Mary Berry’s chicken traybake sits 8 marinated chicken thighs on cubed sweet potato, potato, cauliflower, onion, celery and smoked streaky bacon. The marinade is olive oil, garlic, thyme, lemon and half a red chilli. It roasts at 220°C/200°C fan/Gas 7 for 30 to 40 minutes.
Her headnote in Classic (2018) answers the question every traybake cook has. This one can be put in the oven and forgotten about, with no need to baste or turn, because the chicken bastes the vegetables and the juices give a thin but tasty sauce.
The vegetables are cut to match, and that’s the detail people skip. Sweet potato and potato go into 1.5cm cubes, and the cauliflower is broken into tiny florets similar in size to those cubes. Everything then finishes together.
Mary Berry Chicken Traybake
Course: DinnerCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy4
servings30
minutes25
minutes425
kcalFrom Classic (2018), the book of her BBC series. One tin, no basting, and a marinade that can go on a day ahead. She notes the cauliflower chars while the potatoes soften, which is the point of cutting them to the same size.
Ingredients
- 8 chicken thighs on the bone (about 150 g/5 oz each), skin on
- For the marinade:
2 tbsp olive oil
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 tsp chopped thyme leaves
juice and finely grated zest of ½ lemon
½ fresh red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
- For the vegetables:
400 g (14 oz) sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1.5 cm (⅝ in) cubes
200 g (7 oz) potatoes, peeled and cut into 1.5 cm (⅝ in) cubes
1 small cauliflower, cut into tiny florets (similar in size to the potato cubes)
1 onion, sliced
3 celery sticks, sliced
2 tbsp olive oil
4 bay leaves
6 rashers of smoked streaky bacon, cut into small pieces
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Directions
- Preheat:Preheat the oven to 220°C/200°C fan/Gas 7.
- Marinate:Place the marinade ingredients in a bowl or large freezer bag and mix to combine. Add the chicken thighs and coat in the mixture, then transfer to the fridge to marinate for a minimum of 30 minutes.
- Assemble:Put all the vegetables into a large shallow roasting tin, add the oil and season with salt and pepper. Toss together so the vegetables are coated in the oil. Arrange the marinated chicken thighs on top, skin side up, then scatter over the bay leaves and bacon pieces.
- Roast:Roast in the oven for 30-40 minutes until the chicken is tender and golden brown. Remove the bay leaves and serve immediately.
- Rest:Take care not to overcook. It’s best to rest the chicken thighs after they come out of the oven to keep them moist.
FAQs
Do I need to turn or baste it?
No, and that’s her explicit promise for this recipe. She says it can be put in the oven and forgotten about, because the chicken bastes the vegetables as it cooks and the juices give a thin but tasty sauce.
That only works because of how it’s assembled. The thighs sit skin side up on top of the vegetables rather than among them, so the fat renders down through everything below. Bury the chicken in the tin and you lose both the crisp skin and the basting.
Why cut the vegetables to the same size?
Because they finish together in one 30 to 40 minute window, and there’s no second chance to add anything late. Her cubes are 1.5cm, and she specifies the cauliflower florets should be tiny, similar in size to the potato cubes.
The payoff is in her headnote: the cauliflower becomes nicely charred while the potatoes soften. Those are two different results from one tin, and they only happen if nothing is oversized. She’s stricter about this than most of her recipes, which usually leave vegetable sizing to you.
My tin looks crowded. Does that matter?
It matters more than almost anything else here, and Berry is blunt about it in her other chicken traybake. Her Wise Words there say not to overcrowd the roasting tin, because everything needs to be in a single layer or it won’t cook evenly, and to divide between two tins if necessary.
That advice is written for the Mary Berry Cooks (2014) version, not this one, but the physics are identical. Crowded vegetables steam in their own moisture instead of roasting, so you get pale, soft cauliflower rather than charred. Use the largest shallow tin you own, or two.
Can I prepare it ahead?
Partly. Her note is that the chicken can be left to marinate in the fridge up to a day ahead, which is the only stage she sanctions doing early. The minimum is 30 minutes.
She gives no freezing instruction and no note about assembling the tin in advance. I’d cut the vegetables ahead if it helps, but keep the potatoes and sweet potatoes covered in cold water so they don’t discolour, then drain and dry them before oiling. That’s my workaround rather than her instruction.
How is this different from her other chicken traybake?
Different shopping list entirely. Her Mary Berry Cooks (2014) traybake uses six thighs and six drumsticks with potatoes, onion, garlic and bacon, plus five quartered preserved lemons and paprika. It roasts for 40 minutes, then courgettes and a 200g can of anchovy-stuffed green olives go in for a further 20.
That one is Mediterranean and needs a special trip for the lemons and olives. This one is built from things most people have, and it’s quicker. If you want the third route, her Normandy chicken is the same cut of chicken done as a slow braise with Calvados and cream instead.
What should I serve with it?
Nothing, really, and that’s the appeal. There are potatoes, sweet potatoes, cauliflower, onion and celery in the tin already, so it’s a complete plate. A green vegetable or a plain salad is as far as I’d go.
If you’re feeding more than the eight thighs will stretch to, add a side rather than scaling the tin, since crowding it defeats the recipe. Her roast potatoes or her dauphinoise both cook at temperatures close enough to share the oven, which is my suggestion rather than hers.
