Spanish Chicken Tray Bake

This Spanish chicken tray bake is loaded with juicy chicken, smoky chorizo and golden potatoes for an easy one-pan dinner that seriously delivers on flavour.

I’ve been making this recipe for more years than I care to admit (over 8!). In that time, I’ve learnt there are a few simple techniques that make all the difference between a ‘good’ tray bake and a really special one. Follow me…

Ingredient Notes

The recipe doesn’t require any fancy ingredients, but the finished dish tastes like so much more went into it than actually did. The full quantities are down in the recipe card, but I just wanted to touch on a few of them quickly:

• Bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs are the star of the show – they stay beautifully juicy as they roast, while the skin gets nice and golden on top. Boneless thighs will work, but you lose a bit of the magic from the skin.
• Cured chorizo flavours the entire dish – as it roasts, it releases all that smoky, paprika oil, which then works its way into the potatoes and veg. Mild or spicy, both work brilliantly.
• The marinade does a lot of the heavy lifting – olive oil, lemon and the seasoning give the chicken loads of flavour before it even hits the oven.
• Orange zest is chef’s kiss at the end – it might sound slightly rogue, but it lifts all that smoky chorizo and paprika beautifully without making the whole thing taste orangey.

Spanish Chicken Marinade

The marinade itself is really simple, but it sets up so much of the flavour in the tray. Smoked paprika brings the warmth and smokiness, oregano gives it that herby backbone and a little cayenne adds some heat. The lemon adds a little freshness to cut through the richer chicken and chorizo. The olive oil also helps everything cling nicely to the chicken.

I typically marinate the chicken overnight, but even a couple of hours will help. If you’re pushed for time, you can just rest it at room temp as you prep the other ingredients.

How to make a Chicken Tray Bake

The tray goes into the oven in two stages. I know it’s tempting to just throw everything in and leave it alone, but that little halfway pit stop makes a huge difference to both the texture and flavour. Here’s why:

1. I find that by putting the tomatoes in at the beginning, they release too much moisture and everything begins to steam instead of caramelize. Also, I like olives a little cooked, not completely wrinkled. So both of these go in half way through.
2. You want crispy potatoes on BOTH sides, so flipping halfway is always a good idea!
3. The bottom of the tray will contain heaps of flavour; chuck that flavour right back onto the chicken for maximum flavour! The skin will still go crispy after the second stint in the oven.

Tips for success

• Cook the chicken skin side up and leave it skin side up. The skin is the most delicious part in my opinion, and nobody wants soggy chicken skin!
• Texture-wise, you want to keep the potatoes exposed to give them the best chance of getting crispy. On the other hand, you want to hide the chorizo as much as possible, just to keep it from drying out.
• By the end, there’ll be a gorgeous mixture of chicken juices, chorizo oil and all sorts of flavour sitting in the bottom of the tray. Please, for heaven’s sake, don’t throw it away.

Serving Suggestions

Serving-wise, I normally go with a decent loaf of bread and a ton of butter, because clearly the potatoes just aren’t enough for me. A simple green salad also works really nicely if you want something fresh alongside all that smoky richness.

You can absolutely serve it with rice too, although honestly there’s enough going on in the tray that it’s perfectly happy just as it is.

Alrighty, let’s tuck into the full recipe for this Spanish chicken tray bake shall we?

How to make a Spanish Chicken Tray Bake (Full Recipe & Video)

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If you like this sound of this tray bake be sure to check out my One Pot Spanish Chicken Orzo!

For more similar recipes be sure to give these a ganders too:

Easy One Pan Dinners

• Roasted Chicken Leg Quarters
• Honey Mustard Sausage Tray Bake
• Herb Roasted Spatchcock Chicken
• One Pan Creamy Chicken and Chorizo

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