Here’s a fabulous chicken and potato dish that comes together quickly and is all baked in one pan! It’s a Portuguese flavoured chicken that’s roasted on a bed of garlicky lemon potatoes that soaks up all the glorious chicken drippings. Fast prep. Big flavours!
One-pan Portuguese Chicken and Potato Bake
Last year I shared a Nando’s Portuguese Chicken and Rice recipe that was such an unexpected hit, it was only a matter of time I did a potato version. And here it is – only took me a year!
The chicken is slathered in a Portuguese Peri Peri spice rub that only calls for pantry staples, then it’s roasted on a bed of sliced potatoes tossed in a good amount of garlic and lemon. The chicken bakes up beautifully golden and the potatoes soak up the chicken juices and end up tasting like Greek Lemon Potatoes!
I really hate to play favourites with food…..but I really think this might trump the chicken and rice version…..
Ingredients in Portuguese Chicken and Potato Bake
Here’s what you need to make this chicken and potato bake.
1. The CHICKEN, potato AND VEGETABLES
Chicken cut – The chicken I’ve used is bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs. The skin helps the spice paste caramelises beautifully in the oven, and chicken releases a good amount of juices that gets absorbed by the potatoes and makes the tasty sauce too.
Other suitable cuts – Drumsticks and Marylands (chicken leg quarters) are also ideal, quantities and adjusted bake times are in the recipe card. Boneless cuts – Breast and boneless thighs also work, but need less oven time and a quick blast under the grill/broiler to brown. Directions for these are in the recipe card too!
Potatoes – Use a waxy variety if you can, the washed potatoes sold in Australia are typically all-rounders that lean towards waxy, or red potatoes or baby potatoes (new potatoes). That supermarkets don’t usually specify the variety does my head in! But white washed = waxy and dirty = starchy is a good general rule of thumb.
Yukon Gold are ideal if you’re in the States. Waxy potatoes hold their shape better so they won’t break as easily when you scoop them up. But actually this recipe will work just fine with starchy potatoes too, the potatoes will just be a little more delicate.
Don’t use sweet potatoes though, they will turn into mush!
Red onion and capsicum – Bringing some vegetables into the dish, along with flavour. I especially love what capsicum brings into this dish! If you want to dial up the vegetables, you can reduce the amount of potato and add carrots instead.
2. THE FLAVOURS
The Portuguese Chicken is flavoured with a spice blend rather than the pureed type of Peri Peri marinade (like in this one). Quicker and pantry friendly, it’s a shameless copycat of the Nando’s Peri Peri dry rub and also the Portuguese seasoning from Herbie’s. 🙂. 🙂
Simple Portuguese seasoning for chicken (Nando’s copycat) – Pantry staples!
Herbs and spices – Paprika, garlic powder (substitute fresh garlic), dried oregano, coriander, brown sugar and cayenne pepper for touch of warmth (feel free to omit). The brown sugar is a bit of a secret ingredient here, makes the chicken caramelise beautifully!
Wet ingredients (to make a paste so it coats the chicken) – olive oil and lemon juice (substitute with white or red wine vinegar, or apple cider vinegar). I add the lemon juice to cut down on the oil, and also a bit of tang balances the flavours.
Lemon juice, dried oregano and garlic (lots!) – For flavouring the potato bake with a tasty garlicky lemony flavour. Greek Lemon Potato vibes! Plus, it gives the potatoes their own flavour rather than everything in the pan tasting the same.
Olive oil – I like to use extra virgin olive oil here, as it adds flavour. But it’s ok if you just use regular olive oil.
How to make One-pan Portuguese Chicken and Potato Bake
This recipe has a nice flow to it – chop the veg, pile into the pan, toss with seasonings. Then give it a head start in the oven while you prepare the Portuguese spice mix and coat the chicken. Once the chicken is in, there’s nothing to do except put out plates for dinner!
Potato bake first – Slice up the potatoes, capsicum and onion, and put them straight into a roasting pan. Squeeze over lemon juice, drizzle with olive oil, mince the garlic straight on using a garlic press, sprinkle with dried oregano, salt and pepper. Give it all a good toss with your hands.
25 minute head start – Then pop it in the oven to give it a head start. Because we’ve got a fair volume of potatoes here, they take longer to cook than the chicken.
Portuguese spice blend – Mix the Portuguese spice blend, olive oil and lemon juice in a large(ish) bowl. Then add the chicken and use tongs to turn and swipe, to coat all sides of the chicken with the bright red paste.
