Easy tray-baked chicken dinner recipe
I’ve heard my friends talk of their love for this recipe and thought it sounded far too good to be true. A throw-it-all-in-together-and-bake-for-an-hour kind of dinner was right up my street last weekend, when the weather wasn’t playing nice and visiting the supermarket was firmly in the too hard basket. I gave the recipe a test run and can attest to it being a one tray wonder!
Which brings me to more good news. The ingredients list is stuff you’ll more than likely already have in your fridge and pantry – no supermarket visit needed. Excellent.
- Prep time : 15 mins
- Cooking time : 1 hr
Easy tray-baked chicken ingredients
- 4 large ripe tomatoes
- 2 red Spanish onions
- 1 red capsicum
- 1/2 butternut pumpkin
- 6 skinless, boneless chicken thighs
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme (or a small bunch of fresh)
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- small bunch of parsley
- handful of baby spinach leaves (optional)
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180°C.
- Quarter the tomatoes and place them in a large roasting tray (or as I have, a 30x35cm lasagne dish). Peel and quarter the onions, trim the bulb end – but leave it intact so the wedge of onion stays together while cooking.
- Remove the seeds and membrane from the capsicum and chop that into large pieces. Cut the pumpkin into small wedges also. Add these to the tomato and onion in the tray.
- Squash your garlic cloves with the back of your knife and add them to the vegetables.
- Place your chicken thighs on top of the vegetables and sprinkle the dried thyme (or fresh leaves) and paprika over the top.
- Follow with drizzling the olive oil and balsamic vinegar over the top.
- Now, as pretty as it is, toss everything together using your hands, making sure every piece is glistening in oil and spices. Spread it back evenly across the tray, making sure the chicken isn’t buried under the vegetables.
- Roast for one hour. Every 20 minutes give the chicken a quick baste with all the lush tomato juice from the bottom of the tray to stop the chicken from drying out. Before serving, top with a few more fresh thyme leaves or chopped parsley and if you dare, stir through a handful of baby spinach leaves which will wilt effortlessly with the heat.
- Serve with a fresh salad and some crusty bread to assist in devouring the beautiful tray bake juices.
Notes
- This recipe serves four and all the recipe credit must go to the ever fabulous Jamie Oliver, with a few tweaks made to meet my country supermarket requirements.
Browse our recipe section for more great meal ideas and treats to try.
MORE LIKE THIS ARTICLE
