Got 5 minutes for dinner? Make this incredible baked chicken recipe! Crispy oven roasted chicken thighs and drumsticks that makes its own gravy in the same baking pan.
It’s the chicken version of this Sausage Bake with Gravy, a long time reader favourite. Minutes to prep, zero maintenance to cook. 100% delish!
Gravy Baked chicken recipe – make its own gravy!
This is another one* of those super speedy recipes that came about at the end of a long cook day when I had to use up ingredients before the expiry date but had zero energy to expend. It’s a dump-and-bake recipe, but entirely made from scratch – no canned soup shortcuts around here!
Chicken is coated in a simple spice mix for flavour (plus it makes the chicken crispy!) then it’s baked IN a flour/beef stock liquid that magically thickens into a gravy by the time the chicken is cooked.
Just LOOK at the gravy perfection!! ↑↓↑↓
* Sausage Bake, and the Ultra Lazy Series (Chicken Broccoli Pasta Bake, Chicken Rice Bake and speedy Corn Chowder) being to more such examples! Handy for busy midweek cooking. 🙂
What you need
Here’s what you need for this baked chicken. Very few ingredients, right?? Hard to believe it’s going to make something so delicious… but I promise it does! It’s all in the cooking logic. Read on!
How to make this baked chicken dinner
And here’s how it’s made:
The key to this recipe is how the “self saucing gravy” is made. You simply whisk together flour with beef stock/broth, then pour it around the chicken. As it bakes in the oven, 3 things happen:
-
The chicken flesh under the liquid stays moist and absorbs the stock flavour = tasty chicken flesh even without marinating;
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The chicken leeches juices into the stock, adding even more flavour into what will end up as gravy; and
-
The flour in the broth makes it thicken into a gravy.
WARNING: When it comes out of the oven, you’ll be looking at a congealed mess in the pan instead of the silky gravy you see. Have faith! Just give it a good whisk and it comes together beautifully!
And here’s what you end up with – crispy chicken….
…. AND a gravy to douse everything on your plate!
And what did that take you to prepare? All of 5 minutes? If that!
Serve with anything your heart desires. Pictured at the top of the post with creamy mashed potato (possibly cauliflower – can’t remember if I was attempting low carb on that day) and a side of Rocket Salad with Balsamic Dressing.
And in the photo above, this crispy baked chicken is served with buttery Seasoned Rice (think Rice-a-roni, except homemade, excellent freezer standby) and steamed greens drizzled with the herb & garlic dressing from this Cucumber Salad.
But honestly? Chicken and gravy. It goes with anything (non Asian). You could even pull the meat off the bones, toss in the gravy then stuff it in bread rolls to make Chicken and Gravy Rolls. YES! – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
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Gravy Baked Chicken (thighs & drumsticks) - 5 min prep!
Ingredients
- 1.25 kg/ 3 lb bone in, skin on chicken thighs and/or drumsticks (all of one, or mix, Note 1)
- 2 tsp olive oil (or other oil)
Chicken seasoning:
- 1 tsp paprika powder
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp onion powder (or garlic powder)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
Gravy:
- 4 tbsp flour , plain/all purpose (Note 2 for GF)
- 1 1/2 cups beef stock/broth (yes, beef, not chicken! Note 3)
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200°C/390°F (180°C fan).
- Seasoning - mix in a small bowl.
- Season chicken - Place chicken in a 23 x 33cm / 9 x 13" baking pan. Drizzle with oil then rub all over Sprinkle & rub in the Seasoning, using most on the skin side.
- Arrange chicken skin side up in the pan.
- Gravy mixture - Whisk flour with about 1/2 cup of stock until lump free, then whisk in remaining stock and pepper (forgot in video!). Pour into the pan around the chicken.
- Bake uncovered for 50 minutes, or until chicken is crispy and golden.
- Whisk gravy - Remove chicken onto a plate, then give the gravy a good whisk to make it smooth. Adjust Gravy thickness if required - Note 4. Taste and add salt and pepper, if needed.
- Serve - Pour gravy into a jug. Serve alongside chicken!
Recipe Notes:
- Seasoned Rice (excellent freezer standby to serve with everything)
- steamed veg tossed with the Herb & Garlic dressing from this Cucumber Salad
- creamy mashed potato (or cauliflower for low carb)
- Rocket/Arugula salad with balsamic dressing (super speedy, no chop salad)
Nutrition Information:
Life of Dozer
It would be kind of cute that he stands there for ages with his head pushed through the dog door….except it’s winter here, and ice cold air is blasting into the house through that considerably large hole…😖
Johnna Garcia says
Thank you sooooo much!! After over a year of quarantine it’s hard to make a dinner with chicken tasty but this dish was Awesome! I paired it with white rice. Next time it’s mashed potatoes! Even my picky 8 year old asked for seconds!!
