By Melissa Clark
Updated Oct. 11, 2023
- Total Time
- 55 minutes, plus at least 30 minutes’ marinating
- Prep Time
- 15 minutes
- Cook Time
- 40 minutes, plus at least 30 minutes’ marinating
- Rating
- 5(2,291)
- Notes
- Read community notes
The spicy, salty jalapeño brine balances sweet corn kernels, which roast on a sheet pan alongside chicken thighs in this simple, summery weeknight meal. The chicken, marinated with basil, garlic and a little mayonnaise, stays juicy even after a brief stint under the broiler. You can serve this hot from the oven or at room temperature — it’s equally good each way — and cold leftovers are excellent piled onto lettuce or avocado for a salad the next day.
Featured in: A Sheet-Pan Chicken for Corn Season
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Ingredients
Yield:4 to 6 servings
- 2pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 1¾teaspoons fine sea or table salt
- 2tablespoons mayonnaise
- ¼cup finely chopped basil, plus more for garnish
- 2garlic cloves, finely grated or minced
- ⅓cup chopped pickled jalapeños, plus brine from the jar
- 4cups fresh or frozen corn kernels (from about 4 ears)
- 3tablespoons olive oil, plus more for drizzling
- 5scallions, thinly sliced
- 1jalapeño, sliced into rings
- 1lime, halved
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
393 calories; 18 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 8 grams monounsaturated fat; 5 grams polyunsaturated fat; 27 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 4 grams sugars; 34 grams protein; 672 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered byPreparation
Step
1
Season the chicken all over with ¾ teaspoon of salt. In a large bowl, stir together the mayonnaise, basil, garlic and 2 tablespoons jalapeño brine. Add the chicken to the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes and up to 6 hours.
Step
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Heat oven to 425 degrees. In a medium bowl, toss together corn, pickled jalapeños, olive oil, remaining 1 teaspoon salt and half of the scallions (save remaining scallions for serving).
Step
3
Arrange the chicken on a baking sheet, spacing it out. Roast for 12 minutes. Spoon the corn mixture onto the empty parts of the baking sheet. Drizzle chicken and corn with oil. Continue to roast until the chicken is cooked through, 10 to 15 minutes longer, stirring the corn once while roasting.
Step
4
Turn the broiler on high and broil the chicken and corn until golden brown in spots, 2 to 4 minutes (watch carefully so it doesn’t burn, though a little blistering is nice).
Step
5
Garnish chicken and corn with basil, remaining scallions and fresh jalapeño slices. Sprinkle with more pickled jalapeño brine and squeeze with lime juice. Serve hot or at room temperature.
Ratings
5
out of 5
2,291
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Cooking Notes
kmccann18
A worthy twist in one of the best recipes ever - Melissa’s Ginger Lime Chicken. Mayo is an amazing marinade and the generous salt does wonders - even increase it - an especially good technique is you swap in boneless breasts. Basil and corn is a delightful combo and the kick from the peppers is just enough. Easy to do in an aluminum pan on the grill to keep your kitchen cool too. Delightful!
David
Banger! This was so good we decided to start the weekend early. Only mod was using more pickled jalapenos (1/2 cup?) and forgoing the fresh jalapeno at the end. (Actually we first tried it with some slices of fresh jalapeno, but found it overwhelmed a bit. Taster's choice here.). Had a simple, cool tomato salad to go with, and it complimented like a champ.
Audrey
This was eyes-rolled-back-in-your-head good. The fat from the chicken and the olive oil, the acid and spice from the jalapeños, sweetness from the corn, and generous salt, this was perfect. So, so, so good. My husband is still talking about itI pre-salted the chicken in the morning, and then followed the recipe (including the salting) to a T. I love David's idea of tomatoes and will do a cherry tomato salad on the side next time, maybe some warm tortillas on the table too. Unbelievably good.
Bob Hoover
Bone-in chicken thighs with skin add even more flavor. Plus, I used locally pickled jalapenos for more spice.
Jane
My son requested Jasmine rice, which was perfect with the chicken and corn.
Joan
It was way too hot to turn on the oven this late July and, as I'm lucky enough to have a grill, that's the route I went to great effect. Tossed all the jalapenos, fresh and pickled, along with the scallions, in a grill pan, grilled corn (on the cob before slicing it off), tossed all that together and used as a bed for the grilled chicken. Don't skip the pickled jalapenos as they are really good together with the fresh. Will definitely make this on a sheet pan in cooler months. Thanks Melissa!
KitchenQueen
Made exactly as directed- used Trader Joe's frozen roasted corn and added a sprinkling of cotija cheese to garnish. Arriba!
Wine Country Cook
Prepared as written with fresh corn. Excellent! The dining audience thought it was a bit too oily and next time I’d reduce the oil in the corn to 2-2.5 T and restrain myself with the drizzle. Broiling worked well at almost 5 minutes.
Suri
Lime juice, or -- since you like it -- mix some adobo sauce (from canned chipotles) in with a little rice vinegar and use that. Then finely dice some chipotles and mix with the corn, olive oil, and scallions (maybe with a little less salt depending on how salty your brand is). That's how I'd do it if serving to a friend who didn't like pickled brine but liked chipotles!
Olive
This was amazing. The chicken was extremely flavorful. I’ll definitely be making again!
