whisk until smooth. Whisk in the milk and bring to a simmer. Whisk in 1 teaspoon of the oregano, all of the thyme, 1/2 teaspoon of the garlic powder, and 1/2 teaspoon of the onion powder. Whisk in the parmesan cheese and cook until the cheese melts. Season the sauce with salt and pepper. Pour the sauce all over the chicken.
Place the potatoes in a large bowl, add the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil, remaining 1/2 teaspoon of oregano and remaining garlic powder and onion powder. Toss to coat. Arrange the potatoes all around the chicken. Season the potatoes with salt and pepper.
Roast for 25 minutes, until the potatoes are golden brown and tender and the chicken is cooked through.
Top with parsley leaves before serving if desired.

Serves 4