This spicy and aromatic Harissa chicken tray bake is a simple yet impressive dinner that will become a new family classic. Crispy golden-skinned chicken smothered with spicy Harissa paste and roasted on top of seasonal vegetables.
This post first appeared on Sugar and Soul where I’m a contributor.
Clearly one pan wonders are my jam.This one pan lemon chicken, and this Harissa chicken tray bake may be one of the best I’ve made yet!
Clearly, one tray dinners are a life saver at this time of year. To be fair, they’re a lifesaver any time of year. But as we’re in the cold, dark months of winter, sheet pan dinners are especially welcome. You toss everything on one tray and pop it into the oven and you’re done. Perfect for any night of the week, but especially weeknights.
This Harissa chicken tray bake is exactly what you’re looking for this time of year. It’s truly the sunny warm taste of Morocco on a sheet pan. If you’ve never used Harissa before, it’s a spicy aromatic paste from North Africa, made from chili, spices and sometimes rose petals. <- My personal favourite is the rose Harissa versions of this paste, but if you can’t track down rose Harissa, then regular will work like a dream too.
I’ve chosen to butterfly the chicken for this Harissa chicken tray bake so that it cooks quickly. If you need a tutorial this video is great! But this dinner is just as delicious if you leave the chicken whole. To butterfly the chicken, simply use a sharp knife or kitchen shears and cut down either side of the backbone out of the chicken.
What you need to Make this Harissa Chicken:
- chicken
- Harissa paste
- lemons
- potatoes
- red onion
- bell peppers
- And of course a roasting pan perfect for this chicken dinner!
When I created this dinner, I did set out to make it simple and delicious, but the fact that it’s a 6-ingredient dinner is a super bonus. I figure that should mean about 10 minutes in the grocery store to get the ingredients for this dinner. And that is a winning one pan dinner recipe.
Harissa Chicken Tray Bake
Ingredients
- 1 chicken butterflied
- 2 teaspoons Harissa paste
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 lemon cut into slices
- 1 red onion cut into thin slices half moons
- 6 medium potatoes cut into small wedges
- 10 mini bell peppers cut in half
- To garnish optional: pomegranate arils, chopped cilantro
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350f.
- If you are butterflying the chicken, use a sharp knife or kitchen shears to cut down both sides of the backbone and remove.
- While the oven is preheating cut the vegetables and place on a large baking tray. Toss with the olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
- Place the butterflied chicken on top of the vegetables and rub with the Harissa paste. Season the chicken well.
- Place the lemon slices around the chicken.
- Bake in the preheated oven for about 35 minutes or until an internal temperature of 165 is reached and the juices run clear.
- Garnish with the pomegranate and cilantro.
Hi Debs! This is such a beautiful dish and sounds absolutely delectable! I love all of the bright colors of the dish, which is a nice contrast to the dreary winter skies during this time of year:)
Thanks Nita!
mm this looks so good!
http://www.henatayeb.blogspot.com
Thanks so much Hena!
Oooooooh come to momma! I’m alllll over this tasty looking recipe! I’ve never roasted my own chicken before and you best believe this is the recipe will be my first introduction! Pinning!
Thanks so much Christina! Once you roast a whole chicken you’ll never look back!
This looks delicious! I love the pictures! Can’t wait to try making this at home.
Thanks so much Billy! Let me know how it goes!
Hi! I made this last night for our dear friends. Not only did they take home left-overs, they took my copy of the recipe! The best part of this recipe is I had everything I needed, even the Harissa.Thank you so much for sharing wonderful recipes like this!