Prepare this Chicken and Chorizo Tray Bake in under 10 minutes and then sit back and let the oven do all the hard work. Minimal effort with high returns!
Things to Love About Chicken Tray Bakes
- COMPLETE MEAL - Protein, Carbs and Veggies all in one tray. You may wish to serve with salad and crusty bread to soak up the juices.
- EASY - Perfect for busy midweek meals, throw it all together and pop it in the oven.
- PREP AHEAD: Prepare the tray the night/morning before, cover and refrigerate. Then when you come in in the evening all you have to do is pop it in the oven.
- DELICIOUS - The flavours from the chicken juices, chorizo, spices and lemon all marry together to produce a mouth-watering meal.
Ingredients (With Substitute Information)
- CHICKEN: I use bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs as, in my opinion, this produces the best results. (Juicy chicken and crispy skin.) You can replace it with skinless boneless thighs, just reduce the cooking time by around 10 mins. The results won't be as succulent.
- CHORIZO: Adds flavour and kid appeal (I must make sure my kids get the exact same amount of chorizo pieces!)
- SWEET POTATO: You can replace it with regular potato.
- VEGGIES: I've used onion and bell pepper (capsicum) but you can mix this up too.
Cooking Tips - One or Two Trays?
There are two options when cooking this chicken and chorizo tray bake. I have detailed both because in our house it is a 50:50 split on the preferred method.
- Snuggly fitting all the ingredients onto one large tray (This is perfect if you prefer more juices. The chicken is extra juicy and the vegetables are soft but don't have that same roasted taste). If choosing this option I find adding a little salt and a teaspoon of dijon mustard to the sauce really elevates it.
- Splitting the ingredients over two trays (This is perfect if you prefer your veggies more caramelized and roasted. The liquids evaporate while baking and so there isn't much sauce) If choosing this option you need to keep an eye on the cooking a little more to check that the veggies/chorizo isn't burning
Leftovers?
Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container and then turn them into a different meal the following day. Here are a couple of suggestions..
- QUESADILLAS - Remove the bones and shred the chicken. Add to one half of a flour tortilla, along with the leftover veggies and top with shredded cheese. Fold over and pan-fry until the chicken is piping hot and the cheese is melted.
- PIZZA - Remove the bones and shred the chicken. Use as a pizza topping along with the roasted veggies.
- QUINOA SALAD - Shred the chicken and add the chicken and leftover veggies to some cooked quinoa. Stir through and add a delicious vinaigrette dressing.
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Chicken and Chorizo Tray Bake
This chicken and chorizo tray bake is all about minimal effort with high returns. Prepare it in under 10 minutes and then sit back and let the oven do all the hard work.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 55 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
Serves:5
Hover over "serves" value to reveal recipe scaler
Equipment
- Large Baking Tray (sheet pan)
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 8 Chicken Thighs (Bone in, Skin on) See note 1
- 120g / 4oz Chorizo Cut into 2.5 cm chunks
- 500g / 1lb Sweet Potato Cut into 2.5 cm cubes
- 2 Red Onions Peeled and cut into wedges
- 2 Red Bell Peppers (Capsicum) Seeded and cut into wedges
- 2 teaspoon Sweet Smoked Paprika
- 2 teaspoon Dried Oregano
- 1 Lemon juice of
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 180C / 350F
- Place the oil in a large baking tray (sheet pan) and rub the skin of the chicken thighs in the oil. Turn the chicken thighs over so they are skin side up and arrange on one or two baking trays (SEE NOTE on cooking in 1 or 2 trays)
- Add the chorizo, sweet potato, bell pepper and onion to the tray/s
- Sprinkle with the smoked paprika and dried oregano and rub into the chicken breasts.
- Cook for 55-60 mins. Halfway through cooking, remove from the oven to give the vegetables/ chorizo a stir and to baste the tray contents with the juices.
- Add the lemon juice and stir through. Season the juices to taste and top with fresh oregano to serve.
Recipe Notes
CHICKEN: Bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs produces the best results. (Juicy chicken and crispy skin.) You can replace it with skinless boneless thighs but they will need less cooking. Add the thighs after 15 mins of baking.Â
POTATO: If you cut your potatoes too large then they will not cook through (especially if only using one tray)
ONE OR TWO TRAYS?: You can choose to cook this dish in one or two trays, each method produces a slightly different result.Â
- ONE TRAY (This is perfect if you prefer more juices. The chicken is extra juicy and the vegetables are soft but don't have that same roasted/caramelized taste). If choosing this option I find adding a little salt and a teaspoon of dijon mustard to the sauce, after cooking, really elevates it.
- TWO TRAYS(This is perfect if you prefer your veggies more caramelized and roasted. The liquids evaporate while baking and so there isn't much sauce) Split the ingredients, equally, between two trays. Halfway through cooking, swap the top tray with the bottom tray in the oven and baste with the juices. If choosing this option keep an eye on the cooking as the veggies/chorizo will burn easier. I recommend checking and flipping the veggies every 20 mins.Â
Nutritional facts
Calories: 613kcal | Carbohydrates: 29g | Protein: 36g | Fat: 39g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 192mg | Sodium: 486mg | Potassium: 907mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 16313IU | Vitamin C: 69mg | Calcium: 73mg | Iron: 3mg
Sarah Bellamy says
Recently made this and it was stunning, all my family really enjoyed it even my 18 month. Will definitely be making this again.
Amy says
Thanks Sarah. 🙂
HanK says
So easy and the whole family loved it including my Mum. Will definitely make this a regular tea.
Amy says
Thank you, I'm so happy you all enjoyed it 🙂
A Humphries says
Very tasty. I lightly fried the chicken and chorizo for a deeper flavour and to reduce cooking time, before putting the tray bake in the oven and added a tin of diced tomatoes, crushed garlic and a drizzle of honey for last 15-20mins.
Amy says
Sounds perfect 🙂
Charlie A says
This was delicious, and so easy to make. A hit with the whole family - my 2 year old particularly enjoyed the chicken. I did a mixture of thighs and drumsticks and they all turned out perfectly.
Amy says
Fantastic, thanks Charlie 🙂
Irina says
Absolutely loved this recipe, thank you so much! I went for single tray / no-skin-chicken option, it was delicious!
Amy says
Fab! So glad you liked it, it is a favourite in our house 🙂
Vanessa says
We loved this recipe, fed our family of 4 and the chicken was a big hit with the kids. It's so easy I can see how the vegetables can easily be swapped around in future for a bit of change.
Amy says
Thanks, Vanessa! Yes! I make a version of this each week with diff veggies (depending on what I have) and spices.
Kacey says
This recipe is fabulous. I fed myself, my four kids and husband with it. So good because when you’ve got four kids life is super busy! But traybakes like this make my life so much easier.
Amy says
Thanks Kacey! Glad it stretched to your 4 kids. I can only imagine how busy life must be!