Easy One Pan Chicken Bake
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 30 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.
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.
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.