Easy Baked Chicken Recipe

It’s a weeknight and you’re stuck thinking: What do I make for dinner? You’re tired of the same ol thing and you’re trying to cut back on the expense of delivery apps so what do you do? Rummage in the pantry for something or see what you can thaw quickly enough to make dinner happen right? Yup. We’ve all been there. In fact, I’m always there! Whenever those weeknights roll around and I can’t figure out what to make, baked chicken quarters are always my go to.

What seasonings should I use for baked chicken?

I love this baked chicken recipe because it’s easy to master, and leaves room for interpretation. Use a combination of fresh and dry seasoning. Aromatics I like to include in baked chicken are onion, garlic, bell peppers, thyme, and bay leaf. There are no rules and you can substitute aromatics you prefer. Dried herbs I sometimes include in my baked chicken recipe are oregano, thyme, garlic + herb (Dash is my favorite), basil, herbs de provence, rosemary, and sage. I also like to season my baked chicken with sauces. You can choose your favorite sauces and use them to elevate the flavor of your chicken. Some of my favorite sauces and marinades to use when seasoning chicken are hot honey, barbecue, ginger mango, jerk mango, jerk seasoning, Lawry’s Herb & Garlic has an excellent marinade as well. Lastly, a flavored olive oil will really brighten up your baked chicken and give it an extra kick. I use garlic flavored olive oil as a preference. Link here: https://amzn.to/3V31ThJ (contains affiliate link)

Which part of the chicken should I use for baked chicken?

This all depends on what your favorite cut of chicken is. As a personal preference, I prefer chicken quarters (leg + thigh combo). It’s also perfectly fine to bake chicken breasts, but as a rule of thumb I prefer bone-in chicken breasts because they contain more flavor and are juicier than filets.

Ingredients

-6 Chicken Quarters (leg & thigh combo: see picture above)

-1 tsp All Purpose seasoning

-1 tsp Chicken seasoning

-1 tsp Onion Powder

-1 tsp Garlic Powder

-1 tsp dry Jerk seasoning

-2 tsp Paprika

-2 tsp green seasoning or sofrito (recipe here: https://thatnursecooks.com/2022/12/01/haitian-epis-caribbean-green-seasoning/ )

-1 tbsp Spicy Mango Pickapeppa sauce (acceptable substitutions: barbecue sauce, Mike’s Hot Honey Sauce, or your favorite sauce)

-1/2 Onion, diced

-1/4 Orange Pepper, sliced

-1/4 Red Pepper, sliced

-Few Sprigs of Thyme

-1 Scallion, diced

-1 tbsp of Garlic Flavored Olive Oil

-6 Cloves of Garlic, finely chopped

Directions

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Pat your chicken dry and add all purpose seasoning, chicken seasoning, jerk seasoning, onion & garlic powder, and paprika. Add the sauce of your choosing. Chop your onion, garlic, orange and red pepper, and add it to the chicken along with thyme and scallion. Add garlic flavored olive oil. Massage seasonings into the chicken ensuring the seasonings are massaged under the skin. Bake uncovered for a total of 1 hour 25 minutes. Baste every 20-25 minutes. When you have 15 minutes left, you can turn the temperature up to 400 degrees to get a nice, brown color on the chicken. Remove and enjoy!