This Curried Chicken Tray Bake is a quick, throw-together meal that requires minimal fuss and attention. It’s ideal for busy evenings when you need to get a satisfying, flavourful dinner on the table fast.
This recipe is shared with kind permission from The Slimming Foodie in One cookbook.
When a fellow food blogger’s first cookbook rockets straight onto the Sunday Times bestseller list, you know there’s something special going on. When their second book follows suit less than a year later, it’s clear they’ve found a winning formula.
This is the story of Pip Payne, a talented recipe developer I met on a press trip to Wales. Her recipes are family-friendly, easy to follow and designed to be satisfying while staying under 600 calories per portion.
Todays tray-bake comes from her second book, The Slimming Foodie in One. It’s a dependable midweek dish — simple to prepare, colourful on the plate and full of warming curry flavour.
How to make Curried Chicken Tray Bake
This is one-pan cooking at its best. Use your largest baking tray or roasting dish and follow these straightforward steps.
1/ Make the curry spice blend
Combine all the spice mix ingredients in a small jar or bowl. Seal and shake or stir until evenly blended.
2/ Prep the chicken and vegetables
Slice the vegetables into bite-sized pieces and cut the chicken into strips. Place everything into a large baking tray and toss to combine.
3/ Start baking
Spray the tray with a low-calorie cooking spray and bake on the middle shelf of a preheated oven for 20 minutes.
4/ Add spices and finish baking
After 20 minutes, remove the tray and give everything a good stir. Sprinkle over some of the spice mix and add the cauliflower florets and red wine vinegar. Toss to coat, then return the tray to the oven for another 20 minutes.
5/ Serve
When you take the tray from the oven the second time, the vegetables should show a touch of char. Stir everything together so any juices coat the meat and veg, then scatter with coriander leaves and serve with lemon wedges.
The chicken stays juicy while the vegetables retain vibrant colour and curry flavour. Pip recommends serving this with mango salsa, and a dollop of Greek yogurt also works beautifully.
About the author and books
- Pip’s blog: The Slimming Foodie
- Pip’s first book: The Slimming Foodie
- Pip’s second book: The Slimming Foodie in One
Main Course
British
curried chicken tray bake
- 3 skinless chicken breasts – sliced into strips
- 3 peppers – deseeded and sliced into strips
- 2 onions – sliced
- 250 g cherry tomatoes
- low cal cooking spray
- 1 cauliflower – broken into florets
- 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 2 tsp garam masala
- 2 tsp turmeric
- 2 tsp garlic granules
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp chilli powder
- coriander leaves
- lemon wedges
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Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan / 400°F), gas mark 6.
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Mix the spice mix ingredients in a small bowl or jar until combined.
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Place the chicken, peppers, onions and cherry tomatoes in a large baking tray and toss to combine. Spray lightly with low-calorie cooking spray and bake on the middle shelf for 20 minutes.
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Remove the tray and stir. Add about four teaspoons of the spice mix, the cauliflower florets and the red wine vinegar. Toss to coat everything in the spices, then return to the oven for a further 20 minutes.
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When the tray comes out of the oven there should be a little charring on the peppers and cauliflower. Stir everything together, mixing any pan juices with the vegetables and chicken. Serve scattered with coriander leaves and lemon wedges.
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