Roasted chicken and smashed potatoes traybake
Chicken and potatoes are undeniably a classic combo for a roast. What makes this recipe even better is the convenience of cooking whole potatoes without boiling them first. All done in one tray! I first posted this recipe on my social media and it was very popular with countless of remakes. Hence I thought I’d add it to the blog also for future reference.
Ingredients used
The ingredients are super simple and minimum! I used unpeeled baby potatoes (which are lightly smashed) for time efficiency but instead you can also cut large potatoes. Chicken drumsticks and thigh fillets are used for this traybake as they are meaty pieces that do not dry out easily. You may choose to use just one kind. I used a combination to accommodate for the pieces my family enjoys eating more. My kids are avid chicken drumstick eaters! The seasoning includes my favourite duo of oregano and sweet paprika.
Method used
To make this recipe a traybake only I cook the potatoes covered on their own first with some stock. I score them with a knife beforehand to allow the liquids to be absorbed easier. Once they cook on their own I use my potato masher to lightly smash them and pour extra virgin olive oil on them and salt liberally. Smashing will increase the surface area to help it crisp up as well as the extra virgin olive oil and salt. Lastly the marinated chicken is added with some garlic and if you have any fresh oregano on hand put that in the tray too.
Below is a quick Instagram reel i created when i made this dish, so you can visualise the process also.
For more poultry or meat, traditional and non, check out this link! And for more pasta options, click here.
Would love to hear your feedback below or on any of my social media pages – Facebook or Instagram .
- 6 chicken drumsticks
- 4 chicken thighs
- 1 kg white baby potatoes, washed and unpeeled
- 750 mL warm water
- 1 tsp salt
- extra virgin olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves, smashed whole
- salted butter, optional
- 1 ½ tbs dry oregano
- 1 tbs sweet paprika
- 2 tsp salt
-
Preheat the oven to 200°C. Marinate the chicken with the seasoning mix, cover and set aside so you may prepare the potatoes. You may choose to marinate the chicken overnight or even a few hours ahead and keep it in the fridge until you are ready to cook it.
-
Use a fork or a knife to score each of the potoes. Place them in a large baking dish (mine was round with a 38cm diameter). Pour the 750mL hot water in the baking dish and then cover the tray with aluminium foil. If your baking dish is smaller you may need less water. Place the tray on the middle rack for 50min.
-
Once the time is up, take the tray out of the oven and if there is a lot of water that hasn’t evaporated still tip some out. Use a masher to press down on each potato. They won’t be super soft yet but this will open them up and create extra surface areas for some crispy ends and to absorb the pan juices. Season each of the potato with the salt and drizzle them with extra virgin olive oil liberally. Arrange the marinated chicken and garlic around the potatoes. Place the tray back in the oven for 30min uncovered.
-
After that time flip the chicken over so that it can brown on the other side too and you may drizzle the pieces with some extra virgin olive oil to help with the browning. If there is a lot of liquid released at this point you can tip some out or reserve to add on top of your food later. Place a bit of butter on each potato for extra flavour if you like and then return the tray back in the oven for a further 15-20min until everything is cooked and gets some colour.
So easy to make and so delicious!
The winning duo when it comes to dinner prep 🙂 Thank you
Your whole website is amazing! I tried this and your gyros recipe and they were both a massive hit with my picky husband!! So easy as well. Thank you so much ☺️
Hi Steph, love reading such positive feedback! Thank you for taking the time to write your comment.
Loved this recipe so much! So easy to make. The whole family loved it. Even my fussy little man !
Thank you so much for your contiunuous support Stacy and for taking the time to recreate so many of my recipes!
My husband and I loved it so easy to make and was so yummy thank you so much for such a lovely recipe. Was perfect.
Thanks for making it Anastasia! It’s definitely a family favourite for us too 🙂
Cooked it another day and the family could not wait for the meal to cool down, so were done with the tray in no time. Lessons learnt, bake two trays at once 😉
There is only one minor modification to the recipe made is adding some black pepper.
That’s so great to hear that it was enjoyed that much by the family. Thank you for your comment!
The best greek traditional family meal.
Is so easy to make and so tasty and my partner who is from Philippines said that it reminds him the dish that my mum back in Greece make for us every time we visit them.
Makes me very happy to read this! Those Greek flavourings take me back each time too 🙂
Such an amazing dish full of flavour ! Comes together so easily to !
Yes it’s so easy to do! I love dishes cooking in the oven as i just set and forget 🙂