Tray bakes are absolutely fantastic! Forget about standing by a hot oven and dealing with multiple pans to clean up. With a tray bake, you can simply arrange your ingredients on a single tray and let the oven do all the work. And let me tell you, this Mediterranean Chicken Tray Bake has it all. It’s practically hands-free (which is always a win in my book), and you end up with juicy chicken, flavourful chickpeas, and cauliflower that’s cooked to perfection.
When I serve this dish, I love pairing it with a refreshing green salad. And if you have any extra veggies lying around, just throw them onto the tray. Thick slices of zucchini or capsicum work especially well! This meal is not only delicious but also incredibly versatile. It’s perfect for the whole family, whether you’re doing baby led weaning or spoon feeding purees. Who wants to spend time making multiple meals when you can just make this one and make everyone happy?
Mediterranean Chicken & Veg Tray Bake
- 1 butterflied chicken* (roughy 1.8kg)
Marinade
- 3/4 cup greek yoghurt (sub for coconut yoghurt for DF)
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp thyme
- 1 TBSP lemon juice
- 2 TBSP olive oil
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1 tsp salt
Tray Bake
- 6 cararots
- 1/2 cauliflower
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1 large brown onion
- 400 grams tinned chickpeas
- 1 TBSP olive oil (to coat vegetables)
- salt and pepper to season
3-4 hours before cooking, place the butterflied chicken on a baking tray. Mix up the marinate by adding the yoghurt to a bowl with the ground cumin, thyme, lemon juice, olive oil, finely grated garlic cloves and salt. Mix well to combine and coat the chicken generously. Cover the chicken with a lid or glad wrap and place into the fridge
Remove the chicken from the fridge one hour before cooking and preheat the oven to 170 degrees
Slice the carrots into quarters, beginning lengthways. Slice the cauliflower florets. Take out a large baking dish and place the carrot and cauflower within
Cut the onion into large slices and quarter the garlic cloves. Place them around the tray.
Strain the can of chickpeas and rinse well. Pour in the chickpeas and coat everything with the olive oil, salt and pepper.
Place the tray into the oven and cook the veggies for 10 minutes
Remove from the oven and place the chicken on top of the veggies. Gently scrape off any excess marinate and place the tray into the oven to cook for roughly 45 minutes until the chicken is cooked within.
Serving
Serve as a family meal for adults/older children with a rocket & parmesan salad
BLW option 1: serve a chicken drumstick with the tender vegetables and squished chickpeas.
BLW option 2: Remove the tender meat from the chicken bone and serve in strips with the roasted veggies – squishing the chickpeas before serving.
PUREE: blend the chicken, chickpeas and veggies with enough bone broth to thin.
Freezer Friendly for up to 3 months
Fridge friendly for 3 days
* You can ask your butcher to butterfly the chicken for you
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