One Pan Baked Chicken With Chickpeas
chicken, chickpeas, one pot meals, Middle Eastern
This one-pan Middle Eastern inspired and spiced chicken with chickpeas, olives and greens is easy to make, packed with flavour. It’s made with a lively spice rub of , seasoning, Aleppo pepper, thyme, coriander, and orange and lemon zest. Once drizzled very generously with olive oil, the chicken, citrus slices, and chickpeas roast together, getting crispy on the outside and nice and tender throughout. The olives add a nice briny flavour to the dish and the greens are just delicious as they get added to the pan at the end and cook in the delicious pan juices.
You guys know how much I love a flavourful roasted chicken dish and this is another tasty one to add to my list of favourites - mostly because there are olives and greens added to this one. When it comes to a delicious reliable sheet pan chicken dish - all you need to make it a complete meal is a simple side. My favorite go to is rice but any side will do. I love the pan juices created in this one pan chicken dish from the lemon juice and the orange juice - I’m really ok with just having this with some crusty bread to sop up those pan juices.
What’s in this tasty one pan baked chicken dish?
As I mentioned above this chicken dish has some lovely spices in it that might not be so common at your local grocery store. Two of those are likely za’atar and ground Aleppo pepper. Both of those are common in middle eastern dishes. Za’atar is a spice generally made of dried oregano, thyme, and/or marjoram with sumac and toasted sesame seeds. I love to use it on meats, roasted potatoes and also sprinkled over hummus. Aleppo is ground dried Halaby pepper. Generally I find it more smoky than hot but it’s a bit of both I guess. I have quite a tolerance for heat so please adjust amount in recipe according to taste. Many substitute this for smoked paprika with a pinch of cayenne or chili flakes. That being said this is a dish that is quite versatile in the sense that if you would like to switch up the flavour blends you can. You can use any blend you think will work well with citrus flavours - so basically anything! I have made this same recipe using lemon pepper seasoning in place of the spices in the recipe. All purpose seasoning, harissa seasoning and even herbs de Provence too. They all work deliciously and you can adjust amounts according to taste.
Another thing you can adjust is the cut of chicken. I’m a leg and thigh fan as you know - I’m trying to like chicken breast more but it’s a hard sell for me. You can use legs as written or you can use 8 pieces of thighs alone or a mix of thighs and drumsticks. I always prefer bone in skin on cause flavour is important to me but you can do boneless and skinless too. You can use breast as well in this recipe too. The only thing is the cooking time may change slightly according to the size and cut of meat so please keep that in mind when you are timing this dish whiles it’s in the oven. The chickpeas develop a bit of a crisp exterior and tender middle as the braise in the olive oil and the rest of the pan juices. The olives and greens are optional but I highly recommend adding them.
How to make baked chicken and chickpeas:
Most of the work is in putting together the spice rub - the rest is quick and easy. Here are the basic steps involved:
- Make the rub, spread over chicken and allow to marinate or soak up the flavours of the spices in the fridge for at least 20-30 min or up to 1-2 days.
- Once ready to roast the chicken - place chickpeas, shallots and lemon and orange slices into baking sheet or pan, toss them with olive oil, lemon and orange juice and season well with salt and pepper
- Place the chicken over them and bake or roast for 40-50 min or until chicken is cooked through.
- Once done remove chicken from pan onto plate - toss the olives and greens into pan and place chicken back in the pan and place back in the oven on broil for 1 minute until greens are wilted and chicken is deeply golden. Remove and enjoy!
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Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 chicken legs (about 2 pounds total or you could use thighs and drumsticks or breasts too)
- 1 tablespoon za’atar seasoning
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder or 1 clove grated fresh garlic
- 1 tablespoon Aleppo pepper (optional) *
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, chopped
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 orange
- 1 lemon
- 3 Tbsp oil plus ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
- 1 can (19 ounces) chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 3 small shallots, peeled and halved (quartered if large)
- 1 cup mixed olives, such as Niçoise, and Castelvetrano, pitted or left as is.
- 3 cups packed leafy greens, such as mustard, dandelion, or baby kale, or a combination
Directions
- Zest the lemon and orange. In a small bowl, combine lemon and orange zest with Aleppo pepper, za’atar, thyme, coriander, garlic and 2-3 tablespoons oil to make a paste-like rub
- Rub spice mixture all over chicken; let stand at least 30 minutes, or refrigerate, covered, up to 2 days.
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Slice orange and lemon in half then cut one half into very thin slices (reserving the other half to juice) and scatter on the bottom of a medium sized rimmed baking sheet or roasting pan, along with chickpeas and shallots* (see note about this). Squeeze juice of remaining orange and lemon half over chickpea mixture; toss with remaining ¼ cup olive oil. Season generously with salt and pepper.
- Place chicken in pan, skin-side up; drizzle with just a splash more of olive oil, approx 1 tablespoon. Roast until chicken is golden and very tender, and chickpeas and shallots are beginning to caramelize, approx 40-60 min (depending on the size of chicken legs) tossing the chickpeas in the pan juices half way.
- Remove pan from oven and transfer chicken to a plate. Stir olives and greens into pan, then return chicken. Switch oven to broil and cook until chicken is golden brown and greens are just wilted, about 1 minute more. Serve with crusty bread or I also like this dish with rice.
Recipe Notes
- Aleppo pepper may not be as common to find at your local grocery store. It can be substituted with a blend of smoked paprika and a pinch of cayenne - it’s more smoky than biting heat.
- Za’atar is a wonderful spice blend but you can use whatever blend you like with this recipe. For example I have used harissa seasoning with this recipe as well as lemon pepper and also herbs de Provence. All really good options if you don’t have za’atar.
- I roast this chicken with lemon and orange wedges, which prop up the chicken in the pan and also add a wonderful flavor to the pan juices. This is optional though. After roasting, the wedges develop a bitterness that isn’t for everyone, but if, like me, you appreciate that bitter note, go ahead and serve the lemons alongside the chicken as a garnish. The pith is what carries that bitter flavour. I think that thinner skinned lemons have less pith and therefore would be less bitter when cooked in slices. I find that the gnarly skinned lemons are great for zest but have a lot of pith but the sleek smooth lemons tend to be thinner skinned and with much less pith. You can just leave the slices out and just use the zest in the rub and juice in the pan if you want to avoid the possibility of any bitter citrus notes.
Adpated from Martha Stewart
