Jamie Oliver’s Tuscan chicken is crispy-skinned chicken thighs roasted over a bed of cannellini and butter beans with leeks and garlic, finished with crème fraîche and served alongside wilted Tuscan greens. It takes about an hour, serves 4 and is naturally gluten-free.
Oliver doesn’t publish a specific Tuscan chicken recipe in his books or on his website, so this is our adaptation of his Tuscan-style Roast Pork Loin and Beans from Jamie’s Friday Night Feast Cookbook. His salmoriglio marinade, his bean-and-leek base and his method of roasting meat directly over braising beans all transfer to chicken thighs without changing the technique. Every element here traces back to his published recipe.
The salmoriglio is the heart of Oliver’s Tuscan approach. He bashes fresh marjoram leaves in a pestle and mortar with sea salt, then muddles in olive oil and red wine vinegar to make a rough herby paste. In the original recipe it goes over pork, but that same sharp, herby marinade works just as well rubbed into chicken skin before roasting. It’s a classic Sicilian technique that Oliver uses across his Italian cooking.
Jamie Oliver Tuscan Chicken
Course: DinnerCuisine: BritishDifficulty: Easy4
servings15
minutes45
minutes580
kcal1
hourAdapted from Oliver’s Tuscan-style Roast Pork Loin and Beans (Jamie’s Friday Night Feast Cookbook). The beans braise underneath the chicken while it roasts, absorbing the juices that drip down from the thighs as the skin crisps. One tin, one marinade, one tray.
Ingredients
- For the salmoriglio marinade (from Oliver’s original):
1 small bunch of fresh marjoram (15g), or use oregano
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
Sea salt
- For the chicken and beans:
8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
1 large leek, white part only, chopped into 2cm pieces
3 cloves of garlic, unpeeled and lightly crushed
1 × 400g tin of cannellini beans, drained
1 × 400g tin of butter beans, drained
1 heaped tbsp crème fraîche
Olive oil
- For the greens (from Oliver’s original):
200g cavolo nero or Savoy cabbage, roughly chopped
100g baby spinach
Extra virgin olive oil
Red wine vinegar
Directions
- Preheat: Set the oven to 220°C/200°C fan/Gas 7 (425°F).
- Make the salmoriglio: Pick the marjoram leaves into a pestle and mortar. Bash to a rough paste with a good pinch of sea salt, then muddle in the olive oil and red wine vinegar.
- Prepare the base: Slice the green tops off the leek and keep for stock. Wash the white part and chop into 2cm pieces. Scatter the leek and crushed garlic cloves into a snug-fitting roasting tin or ovenproof dish. Tip in the drained cannellini and butter beans and toss together with a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper.
- Season the chicken: Rub the salmoriglio all over the chicken thighs, getting it under the skin where you can. Lay the thighs skin-side up on top of the beans, pressing them down gently so the beans sit snugly around the meat.
- Roast: Place in the oven for 40 to 45 minutes until the chicken skin is golden and crispy and the juices run clear when you pierce the thickest part of a thigh. The beans underneath will have absorbed the chicken juices and the leeks will be soft and sweet.
- Finish the beans: Stir a heaped tablespoon of crème fraîche through the beans around the chicken. Give everything a gentle mix, being careful not to disturb the crispy skin.
- Cook the greens: While the chicken rests for 5 minutes, wilt the cavolo nero or cabbage in a hot pan with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the spinach in the last minute. Dress with a splash of red wine vinegar. Serve alongside the chicken and beans.
FAQs
What is Oliver’s original Tuscan recipe and how is this chicken version different?
Oliver’s Tuscan-style Roast Pork Loin and Beans from Jamie’s Friday Night Feast Cookbook uses a 2kg bone-out pork loin roasted over a bed of butter beans, cannellini beans and chickpeas with leeks and garlic. It serves 16, takes over 2 hours and starts at a very high 240°C before dropping. The salmoriglio marinade, the bean base and the Tuscan greens are all his.
This chicken version scales it down to a weeknight dinner for 4. Chicken thighs replace the pork loin, the cook time drops from 2 hours to 45 minutes, and the bean base is simplified to two tins instead of three jars. The salmoriglio and the crème fraîche finish are used exactly as Oliver describes them, so the Tuscan flavour profile stays the same.
What is salmoriglio and why does Oliver use it?
Salmoriglio is a Sicilian herb sauce made by pounding fresh herbs with salt, then loosening them with olive oil and an acid like lemon juice or vinegar. Oliver’s version uses marjoram, olive oil and red wine vinegar bashed in a pestle and mortar. He uses it as both a marinade before cooking and a finishing sauce spooned over the meat at the table.
The pounding releases the oils from the marjoram leaves, which is why it has a stronger herby flavour than just chopping and mixing. If you don’t have marjoram, fresh oregano is the closest substitute since they’re from the same plant family. Dried oregano won’t give the same brightness because the volatile oils are gone.
Can I use chicken breasts instead of thighs for this Tuscan chicken?
Thighs work better here because they stay juicy during the 45-minute roast and their fat renders down into the beans, adding flavour to the whole dish. Breasts would dry out over that time, especially bone-in ones, and they don’t have enough fat to baste the beans as they cook.
If you prefer breast meat, reduce the oven time to 25 to 30 minutes and check the internal temperature reaches 74°C. You’ll miss the crispy skin element and the beans won’t absorb as much flavour from the meat, but the salmoriglio and crème fraîche carry enough taste to compensate.
How do I make this a creamy Tuscan chicken?
Oliver uses just one heaped tablespoon of crème fraîche stirred through the beans at the end, which gives a subtle creaminess without turning this into a cream sauce. If you want it richer, add 3 to 4 tablespoons of crème fraîche or double cream to the beans in the last 10 minutes of cooking so it reduces and thickens in the oven.
For a properly creamy version, stir 100ml of double cream and a handful of grated Parmesan into the beans after the chicken comes out, then return to the oven for 5 minutes. That pushes it closer to the sun-dried tomato and cream Tuscan chicken you’ll find on other sites, though Oliver’s original is lighter and more Italian in style.
What greens does Oliver serve with his Tuscan recipes?
In his Friday Night Feast Cookbook version, Oliver uses four types of greens: 250g cavolo nero, 250g rainbow chard, half a Savoy cabbage and 250g baby spinach. He wilts them and dresses them with extra virgin olive oil and red wine vinegar, which cuts through the richness of the beans and meat.
You don’t need all four. Cavolo nero and spinach together give you the best contrast — the cavolo nero is sturdy and slightly bitter, while the spinach wilts to almost nothing and adds a milder, sweeter note. If you can only find one, go with cavolo nero since it holds up better on the plate.
Can I make this Tuscan chicken recipe ahead?
The salmoriglio marinade keeps in a sealed jar in the fridge for up to 3 days, and rubbing it into the chicken the night before gives the flavour more time to penetrate the meat. Assemble the bean base in the roasting tin, lay the marinated chicken on top, cover with cling film and refrigerate for up to 12 hours before roasting.
Cook the greens fresh though, because they go limp if they sit. The cooked dish reheats well the next day — cover with foil and warm at 160°C for 15 minutes. The beans soak up even more flavour overnight, so leftovers are genuinely better than the first serving.
