A versatile yet easy dinner recipe that saves on the washing up. This roasted lemon chicken tray bake is the perfect mid-week family meal that’s full of flavour and super simple to prepare.
An Easy, Mid-Week Family Meal
There are times when you need a recipe that tastes amazing but is easy to prepare. After a long day, no one wants to be faced with the prospect of mountains of washing up or a million steps in a recipe. Tray bakes are the perfect solution when you need an easy meal.
The combination of juicy skin-on chicken thighs, crispy roasted baby potatoes and delicious red onions all baked together and flavoured with fresh lemons and a honey stock glaze makes this dish not only easy to make but impressive too. You can quickly throw the ingredients together in an oven proof dish and have a delicious meal that saves you time with the washing up afterwards and looks and tastes impressive. This lemon chicken tray bake is the perfect mid-week family meal or dish for date night.
We don’t add in any gluten or dairy products so this meal is great for those on a specific gluten free or dairy free diet.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Preparing the Lemon and Honey Glaze
What really gives this dish the juiciness and flavour is in the glaze. Pour it over before the last 20 minutes of roasting to infuse the ingredients with an added depth of flavour and really give those chicken thighs a moist, sweet lemon taste.
The glaze is also made in less than 5 minutes, there is no faffing about here. Make the chicken stock and mix in the honey and lemon juice and it’s ready. Super easy cooking!
Leaving the honey glaze until the last 20 minutes also gives the potatoes and chicken time to develop some crispiness in the oven. If you add it too soon, the dish might be a little soggy.
Ingredients
- Chicken Thighs – We use bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs in this recipe, but if you want to use skinless chicken thighs, you can. We like the skin-on for the crispiness and rich flavour.
- Lemons – We use lemon wedges or slices in the tray bake and some fresh lemon juice for the glaze. Lemon pairs beautifully with chicken and gives this recipe a zingy flavour.
- Baby Potatoes – Baby Potatoes only need to be cut in half for this recipe, so they are quick and easy to use. However, you can use regular floury potatoes if you wish.
- Red Onions – We prefer red onions for their sweeter and milder taste but you can also use shallots.
- Garlic Cloves – The garlic adds some extra flavour and pairs well with the lemons.
- Fresh Rosemary and Thyme – You can substitute with dried herbs (just use less) or different herbs if you want a slightly different flavour.
- Olive Oil – We recommend olive oil, but you can substitute it with another neutral tasting oil too.
- Chicken Stock – You can also use vegetable stock as a substitute for a slightly different flavour.
- Honey – This goes into the glaze and gives the dish some sweetness to contrast the lemon flavour.
How To Make Chicken Tray Bake
Check out the recipe card below for the full ingredients list and instructions.
- Begin by preheating the oven to 200C. Placing the potatoes into a hot oven guarantees that the skins begin to crisp up immediately.
- Cut the baby potatoes in half. If you’re using regular potatoes, chop them into chunks or quarters, depending on their size. Toss them in a little of the oil inside the roasting tray and pop them in the oven for 20 minutes.
- Remove the skins from the red onions and roughly chop them into quarters.
- Crush the garlic or chop finely.
- Slice the lemon into wedges or thick slices.
- Once the potatoes have roasted for 20 minutes, add the chicken, onions, garlic and lemon wedges to the roasting tin.
- Roughly chop the fresh herbs and sprinkle of the ingredients in the tray.
- Drizzle over the extra oil and place in the oven to roast for another 30 minutes.
- While everything is cooking, make the glaze. Prepare the chicken stock and stir in the lemon juice and honey.
- Once the dish has had another 30 minutes in the oven, pour over the glaze and roast again for another 20 minutes.
- Serve immediately or allow it to cool before storing it covered, in the fridge.
FAQ
Sure, you can store the cooked tray bake in the fridge for up to 2 days and reheat in the oven. Cover the dish with foil and place in the oven at 170C for 20-30 minutes until it’s piping hot all the way through.
If you wish to have crispy baby potatoes, it is better to part roast the potatoes first before adding the other ingredients. Skipping this step may result in potatoes that aren’t fully baked all the way through and may be a little hard.
Yes you can, this chicken tray bake is meant to be quite versatile. Feel free to add different herbs to your tastes or try adding courgettes, sweet potatoes or cauliflower to the mix. You can experiment with other additions as you please.
Tips and Guidance
How to Serve A Chicken Traybake
This quick and easy dinner recipe can be served simply on it’s own or alongside some fresh bread, steamed vegetables or rice. This meal is meant to be simple, so we recommend keeping any side dishes simple too.
The portions in the recipe serve a family of 4 or more but can be scaled up or down to suit your needs and appetite.
What’s more, you can bake this tray bake, keep it in the fridge for up to 2 days and reheat in the oven until it’s piping hot all the way through, covering it with foil so that it doesn’t burn.
More Chicken Recipes You’ll Love
- Creamy Mushroom Sauce with Sage Roasted Chicken
- Quick Chicken Korma Curry with Coconut Milk
- Chicken Kiev Mini Bites
- Crispy Lemon Breaded Chicken Nuggets And Lemon Mayo
Roasted Lemon Chicken Traybake with Potatoes
Ingredients
- 8 Chicken Thighs skin on
- 1 Lemon
- 1 kg Baby Potatoes
- 2 Red Onions
- 3 Garlic Cloves
- 1 sprig Fresh Thyme
- 1 sprig Fresh Rosemary
- 3 tbsp Olive Oil
- Salt and Pepper
- 100 ml Chicken stock
- 3 tbsp Runny Honey
- 2 tbsp Lemon Juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200C
- Cut potatoes in half and place them in a large baking tray.
- Coat the potatoes in 1 tbsp olive oil and roast for 20 minutes.
- Remove the skin from the red onions and cut into quarters and set aside.
- Crush 3 garlic cloves, set aside.
- Cut the lemon into wedges or thick slices and set aside,
- Remove the tray from the oven
- Place the chicken thighs along with the other ingredients you set aside into the tray.
- Roughly chop the herbs and sprinkle them over the ingredients in the baking tray.
- Drizzle over the other 1 tbsp of olive oil and mix everything to coat evenly.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Place back in the oven for another 30 minutes.
- While the traybake is cooking, prepare the marinade.
- Mix together the chicken stock with the lemon juice and honey and stir until combined.
- After the 30 minutes roasting time, remove the tray from the oven again and pour over the marinade.
- Place the tray back into the oven and cook for a final 20 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and everything is golden brown.
Watch The Tutorial
Recipe Notes and Guidance
- Roast the potatoes alone first. This gives them time to crisp up.
- You can substitute with dried herbs, just use less.
- Preheat the oven to allow for optimum roasting time.
- Leave the glaze until the last 20 minutes otherwise the dish may turn out soggy.
