One Pan Roast Chicken
Dinner | British
This gives you everything you want from a roast dinner (crispy chicken skin, roast potatoes, caramelised vegetables and gravy) without juggling multiple trays and pans. I use chicken thighs instead of a whole bird because they cook faster, stay juicy and render more fat, which goes straight into the vegetables underneath.
The trick is the layering. Potatoes and carrots go in first so they sit against the hot cast iron, then the onion, garlic and Brussels sprouts, with the chicken thighs on top. Once it’s out of the oven, the roasted garlic and pan juices become the base of the gravy, made in the same pan.
Ingredients
- 6 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
- 500g baby potatoes
- 2 carrots
- 1 red onion
- 1 garlic bulb
- 12 Brussels sprouts
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- ½ tbsp Old Bay seasoning
- 300mL chicken stock
- 1 tbsp cornflour
- salt and pepper to taste
Directions
PREP
- Preheat the oven to 190°C (375°F) fan bake or 210°C (400°F) without a fan.
- Slice the potatoes into quarters. Slice the carrots into 2cm thick pieces.
- Remove the root from the onion, then peel and slice into eight pieces keeping the core attached.
- Remove just the root and very top from the head of garlic. Remove the bottom of the Brussels sprouts, then slice in half.
- Mix ½ tbsp of salt, 5 cracks black pepper and the Old Bay spice. Season just the underside of the chicken with half of this spice mix.
COOK
- To a large cast iron or heavy based frying pan, add the olive oil and preheat on high.
- Layer the vegetables in the pan as follows. Place the potatoes and carrots in the preheated pan and toss through the oil to coat. Season well with salt and pepper and stir to combine.
- Place the sliced onion and garlic bulb on top of the potatoes and carrots. Add a small drizzle of olive oil, over just the garlic. Scatter the Brussels sprouts on top.
- Place the chicken thighs skin side up, on the vegetables. Season the skin side of the thighs with the remainder of the spice mix.
- Transfer the cast iron pan to the oven for 40-45 minutes, checking after 35 minutes. The dish is ready when the chicken thighs reach an internal temperature of 70°C and the vegetables are soft all the way through.
- Pull the pan from the oven and let the chicken rest for 10 minutes.
- Divide the chicken and vegetables (except the garlic) between four plates.
- Squish the garlic cloves out of the bulb and add to the roasting juices in the pan, discard the garlic skin. Turn the heat back to high and add in ¾ of the chicken stock. Bring up to a simmer. Meanwhile, mix the cornflour with 2 tbsp of cold water. Pour half of the cornflour mixture into the pan and stir to combine. Adjust the sauce with more cornflour or stock until you are happy with the consistency.
- Season the gravy with loads of freshly cracked black pepper and salt to taste and pour over the top.
Recipe notes
Chicken thighs
Use bone-in, skin-on thighs. The bone helps the meat cook evenly and stay juicy, and the skin is where all the rendered fat for the vegetables comes from. Lay them flat on the vegetables without overlapping so the skin renders evenly.
Old Bay seasoning
Old Bay is an American seasoning blend with celery salt, paprika and pepper. I mix it with salt and black pepper and season both sides of the chicken: half on the underside before it goes in the pan and half on the skin once it’s on the vegetables. It already contains salt, so taste the gravy before you season it.
Cornflour
Cornflour thickens the gravy without making it cloudy or heavy. Always mix it with cold water first to make a slurry, as adding it straight to hot liquid makes it clump. If you need the dish to be gluten free, check the label and buy cornflour made from corn (maize). Some cornflour sold in Australia is made from wheat.