This Lemon & Garlic Chicken Tray Bake is a quick & easy midweek meal cooked in just one pan! The juicy and tender chicken thighs are full of flavour and this recipe is perfect for the whole family. Naturally gluten and dairy free!
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When you are short on time this lemon and garlic chicken traybake is ideal. This dish is made by roasting chicken pieces with lemon, garlic, and seasonings, creating a burst of citrusy flavours that perfectly complement the tender and juicy chicken.
If you are looking for more family dinner ideas, why not check out my dairy free lamb and sweet potato hotpot or easy kids chicken noodle stir fry with broccoli.
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❤️ Why You Will Love This Recipe….
- Only 10 minutes hands on prep time.
- It’s all cooked in one pan, so minimal washing up!
- Jam packed full of flavour.
- Naturally gluten and dairy free.
- It’s the perfect dish for a busy weeknight family meal.
- It’s really simple to make and uses everyday ingredients that you probably have in your cupboard and fridge already!
🥘 Ingredients Notes
- 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 thighs or boneless chicken breasts instead. ( Breasts also work well in curries like this boneless chicken curry with peppers) Drumsticks will also work well. If using breasts or skinless, boneless 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 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 flavor and a tender, slightly crunchy texture.
- 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, (make sure you use fresh lemon juice), thyme (dried or fresh), chicken stock, ( I use Knorr Chicken stockpots as they are gluten & dairy free) and crushed garlic.
✋ Be sure to double check all packaging for allergens. ✋
✏️ How To Make Lemon & Garlic Chicken Tray Bake
⬇️ 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 ⬇️
Chop the carrots into batons, slice the onion into small wedges and chop any bigger potatoes in half so they are all roughly the same size.
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, then drizzle with olive oil.
Place the chicken thighs on top of the vegetables, skin side up and season with salt and pepper. (Omit the salt if cooking for young children.)
Put the chicken and veg into a pre-heated oven for 25 minutes.
Whilst the chicken is cooking, its time to make up the marinade!
Make up the stock and mix together with the lemon juice, crushed garlic (skin off!), honey and thyme.
Once the chicken has been cooking for 25 minutes, remove from the oven, pour over the marinade and then roast for another 20 minutes until the potatoes are crispy and the chicken is cooked through.
Don’t forget to spoon the flavoursome juices from the pan onto the chicken when serving.
💡 Tips & Tricks
- Remember to remove the skin of the garlic cloves before eating. The squished, roasted garlic is deliciously sweet, so pop one on your plate!
- Pre-heat the oven beforehand so the oven is hot when the tray bake goes in.
- If using fresh thyme, you will need to use three times the amount of fresh herbs as you would dried.
- To ensure the chicken is cooked perfectly, use a meat thermometer to check the temperature. The chicken should be at least 165°F.
⚡ Substitutions & Variations
- Vegetables - The potatoes can be substituted for sweet potato or butternut squash. You can also swap the carrots for courgettes, red peppers & cherry tomatoes for a Mediterranean twist!
- Protein - Lamb chops work amazingly well, substitute the thyme for rosemary and decrease the cooking time to 25-30 minutes.
🥡 How To Store Leftovers / Re-heating
You can store the lemon chicken tray bake in the fridge in an airtight container for 2 days.
For best results, re-heat in the oven at 200°C for 20-25 minutes until the chicken is cooked through. (Check with a meat thermometer.) Note that you can only re-heat this dish once.
You can reheat in the microwave, but you will lose some of the crispiness from the chicken and potatoes so its best to use the oven.
This dish is best eaten straight away, however if you need to you can freeze it. Portion into freezer bags, it can then be kept in the freezer for up to 3 months.
When you are ready to eat, defrost in the fridge overnight and re-heat as above.
🍴 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.
💬 FAQ
The key is to cook it for a longer time but at a lower temperature. Also basting the chicken regularly with its juices, helps to keep the chicken moist and juicy. Always use a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature of the chicken. As soon as it reaches 165˚F / 75˚C it’s done.
If you loved this recipe, please leave me a 5🌟 rating or comment below. I really do appreciate it. 😊
✔️ More Easy Dinner Recipes...
📖 Recipe
Lemon and Garlic Chicken Tray Bake
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 chicken thighs skin on
- 500 g baby potatoes
- 4 large carrots cut into batons
- 1 medium red onion sliced into thin wedges
- 3 garlic cloves skin on
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
Marinade
- 1 lemon juice of
- 3 garlic cloves crushed
- 1 tablespoon honey (if children are over 1 year)
- 100 ml chicken stock check allergen ingredients
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200°C.
- Chop the carrots into batons, slice the onion into small wedges and chop any bigger potatoes in half so they are all roughly the same size.
- Crush 3 garlic cloves with a knife, leaving the skins on and place the carrots, potatoes, onions and garlic in a roasting tin then drizzle with olive oil.
- Place the chicken thighs on top of the vegetables, skin side up and season with salt and pepper. (Omit the salt if cooking for young children.)
- Put the chicken and veg into the oven for 25 minutes.
- Whilst the chicken is cooking, make the marinade by making up the stock and mix together with the lemon juice, the remaining crushed garlic cloves, honey and thyme.
- Once the chicken has been cooking for 25 minutes, remove from the oven, pour over the marinade and then roast for another 20 minutes until the potatoes are crispy and the chicken is cooked through.
Notes
- Remember to remove the skin of the garlic cloves when removing from the oven. The squished, roasted garlic is deliciously sweet, so pop one on your plate!
- Pre-heat the oven beforehand so the oven is hot when the tray bake goes in.
- If using fresh thyme, you will need to use three times the amount as you would dried.
- To ensure the chicken is cooked perfectly, use a meat thermometer to check the temperature. The chicken should be at least 165°F.
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