Sheet Pan Roast Chicken with Carrot Top and Walnut Pesto
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This roast chicken and spring vegetables with carrot top and walnut pesto is a fresh, seasonal dinner recipe featuring crispy roasted chicken, tender spring vegetables, and a vibrant homemade pesto made from carrot tops and walnuts. The pesto adds a bright, herbaceous flavor while reducing food waste by using the entire carrot. Packed with roasted vegetables and juicy chicken, this one-pan-style dinner is perfect for entertaining or easy weeknight meals. If you loved this chicken dinner recipe, try making the baked salmon with lemon dill sauce or this spring rice pilaf with pistachio pesto.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Seasonal and fresh – Spring vegetables and bright pesto make this dinner feel light yet satisfying.
- Great way to reduce waste – The carrot top pesto uses ingredients that are often discarded.
- Elegant but approachable – This roast chicken recipe feels dinner-party worthy while still being easy enough for weeknights.
Key Ingredients in This Recipe
- Carrot tops – I feel good about this recipe because it makes the most of every part of the carrot. I always think the tops look so pretty at the grocery store or farmers market but hate throwing them away. This gives them another use in addition to roasting the carrots.
- Walnuts – I use Diamond of California walnuts for the walnut pesto — the toasted walnuts add an earthiness to the sauce and the carrot tops have a subtle carrot taste as well.
- Whole chicken – I love cooking a chicken whole because it’s significantly less expensive than buying multiple of one cut. There are so many opportunities to use the leftover meat from the chicken and it makes for an impressive entrée when hosting. Cooking a whole chicken allows guests to choose the type of meat they want.
A full ingredient list with exact amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
Pro Tip
Blanch the carrot tops briefly before blending the pesto if they taste overly bitter. This helps mellow their flavor while keeping the pesto bright green and fresh tasting.
Swaps and Substitutions
- Chicken: Substitute with bone-in chicken thighs, chicken breasts, or even salmon.
- Spring vegetables: Use asparagus, radishes, snap peas, baby potatoes, or green beans.
- Carrot tops: Replace with basil, parsley, arugula, or a combination of herbs.
- Walnuts: Swap with pistachios, almonds, pecans, or pine nuts.
- Parmesan cheese: Use pecorino Romano or omit for a dairy-free pesto.
How to Make Sheet Pan Roast Chicken with Carrot Top Pesto (Step-by-Step)
- Heat oven and break down the chicken. Preheat oven to 400ºF (200ºC). Remove backbone from chicken and discard. Break the chicken down into 10 parts by separating the wings, the thighs, the legs and the breasts (each halved).
- Add to a baking sheet. Arrange the chicken, carrots, potatoes, radishes, asparagus and lemon slices in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Slide your fingers under the skin of the chicken and push the butter under the skin. Drizzle the olive oil over and season the vegetables and chicken with salt and pepper.
- Roast chicken and veggies. Roast until the chicken is cooked through and the skin is crisp and golden brown, about 40 minutes.
- Toast the walnuts. Heat a small sauté pan over medium-low heat, add the walnuts and toast until they are fragrant and just begin to brown, about 3 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside.
- Make the pesto. Add the walnuts, carrot tops, parsley, shallot, garlic and olive oil to a blender and pulse until combined. Remove to a small-mixing bowl and stir in the lemon zest, lemon juice and Pecorino Romano. Season to taste with salt and set aside.
- Assemble and serve. Divide the vegetables and chicken among plates and top with carrot top walnut pesto.
Can You Make Roast Chicken in a Cast Iron Pan?
While I love making this as a one pan meal, if using just skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs it can easily be in a cast iron pan and the vegetables can be made separately in the oven. The bonus of making chicken in cast iron is extra crispy skin.
Season chicken and pat dry. Heat a large cast iron pan over medium high heat and add the olive oil. Place the chicken skin side down and sear until the chicken is golden brown, about 6 minutes. Flip the chicken and cook for an additional 4 minutes.