Joy A Vivadelli says
I’ve made this dish 3 times already at my husband’s request. It is a delicious way to make chicken thighs with gravy. Easy prep!
Susan says
I made this with beef bouillon cubes. It was delicious and it was actually as easy to make as advertised (which often isn’t the case with recipes grabbed from the internet)!
I used boneless skinless thighs because that was what I had, but the chicken still came out great and moist.
Anna says
Hi Susan,
I’m thinking of using boneless, skinless chicken thighs too. Did you still cook at the specified time?
Jacinta Murray says
Hi Anna I always only use skinless chicken thigh cutlets & skinless chicken drumsticks & it still turns out delicious & yes I cook it for 50 minutes to an hour. I have made it this way at least 30 times. Sorry just realised you asked about cooking time for thigh fillets not cutlets.
Jacinta Murray says
Hi Anna I always only use skinless chicken thigh cutlets & skinless chicken drumsticks & it still turns out delicious & yes I cook it for 50 minutes to an hour. I have made it this way at least 30 times
Pamela says
Made this recipe with chicken broth instead of beef and added an extra bullion cube.. so easy to make, came out so good and my family loved it! Great recipe!
Heather says
Delish, made this with roast veg for our Sunday night dinner.
Susie says
So easy to prepare and all my teenage boys loved it. I served it with mashed potatoes and broccoli. Tasted like I spent hours slaving over the stove to make that super tasty gravy! Another excellent recipe—thanks Nagi!
Bronwyn says
Made this last night and a winner with my 7 year old. He even asked for gravy! Definitely a winner! Thanks Nagi x
Jenny says
Another winner, thanks Nagi. My 5 yo announced “this food is magnificent!”. And then requested it for tomorrow night. Not a clean plate in sight
Nagi says
Wahoo! You’ve nailed it!! N x
Stacey says
This was SO fabulous. Could not believe how good this was, considering how simple it was to make. Minimum effort, maximum reward. My whole family loved it. Absolutely delicious!
kylie w says
made this tonight and absolutely loved it. super cheap and easy weeknight dinner
Fiona says
Geeze for a second I thought he’d gone all Sylvia Plath and stuck his head in an oven. No Dozer, don’t do it!
Nagi says
😂😂😂 He wouldn’t dare! – N x
Lakeya Chambers says
The skin on my chicken thighs wasn’t crispy. What did I do wrong?
Nagi says
Hi Lakeya, sorry you had issues here, does your oven run on the cooler side? You can just turn the heat up for the last 5 minutes to crisp up the skin. N x
Marianne says
I was looking for an easy and tasty chicken recipe to make for family tonight. I’m so glad I made this. It was perfect – incredibly easy and everyone loved it. I’m still amazed by how you make the gravy in the pan.
Christina W says
This was delicious and so easy to make!
Abi says
I hadn’t made this for a while and I forgotten how good it is. Crispy skin, tender chicken and delicious gravy. Clean plates all round.
Sue Gavin says
I’m a hopeless cook (who would have thought I wanted to be a Cooking Demonstrator when I first left school 40+ years ago) but everyone raved about this gravy baked chicken. The chicken was so nice, the gravy sensational and the mashed potato accompaniment went down a treat too! Thanks so much!
Kym Winner says
This was so good!! Served with plain rice and steamed vegetables. I did have some trouble with the gravy though…. I’m sure it’ll be better next time I make it!
Christie says
Do you think I could omit the flour and add risotto instead to soak up the broth and chicken juices or would that completely change the cooking time and concept of the recipe too much? Really keen to try this!!
Jennifer Mark says
This was amazing, will make it again soon. Thanks for the great recipe!
Lauren says
I cooked this tonight with boneless chicken thighs (because my fussy kids don’t like bones) and it turned out amazing. Another great recipe thanks Nagi!
Elizabeth says
Delicious! What I did in the beginning was brown the thighs and drumsticks in a combo of olive oil and Irish butter. It gave them a wonderful color. Then I added the chicken to the gravy. I scraped my pan that had the remaining juices from the browning into the gravy mixture. I serviced with Dutch broad egg noodles and homemade biscuits on the side. I would have added some nice asparagus or French green beans but my family turns there noses up at veggies, They are missing out but totally enjoyed this dish
Jennifer Mark says
I sneak cauliflower into mashed potatoes. I feigned that I forgot to plug the veggie steamer in tonight so there was no side of veg. Little did the boys know the cauli was in with mashed potatoes, roughly 50/50 proportion.
Roberta Merito says
So easy to make and so very delicious to eat. Another go to dish from #recipetineats.