Your next dinner idea: One Tray Dukkah Chicken

When you’re cooking for the whole family, including little ones who are becoming more independent and prefer to feed themselves, you want something that is not only going to please your taste buds, but also be suitable and satisfying for little fingers.  

One of the easiest meals are one tray bakes, you can literally throw everything onto a pan and walk away while it cooks itself! This leaves time for you to get some evening chores done, maybe even bath time or sneak in a workout while your partner takes over duties! (remove if you want haha, not everyone loves to exercise LOL maybe some people might run themselves a warm bath…? Haha).

This meal contains a variety of vegetables that are great for baby led weaning and more independent eaters. Feel free to change up the vegetables and perhaps even try salmon instead of chicken if you’re feeling adventurous. It’s important to provide a balanced plate at your baby’s meal times. A plate should include a mix of vegetables, protein, good fats and carbohydrates to ensure good blood sugar control and to help meet their nutrient requirements (as well as yours!).

To serve for bub, simply dish up a little portion of each of the chicken, vegetables and the hummus/tzatziki so they have their own little one tray bake on their table!

One Tray Dukkah Chicken

Ingredients (Serves 4):

• 8 chicken thighs

• 1 tablespoon plain flour or flour of choice

• 2/3 cup dukkah

• 2 large handfuls chopped parsley

• ½ teaspoon garlic powder

• ½ teaspoon sea salt

• ½ kent pumpkin, cut into wedges

• 10 brussels sprouts, quartered

• 1 large red onion, cut into wedges

• Olive oil

• Sea salt & pepper

  To serve:

• Handful of rocket

• 2 tablespoons hummus or tzatziki

• 1 lemon wedge

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180°C and prepare a large oven tray or baking dish.

2. Arrange the vegetables onto the tray and season well with olive oil and sea salt.

3. Prepare the chicken by adding the flour, dukkah, parsley, garlic powder and salt in a bowl, then evenly coat each thigh in the mixture.

4. Heat a frying pan over medium heat with olive oil and brown the chicken thighs each side, then add them to the tray with the vegetables (you can skip this step if short on time, it just gives the chicken a little more colour!).

5. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes, until both the vegetables and chicken are cooked through.

6. To serve, for each person, plate up a handful of rocket, some vegetables, chicken and top with some hummus/tzatziki and a lemon wedge.

Thea Doyle is the Resident Nutritionist for Let's Sleep. She is available for consultations to help guide you with family nutrition. Check out her 'Real Food Family Online Program' - an 8 week online program (packed with downloadable recipes, meal plan + email support included) to help you feel confident, empowered and organised to prepare food for your family.