Fabulous crispy skinned roast chicken thighs and legs coated in a delicious Mexican style marinade together with roasted sweet potatoes, peppers and onions, this Mexican Chicken Traybake is so unbelievably simple to make but utterly delicious. Prepared in just 10 minutes and left to do its thing in the oven this easy one pan chicken recipe is ideal for busy evenings!
Some of the most popular recipes on my site are my chicken traybakes – and it’s easy to see why – they are quick and easy to prepare, virtually fool proof (most people can manage to chuck a few bits in a tray and put it in the oven!), utterly delicious (mmm roast chicken), budget friendly AND child friendly (no mean feat!) and of course they result in very little washing up!
Some good examples would be my Sticky Harissa Chicken Traybake, my Spanish Style Chicken Traybake and my Chicken Tikka Masala Traybake. And if you want to see the full range, head over to my traybakes section, where you will also find vegetarian traybakes, lamb traybakes, sausage traybakes and more!
However, despite being a huge Mexican food fan, I realised I had never blogged a Mexican Chicken Traybake – quite an oversight! Especially when you consider how well Mexican flavours work with roast chicken. One I felt needed to be rectified quicksmart and would almost certainly involve in lots of taste testing to get it ‘just right’ 😉
To create the delicious Mexican style marinade for the chicken, I adapted the marinade from my hugely popular Mexican Roasted Sweet Potato Cubes recipe. I then included sweet potatoes in the recipe (they work so well in chicken traybakes and with Mexican flavours), along with red onions and red and yellow peppers – all ingredients which taste so good roasted!
The dish is then finished with a good sprinkling of fresh coriander (cilantro) and is perfect served with guacamole, sour cream, salsa and all your other Mexican favourites.
The result tastes rather like a chicken fajita but in a really quick and easy format – and by including nutrient rich sweet potatoes rather than (often highly processed) tortillas, even healthier!
Personally, I feel this dish is ‘complete’ in itself, but if you are feeling extra hungry then you might like to add rice or tortillas. This Mexican Chicken Traybake is also delicious eaten cold the next day – perfect for taking to work and making your colleagues all envious 😉
One important note about the sweet potatoes – because they are cooked in with the chicken they don’t go crispy like they do when cooked on their own. Personally I don’t see this as a bad thing, as they are instead flavoured with the delicious flavours of the chicken juices instead, but if the crispiness is more important for you, I suggest you cook the sweet potatoes in a separate tray (and for less time as they will cook more quickly separated from the chicken) and serve separately as well to maintain their crispiness. Check out my Mexican Roasted Sweet Potato Cubes recipe for more details on timings etc.
Wine-wise, I think this dish goes brilliantly with a fresh zingy white, such as a Sauvignon Blanc. If you prefer red, try a Grenache/Garnacha or a soft fruity Merlot.
Mexican Chicken Traybake
Ingredients
Mexican Chicken Marinade
- 2 teaspoons cumin seeds
- 4 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon dried chilli flakes
- 3 cloves garlic crushed or grated
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Juice of 2 limes (plus extra limes for serving - optional)
- Salt and pepper to taste
Mexican Chicken Traybake
- 1 kg chicken thighs and / or legs (skin on, bone in)
- 1 large sweet potato (roughly 750g/1.5lb)
- 1 red (bell) pepper cut into large chunks
- 1 yellow (bell) pepper cut into large chunks
- 1 red onion cut into 8 wedges
- 2 tablespoons fresh coriander (cilantro) roughly chopped
- Guacamole / sour cream / salsa to serve (optional)
Instructions
- Place all the marinade ingredients in a large bowl and mix together. Add the chicken thighs and/or legs and turn to coat in the marinade. Leave to marinate for 10 minutes or up to 2 hours (longer if you have the time – see note).
- Meanwhile preheat the oven to 220C / 200C fan / gas mark 7 / 425F and prepare the vegetables.
- Place all the prepared vegetables (sweet potatoes, peppers, red onion) in a large roasting tray. Add the marinated chicken and any extra marinade from the bowl and mix everything together thoroughly to ensure all the ingredients are coated in the marinade.
- Roast in the oven for 45 minutes. (If you have the time, give everything a good stir and baste the chicken with the juices after the first 25 minutes and then continue to roast for the remaining 20 minutes.)
- Serve sprinkled with fresh coriander (cilantro) and with all your Mexican favourites such as guacamole, sour cream, salsa, extra limes etc.
Notes
Want more delicious chicken recipes? Find more here…
Love Mexican flavours? Find more Mexican Inspired Recipes here…
Pin Mexican Chicken Traybake for later
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Jhuls @ The Not So Creative Cook says
Hello, Eb! This is something I’d like to eat for dinner today. I’ve been eating a lot of sinful things for the past days & this is what I want now! 😀 Thanks for sharing! x
Eb Gargano says
So pleased you like it Jhuls! It really is one of those meals where it feels like it must be bad for you, but is actually chock full of goodness – the best kind in my opinion!! E x
Donna says
Eb, this looks amazing, I love all of the colour! #CookBlogShare
Eb Gargano says
Aw, thanks Donna – you know how much I love colourful food 😀 Eb x
Mandy says
Looks fab Eb, always love a good easy traybake recipe because my main aim in life is reducing washing up at the moment!
