Turmeric Chicken
This easy chicken recipe may look understated, but its a flavorful and amazingly family friendly meal. Tender chicken thighs are marinated in a flavorful turmeric (affiliate link) sauce and then roasted to perfection with sliced fennel, oranges and oranges.
This Middle Eastern chicken recipe is an easy dinner that is ready in less than an hour and takes almost no work – who doesn’t love that? When weeknights are crazy, easy recipes are necessary! But easy doesn’t need to mean boring and flavorless, either.
Studded with fun flavors like turmeric, orange and fennel, this one pan chicken recipe is sure to please the entire family and is ready for you when you need easy recipes.
If you love middle eastern flavors, make sure you also check out my Easy Beef Kofta and Best Chicken Shawarma – both are great weeknight recipes packed with flavor but with easy, friendly ingredients.
Check out the Beginner’s Guide to Middle Eastern Food for more easy recipes for beginners!
How to make turmeric chicken
This recipe is simple to make! For the full set of directions, please scroll down to the recipe card below. This is just a general overview on how to make it to help you plan.
- Mix the marinade together and place in a container with the chicken thighs to marinade for 20-30 minutes.
- While the chicken is marinading, slice the onion, fennel, and orange into thin slices.
- Preheat the oven to 425 F.
- Place the marinaded chicken into a large baking dish like a 12″ cast iron skillet or 9×13″ baking pan, skin side up. Arrange the onion, fennel, and oranges in and around the chicken, tucking them in between and around as much as you can. Pour the remaining marinade over the top.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until an internal temperature gauge registers 170 F.
- Allow to cool for 5 minutes and then sprinkle with chopped cilantro.
- Enjoy!
How to meal prep this recipe
This recipe is a great family friendly meal to serve to the entire family and is perfect for nights when you have time to let something cook, but you don’t have the ability to stand at the stove and actively cook.
This recipe is easy but you can make things simpler with the following prep-ahead steps:
- Slice the onion and fennel ahead of time. Wrap them in a damp paper towel to keep them from drying out and store in the fridge.
- Cilantro is best chopped right when you need it, but you can pick the leaves off the stems and store in a plastic baggie in the fridge until you are ready to use them.
- Measure out all your ingredients ahead of time. You could even make the marinade and store it in the fridge for up to 2 days in advance before cooking the chicken.
*Note: Because the marinade contains orange juice, I don’t recommend marinating for longer than two hours, because the acid in the juice can break down the proteins in the chicken thighs and make them tough and rubbery. A 20 or 30 minute marinade is really all it needs.
How to serve this meal
Here are suggestions on how to plate it so everyone will enjoy it:
- Older babies and toddlers will enjoy this meal! Dice the chicken and fennel pieces into bite sizes. Garnish with some cilantro on top.
- Younger Children will love how vibrant yellow this recipe is. Separate the chicken out from the other ingredients so that they have separate piles that don’t touch. Sprinkle a small amount of super tiny chopped cilantro on the chicken.
- Older children can enjoy this meal straight from the pan. Suggest they add their own cilantro to their plates, that way they get to try as much of it as they want.
You can serve these with a fresh vegetable side like these Turkish Green Beans or a salad, or a simple couscous or rice on the side.
How Your Kids Can Help in the Kitchen:
- Kids aged 1-3 can help you measure the ingredients, wash and dry the fennel, and pick the cilantro leaves off the stems and help set the table.
- Kids aged 4-6 can help do everything above, plus help you juice the orange, mix the marinade, chop the cilantro, and garnish with cilantro.
- Kids aged 7-10+ can help do everything above, plus help you slice the orange and fennel, and arrange things in the pan.
*Please note that these recommendations are generalized, and to please use your personal discretion with your child’s skill level. And always, always supervise! Read more about how to have your children help you in the kitchen.
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Turmeric Chicken Thighs
Ingredients
Marinade:
- 3 Tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 Tablespoons yellow mustard
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground turmeric
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ cup olive oil
- ½ cup dry white wine or chicken stock
- ½ cup freshly squeezed orange juice
Chicken:
- 2 lb chicken thighs bone in and skin on
- 3 oranges
- 1 fennel bulb sliced thin
- 1 yellow onion sliced thin
Instructions
- In a large container with an airtight lid (or gallon ziplock) mix the brown sugar, mustard, garlic, turmeric, coriander, paprika, and salt and pepper until combined.
- Whisk in the olive oil, wine, and orange juice until well combined.
- Add the chicken thighs and coat with marinade. Seal container and place in the fridge to marinate for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 475 F.
- In a large braiser or dutch oven, add the chicken skin side up in a single layer.
- Slice the onion, fennel, and orange and place the slices around and in between the chicken thighs.
- Pour the remaining marinade over everything.
- Roast for 40-45 minutes, or until an internal temperature probe reads 170F.