Bake the chicken at 400ºF (200ºC) until cooked through, about 20 minutes. Drizzle the vegetables with olive oil and spread on a rimmed baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper then bake until the potatoes are tender, about 25 minutes.
How to Serve Roast Chicken with Carrot Top and Walnut Pesto
- Spring dinner: Serve with crusty bread or roasted potatoes for a complete meal.
- Dinner party entrée: Pair with chilled white wine and a simple green salad.
- Light lunch leftovers: Slice leftover chicken and serve over grain bowls or salads.
- Extra pesto: Drizzle additional carrot top pesto over vegetables before serving.
How to Store Roast Chicken with Carrot Top and Walnut Pesto
- Refrigerate leftovers: Store leftover chicken and vegetables in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
- Store pesto separately: Keep the carrot top pesto refrigerated in a sealed container for up to 4 days.
- Freeze pesto: Freeze extra pesto in small portions for up to 2 months.
- Reheat gently: Warm chicken and vegetables in the oven to help maintain crispy skin.
FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions
Carrot top pesto tastes fresh, herbaceous, slightly earthy, and nutty with a flavor similar to parsley-based pesto.
Pat the chicken dry before roasting and avoid overcrowding the pan so the skin roasts instead of steaming.
Spring vegetables like carrots, asparagus, radishes, peas, green beans, and baby potatoes pair especially well with the pesto and roasted chicken.
Yes. Carrot top pesto can be made up to 4 days ahead and stored in the refrigerator with a thin layer of olive oil on top to help keep it fresh.
Roasting the vegetables alongside the chicken allows them to absorb the flavorful drippings while cooking everything together in one pan.
Other Recipes to Try
If you loved this easy one-sheet seasonal recipe, check out some of my other dinner options that are rife with produce:
Tried it? Loved it? Tweaked it? Leave a review below and tell me how it went – I’m all ears (and always hungry).
Sheet Pan Roast Chicken and Spring Vegetables with Carrot Top and Walnut Pesto
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Ingredients:
For the roast chicken and spring vegetables:
- 1 (4½ -pound) whole chicken
- 12 ounces baby carrots, peeled
- 1 pound peewee potatoes
- 1 bunch medium radishes, halved
- ½ pound asparagus, trimmed
- 1 medium lemon, thinly sliced
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
For the carrot top and walnut pesto:
- ¼ cup diced walnuts
- ½ packed cup carrot tops, roughly chopped
- ½ packed cup flat-leaf parsley
- ½ medium shallot, minced
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- ¾ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 tablespoon freshly-squeezed lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese
- Kosher salt, as needed
Instructions:
For the sheet pan roast chicken and spring vegetables:
- Preheat oven to 400ºF (200ºC).
- Remove backbone from chicken and discard. Break the chicken down into 10 parts by separating the wings, the thighs, the legs and the breasts (each halved).
- Arrange the chicken, carrots, potatoes, radishes, asparagus and lemon slices in a single layer on a baking sheet. Slide your fingers under the skin of the chicken and push the butter under the skin. Drizzle the olive oil over and season the vegetables and chicken with salt and pepper.
- Roast until the chicken is cooked through and the skin is crisp and golden brown, about 40 minutes.
For the carrot top and walnut pesto:
- Heat a small sauté pan over medium-low heat, add the walnuts and toast until they are fragrant and just begin to brown, about 3 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside.
- Add the walnuts, carrot tops, parsley, shallot, garlic and olive oil to a blender and pulse until combined. Remove to a small-mixing bowl and stir in the lemon zest, lemon juice and Pecorino Romano. Season to taste with salt and set aside.
For serving:
- Divide the vegetables and chicken among plates and top with carrot top walnut pesto.
Notes:
Nutrition:
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This post is sponsored by Diamond of California Nuts. – all opinions expressed are my own.
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