This quick and easy chicken traybake is all mixed together in one dish with a delicious Mediterranean inspired dressing. Vibrant chunky vegetables and juicy chicken thighs make up the base of this dish, but it's easy to adapt.
We love a traybake. Just take all of your favourite ingredients, mix them together and pop them in the oven for an easy weeknight meal that the whole family will love. And you can make something different every time! This is our favourite version, but it's easy to adapt too.
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Why should you try it?
- Easy to adapt
- A great fridge raid meal to reduce food waste
- The leftovers taste great the next day in a sandwich
Step by step
One: Put the chicken in a baking tray with the chopped vegetables.
Two: Put the olive oil, lemon juice and zest, garlic, salt, pepper, oregano and thyme in a bowl and mix well.
Three: Pour over the marinade and mix well.
Four: Put in a preheated oven at 190°C/375°F/Gas 5 for 30 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through.
What vegetables to use?
I love a dish that is easy to adapt and use whatever is on hand, and this traybake is exactly that. It's a great fridge raid meal and one of our favourite ways to reduce food waste.
Whatever chunky vegetables you have in the fridge that are starting to look a bit sad, then add them to your traybake. We went with bell peppers, tomatoes, shallot and potatoes to keep it simple. But you could add aubergine and courgette if you wanted a little more colour and flavour.
Marinade
You have lots of opportunity for variety here too, and you could always use your favourite marinade or glaze. Perhaps you want a BBQ sauce vibe, or maybe sweet chilli. Feel free to get creative or use our easy Mediterranean inspired marinade.
This really couldn't be any easier. We just mixed together a good glug of good quality olive oil, the juice and zest of a lemon, plenty of garlic, salt, pepper and then some oregano and thyme to give it those Greek flavours.
What to top it with
We stuck with the Mediterranean flavours and topped it with some crumbled feta and basil leaves. Next time I think I will add some olives too and maybe some sun-dried tomatoes. ALL the flavour!
Parmesan or goats cheese would be nice on top of this.
What To Serve It With
We added potatoes to this dish to make in an all-in-one kind of meal, so you don't really need to add anything to it. However, a big green salad or our Beetroot and Goats Cheese salad will go well with it. Maybe even some chunky garlic bread with it.
How to use leftovers
I mean, if you have leftovers then well done you! We always manage to eat it all. But if you do, then shed up the chicken, mix it with the vegetables and then have it in a sandwich the next day. You could even stir it in to some pasta for a really easy meal.
Why not try batch cooking this (without the potatoes) and shredding the chicken, mixing it together and then freezing in portions to add to different meals.
FAQs
If you want to make this a really lean and protein packed dish, then you could use chunks or even whole chicken breast (although cooking times will vary). However we used chicken thighs because they are super juicy and don't dry out like chicken breasts can. Using chicken thighs also make this a really budget friendly meal.
We browned the chicken for a few minutes each side before it went in the oven and whilst this does add to the prep time, it's totally worth it for the crispy skin and it locks in some of the flavour.
Extra tips
- Try to use the best quality olive oil that you and get, as you really can taste the difference.
- Add a touch of sweetness to the marinade with some balsamic vinegar.
- Feel free to use your favourite marinade or glaze for this recipe. You could do Italian or Mexican flavours and make it a different way each time.
- Make sure the potatoes are chopped in to fairly small chunks, otherwise they won't cook in time.
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Recipe
Easy Chicken Tray Bake
Ingredients
- 4 chicken thighs
- 1 green pepper diced
- 6 cherry tomatoes halved
- 1 red pepper diced
- 4 shallots diced
- 1 medium potato cut in to small chunks
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 lemon juice and zest only
- 4 garlic cloves crushed
- 1 pinch sea salt and black pepper
- 1 tablespoon oregano
- 1 tablespoon thyme
- 40 g feta crumbled
- Basil leaves (to serve)
Instructions
- Put the chicken in a baking tray with the chopped vegetables.
- Put the olive oil, lemon juice and zest, garlic, salt, pepper, oregano and thyme in a bowl and mix well.
- Pour over the marinade and mix well.
- Put in a preheated oven at 190°C/375°F/Gas 5 for 30 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through.
Notes
- Try to use the best quality olive oil that you and get, as you really can taste the difference.
- Add a touch of sweetness to the marinade with some balsamic vinegar.
- Feel free to use your favourite marinade or glaze for this recipe. You could do Italian or Mexican flavours and make it a different way each time.
- Make sure the potatoes are chopped in to fairly small chunks, otherwise they won't cook in time.
Jenn
I"m all in favor of making one dish meals and this hearty dish is fabulous! Easy, tasty, and everyone loved it!
Colleen
My family loved this for dinner and I loved the simplicity and easy cleanup. Thank you!
Kristin
This is a perfect recipe for my family. I used chicken thighs and they turned out tender and juicy and so delicious. We love the Mediterranean flair. Great recipe!
Sara Welch
I love a good sheet bake meal and this was no exception! Looking forward to enjoying this again later this week; hands down delicious!
Lisa | Garlic & Zest
On a busy weeknight, skillet dinners like this one RULE. Just pour the wine and serve it up!
Jen
This is exactly the type of meal that I love making! As a busy Mom, anything that helps get a delicious meal on the table with the least amount of work is always a winner in my book!
Sisley White
This is an amazing dinner. I love this recipe. Thank you so much for another brilliant recipe x
Danielle Wolter
Seriously an awesome weeknight meal! I love when you can get your whole meal on one tray. Plus, can be used with all different veggies!
Nart at Cooking with Nart
This looks so delicious, healthy and vibrant. Just perfect for dinner!
cyndy
Just made this delicious and easy tray bake for the family. Perfect for a Sunday evening dinner! The flavors were perfect!
Anita
This is such a great dish to learn. Just one tray, pop it in the oven, and dinner is done. :)
Michelle
I love sheet pan dinners and this one is delicious. Love all the fresh veggies!
Bhawana
this chicken traybake looks great and so flavorful. perfect dinner or lunch on busy days. Loved the idea, I can try this with some veg options.
Bintu | Recipes From A Pantry
Nothing beats a chicken tray bake - this looks so delicious and I love the sound of the Mediterranean dressing!
Charla
I seldom make tray bakes but when I do I enjoy them. I love how this recipe is so simple yet tasty
veenaazmanov
Love to have this amazing Bake dish for a light Dinner. Delicious and yum.
Jacqueline Meldrum
Tray bakes are my favourite type of meals. I love that you can throw it all in, get on with other things then come back and dinner's ready!
Adrianne
What a fantastic looking recipe!! Yum. I love a good chicken dinner and the colours and flavours in this sound delicious. Can't wait to give it a go, cheers!