Top with chicken – Pop the chicken on top of the potatoes. I like to tuck the flappy skin under so the thighs are bundled up into a neat shape. This helps them cook more evenly, holds the juices in a bit more, plus it leaves more potato surface exposed so they can get a bit of colour on them.
Bake for 40 minutes or until the surface is beautifully caramelised, or if you have extra large or extra small ones, you might want to check the internal temperature – 76°C/161.6°F is what it should be (it will climb higher as it rests).
Note on baking time – I know 25 minutes plus 40 minutes sounds like an unusually long time for the potatoes to cook, but because of various factors (using quite a bit of potato, waxy potatoes take longer to cook than starchy ones and chicken is added partway through cooking), they really do take this long.
Dinner, ready! Pull the pan out of the oven, and serve! Chicken, potatoes and vegetables for everyone, with plenty of the tasty lemon sauce to spoon into bowls and mop up with bread!
Serve this with some regular bread or pita bread to dunk into the sauce, or just slurp it up like soup (it will surprise no one I did the latter).
And as I briefly mentioned in the ingredients section, if you’d like to add extra vegetables into this (ie. the non starchy kind) rather than making a separate side salad, you can swap out some of the potato with carrot. Otherwise, scatter over a punnet of cherry tomatoes for the last 15 minutes of baking, or when it comes out of the oven litter it with a handful of rocket lettuce (that’s arugula, for those of you in the States!). Double duty – garnish and salad in one! 🙂 – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
Hungry for more? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all of the latest updates.
One-Pan Portuguese Chicken and Potatoes
Ingredients
- 5 chicken thighs , bone-in, skin-on – about 1.2kg/2.4lb total weight (Note 1)
Portuguese Seasoning:
- 3 1/2 tsp paprika , sweet/regular or smoked
- 1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp coriander
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper , optional (for faint spiciness)
- 1 tbsp brown sugar (tightly packed)
- 3/4 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt (halve for table salt, +50% for flakes)
- 1 1/2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice , or white or red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar
Potato Vegetable Bake:
- 700g / 1.4lb medium waxy potatoes ("washed potatoes", red potatoes, US: Yukon) , skin-on, cut into 5 mm / 0.2" slices (Note 2)
- 1 large red onion , cut into wedges
- 1 large red capsicum / bell pepper , deseeded, cut into large 3.5cm / 1.5″ squares
- 6 garlic cloves , crushed using a garlic press
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt (halve for table salt, +50% for flakes)
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 2 1/2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tbsp lemon juice
Instructions
ABBREVIATED RECIPE:
- Toss Potato Vegetable Bake ingredients in a roasting pan. Bake 25 minutes at 200°C/390°F (180°C). Coat chicken in seasoning, place on potatoes. Bake 40 min. Serve!
FULL RECIPE:
- Preheat oven to 200°C/390°F (180°C fan-forced).
- Vegetable bake head start– Put all the Potato Vegetable Bake ingredients in a large pan. Toss well to coat, separating the potato slices. Bake for 25 minutes while you prepare the chicken.
- Portuguese Chicken – Mix the Portuguese Seasoning ingredients in a bowl. Add the chicken and turn to coat.
- Bake 2 – Place the chicken on top of the potatoes, tucking the excess skin under to form bundles. Bake for 40 minutes or until the chicken is golden and cooked through.
- Serve the chicken and vegetables with the tasty lemony garlic broth. Bread for mopping is encouraged!
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Life of Jaffle
Scenes from a Jaffle weekend. Still small enough to forcibly cuddle (just):
Mother and son (Yes, at 5 months old, son has outgrown mother):
Contemplated swimming:
Ready to work:
Not ready to leave:
Found a restaurant that recognises his importance:
Sat for a portrait that made him look like he’s never dug a hole in his life:
And took a moment to remember the legend that came before him. Here he is, on this day, 12 months ago:
I still miss you Dozer, every single day. The chaos that is Jaffle will never heal the hole in my heart that you left, but he’s brought smiles back into my life. I will love you forever – your mum. xx
We all liked this very much, even the picky teenagers and hubby 😀
I only got boneless, skinless thighs, so I added grill for the last few minutes and only baked the chicken for 30 minutes.
I can’t wait to try the version with rice!
Thanks, Nagi, for another great fuss-free recipe!
