Lemon and Garlic Chicken Tray Bake

This Lemon & Garlic Chicken Tray Bake makes for a simple and fuss-free dinner solution during the week—all cooked up in just one pan! With succulent chicken thighs bursting with flavour, it's a crowd-pleaser that will satisfy the whole family. Plus, it's naturally gluten and dairy-free too!

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I love the simplicity of a tray bake—just one pan, minimal cleanup, and maximum flavour. That is just what you get with this lemon and garlic chicken traybake (and my sticky sausage traybake too!)

With this recipe, you'll spend less time in the kitchen preparing and clearing up and more time being able to enjoy every delicious bite with your loved ones.

I have tweaked the recipe slightly from when I originally published it and have updated the photos.

We are going to roast off the vegetables first, before adding the chicken thighs, letting it cook a bit longer, before adding the zesty marinade which creates a burst of citrusy flavours that perfectly complement the tender and juicy chicken.

I found that roasting the vegetables first on their own, before adding the chicken and marinade, allowed the vegetables to caramelise beautifully.

If you are looking for more family dinner ideas, why not check out this dairy free lamb and sweet potato hotpot or easy kids chicken noodle stir fry with broccoli too?

🥘 Ingredients You Will Need

Here is a brief overview of the ingredients you will need to make this chicken thigh traybake. To find out how to make it allergy-friendly, simply scroll down to the section below this one.

✋ Be sure to double check all packaging for allergens. ✋

• Chicken- Using skin-on chicken thighs leaves a delicious crispy skin and helps keep the chicken moist and juicy. If you are looking to save on calories you can use skinless & boneless thigh fillets or boneless chicken breasts instead. ( Breasts also work well in curries like this boneless chicken curry with peppers) Drumsticks will also work well. If you are using breasts or thigh fillets, you will need to reduce the cooking time by 5-10 minutes.
• Potatoes - I have used baby new potatoes as they are all more or less the same size, so they will cook evenly. You can use normal-sized potatoes and cut them into equal pieces too. I have left the skins on the potatoes for extra fibre, however you can peel them if this is your preference.
• Carrots - Roasted carrots have a sweet, slightly caramelized flavour and give a tender, slightly crunchy texture to the dish.
• Red onion - When roasted this turns deliciously sweet. White onion can be used too, but note this doesn’t turn as sweet when cooked.
• Garlic - This is roasted in its skin for extra sweetness.
• Marinade - Made up of honey, (do not add honey if this dish is for children under one year) lemon juice, (use fresh lemon juice for the best taste), thyme (dried or fresh), chicken stock, ( I use Knorr Chicken stockpots as they are gluten & dairy free) and crushed garlic.

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

🤔 How Can I Make This Dish Allergy Friendly?

This dish is great for anyone with multiple food allergies because as long as you check the ingredients and make sure your stock pot/cube is dairy/gluten/celery-free, then the dish is free from the top 14 allergens.

 I like to use the Knorr chicken stock pots, which you can buy in all major supermarkets or from Amazon, as they are free from the top 14 allergens.

Always double-check the packaging though, as ingredients can change.

✏️ How To Make - Step-By-Step Instructions

⬇️ Here you will find an overview of how to make the recipe. For full information on ingredients and quantities please see the recipe card at the bottom of the page ⬇️

Step 1: Chop the carrots diagonally into thick slices, slice the onion into small wedges (around 8) and chop any bigger potatoes in half so they are all roughly the same size.

Step 2: Crush half of the garlic cloves with a knife, leaving the skins on and place the carrots, potatoes, onions and garlic in a roasting tin.

Drizzle over the olive oil and stir, coating the vegetables with the oil.

Step 3: Roast in a preheated oven for 20 minutes.

Step 4: Remove the vegetables from the oven, giving them a good stir, then place the chicken thighs on top of the vegetables, skin side up and season with salt and pepper.

Step 5: Put back in the oven for a further 20 minutes.

Step 6: Whilst the chicken is cooking, it’s time to make up the marinade!

Make up the stock and mix with the lemon juice, crushed garlic (skin off!), honey, olive oil and thyme.

Step 7: Remove the chicken from the oven, pour the marinade around the side of the chicken, over the vegetables and roast for a final 20 minutes until the potatoes are crispy and the chicken is cooked through.

🍴 How To Serve

This lemon chicken tray bake is a full meal in itself, but to pack in some more vegetables, serve with some steamed broccoli, roasted green beans and carrots or a cauliflower cheese.

If in season, some grilled asparagus is delicious too!

Also don’t forget some crusty bread to mop up the delicious chicken juices. If you are gluten free Warburtons do a great gluten free tiger bloomer.