Spicy Marmalade Chicken and Sweet Potatoes

By Melissa Clark

Updated March 3, 2026

Spicy Marmalade Chicken and Sweet Potatoes
Joseph De Leo for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Rebecca Jurkevich.
Total Time
1 hour 20 minutes
Prep Time
10 minutes
Cook Time
1 hour 10 minutes
Rating
5(37)
Comments
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The citrusy, sweet and sour sauce in this sheet-pan recipe gets caramelized by the oven’s high heat, coating chicken thighs and cubed sweet potatoes with a delightfully sticky glaze. You can use any kind of marmalade here — orange, lemon, grapefruit — or use a mixed-peel marmalade for the most complex flavor. The combination of fish sauce, soy sauce and garlic lends pungent, salty flavors that round out the sweetness of the marmalade, while crushed red pepper adds heat.

Featured in: Marmalade Is Sunshine in a Jar — And in Your Cooking

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings
  • ¼cup marmalade, large peels chopped
  • 3scallions, thinly sliced, white and green parts separated
  • 2tablespoons fish sauce, coconut amino acids or Yondu
  • 2tablespoons soy sauce
  • ½teaspoon crushed red pepper
  • 2½pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (see Tip)
  • Salt
  • 2garlic cloves, finely grated or minced
  • 1½pounds sweet potatoes (you don’t have to peel them), cut into ¾-inch-thick pieces
  • 4tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1lime, plus lime wedges for serving
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

965 calories; 61 grams fat; 15 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 30 grams monounsaturated fat; 11 grams polyunsaturated fat; 53 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams dietary fiber; 21 grams sugars; 51 grams protein; 1242 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.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    In a large bowl, whisk together marmalade, scallion whites, fish sauce, soy sauce and crushed red pepper.

  2. Step 2

    Season chicken lightly with salt. Rub garlic all over the pieces and under the skin and add to the bowl, turning to coat them with the marinade. Let marinate while you prepare the potatoes (up to 30 minutes at room temperature or up to 8 hours in the refrigerator).

  3. Step 3

    Heat the oven to 425 degrees. If you like, you can line a sheet pan with parchment paper or foil for easy cleanup. The marmalade will probably scorch a little at the pan edges.

  4. Step 4

    Put the sweet potatoes on the sheet pan and toss with 2 tablespoons olive oil and a big pinch of salt. Spread potatoes out in one layer and place in the oven. Roast for 10 minutes.

  5. Step 5

    To the bowl with the chicken add remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil. Grate the zest of the lime into the bowl, then halve the lime and squeeze one half of it in as well (save the remaining half for serving). Toss well.

  6. Step 6

    Add chicken skin side up to the sheet pan, nestled among the sweet potatoes (but not on top of them; make sure the chicken is touching the pan). Spoon any extra sauce over everything. Roast, tossing the sweet potatoes once or twice, until chicken is cooked through and caramelized and the sweet potatoes are soft, 25 to 35 minutes longer. Taste and add more salt and lime juice if needed.

  7. Step 7

    Top with scallions greens and serve.

Tip
  • Feel free to substitute skinless, boneless chicken thighs if you prefer; you’ll need 1¾ to 2 pounds.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
37 user ratings
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Comments

CFXK

Marmalades most commonly comprise about 60% sugar, some a significantly more, and some tarter brands a bit less. That's a high concentration of sugar. And sugar quickly scorches in high heat, so I was surprised to see the oven temp set at 425, But not surprised to hear of your chicken's black skin. When I make a chicken thigh rub that includes brown sugar, I never bake at above 325. This gives just the right amount of caramelization and crispiness for the time it takes to cook the chicken.

Jim

Wow, this was so very tasty! We use boneless-skinless thighs and reduced cooking time to 30 minutes. Then we put in under the broiler for 5 minutes to make things crispy. The squeeze of lime when serving is a perfect addition. I want to try adding some shallots or red onion next time because I think they would be great with sauce. The parchment paper got too wet. Foil or nothing next time. Thank you for another wonderful recipe Melissa Clark!

Smokey

Followed the recipe exactly & after 20 minutes my house is full of smoke & chicken skin is black!

Anne B

I made this exactly as written and it was lovely. By the time the chicken has nice crunchy skin, the sauce will scorch (this is a feature, not a bug). I lined my pan carefully with aluminum foil, but there were still patches of scorched sauce on the pan by the time it was done. These were later eradicated by pouring some water into the pan, heating on the stove top, and stirring until they dissolved. I would not change a thing.

Betsy

Should we use Thai or Vietnamese fish sauce for this?

Debbie Ritchie

The recipe call for sweet potatoes, but those look like yams.

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