Dinner Tonight: Savory One-Pan Roasted Spiced Chicken with Vegetables

Dinner planning can become kind of a pain after a while. Would you agree?

I don’t know about you, but I try to be as organized as possible when it comes to prepping for the week. I plan out my days, double check all my calendars for events, and then I sit down to plan out meals for the week.

As someone who cooks for a living, planning dinners can be a little tedious. But after complaining to my friends, I’ve found that it’s not just me who gets tired of putting together menus each week.

We all have busy lives, and sometimes, on the busiest days of our busy lives, we just want a recipe to fall back on for dinner.

A recipe that is flavorful and healthy. One that we can throw together in about 10 minutes and let cook in the oven, so we can take a moment to kick back and breathe before serving dinner to our loved ones.

I am here to tell you that this savory roasted spiced chicken with vegetables will be your new go-to dinner from now until forever.

Living in the age of supermarkets that have just about everything a person could want available at nearly all hours of the day, it’s so convenient to just pop in and pick up the ingredients for this meal. You can pick up a whole bird and break it down for this recipe, or you can just buy the chicken already broken down.

Note: You will end up with a couple of extra pieces if you buy a whole chicken. My recommendation is to make extra poultry seasoning and rub the extra pieces with it. Freeze until you are ready to use them, and you have spiced chicken ready to go for those nights when you just need to cook up a little bit of poultry quickly.

After you grab the chicken, all you have to do is pick up some seasonal vegetables. This particular version takes advantage of summer zucchini and yellow squash to go with the carrots and onions. However, as the weather turns toward fall and winter, you can easily sub out the zucchini and squash for Brussels sprouts, mushrooms, or seasonal root vegetables.

The key is to make sure you cut all of the vegetables an appropriate size, so that they cook evenly. Larger, more firm vegetables should be sliced a little smaller, and pieces of the same vegetable should be roughly the same size as each other.

The fresh flavors of the vegetables combined with the homemade poultry seasoning gives a burst of flavor to the meal, and you feel like you are really taking advantage of the season by using locally available vegetables. Better yet, you might even be able to toss in a few from your own garden!

(If you’re interested in growing your own squash, check out this handy guide from our sister site, Gardener’s Path.)

When it comes to the poultry seasoning, you probably already have all of the herbs and spices that you’ll need in your spice rack. It’s so easy to whip up for this recipe, and if you double the quantity, you can store the leftovers for later use. This poultry seasoning works for a variety of recipes, not just this one.

You will feel so satisfied when you take your first bite. The spice mix gives a nice crust to the chicken, and when the skin gets nice and crisp in the oven, it’s pure heaven. The chicken is juicy, the vegetables are cooked perfectly, and they get an extra burst of flavor from the juices seeping into them as they cook underneath.

To take it one step further, consider serving the roasted vegetables as part of a salad with an herbed balsamic vinaigrette.

What you have is a one-pan meal that you can serve up for family dinners, or even for a weeknight dinner party when you are trying to impress without driving yourself insane. Take a break, and make this delicious meal!

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Cooking By the Numbers…

Step 1 – Slice Vegetables and Measure Remaining Ingredients

Wash all of the produce well, and use your favorite vegetable peeler to peel the carrots.

Slice all of the vegetables into 1/2-inch-thick pieces. Note that you can use a variety of vegetables for this recipe, as long as they are cut into the same size and thickness.

Measure all of the remaining ingredients as listed.

Preheat oven to 400°F and place a rack in the middle.

Step 2 – Make Seasoning Mix

In a small bowl, stir together the garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, paprika, salt, mustard powder, and cayenne pepper until well combined.

Note: You can double this recipe and keep the leftovers in an airtight container in a cool, dry place for up to 6 months.

Step 3 – Prepare Vegetables

Toss the vegetables in olive oil in a large bowl to coat.

Place the vegetables in an even layer in a 2-quart baking dish. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of the spice mixture.

Step 4 – Prepare Chicken

Coat the chicken evenly with the remaining poultry seasoning. Place the chicken pieces skin side up on top of the vegetables.

Slowly pour the vegetable broth into the pan, making sure you do not pour it directly over the chicken pieces. You don’t want the spice mixture to wash off.

Step 5 – Bake

Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil, or a lid if your casserole dish came with one. Bake for 30 minutes.

Remove the aluminum foil and bake in the upper half of the oven for 25 minutes, until the chicken skin is browned and the poultry is cooked through.

A Recipe for Family Dinners and Making Memories

Some of my fondest memories come to mind when I think about family dinners.

I grew up with just my mom, but we always made a point to have a family dinner every Sunday. We would cook together and sit down to talk about our lives, and this tradition is one that I continue to carry out now.

There’s something about a roasted chicken dinner that brings people around the table and puts a smile on everyone’s face. Rich and savory poultry and seasonal vegetables echo a past when we would gather around the table without our cell phones and tablets.

A time when we would talk about our lives, and create precious memories.

That’s how I like to think of my meal, and I hope you all will join in the tradition of enjoying family meals together with no devices or other distractions at least one day a week. This dish makes it easy, so you aren’t flustered after slaving over the stove all day, and the satisfying flavors ensure that it will become a family favorite in no time.

Looking for more one-pot meals? The following are some of our favorites from the Foodal recipe archives that you might enjoy. Give them a try!

• Easy Skillet Pork Chops with Quinoa
• Chicken and Shrimp Lo Mein
• Sheet Pan Sausage and Vegetables
• Sheet Pan Roast Chicken with Tomatoes

What’s one of your favorite memories from family dinnertime? Tell us in the comments below, and be sure to rate the recipe once you’ve cooked it for yourself and your loved ones.

Photos by Meghan Yager, © Ask the Experts, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. See our TOS for more details. Originally published by Shanna Mallon on May 25, 2009. Last updated: October 25, 2020 at 21:37 pm. With additional writing and editing by Allison Sidhu.

Nutritional information derived from a database of known generic and branded foods and ingredients and was not compiled by a registered dietitian or submitted for lab testing. It should be viewed as an approximation.