Herby One Pan Chicken with Oranges – Add this one-pan dinner to your regular rotation! It’s a super easy dinner made with chicken thighs and drumsticks marinated in an herby, citrus packed marinade! | Gluten Free + Dairy Free + Whole30
⭐One Pan Chicken Dinner Winner⭐
Juicy chicken pieces coated in a bright and zingy herb and citrus packed marinade baked to juicy perfection.
A few things to love about this recipe:
- Fresh Flavor & Tender Chicken – What more is there to say? The marinade is made with fresh herbs, punchy aromatics and sweet orange juice. It tastes great – especially paired with the juicy chicken thighs & drumsticks!
- Low carb & Whole30 compliant – no sugar, soy, grains or dairy and only 4 carbs per serving (2 chicken pieces!).
- Easy prep & clean up with very minimal effort required – most the chopping and prep is done in a blender.
- Prep now & bake later – Most of the work is done well before it’s time to cook which makes this a super easy weeknight dinner to pop in the oven during busy weeknights.
How to Make It
The overall prep is genuinely quite easy:
- Make the marinade: Aside from roughly chopping the spring onions and chili pepper you can just throw everything in and let the blender or food processor do the work of blitzing up all the fresh herbs and aromatics.
- Marinade the chicken: Pour the marinade into a large bowl or sealable bag along with the chicken thighs and toss everything together until the chicken well and fully coated. Cover or seal and let the chicken marinate 12-36 hours.
- Bake: Add the chicken, skin-side up and fresh orange slices to a large roasting pan and bake in the preheated oven for about 30-35 minutes or until fully cooked through.
- For an accurate read, invest in an instant-read thermometer to check the doneness of your thighs. While 165°F is safe and cooked, 195°F is better for texture and flavor!
- Broil (optional): Bump up the oven heat all the way and cook another couple of minutes to crisp up the skin.
Freezing Tip:
You can freeze the raw chicken (that’s never been frozen before) coated in marinade for up to 6 months. Defrost overnight in the freezer and cook when ready. This is especially useful if you’re into batch cooking and meal prep.
When you’re ready to cook simply add the chicken pieces skin side up to a baking sheet, add a few orange slices if using and bake. The tops should crisp up in the oven while middles and bottoms stay juicy and tender as it cooks in its own juices and marinade.
To keep this meal low carb I recommend serving it over cauliflower rice or mashed cauliflower otherwise good old fashioned potatoes or rice will do.
More Easy Chicken Recipes
Enjoy!
Let me know if you try this Herby One Pan Chicken recipe! Leave a comment and review with your thoughts. I always appreciate the feedback and serving suggestions that you come up with!
Herby One Pan Chicken with Oranges
Made with chicken thighs and drumsticks marinated in an herby, citrus packed marinade! | Gluten Free + Dairy Free + Whole30
Ingredients
- 2 pounds bone-in skin-on chicken thighs and/or drumsticks, (about 8 pieces)
- 1 orange cut into wedges, optional
Marinade
- 1 cup fresh cilantro, leaves & stems included
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, leaves & stems included
- 2 tablespoons fresh mint leaves, (no stems)
- 5 large garlic cloves
- 2 stalks spring onions, ends cut off
- 1 green chili pepper, (remove the seeds to tone down on spice)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4 cup orange juice (60ml)
- 1/4 cup olive oil (60ml)
Instructions
- Make marinade: Add the marinade ingredients to a food processor or blender and process until the herbs are finely chopped.
- Marinate Chicken: Pour the marinade over the chicken and toss to coat. Cover and let marinate for 12-36 hours.
- Oven Prep: Preheat oven to 400° F/205°C. Lightly oil a large baking sheet with rimmed edges.
- Bake: Place the chicken on the baking sheet skin side up. Add orange wedges if using. Place into oven and roast for 30-35 minutes or until the chicken is completely cooked through, reaching an internal temperature of 165° F. Broil for 2-3 minutes, or until the chicken is caramelised and slightly charred on top.
- Serve: Season with extra salt and pepper if desired, serve hot and enjoy.
Notes
- Leftovers: Store leftovers in an airtight container and keep refrigerated 3-4 days.
- Freezing Tip: You can freeze the raw chicken (that's never been frozen before) coated in marinade for up to 6 months. Defrost overnight in the freezer and cook when ready.
- Temperature: Chicken is technically cooked to a safe temperature when it reaches 165°F/74°C, but I recommend letting thighs/dark meat get to about 190°F (90°C) for a better texture and flavor. Invest in a meat thermometer to check the doneness of your thighs for best results.
Jenny says
I love this dish so much! Do you have a recommended side?
Sarah Nevins says
Hi Jenny, thank you so much – I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Good question! I quite like roasted broccoli or brussels sprouts with this, especially when I just want an easy veggie side or easy with minimal ingredients. Broccolini (tenderstem broccoli) is ideal if you’re limited on oven space because it roasts quickly. You can pop it in the oven during the last 5 minutes of the chicken cooking then finish while the chicken rests/cools down.
A few salads you might like with this:
Lebanese Cabbage Slaw – easy to make and uses some of the same herbs in the chicken
Shirazi Salad – also very simple (ingredient-wise) and super fresh
Honey Mustard Quinoa Salad – I think this is good with pretty much everything, personally
Crunchy Spring Greens Salad – I think this salad would be made better with some of the chicken pan sauce mixed in
Bacon & Brussels Sprout Salad – another salad that I think is great with most things!
Monica says
Excited to make this! Do you know if this could work with chicken breasts instead? and what the cook times would be?
Sarah Nevins says
Hi Monica! That would work! If you use chicken breasts, reduce the cook time to 20-25 minutes and that should do it!
Toni says
Is the jalapeño essential to the flavor profile? Would leaving it out make a huge difference? I have little ones with very sensitive palates, it’s difficult to hide flavors from them lol.
Sarah says
That’s no problem – they’ll add a bit of heat but won’t change the overall flavour much so you’re good! Hope you guys like it!