Cajun Chicken Traybake

Fabulous crispy skinned roast chicken thighs coated in a delicious Cajun spice rub, together with chorizo, sweet potatoes, peppers and onions, this Cajun 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!

Course Main Course, Traybake

Cuisine American, Cajun, Fusion

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 40

Total Time 50

Servings people

Calories 657kcal

Author Eb Gargano

Ingredients

3 tablespoons olive oil
4 tablespoons Cajun Spice Mix/Rub (I recommend THIS ONE – See Note 1)
8 chicken thighs skin on, bone in (Or 12 chicken drumsticks – See Note 2)
Salt and pepper (to taste – See Note 1)
1 medium sweet potato roughly 450g/1lb, cut into 1½cm/½inch cubes (No need to peel!)
2 red (bell) peppers cut into large chunks
1 green (bell) pepper cut into large chunks
2 small red onions each one cut into 8 wedges
150 g chorizo cut into rounds of about ½cm/¼inch thickness
Fresh coriander or parsley for garnish (optional)

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 220C / 200C fan / gas mark 7 / 425F.
Place 1 tablespoon of the oil together with 2 tablespoons of the Cajun spice mix, plus salt and pepper to taste (see Note 1), in a large bowl. Mix together thoroughly, then add the chicken thighs and turn to coat in the mixture, until all the chicken thighs are evenly coated. (I find it easiest to do this with my hands!)
Place all the prepared vegetables (sweet potatoes, peppers, red onion) in a large roasting tray. Drizzle over the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil and sprinkle over the remaining 2 tablespoons of Cajun spice mix. Add salt and pepper if necessary (see Note 1), then mix together thoroughly, until all the vegetables are evenly coated. (Again, I find it easiest to do this with my hands!)
Rearrange the vegetables into a single layer (see Note 3). Then place the chicken thighs on top of the vegetables, skin-side up.
Roast in the oven for 25 minutes.
After 25 minutes, remove from the oven. Remove the chicken thighs to a plate and add the sliced chorizo to the vegetables. Stir the vegetables/chorizo, then spread the vegetables/chorizo back out into in a single layer. Put the chicken back on top and put the tray back into the oven.
Roast in the oven for a further 15-20 minutes, or until the vegetables are cooked to your liking.
Serve sprinkled with fresh coriander or parsley (optional).

Notes

Cajun spice mix/rubs vary enormously in their spice levels and salt content. The quantities are for one I recommend, and will give a mild to medium level of heat. If you don’t have a very high spice tolerance and/or you are using a Cajun spice mix/rub you have not tried before, I recommend you err on the side of caution the first time you make this! Additionally, check to see how much salt your spice mix/rub contains. The one I use contains a lot of salt, so I don’t add any additional salt, but if the one you use contains no salt, I recommend you add a little salt to both the chicken and the veggies.
You want roughly 1kg chicken thighs and/or drumsticks for this recipe. It doesn’t matter whether you use all thighs, all drumsticks or a mixture!
It is very important you use a roasting tray that is big enough for all the veggies to be arranged in a single layer. If your roasting tray is too small the veggies will steam rather than roast – which won’t taste anywhere near as nice! (If you don’t have a roasting tray big enough, use two smaller ones.)
Suitable for freezing.
Nutrition information is approximate and meant as a guideline only.

Nutrition