Who does not enjoy a good chicken traybake? Traybake recipes are real lifesavers on those days when you don’t really feel like putting in too much effort into cooking (but still want to enjoy a delicious homemade meal), or are too busy to be in the kitchen for too long. All you really need to do is whack all ingredients onto a tray – most of which you can prep some time before you actually need to start cooking – and leave it to bake in the oven for a low-effort yet super delicious meal (and not that many dishes to wash up afterwards either!).
This simple chicken traybake comes with golden baked potatoes, caramelized fennel, salty capers that crisp up in the oven and some zesty lemon slices that keep the whole thing juicy and bright. Because of its simplicity it leaves plenty of room for any additional veggies or flavorings (think about adding olives, baby onions, carrots, sun-dried tomatoes, or even a creamy- or yoghurt-based dressing), though I believe it’s perfectly enjoyable as is.

Chicken, Fennel and Potato Traybake
- DF
Ingredients
- 1.5kg potatoes
- 100ml extra-virgin olive oil
- 2kg whole chicken, cut into 10 pieces
- 500g fennel bulbs+fronds
- 2 large lemons
- 2 tablespoons capers
- Few sprigs of lemon thyme, or regular thyme (optional)
- Salt to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Method
- Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
- Peel the potatoes and cut them into 5cm chunks.
- Pour the olive oil onto a large baking tray with raised sides. Add the potato chunks and toss lightly to coat in the oil. Place tray in the middle of the preheated oven for 20 minutes to precook the potatoes (this step can be done some hours ahead if you like, leaving the potatoes to cool before moving on to the next step of cooking).
- In the meantime, prep the other ingredients: wash the fennel bulbs and lemons. Remove the outer layer of the fennel bulbs but reserve the fronds if there are any. Cut the bulbs into pieces of about 2 - 3cm thick and cut the stalks into bite-sized pieces. Remove the little cores at the part where the fennel layers are attached. Finally, slice lemons into 1cm thick slices.
- When your potatoes have been in the oven for 20 minutes, remove tray from oven and shake the potatoes around a little. Divide fennel pieces and stalks (not the soft fronds!) over the tray with the potatoes. Season fennel and potatoes with a little salt and freshly ground pepper (keep in mind that the capers will add some salt as well, so use salt sparingly).
- Rub the chicken pieces with some salt and freshly ground pepper as well. Place seasoned chicken on top of the potatoes and veggies and stick the slices of lemon and sprigs of lemon thyme between the pieces of chicken and scatter some over the top. Sprinkle two tablespoons of capers over all ingredients on the tray.
- Return tray with ingredients to the center of the oven and bake for another 40 - 45 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and the skin is crisp and golden.
- Before serving, roughly chop the reserved fennel fronds and sprinkle on top.