This Gluten-Free Italian Sheet Pan Chicken with Bread Salad recipe and the coinciding giveaway of a copy of Giada’s Italy plus a $50 Visa gift card to stock up on Giada’s recommendations for your very own Italian pantry on our Instagram page was created in partnership with Clarkson Potter, an imprint of Crown Publishing Group. This post also contains affiliate links.
I’m always on the lookout for classic recipes with a modern twist and this Gluten-Free Italian Sheet Pan Chicken with Bread Salad from Giada De Laurentiis’s new cookbook Giada’s Italy totally fits the bill. This dish is full of vibrant fresh produce like thinly shaved fennel, cherry tomatoes, and fresh basil while the marinade for the chicken in this one pan wonder has all of the flavors of a classic cacciatore with a little extra oomph from the addition of smoked hot paprika!
We’ve always been big fans of Giada and have quite a few of her cookbooks in our cookbook collection because her lighter, healthier take on classic Italian fare is always a welcome addition at our dinner table. In her latest cookbook she shares recipes for authentic Italian dishes inspired by how her family has prepared them for years in Italy then she infuses them with her signature fresh flavors to make them her own!
While this Gluten-Free Italian Sheet Pan Chicken with Bread Salad was the very first recipe I cooked from this book I have already added flags to the pages so that I can make her Fennel Upside Down Cake, Lemon and Pea Alfredo, and Spicy Linguine with Walnuts and Mint in the weeks to come. Most of the recipes in this book only require a simple swap of ingredients to make them gluten free. Gluten free pasta for traditional pasta, gluten free all purpose flour for regular AP flour, or like in this one we substituted a gluten free rosemary baguette for the baguette that the recipe called for.
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This meal is great for busy weeknights because it takes less than 45 minutes in the oven! Simply marinade the chicken in the morning and let it develop flavor in the fridge over the course of the day so it is ready to go when you are.
Ingredients
For the chicken
1 garlic clove, smashed and peeled
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon fennel seeds, toasted (see Notes)
1 teaspoon dried oregano
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon smoked hot paprika
3 tablespoons vegetable juice cocktail, such as V8
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 (3-pound) chicken, cut into 6 pieces (see Notes)
For the bread salad
3 cups diced gluten free baguette, I used Against The Grain, Gluten Free Rosemary Baguette
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 cups freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1 small fennel bulb, stalks removed, thinly sliced
1/2 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves, torn
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Extra-virgin olive oil, as needed
Instructions
Marinate the chicken
Plce the garlic, onion powder, fennel seeds, oregano, salt, paprika, vegetable juice, and olive oil in the bowl of a food processor. Puree until it forms a rough paste. Place the chicken pieces in a resealable plastic bag. Add the paste to the bag and rub the marinade all over the chicken pieces. Seal the bag and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours and up to 8 hours.
To bake the chicken
Place one rack in the middle often oven and another in the top third of the oven. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Remove the chicken from the bag and arrange the pieces on a rimmed baking sheet. Place in the oven on the middle rack and roast for 30 minutes.
Prepare the bread salad
In a large bowl, toss the diced bread cubes with the olive oil and 1/2 cup of the Parmigiano-Reggiano. When the chicken has roasted for 30 minutes, remove the baking sheet from the oven and scatter the bread cubes around the chicken pieces. return to the oven, this time on the top rack, and cook 15-20 minutes longer, or until the bread is toasted and the chicken is golden brown and reaches 160°F on an instant-read thermometer. Remove from the oven and let the chicken rest for 10 minutes.
In the same large bowl used for the bread cubes, combine the tomatoes, fennel, basil, lemon juice, the toasted bread cubes, the remaining Parmigiano-Reggiano, and all of the juices from the chicken tray. Add a bit of extra-virigin olive oil, if needed, depending on the amount of juice from the chicken, and toss well. Serve the bread salad alongside the roasted chicken.
Notes
To toast the fennel seeds, place the seeds in a small dry skillet over medium heat. Toast them, stirring often, for 2-3 minutes, or until fragrant.
Ask your butcher to cut the chicken into leg, thigh, and breast/wing portions, or substitute an equal weight of chicken parts.
Recipe(s) reprinted from Giada’s Italy © 2018 by Giada De Laurentiis. Published by Clarkson Potter/Publishers, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC.