Dave
Making this for the 1st time I played it by the book... outta the park!! (& outta of the fridge the next morning). The recipe is basically deconstructed elote (mexican street corn) with one key ingredient missing... Cotija (aged cows's milk cheese fr Michoacan Mexico) so I added about 1/4 cup of crumbles to the garnish & it certainly didn't suck. Proportions were spot on & I loved the chicken marination idea & broiling at the finish! Will be making this again real soon!
Mary
I followed recipe exactly and used fresh off the cob corn from the farmer’s market. Was quite concerned about how much water the dish was throwing off in the oven, and thankfully the broiling part eliminated more moisture. I left it in broiler until chicken started to brown and corn to blister here and there. Still, boneless and skinless thighs came across as a bit unattractive and flabby, but corn was delicious. Would use skin on and bone in next time, with a salt and herb rub. Personal pref.
Karrie
The supermarket had no thighs, so I bought breasts. Then I spent some time trying to figure out the difference in cooking time. No conclusive answer, so I cut the breasts into thigh-sized pieces and went for the low-end of the cooking time. ( And, yes: the meat thermometer!) Loved the marinade and the flavor added by the pickled jalapeños and brine. Next time I might skip the fresh jalapeño.
Monica from Mexico
This was delicious. I could not face turning on the oven in August, thus I decided to use chicken breast cutlets and sauté in a nonstick pan. The chicken browned beautifully. Once finished, I sautés de corn in the same pan. I used white corn and cilantro. Absolutely fabulous.
Jeff
I had a lot of trouble getting the results described in the recipe. In particular, during the first step of cooking the chicken thighs alone. My pan was filled with liquid at the end of the 10-15 minutes. It could have been the chicken I purchased or overcrowded the pan. This is a general struggle I have with all sheet-pan recipes. I drained as much liquid from the pan as possible and added the corn. Unfortunately, the extra liquid made the end result come more steamed rather than roasted.
Greg
Great recipe, first time using mayonnaise in the marinade and it worked very well, to my surprise. Similar to a Louisiana "Maque Choux", where spicy sausage chunks and a green pepper might also be added - Mardi Gras!
Mariah
Added diced zucchini to the corn and went a little light on the jalapeño brine for a spice intolerant kid. Easy to throw together in the AM and put in the oven for a quick dinner.
Mary
Quite tasty and a great sheet pan meal. I found it a little spicy—fewer jalapeños next time, and didn’t use all the olive oil or all the salt
Mel
This was really really good! I went with bone-in, skin on thighs and ended up cooking them for about 50 minutes in total. Definitely agree with others that it tastes great with an additional grain - I served with quinoa. Also, a crumbly cheese tasted great with it. I didn’t have cotija so I added feta and it was delish
Julie
This has become a go-to weeknight meal for me! I like to use 1/2 yellow and 1/2 fire roasted corn for a little extra flavor and visual appeal.
Socalgal
I made this according to recipe instructions except I didn't have fresh basil. I love most of Melissa Clark's recipes so was surprised that this recipe was kind of boring. I was underwhelmed. Maybe the fresh basil makes all the difference? Also, I only marinated for 30 minutes.
Leo3
Absolutely delicious and decadent. Used skinless boneless thighs and they were the most tender and juicy I've ever had made. The heat level is spot on. This is going into heavy rotation.
Delicious - Great weeknight meal!
This meal came together easily and quickly and was enjoyed all around. I did take the advice of other reviewers to serve with rice, which was nice. Although I made the recipe to a T, I did not experience any amount of residual sauce that needed rice. We also served with Cotija cheese and lime which is a must. I used Trader Joe's frozen roasted corn which is 3.5C but seemed substantial with the rice. Next time I will double the recipe for more leftovers throughout the week.
sierramary
Made this several times…delicious!Remade tonight on a bed of squash arranged the sheet pan with homemade jalapeños poppers around the chicken!
Hannah S
Exactly as described in the recipe, this was absolutely delicious. Super easy to throw together and very flavorful. We served it with a southwest salad and Greek yogurt but this could stand for an additional grain to make it more of a robust meal. This is getting whipped out in a future Dnd session.
Carla
This recipe is forgiving. Working with what I had, I subbed peperoncini & its brine for the pickled jalapeno, and a finely sliced shallot for the scallions, but added the shallot to the pan at the beginning, with the chicken. Also increased the marinade by 50% and only used 1-1/2 lb. boneless chicken thighs. Worked out great overall. If you're using frozen corn, definitely microwave it first. Totally forgot the lime & didn't miss it. We enjoyed this take on boneless thighs!
D
Absolutely delish and sooooo easy!!! I added cumin to the corn, which gave one more dimension. And would probably be good with a salty, brined cheese like cotija or feta. Yum.
ccfca
Very good, quick and easy! I didn’t have fresh basil, so used a couple cubes of frozen pesto from last summer’s harvest. I didn’t have enough corn, so added 2 cubed small red potatoes (do that again!). Would be heaven with fresh corn.
Jess Long
This is one of the best NYT recipes I’ve ever made. OBSESSED!
BHGW
So disappointed. With over 2000 5* reviews I thought this would be great I followed the recipe completely but found the meat colorless and bland. Not at all tasty. Corn was good though.
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