My Cookbook: Souk to Table 
Sumac Chicken and Onion (Sheet Pan Dinner)
This sumac chicken and onion sheet pan dinner features tangy and juicy chicken thighs marinated in sumac and a blend of spices, layered over thinly sliced onions. With only 10 minutes of prep time, it bakes to perfection in the oven all on one sheet pan. A final garnish of toasted pine nuts, fresh parsley and a squeeze of lemon add texture and brightness. Make this reader favourite the next time you need a quick weeknight dinner!
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5-Star Reader Review
“This is so good. The first time I made it I had to stop myself from eating it all in one go. I also made some tuom to go along with it. It’s a great pairing.I couldn’t believe how good it all was. I sent the recipe to my foodie friends because I wanted everyone to share in it’s goodness! Thank you!”
—Andrew
This recipe is inspired by musakhan, a Palestinian dish that usually requires bone-in chicken and a much longer process in which the onions are fried and deeply caramelized. The star of the dish is sumac, a highly underused spice in my opinion, with a fruity and tangy flavour.
Taking the spirit of the dish and turning it into a sheet pan meal required many rounds of testing. I needed to use a cut of chicken that cooks quickly but also allows the onions enough time to soften and caramelize, releasing their sweet flavour. That meant no bone-in chicken!
Boneless chicken thighs work best, and you can use them skinless or with the skin on. Another important note is to ensure the onions (I prefer red onions, but white onions will work too) are very thinly sliced. I use a mandolin to slice them quite quickly and to ensure they’re the same size for even cooking (always use the guard or cut proof gloves!). They end up soft and sweet, perfectly balancing the tartness of the dish from the sumac.
Sumac is also an ingredient used in Za’atar, which is a Levantine spice mix. I use it quite often to make za’atar roasted chicken, so if you love the flavour of sumac, you’ll love that dish too.
How to Make Sumac Chicken on a Sheet Pan
Mix the spices together (reserving 1 tablespoon of the sumac) to make a mixture you can use to marinate the chicken as well as the onions. Place the sliced onions on a parchment lined baking sheet and place a few dollops of the spice paste on top. Mix the spices in and evenly spread the onions out into one layer.
Place the chicken on top of the bed of onions and rub the spices in evenly. You can choose to marinate the chicken for 1-2 hours in the fridge, or just cook it right away. Marinating it longer will amplify the flavours more but I actually end up baking right away most of the time.
Bake, garnish and serve. I sprinkle the remaining sumac over the baked chicken. I also love it sprinkled with parsley for a pop of colour and some freshness, along with a squeeze of lemon. If I have slivered almonds or pine nuts, I toast them lightly in a pan with a tablespoon of olive oil and then sprinkle them on top. The nuts really do elevate the dish!
My Favourite Way to Serve It
I usually serve with some pita bread or any type of flatbread. I lay the pita flat, then add a generous amount of the caramelized onions, a few chicken pieces, then top it with the pine nuts and parsley. You eat it by tearing the bread and using it to grab some chicken and onions and make small bites! It is also so delicious served with my 5-minute toum sauce, or this yogurt based shawarma sauce.
If you tried these recipes, please consider leaving a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page – I’d love to hear from you! You can also hop on over to Instagram and say hello!
Sumac Chicken and Onion (Sheet Pan Dinner)
Ingredients
- 680 g boneless skinless chicken thighs , roughly 8 thighs
- 3 small Red Onions, yellow onion will work too
- 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
For the spice mixture:
- 4 tablespoons sumac, divided
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon allspice
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1.5 teaspoon salt
For garnish:
- 1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped
- Lemon wedges
- Toasted pine nuts, or slivered almonds
Instructions
- Start by pre-heating the oven to 400F
- Thinly slice the onions into half moons (I do this using a mandolin) and place them on a parchment lined sheet pan.
- In a bowl, mix together the olive oil and the spices until they're well combined, reserving 1 tablespoon of the sumac.
- Place about one tablespoon of the spice paste over the onions and toss them together to ensure they are all coated. Spread them into one even layer.
- Place the chicken thighs over the onions and add the rest of the spice paste. Use your hands to evenly coat the chicken with the spice paste.