Eb Gargano says
Haha – you and me both. I’m always looking for ways to reduce washing up!! Traybakes are just perfect for that. Just one tray and a plate each and that’s it – yay! Eb x
Cat | Curly's Cooking says
I absolutely love Mexican flavours and thighs are my favourite part of chicken. This looks so tasty x
Eb Gargano says
Me too, and I quite agree – thighs are just awesome, especially with super crispy skin! My kids prefer legs though for some reason, so I like to do a mix of both to keep everyone happy. Eb x
Jessica Cantoni says
You do love your tray bakes but I can see why! Minimal washing and maximum flavours!! Thanks for linking up to my World Food linky! x
Eb Gargano says
That’s exactly it Jess! And that is what EPF is all about. Maximum flavour, minimum fuss! And traybakes achieve that so well!! Eb x
Corina Blum says
This sounds just so good! I love the flavours in this and would love it just as it is or all wrapped up in a tortilla wrap – I am getting so hungry this morning catching up on commenting! Thanks for sharing with #CookOnceEatTwice x
Eb Gargano says
Thanks Corina 🙂 Oh I know, that’s a bit of an occupational hazard, isn’t it – getting hungry while commenting – hahaha!! Eb x
Jacqui Bellefontaine says
This looks so good, Ive just printed out the recipe to make this. J gets back from Mexico today so thought he might start to miss the food so I shall make it later this week.
Eb Gargano says
Thanks Jacqui – hope he likes it!! Might have to add a bit of extra chilli if he’s got used to Mexican food!! Let me know how it goes 🙂 Eb x
Jo Allison / Jo's Kitchen Larder says
Another fabulous traybake Eb! Mexican flavours are delicious plus I do love the colours on this one, so so pretty and we do eat with our eyes 🙂 You can’t beat traybake for speed and how effortless they are either so huge thumbs up from me! 🙂 x
Eb Gargano says
Aw, thanks Jo! Oh I so agree that we eat with our eyes – I once read about a restaurant where you eat in total darkness…I would hate that! Eb x
Michelle Frank | Flipped-Out Food says
Ooohh, I just love roasting the potatoes in with the chicken so they absorb those gorgeous juices. This is such a beautiful dish—I can’t believe it’s done in such short order! Have a wonderful weekend, Eb! #cookblogshare
Eb Gargano says
Thanks Michelle! Yes me too – all those lovely chicken juices flavouring the potatoes – YUM!! And yes it really can be done that quickly and easily – would you expect anything less of me? 😉 Eb x
emma amoscato says
Yum, yum, yum. Please can you just move in with me and cook me all my meals?!
Eb Gargano says
Hahaha – thanks Emma 😀 Sure – just find me an extra 24 hours per day and I’m there!! 😉 Eb x
Monika Dabrowski says
Sounds really nice with not just the chicken but also the veggies coated in the marinade!
Eb Gargano says
Thanks Monika – it really is – the marinade compliments all those flavours so beautifully 🙂 Eb x
Sheeba says
Looks absolutely delicious! And quite an easy one too!!
Eb Gargano says
Thanks Sheeba! So pleased you like the recipe 🙂 It really is delicious AND easy – that’s what I’m all about 😀 Eb x
Mel says
I make something similar, with chorizo and without the marinade. I love the idea of marinating the chicken beforehand to give it some oomph! It looks absolutely delicious! Thanks for joining in with #FreeFromFridays.
Eb Gargano says
Thanks Mel! 🙂 Ooooh I love the idea of adding chorizo into the mix – going to have to try that! Eb x
Vicki Montague says
I really really love all your recipes and recommend you left right and centre. You are so clever and I’m defo going to make this!
Eb Gargano says
Aw, thanks so much Vicki – that’s so lovely – especially coming from you!! Hope you like this one 😀 Eb x
Kate - gluten free alchemist says
Delicious! What’s not to love about an Easy Peasy Foodie tray bake? Can I move in?? x
Eb Gargano says
Hahaha – thanks sweetie. Sadly there’s not enough room for everyone who wants to move in with me to move in!! Wish there was though…imagine how much fun we would all have!! Eb x
Diana Esteban says
Hello, love Mexican food and will marinate tonite . ? will it change the recipe if I use ground cumin…
Eb Gargano says
Hi Diana – so pleased you like the recipe! It’s fine to use ground cumin. My recipes are usually pretty flexible. Hope you enjoyed it. Eb 🙂
Jo says
So i’m planning on cooking this tomorrow night for a group of friends, but I realise I’ve bought thigh pieces without bones…. should I adjust the cooking time to compensate?
help!
Eb Gargano says
Hi Jo – I wouldn’t worry about it. Just cook for the same time as in the recipe and it should turn out fine. Eb 🙂