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…😖
Simply delicious, and very easy. And some of the best gravy I have ever made.
Made this recipe for a small dinner party and it was delicious!
Excellent directions. Chicken thighs were very tender and tasty.
Gravy was perfect. Everyone really enjoyed the meal. The only change I made was to add mushrooms to the gravy.
So far I’ve made 6 or 7 of your recipes – recipetineats is now my go-to for dinner ideas 🙂
May I ask how many people this fed? Serving 4 adults and 5 young kids dinner tomorrow, wondering how to adjust the proportions of this
Not sure if this was here before, but there is a “scaler” for recipe adjustments based on number of servings. Tap on number of servings at the top of the recipe (5 in this recipe) and slide to increase or decrease number of servings. Ingredient amounts adjust accordingly.
I’m making this recipe now and it smells soooo good in the house! Can’t wait until it’s done!
I was looking for a quick chicken recipe and my wife came across your website and showed me your Gravy Baked Chicken recipe. It looked good so I made it, it was LOVELY. The family really enjoyed it and I enjoyed following your recipe, so quick and easy.
I’m looking forward to cooking more of your recipes as they look good.
I am so glad you enjoyed it Gary! N x
Love it, thank you Nagi! Pleased my very picky in-laws. Made with your buttered rice and it almost tasted like Western chicken rice 😂
So glad you enjoyed it, Erica! N x
This recipe was yum!! The gravy was perfect and tasty. Just wondering if you can put vegetables with it like your sausage bake?
So easy and absolutely delicious!
Made this with to serve with your garlic kale rice. Such an easy and delicious meal. Thank you Nagi!
Perfect combo Tracy, thanks so much for letting me know!! N x
Delicious and easy! Made with all fresh thighs, boiled red potatoes and brussel sprouts. We all loved it! Thanks for all your wonderful and approachable meals!
How can I make this gluten free AND with chicken breasts? The directions in the notes kinda contradict each other 😅 thank you!
I had planned Parmesan oven-fried chicken. When I opened the package from our market, I found bone-in thighs. So I switched to Gravy Baked Chicken. It was easier that plan A, and the community loved it. We’ll have it again.
Another winner winner chicken dinner! 🤷♀️ Delish! Putting this one in my monthly roundup after everyone at the table gobbled it up tonight. I did have to extend my cook time by about 7 minutes to get the skin good and crispy. Thanks!
Can I use Bone In Chicken Breasts?
This meal was really not planned at all, went out on Sunday for gammon but they didn´t have any left so ended up with chicken and quickly had a look through recipetineats because I knew I would find something there that we all would like, and I had everything for it too. Don´t know how many times you´ve helped me out without knowing it 🙂 thank you x
Hi Nagi, does the seasoning of prapika make chicken spicy? I’m preparing for big family with kids. Will be using whole Maryland. Thanks in advance!
Hi Sha, it depends which type of paprika you use, I would use the smoked/sweet variety here as it won’t have any heat. N x
Will be baking 2 trays of chicken same time hence may play safe and leave out paprika for 1 tray. Do you reckon to double or triple sauce ingredients for total 3.3kg Maryland?
Thanks Nagi, can’t wait to cook tomorrow!
Another amazing recipe!! We had ours with sweet potato mash and it was absolutely delicious!
First time making this tonight and it was so quick and easy! My family devoured it. I served it with steamed broccoli and cauliflower which was just perfect for soaking up all of that delicious gravy. Thank you for a new family favourite!
I’m not sure I can really describe how much I and my husband love this recipe. The only reason I ever neglect to make this once a week is if I forget to buy groceries. It’s super simple, incredibly easy, and very cheap to make (I use chicken thighs only, very affordable in my area). I always serve it with mashed potatoes, perfect for the gravy!
I usually make a salad to go on the side, as this dish is quite heavy. Steamed veggies work great also.
Husband loves taking the leftovers for lunch at work.
Thank you so much!
Incredibly delicious. Broke down my first chicken and used the marylands. Thanks Nagi!
Absolutely fabulous! When you want homely cooked food without the fuss. Won’t disappoint ❤️
Cooked this for dinner tonight and it was wonderful. Minimum preparation with a killer gravy to boot – can’t get any easier. Thanks.