Sheet Pan Tandoori Chicken and Cauliflower {Paleo, Keto, Whole30} - Tasty Yummies (2024)

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ThisSheet Pan Tandoori Chicken and Cauliflower comes together in no time, it all gets cooked together at once on the sheet pan and you end up with a meal loaded up with traditional tandoori flavors, without a sink loaded up with dishes!

I have become quite the fan of simple sheet pan meals for easy weeknight eats. Inclusive meals where everything you need for your meal on one pan. Cooked once, altogether. Minimal effort, inexpensive, hands-off, nutrient-rich meals are a must if I expect my nutrition clients to prioritize cooking and eating at home. I always want to make this as simple and approachable as possible, not just for my clients and all of you but honestly, for me as well. Easy is clutch.

Here are a couple of my other favorite Sheet Pan Meals:

Sheet Pan Roast Chicken and Veggies
Sheet Pan Steak Fajitas
Sheet Pan Baked Eggs Sheet Pan Crustless Quiche with Smoked Salmon and Goat Cheese

ThisSheet Pan Tandoori Chicken and Cauliflower is one that has become a bit of a staple meal for me. With the traditional flavors of Tandoori Chicken, it’s warming, comforting and layered with so many different depths of flavor. With a little tartness from the yogurt (you can use dairy or non-dairy yogurt) and the lemon juice, combined with the warming spices provides the taste of classic tandoori chicken, the yogurt also works to tenderize the meat and even helps to bring that nice caramelized outside to the skin. I used a small serrano pepper in the marinade for a little heat, you can leave it out, or opt for a jalapeño.

Traditional Tandoori is marinated in yogurt and spices and roasted in an oven. Tandooriis derived from the wordtandoormeaning large clay oven where traditionally long skewers of marinated meat and poultry are cooked to perfection. So while I don’t have the clay oven, this is the best I could do and it’s pretty darn close. Add the veggies and it’s everything you need.

What I love about this dish, is the options. I generally grab a whole free range, locally-grown chicken and have the butcher break into down into parts for me (or I will do it myself), splitting the breast to keep all the parts similarly sized so they cook evenly. You can also use just bone-in skin on chicken thighs or drumsticks, or if all you’ve got is boneless skinless breast, you can even use those, you just have to adjust cook times, appropriately.

You can also mix up your vegetables, I love this dish with the cauliflower as it’s very hearty and stands up well to the longer cook time with the bone-in meat. Potatoes would be a nice additional as well. Zucchini is also really nice, but I would add it in about halfway through cooking, so it doesn’t over cook. You could also add in mushrooms, eggplant, tomatoes, etc. Chickpeas would also be a great addition to the cauliflower.

This meal is delicious topped with the thinly sliced red onions, quick pickled red onions are really nice here, too. I add little extra seasoned yogurt to the meal, either served dolloped on top, or alongside. Finish with some fresh cilantro and it’s just a stunner.

Don’t have garam masala? Make this quick homemade garam masala blend. Of course, starting with whole seeds, toasting and grinding is best, but this is a great option for quick and easy.

• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cardamom
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg