Smothered chicken in a sticky and zesty sauce for a quick and easy tray bake that the whole family will love. No fuss, but full of flavour, this Sticky Chicken Tray Bake couldn't be easier, as it's all done in one pan with a simple marinade that you probably already have all the ingredients for. Sesame oil, soy sauce, honey, lime and a raid of the spice raid and you have yourself an incredible marinade that creates the BEST sauce.
It takes less than 5 minutes to prepare this dish, and just 30 minutes in the oven and you have yourself a pan of juicy chicken with the most epic marinade that makes an almost gravy like sauce to coat the noodles. It's sweet, salty, zesty, it really has it all. Load the pan with noodles and crunchy toppings and serve it up on the table in the pan.
Jump to:
Why should you try it?
- The best marinade and sauce
- Cooked in just 30 minutes
- Budget friendly
- Easy to adapt
Step by step
One: Mix all the marinade ingredients together.
Two: Put the chicken in a large bowl and cover with the marinade. Refrigerate for at least an hour.
Put the marinated chicken on a baking sheet and add the bok choy halves and tenderstem broccoli. Pour the marinade from the bowl over everything.
Four: Bake in a preheated oven at 200°C/400°F/Gas 6 for 30 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Baste halfway through.
Five: Add the cooked noodles to the tray and top with sliced spring onions (scallions), red chillies and sesame seeds.
What chicken to use
We have used boneless, skin on chicken thighs are not only are they great value for money, but they are really juicy and leaving the skin on means they get nice and crispy too.
You could just chicken drumsticks instead, but we wouldn't recommend using chicken breasts as they tend to dry out and you really want juicy chicken as the end result here.
What vegetables to add
Some kind of greens is a must in this dish I think - it really balances out the strong flavours of the marinade. We used bok choi and tenderstem broccoli, as they add lots of crunch, but you could add shredded spring greens instead.
If you wanted to add even more veggies, they diced mushrooms, courgette and aubergine work well. You want to go with soft, quick cooking veg, as the beauty of this dish is how quick is cooks.
What to serve this with
We served ours with noodles, as chicken and noodles is such an amazing combination. However, you could also serve it with rice (which can be added to the pan just like the noodles), mashed potatoes or cous cous (giant cous cous works well here). Equally, just serve it up with loads of crusty bread, which is great for dipping in the sauce.
How to store
This chicken dish will keep in the fridge for 2 days. Just make sure that it has cooled fully and then store in an air tight container. To reheat it, I would shred the chicken and mix with the noodles and veggies and then fry it all in a pan with a little sesame oil.
When is chicken cooked?
The internal temperature of cooked chicken should be at least 75°C (167°F). To get an accurate reading, we'd definitely recommend using a meat thermometer like this Thermapen. (aff)
If you don't have a meat thermometer, when cooked the chicken should have no pinkness to the meat and the juices should run clear. For more information, you can read some information form the Food Standards Agency.
Extra tips
- If you don't have honey, then you can swap it for maple syrup.
- If you want to add some spice to the marinade, then add a pinch of red chilli flakes or some cayenne.
- We used chicken thighs, however you could use chicken drumsticks instead.
- You can swap the tenderstem and bok choi for spring greens. You could also add some diced mushrooms, courgette and aubergine.
- We served ours with noodles, but you could swap it for rice and still add to the pan. Or, serve the chicken on top of mashed potatoes or couscous.
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Recipe
Sticky Chicken Tray Bake
Ingredients
Chicken:
- 8 chicken thighs
- 160 g tenderstem broccoli
- 2 bok choy halved length ways
Marinade:
- 2 tablespoon sesame oil
- 3 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 tablespoon runny honey
- 0.5 lime juice only
- 2 garlic cloves crushed
- 30 g fresh ginger grated
- 1 tablespoon Chinese five spice
To Serve:
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
- 1 red chilli sliced
- 3 spring onions (scallions) sliced
- 60 g cashew nuts
- 4 nests wholewheat noodles boiled and drained (optional)
Instructions
- Mix all the marinade ingredients together.
- Put the chicken in a large bowl and cover with the marinade. Refrigerate for at least an hour.
- Put the marinated chicken on a baking sheet and add the bok choy halves and tenderstem broccoli. Pour the marinade from the bowl over everything.
- Bake in a preheated oven at 200°C/400°F/Gas 6 for 30 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Baste halfway through.
- Add the cooked noodles to the tray and top with sliced spring onions (scallions), red chillies and sesame seeds.
Notes
- If you don't have honey, then you can swap it for maple syrup.
- If you want to add some spice to the marinade, then add a pinch of red chilli flakes or some cayenne.
- We used chicken thighs, however you could use chicken drumsticks instead.
- You can swap the tenderstem and bok choy for spring greens. You could also add some diced mushrooms, courgette and aubergine.
- We served ours with noodles, but you could swap it for rice and still add to the pan. Or, serve the chicken on top of mashed potatoes or couscous.
Nart at Cooking with Nart
This recipe is amazing. We made it last night and everyone loved it so much!
Jack
This recipe looks delicious! I love the asian flavours!
Bry
This was so delicious! Easy to prepare and al the flavours worked together incredibly well. Very tasty!
veenaazmanov
Delicious and flavorful and such an amazing one pot platter too.
Lauren Vavala | Delicious Little Bites
This recipe looks amazing! I love all the flavors and how easy it is to make.
Jen
I always stink at trying to figure out how to get everything done on time for dinner and this totally takes away the stress of that. Easy to make and super delicious too! A total win!!
Angela
Wow! This is like my favorite chicken recipe ever! So delicious, I love to serve with brown rice. This recipe is definitely a keeper!
Farah Maizar
Absolutely love the idea of this. Brilliant! Everything straight in one tray and you can't get much better than chicken and noodles. I can't wait to try this thank you!
Cathy
This dish is literally mouthwatering and perfect dinner especially for the times we are living in where extra dinner ideas are needed and budget friendly! WOWZA DELICIOUS! Love it!!!
Gloria
This looks fantasic. What a great dinner, and so much better than takeout. I know my family would LOVE this for dinner....chicken and noodles are great.
Alisa Infanti
I can't wait to try this and am super excited I have all the ingredients for tonights dinner!
veenaazmanov
Love the flavors and the one pot method too. So delicious and yum.
Jovita
This looks like a perfect dinner to me. So easy to make and so delicious!
Bintu | Recipes From A Pantry
This looks absolutely wonderful and a dish my whole family would love! I love the simplicity of it all and the sound of all the flavours.
Rhonda Albom
This chicken dish looks great and you had me at five minute prep time.
Annie @ Annie's Noms
Woah this looks insanely tasty!! I love one pan meals as there's less washing up! I absolutely have to make this as it looks so delicious, the chicken has the most gorgeous colour and shine and what a delicious marinade.
Charla
Omg! This looks super filling and healthy in one serving. I'm so looking forward to trying your chicken dinner Dannii.
Amanda Wren-Grimwood
Lots of great flavours and minimal fuss for a really tasty dinner I think!
Katherine
What a great minimal prep recipe! And I love all the great Asian flavors in the sauce.