Easy One Pan Chicken Bake

Sometimes easy is good, and sometimes good is enough. This One Pan Chicken Bake is one of those simple meals that doesn’t need to be complicated. It’s full of roasted vegetables, tender chicken and golden halloumi, with plenty of lovely pan juices to spoon over everything when serving.

I originally made this as a tray of roasted vegetables, using potatoes, sweet potato, capsicum, red onion and fresh thyme. A few years ago, I started adding chicken pieces on top and it worked so well that I’ve been making it this way ever since.

As the chicken roasts, its juices mingle with the vegetables underneath, while the skin becomes lovely and golden. I add pieces of halloumi towards the end so they have just enough time to soften and brown without overcooking.

This is a generous recipe and makes a lovely family dinner, but it can easily be halved and cooked in a smaller dish. I used a whole chicken cut into large pieces, although bone-in chicken thighs or drumsticks work well too. Smaller chicken pieces will cook more quickly, so cut the vegetables smaller to suit the shorter cooking time.

If you use a deep casserole dish as I did, there will be plenty of juice in the bottom by the time everything is cooked. Don’t worry about that. It’s delicious spooned over the chicken and vegetables when serving. A shallower roasting tray will allow more of the liquid to evaporate.

If you enjoy this recipe, you might also like this Chicken Karaage Bowl — crispy chicken served with rice, fresh coleslaw, tonkatsu sauce and pickled onions.

Easy One Pan Chicken Bake

Prep Time: 20 minutes mins

Cook Time: 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Servings: 6 servings

Chicken pieces roasted with potatoes, sweet potato, capsicum, red onion and fresh thyme, with golden halloumi added towards the end. Everything cooks together in one dish, creating plenty of lovely juices to spoon over the chicken when serving.

Print Recipe

Ingredients

 

• 900 g potatoes, peeled and cut into large pieces
• 450 g sweet potato, peeled and cut into larger pieces than the potatoes
• 3 medium capsicums, preferably 1 red, 1 yellow and 1 green, cut into large pieces
• 1 large red onion, cut into large pieces
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves (about 6–8 sprigs), or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus a little extra for the chicken
• salt and black pepper, to taste
• 1.4 kg whole chicken, cut into 9 pieces, or approximately 1 to 1.4 kg bone-in chicken pieces, skin-on preferred (see Notes)
• 225 g halloumi, cut into large pieces
• fresh lemon juice, to finish, optional
• chopped fresh parsley, optional

Instructions

 

Prepare the Vegetables

• Preheat the oven to 180°C fan forced / 200°C conventional / 400°F conventional.
• Place the potatoes, sweet potato, capsicums and red onion in a large casserole dish. Add the fresh thyme, season with salt and black pepper, and drizzle with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Toss well to coat.
• Cover and bake for 30 minutes, then remove from the oven and toss the vegetables. See Notes if using a metal roasting dish or tray, or if your vegetables are cut smaller.

Prepare and Add the Chicken

• While the vegetables are cooking, rub the chicken pieces with a little olive oil and season with salt and black pepper.
• After the vegetables have had their 30-minute head start, arrange the chicken pieces on top, skin-side up, keeping the skin exposed so it can brown.
• Return to the oven uncovered.
• If using a 1.4kg whole chicken cut into 9 large pieces: cook for 40 minutes, basting with the pan juices after 20 minutes.
• If using bone-in chicken thighs or drumsticks: cook for 25–30 minutes, then continue with the halloumi step below.

Add the Halloumi

• Baste the chicken and check the vegetables. They should be nearly tender.
• Arrange the halloumi around the chicken, keeping the chicken skin and halloumi exposed so they can continue to brown.
• Return to the oven uncovered for a final 15–20 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through, the vegetables are tender and the halloumi is lightly golden.

Finish and Serve

• Squeeze over a little fresh lemon juice and sprinkle with chopped parsley, if using. Add a sprinkle of chilli flakes if you like a little heat.
• Serve with plenty of the pan juices spooned over the chicken.

Video

Notes

Chicken: I used a 1.4 kg whole chicken cut into 9 fairly large pieces, which took about 60 minutes in total. Bone-in thighs and drumsticks will generally cook more quickly, so add the halloumi earlier as directed in the recipe. Cooking times will vary depending on the size of the chicken pieces.

Vegetable size: The vegetables in the photos and video are cut quite large to suit the large chicken pieces and longer cooking time. If using smaller bone-in chicken thighs or drumsticks, cut the vegetables smaller so they cook through in the shorter cooking time. Keep the sweet potato pieces larger than the potatoes, as sweet potato cooks more quickly.

Roasting dish: I used a 3.5 litre enamel cast iron casserole dish in the video. However, I often make this in a large metal roasting or baking dish, which I actually prefer as the shallower dish allows more of the liquid to evaporate during cooking and the vegetables roast more. Cover the dish with foil for the initial cooking time, then remove the foil when adding the chicken. If using a lighter metal roasting dish, give the vegetables a 20 minute head start instead of 30 minutes before adding the chicken.

Capsicums: I like to use one red, one yellow and one green capsicum for a mixture of colour and flavour. You can vary the colours, but I wouldn’t recommend using all green capsicums as their flavour is stronger.

Half recipe: The recipe can easily be halved and cooked in a smaller dish.