- Bake in the oven for roughly 30-35 minutes, until juice run clear and chicken is white on the inside (you can test a piece). Broil for 5 minutes to achieve a bit of colour on the chicken. Sprinkle the remaining sumac on top of the chicken and onions.
- Garnish with parsley, toasted pine nuts and lemon wedges. Serve with bread or a side of rice and enjoy!
Notes
- Not recommended to use chicken breast, since I have not tested the optimum cooking time, and chicken breast tends to dry out faster in the oven due to low fat content. If you must, then do check it for doneness after about 15 minutes of baking time.
- You can also add in other vegetables to this dish that have a similar cooking time to the onions.
One of my favorite one pan chicken dishes! So juicy and flavourful and the sumac gives it such a wonderful tang. The onions and chicken pair so well together and I always make your tahini sauce to go with it! Definitely a must try!
I am so glad you loved it Anum! Thanks for the review 🙂
This was delicious and so so quick! My 2 yo helped put the marinade together, and then into the oven it went. Kids and husband absolutely loved it, and it was SO easy. We added red bell peppers in with the onions and I made the suggested tahini shawarma sauce to go with it along with some yellow rice. 10/10 would recommend!
I made this tonight, always thought it’s so difficult to make. Was so tasty, easy and delicious. Very moist, I followed the recipe exactly and served it with brown rice and added thinly sliced red peppers with the onions.
This was one of the recipes that SAVED me this Ramadan! I got the recipe from the Ramadan prep pdf and honestly it was so nice having the chicken marinated and ready the freezer to pull right up on days where I’m running low on energy while fasting! It’s easy, flavourful, and so delicious!
I love making this authentic Musakhan recipe, and I also serve it on top of Amina’s eggplant fatteh recipe as well.
This is an amazing recipe! I can’t believe it’s so tasty but so, so easy and quick. I didn’t even have to marinate it. I’ve added it to my rotation as my husband and I loved it and it’s a great weeknight meal. This is exactly the kind of recipe that I’m always looking for but that is usually so hard to find: quick but with so much flavor! Can’t wait to try other recipes like this one.
Hi Marisela! I am so happy to hear you loved how easy and delicious this recipe is. I’ll work on some more flavourful sheet pan recipes for you (my chicken shawarma is a great next one to try!). Thank you so much for the review 🙂
So easy and so flavorful! I paired this with your tahini ranch recipe and it was perfect. It also reheated well for lunch the next day. A repeat recipe for sure.
Hi Chloe, Humaira here from the Hungry Paprikas team. Wow, what a great pairing! So glad to hear you enjoyed the Sumac Chicken.
This was so delicious for so little effort! The onions were to die for.
So thrilled you loved it Sana! Onions are my fav part of this dish too! Thanks for your review 🙂
I’ve made this twice now and it’s becoming a favorite in my house (and with my work colleagues). Incredibly easy and flavor packed. I baked my last batch on top of some injera it was a fusion of cultures! The flavors seaped into the injera and made every bite absolutely delightful.
I am thrilled you loved this recipe! I love what you did by baking it over the injera – that sounds absolutely delicious. Thanks so much for your review!
First time cooking with Sumac and its surprisingly delicious. Its easy and quick too. Made this to eat with your 30-minute Mediterranean rice (using a rice cooker). My family loved it!
That’s a perfect recipe pairing! Thanks so much for your review and I’m glad you loved this recipe!
Loved it! It was super easy to make it and the outcome was very delicious.
So thrilled you enjoyed it Rebeka, thanks for the review!
I’ve added this to my meal prep rotation because of how simple and easy it is. I loved the punchy flavour of sumac in this recipe! I served this with Turkish bulgur pilaf.
Hi Nazia, Humaira from the HP Team here! Love that you served the Sumac Chicken with Turkish Bulgur, what a delicious combination. Thank you for your lovely comment and happy cooking!
Omg❤️❤️a must try recipe. We love sumac but never used it that way. In the end, the meat is so tender and the combination of onions with the sumac makes it very flavourful. Best of all, it’s easy to make and ready in no time. Bon appétit
Hi Nicole, Humaira from the HP Team here! We are thrilled that you enjoyed the Sumac Chicken, it’s one of my favourites as well! Thanks so much for your comment.