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;
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…😖
Love this meal. A regular for me in winter. Wondering if anyone has tried skinless things – just want it slightly easier to eat at work as left overs.
I love how easy this was and it was delicious. My adult son raved about it.
Turned out really well. Made it as written except sized it down. The beef stock really gave it a nice flavor. Served with mashed potatoes. Will definitely make this again
Love this recipe, so simple and easy to do but so delicious. It’s a family favourite!
Booked this last night. Brilliant with nice crispy skin and great mix of flavors..
Made this tonight using chicken thigh cutlets, and served with mash & green veg. Both my husband and I absolutely loved it. Just the thing for a cold night and so easy to make
I just made this for dinner, and it was perfect. The only thing I would change is to eliminate the salt in the seasoning mix. The gravy was salty enough from the beef bullion.
Hello! I adore this recipe but my portion sizes are tiny post gastric-sleeve. Does this freeze well after cooking?
I havent frozen it, but it should freeze well, your sauce may be lumpier once defrost/reheat and skin may not be as crisp but it will still taste delicious i think the gravy base would stop it drying out. Another option would be to freeze gravy seperately heat up the chicken and put gravy in a pot thus might be the waycto go if reheating in microwave. Let us know how it went
if you’re in doubt about making this recipe, banish the thoughts and just MAKE IT!
I had very little time to whip up dinner for some friends and it took more time to put away the ingredients than the actual prep. Blow me away impressed. I went with drumsticks and they were perfectly moist and the gravy spectacular. Served with salad and steamed broccoli and cauliflower. For the chicken seasoning I went with what I had – 1 tsp smoked paprika, 1/2 tsp smoked garlic salt, 1 tsp BBQ rub and 1 tsp cajun seasoning. So delicious and definitely in to the dinner rotation. Thank you so much Nagi and RT team for another wonderful recipe.
Tried your recipe today. Easy peasy and the miracle gravy was perfect. Thanks!
Later that evening😄…Well spectacular success! Not too salty, jyst right a bit more paprika-y than intended but delicious. One for rotation
Well, making this tonight with drumsticks. Roped in husband to help. He was doing the rub i was doing the sauce…what did i do, thought the rub was the stock cube(yes used a stock cube i might be going to cooking hell😄) and just chucked it in with the flour🙄(i hate it when its me that makes the mistake i cant blame anyone rkse) ach well forging ahead, it may be to salty or too paprika–y we shall see. Even if its a bit salty ir whatever itll,still be flavoursome 🤞
only saw this recipe this morning on FB so I thought I would try. used all drumsticks for a cheap dinner Yum Yum Yum definitely make again would try chicken cutlets next time or chicken Maryland’s. Thankyou Nagi for another great recipe.
I made this as a last minute, how can I use up some chicken, dinner and was so pleasantly surprised at the results! My two children (7 & 9) loved it, and my even harder to please husband loved it too!! We served it with your mashed potato recipe and some steamed broccoli and it was absolutely yummy and comforting with the delicious but easy “baked in the same pan” gravy. Thank you for such a great recipe, Nagi! We will definitely keep this one in the rotation for busy weeknights!
Nagi has done it again. Served it with mash and peas, wowed my flatmates and myself. Super tasty, cost friendly and unbelieveably easy. 10/10
I have a few tweeks to make to my gravy eg fresh versus frozen/thawed chicken but the flavour is there and really tender. Such an easy recipe – thanks Nagi!
I make this at least once a fortnight, and there are never any leftovers! Loving the one dish thing and DIY gravy. Thank you!
This was the easiest meal I have ever put together for our family. I used thighs and legs and served with mashed potatoes. No substitutions, no alterations. And now I have bones to make broth. This was amazing. Thank you, Nagi!
So yummy and so cheap to make!
I do it in advance (early morning and put in fridge) and re-heat the chicken in the air fryer to crisp up.
Gravy and seasoned rice I re-heat in the microwave. Ready for when everyone comes home for lunch!
Had this tonight and it was delicious. So easy to make, it will definitely be a regular in our house.
The whole family loved this recipe. Will be a staple in our house moving forward. Very quick and easy to prep, popped in the oven while I cooked sides and it all came together beautifully!