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…😖
This was nice. Would probably cook 5-10 minutes longer next time.
Easiest dinner I have ever made and tasted phenomenal! I added mushrooms 🍄 and served with mashed potatoes. Yum.
Followed your recipe (baked legs & thighs in gravy) and it turned out perfectly. We loved it. So simple & delicious. Thank you.
Served this for a Thanksgiving dinner for my family who don’t really like turkey. So easy to make. It was a big hit! One person doesn’t eat beef so I used chicken stock with a little gravy master for color. The gravy was delicious and there was plenty to add to mashed potatoes and other sides. Planning a dinner party around this now.
Move over roast chook.
This is the meal to make, I served it with mashed potatoes and steamed veg. We had a whole plate of leftovers that somehow didn’t make it till next morning.
As a mother of two young ones, whose partner works away a lot, this is simple full of flavour and going to be on regular rotation.
Love it!!
Simply another stunner of an easy weeknight meal. Better than a takeaway, any night of the week! Just served up with some leftover easy potato bake (Nagi’s recipe too!) and fresh coleslaw. Thank you Nagi 🙂
This is always a winner in our house. The children like taking it to school for lunch (when there are any leftovers). So little prep for such a great result
Forever in my top 10 RecipeTin recipes! It’s so easy, so much flavour. Sometimes I use smoked paprika to change it up. So good.
Amazing dish really easy to make & the taste is 5 stars
Massive hit at our house! This is super easy but huge amount of flavour. Love it.
So delicious! I wanted to drink the gravy, it was so good.
Made this tonight, with the seasoned rice recipe. Both are super easy and delicious!
Been wanting to make the seasoned rice with this dish for a while! Must try it…
Soooo quick and easy, and tastes great !
My family is super picky when it comes to gravy and they said it tasted great! thanks Nagi!
Made this as our little thanksgiving dish as we dont like turkey.. it was a big hit. I must say i was pretty skeptical when I put it in the oven but it came out so so very good! Definitely a recipe I’ll be using over and over!
This was sooooo good! Everyone loved it, and I even made it gluten free without anyone even noticing… 🤫🤭 thank you so much for this delicious recipe!
Made this just last night. I had a lot of stuff to do and needed something that I did not have to spend time prepping for, actually cooking or cleaning up after. So I came to Nagi and this dish checked every box including satisfying the hunger of a ravenous teenage soccer player. Being convinced of the awesomeness of this recipe, I sent it to my older child who is in college and is always on the lookout for things that are filling, can be made in large quantities, use everyday ingredients and don’t consume a lot of time to make. I also sent him a picture of my completed dish so he could see it could be done… and he is very excited.
I love this comment Smita. I too send Nagi’s cheap (it’s a compliment for sure, she’s looking our for us), simple and can feed a crowd recipes to my son at college. Just sent him the Thai Turmeric Chicken because I know he has all those ingredients as well (because I sent them with him when he moved into his apt. lol.)
Sitting looking at empty plates. Brilliant recipe just as is, served with mash, broad beans and peas. The gravy was wonderful, the chicken was moist and flavourful, and the skin was crisp and tasty. Definitely a keeper!
Made this twice now in 2 weeks after finally giving this a go! My kids LOVE it and I have also added red wine to the gravy mixture this 2nd time which is lovely. I do find the flour is very lumpy in the mixture before putting it with the chicken so I sieve it first then put it with the chicken to be cooked. We had lazy sides of chips and peas but nothing was left each time. Five stars!!!
My family almost never likes recipes I find online. This was so homestyle and simple I gave it a shot and I’m sure glad I did. Variation- it’s almost impossible to find chicken with skin on and bone in here in Calgary, so I used boneless skinless thighs, and it turned out great! I found my gravy a little lumpy, despite my whisking, but next time I’ll just use the immersion blender. Thanks for sharing this – fabulous and simple for us that don’t love to cook!