I’ve made this a few times now and it’s a family favorite. We prefer boned thighs with the skin on so I just buy thighs with the bone in and remove the bone my self. I cook the potatoes for 35 minutes, add the boned chicken and cook for a further 35 minutes and it’s perfect. Thanks Nagi!
Please could you advise if the recipe needs ground coriander or leaf? Many thanks.
It’s ground coriander. I double checked by watching the video before I made it the first time.
Just made this today. Those potatoes are SO good. And it’s so easy to make. I added zucchini when the chicken went in for some extra low-fuss vegetables. Delicious. It’ll be a regular. Loved all the Dozer updates over the years, and now look forward to Jaffle’s cheekiness.
I have been wanting to make this recipe for about a month, and I finally made it today.
OMG – this is sooooo fabulous!!!
The flavors all blended together perfectly.
As we were eating, my husband and I both kept saying, “this is SO yummy!”
And that’s saying a lot – because I live Portugal!
Unlike some recipes, the prep was very easy – the overn does most of the work.
This is definitely going to be in regular rotation, and on the menu for company!
Thank you, Nagi, for yet another Winner!!!
Brilliant. Easy to make. Go back for seconds
Smelling good, but as usual, I added more veggies (green beans with chicken). After listed cook time, chicken was cooked, but potatoes were not (seemed to be a decent amount of liquid). I removed chicken, covered potatoes and green beans with foil, and cooked for an additional 20 mins. Consistency became okay, but flavour a bit bland. I think next time, I may try covering potatoes with foil for initial cook time, and increasing flavouring.
Smelling good, but as usual, I added more veggies (green beans with chicken). Chicken is cooked, but potatoes are not (seems to be a decent amount of liquid). I have removed chicken, covered potatoes and green beans with foil, and shall see how we go. But I think next time, I may try covering potatoes with foil for initial cook time.
Sme
Loved it! Agree with Nagi’s notes that the potatoes matter. Mine could have done with another 20mins. Not sure if the 1/2 teaspoon of coriander was meant to be ground coriander but that’s what I used and it was delicious! Already can’t wait to make it again.
So much flavor and love the way the skin got crispy and such a lovely color!
So delicious! Great flavors and pretty easy. Thanks for this great recipe! I’m so happy you found Jaffle.
Very tasty!!
Yes I agree, its better than the Portugese chicken and rice.
This dish is sensational. The roasting pan I used was a little too large and after my husband had eaten his meal he said he would happy buy another roasting pan to fit! He absolutely loved it 12/10.
Please, Nagi, could you clarify the instructions for cooking the Portuguese chicken tray bake using skinless boneless thighs? Do you put the chicken in after cooking potato for 50 minutes and then switch to grill at 65 minutes? I wasn’t sure if thats what you meant the instructions so I’ve just followed instructions as per bone-in as have others but id love to have it confirmed one way or another. Thanks
Picking on this dish now at lunch time. YUM. I live in Pittsburg New Hampshire USA and I recieve your recipes at about 2 or 3 in the morning, Love It… I added parm. and mozzarella to the potatoes before I put the chicken on, because I like Cheese !! Thank You
Another delicious recipe! I made these with Queens, which are quite floury and therefore soaked up a lot of the juices. While the chicken was tasty, the spuds were absolutely delicious and the star of the show! Will definitely make again. Thanks Nagi!
Another lovely recipe, Nagi! Thank you to you and the team!
My tatties were not quite done at the end, so I removed and covered the chicken loosely, and popped the pan back in oven.
However, that resulted in the loss of the beautiful crispy chicken skin.
I think next time, I’ll try cooking the tatties longer up front, and see what result I get then.
I know it will all work out eventually! 😆
This was such an easy and delicious recipe to gather, prepare, and bake!
I may ‘up’ the seasonings – blend and paste – a wee bit for my tastes, but I love the flavour combination as it is!
“Cheers”, Nagi, to you, JB, and your adorable wee sweetheart, Jaffle! He is a delight! A handful, but a delight! 😆😂🤣
Sending Love and Hugs from
A Lass on the Canadian Prairies.
Made, as per recipe, for the first time last weekend, as part of a lunch menu for company.
Delicious, and so easy!
Will be making again, even without guests.
You know a recipe is good when you’re typing the review while eating it. Far out. What a winner of a recipe. Made it as per instructions, but had 4 drumsticks in addition to the thighs. Absolutely delicious. The potatoes are magic done this way. Kids loved it too! Even the fussy one. 10/10.