An easy chicken and vegetable traybake

Published 11 November 2026

A traybake puts the whole meal in one roasting tin and leaves the oven to do the work. Chicken thighs stay juicy, the vegetables soak up the cooking juices, and there is just one tin to wash at the end.

Ingredients for four

8 chicken thighs, bone in and skin on
600 g small potatoes, halved
2 red onions, cut into wedges
2 peppers, cut into chunks
3 tablespoons oil
1 teaspoon dried mixed herbs or smoked paprika
Salt and pepper

Handling raw chicken

Keep raw chicken covered on the bottom shelf of the fridge, so its juices can't drip onto other food. Don't wash it before cooking, as splashing water spreads germs around the sink and worktop, and cooking kills them anyway. Use a separate board and knife for raw meat, or wash them in hot soapy water before using them for anything else, and wash your hands after touching the chicken.

Roasting it

Heat the oven to 200°C, or 180°C for a fan oven.
Put the potatoes, onions and peppers in a large roasting tin, toss them with two tablespoons of the oil and spread them out in one layer.
Sit the chicken thighs on top, skin side up, and rub them with the rest of the oil, the herbs or paprika, and some salt and pepper.
Roast for 45 to 50 minutes, turning the vegetables once halfway through, until the skin is crisp and golden.

While it roasts, we use the spare minutes for what we call the zasekugi tidy: the raw meat board and knife go straight into hot soapy water, the worktop gets a wipe, and the hand towel is swapped for a clean one.

Checking it is cooked

Chicken must be cooked all the way through. Cut into the thickest part of one thigh, close to the bone: the juices should run clear and there should be no pink meat. If you have a food thermometer, the thickest part should reach 75°C. If you are in any doubt, give it another ten minutes and check again.

Leftovers

Cool any leftover chicken and vegetables as quickly as you can, ideally within two hours, then cover them and put them in the fridge. Eat them within two days, either cold or reheated until piping hot in the middle. Cold chicken is good in sandwiches or tossed through a salad.